My Phd Research Is a Comparative Exploration of Chinese Fiction in the Late Imperial Period (DATES) Focusing in Particular On
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FROM SANGUO ZHI YANYI TO SAMGUKCHI: DOMESTICATION AND APPROPRIATION OF THREE KINGDOMS IN KOREA by Hyuk-chan Kwon A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in The Faculty of Graduate Studies (Asian Studies) The University of British Columbia (Vancouver) April 2010 © Hyuk-chan Kwon, 2010 ABSTRACT My dissertation entitled “From Sanguo zhi yanyi to Samgukchi: Domestication and Appropriation of Three Kingdoms in Korea” shows how a ‘Chinese’ work of fiction has become an enduringly popular Korean work since its importation in the sixteenth century. In this context, my thesis encompasses a comparative exploration of the influence of the Sanguo zhi yanyi 三國 志演義 (Romance of the Three Kingdoms; hereafter Three Kingdoms) as reflected in premodern and contemporary Korean culture and literature. The domestication and appropriation of Three Kingdoms today can be attributed, in part, to a relentless modification and re-creation of its contents in the forms of numerous translations, adaptations, and revisions that have reflected sociopolitical and ideological agendas in Korea. I also clarify how the sociopolitical and ideological changes in Chosŏn Korea accelerated the reception and dissemination of Three Kingdoms by illuminating in particular how the Chosŏn rulers utilized the Neo-Confucian values in Three Kingdoms to maintain and strengthen Korea’s identity as the sole cultural and spiritual successor of the Great Han-Chinese empire after its collapse in 1644. Three Kingdoms’ status in Korea has been much higher than that of a Chinese classic; it remains the most widely read of all novels in modern Korea. Moreover, authors like Chang Chŏng’il do not hesitate to define Three Kingdoms as a national novel of Korea. It is virtually impossible for a modern Korean to lead a life divorced from Three Kingdoms. My dissertation shows that these phenomena did not appear suddenly in the twentieth- century Korea. Rather, they are the result of domestication and appropriation of Three Kingdoms that has steadily progressed for centuries; the novel has been relentlessly re-interpreted in terms ii of Korea’s socio-political and cultural context. My dissertation elucidates the cultural politics that contribute to making Three Kingdoms into a national novel of Korea. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................... ii LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................. vii DEDICATION ....................................................................................................................... x 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 2 The Importation and Dissemination of Chinese Fiction and Its Influence on Fictional Narratives of Chosŏn Korea ........................................................................................ 10 2.1 Importation of Chinese Literary Works into Premodern Korea ........................ 10 2.2 Condemnation of Fiction by Yangban Literati .................................................. 16 2.3 Introduction and Dissemination of Three Kingdoms into Chosŏn Korea .......... 32 2.4 Rise in Popularity among the Literati Class ...................................................... 33 2.5 Jiandeng xinhua and the Development of Fictional Narratives in East Asian Civilizations ................................................................................................... 35 2.6 The Making and Banning of New Stories .......................................................... 37 2.7 Jiandeng xinhua in Chosŏn Korea ..................................................................... 38 2.8 Influence of New Stories and Mount Kŭmo in Japan and the Creation of Tokibōko ......................................................................................................... 40 2.9 Influence of New Stories in Vietnam and Truen Ky man luc ............................ 41 2.10 Dissemination and Reintroduction of Classical Chinese Tales in East Asian Civilizations ................................................................................................... 42 2.11 The Importance of New Stories in the Literary History of East Asian Civilizations ................................................................................................... 43 2.12 The Dissemination of Taiping guangji in Premodern Korea and Its Influence . 44 2.13 Selective Accommodation of Chinese Fictional Narratives .............................. 47 3 The Importation and Dissemination of Three Kingdoms into Chosŏn Korea ............ 51 3.1 First Official Reference to Three Kingdoms in the Historical Records ............. 51 3.2 Ready from the Very Beginning? Historical Background for Chosǒn Receptivity to Three Kingdoms ..................................................................... 57 3.3 Notable Editions of Three Kingdoms Published in Chosŏn Korea .................... 67 3.4 Three Kingdoms Imported and Reprinted .......................................................... 88 3.5 How Guan Yu Became a National Hero of Korea ............................................. 90 3.6 Guan Yu as Antidote against the Japanese ...................................................... 100 4 Three Kingdoms in Late Chosŏn Korea .................................................................... 105 4.1 The Fall of Ming China and the Identity Crisis of Chosŏn Korea ................... 105 4.2 Chosŏn as the Sole Guardian of Authentic Confucian Heritage...................... 111 4.3 Sociopolitical Background of the Dissemination of Three Kingdoms in Late Chosŏn ......................................................................................................... 122 4.4 Korean Stories with the Theme of Shu-Han Legitimacy ................................. 147 5. The Advent of Modern Translations and Adaptations of Three Kingdoms .............. 156 5.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................ 156 5.2 Translations of Three Kingdoms in Late Chosŏn and the Early Colonial Period 157 5.3 Three Kingdoms Panggakpon Editions ............................................................... 173 iv 5.4 Ttakchibon Editions of Three Kingdoms ............................................................ 175 5.5. Stories Adapted from Three Kingdoms in Chosŏn Korea ................................. 178 5.6 Appearance of Complete Modern Translations of Three Kingdoms and Competition with Yoshikawa’s Rewriting of Three Kingdoms ................... 192 5.7 Yoshikawa Eiji’s Rewriting of Three Kingdoms ................................................ 200 6 Rewriting Three Kingdoms: The Practice by Modern Korean Writers of Translating/Revising a Chinese Classic .................................................................... 210 6.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 210 6.2 The First Full-scale Attempt to Re-create the Three Kingdoms Story ............. 213 6.3 Yi Mun’yŏl’s Preface to His Three Kingdoms Translation ............................. 214 6.4 First Response to Yi’s Translation: Hwang Sŏg’yŏng’s “Back to the Original” ...................................................................................................................... 219 6.5 Hwang Sŏg’yŏng’s Preface to His Three Kingdoms Translation .................... 221 6.6 Another Response to Three Kingdoms Translations: Chang Chŏng’il’s Liberal and Nationalistic Translation ....................................................................... 236 6.7 Chang Chŏng’il’s Preface to His Three Kingdoms Translation....................... 237 6.8 Celebrity Translators Who Are Too Visible .................................................... 252 6.9 Heyday of Amateur Sinologist Translators: Ezra Pound and His Korean Counterparts ................................................................................................. 253 6.10 Various Aspects of Translation Practice .......................................................... 259 6.11 Textual Manipulation based on the Translator’s Ideology .............................. 266 6.12 Authors of New Three Kingdoms .................................................................... 273 6.13 Three Kingdoms as Bestseller .......................................................................... 278 6.14 Why Do Prestigious Writers Rewrite Three Kingdoms? ................................. 278 6.15 Marketing Strategies for Three Kingdoms ....................................................... 280 6.16 Three Kingdoms: A Goose that Lays Golden Eggs for Major Publishers ....... 285 6.17 Domesticating the Translation of Three Kingdoms and the Formation of a Canonical Work ........................................................................................... 288 6.18 Cultural Stereotyping ....................................................................................... 290 6.19 Translation Practices of Three Kingdoms by Modern Korean Writers: The Treatment of Diaochan in their Revisions ................................................... 293 7 Conclusion: Five-Stage Progress