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Engraving Virtue: the Printing History of a Premodern Korean Moral Primer Brill’S Korean Studies Library Engraving Virtue: The Printing History of a Premodern Korean Moral Primer Brill’s Korean Studies Library Edited by Ross King (University of British Columbia) In co-operation with Boudewijn Walraven (Leiden University), Sun Joo Kim (Harvard University) and Rüdiger Frank (University of Vienna) VOLUME 3 The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/bksl Engraving Virtue: The Printing History of a Premodern Korean Moral Primer By Young Kyun Oh LEIDEN • BOSTON 2013 Publication of this book was supported by the following grants from Arizona State University: Institute for Humanities Research Publication Subvention Grant, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences East Asian Studies Research Fund, and School of International Letters and Cultures Research Fund. Cover Illustration: Folio image showing “Lady Yu is filial to her mother-in-law” (Yu ssi hyo ko 劉氏孝姑), in the Samgang haengsil-to, 1726 reduced edition. Image from the Internet Archive at http://archive.org. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Oh, Young Kyun. Engraving virtue : the printing history of a premodern Korean moral primer / by Young Kyun Oh. pages cm. — (Brill’s Korean studies library series, ISSN 1876-7079 ; volume 3) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-24988-2 (hardback : acid-free paper) — ISBN 978-90-04-25196-0 (e-book) 1. Samgang haengsilto. 2. Samgang haengsilto—Influence. 3. Wood-engraving—Printing—Korea— History. 4. Primers (Prayer books)—Korea—History. 5. Confucian ethics—Korea—History. 6. Korea—History—Choson dynasty, 1392–1910. 7. Korea—Social conditions—1392–1910. I. Title. BJ117.S25 2013 170.9519—dc23 2013010579 This publication has been typeset in the multilingual “Brill” typeface. With over 5,100 characters covering Latin, IPA, Greek, and Cyrillic, this typeface is especially suitable for use in the humanities. For more information, please see www.brill.com/brill-typeface. ISSN 1876-7079 ISBN 978-90-04-24988-2 (hardback) ISBN 978-90-04-25196-0 (e-book) Copyright 2013 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Global Oriental, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers and Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. This book is printed on acid-free paper. CONTENTS List of Figures and Tables ............................................................................ vii Preface ................................................................................................................ ix Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1 1 Prelude to a Confucian State: Literati, Morality, and Books ...... 13 2 The Conception of the Samgang haengsil-to .................................. 55 3 Vernacular Sounds and the Reduced Edition ................................. 127 4 The Sequels: Here and Now in the Chosŏn .................................... 197 Conclusions ....................................................................................................... 263 Bibliography ..................................................................................................... 275 Index ................................................................................................................... 289 LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Figures 1. The illustration of “Several Generals Suppress Rebels” (left) and the text of “Sŏng Ch’ung Dies in Prison” (right) .................. 95 2. Ming Palace Treasury Edition of the Grand Pronouncements by the Imperial Order ............................................................................. 98 3. “[Zhao] Yuanjiang Takes Off the Cangue” ...................................... 112 4. “The Earnest Behavior of Xu Ji” ......................................................... 114 5. “Puyan Fulfills Loyalty” ......................................................................... 116 6A. “Ŭnbo Impresses the Crow” without vernacular text ................... 134 6B. “Ŭnbo Impresses the Crow” with vernacular text .......................... 135 7. The illustration of “[To] Mi’s Wife Chews Grass” (left) and the text of “Chastity of a Ning-Family Daughter” (right) .... 155 8A. The vernacular text of “[To] Mi’s Wife Chews Grass” (1490 edition) .......................................................................................... 159 8B. The vernacular text of “[To] Mi’s Wife Chews Grass” (1570s edition) ......................................................................................... 159 9. “Sang Tŏk Slices Off His Thigh” .......................................................... 174 10. “Lady Kim Pounces on a Tiger” .......................................................... 189 11. Folio image showing “Wang Zhong Moves Heaven” ................... 217 12. List of contents, kwŏn 5, New Sequel to the Samgang haengsil-to ................................................................................................. 246 13. “The Most Virtuous Actions of I-ch’ŏm” .......................................... 247 14. “Yun-gŭn Cuts Off His Finger” ............................................................ 256 15. “Cho-i Has Her Head Cut Off ” ........................................................... 257 Tables 1. Distribution of Chinese and Korean Stories in the Initial Edition of the Samgang haengsil-to (1434) ..................................... 101 2. Category 1: Vernacular Texts of the Samgang haengsil-to in Chŏng’ŭm (Han’gŭl) with Chinese Characters Mixed In ............ 136 3. Category 2: Vernacular Texts of the Samgang haengsil-to in Chŏng’ŭm (Han’gŭl) without Interspersed Chinese Characters ................................................................................................. 136 viii list of figures and tables 4. Editions of the Sequel to the Samgang haengsil-to Outlined by Song Il-gi and Yi T’ae-ho ................................................................ 220 5. Editions of the Sequel to the Samgang haengsil-to, Revised Summary ................................................................................................... 221 6. Distribution of Stories in the New Sequel to the Samgang haengsil-to (1617) ..................................................................................... 244 PREFACE For a scholar this was almost a career change. After a degree in Chinese historical phonology, I spent the last four years learning and studying about the history of one book. I never realized that studying about one book could be so absorbing as to consume four years. Begun initially as a short lecture preparation, the project on this Chosŏn moral primer kept leading me on to larger and more captivating domains of research, until finally resulting in the present monograph. All academic texts, I believe, are communal works. Even more help and support than usual went into writing this book. My discovery of the field of book history was through conversations with Jamie Newhard when we were both beginning junior faculty members at Arizona State University. My interest grew more seri- ous during my stay at the Academy of Korean Studies in 2007, where I learned about Korean books and print culture from Joo Young-ha [Chu Yŏng-ha], Ok Young-jung [Ok Yŏng-jŏng], and Choi Jin-duk, whose gener- ous support and inspiration I deeply appreciate. I am also most grateful to those who gave me crucial help for this proj- ect to move forward. Stephen West has seen my progress from my early career, has read primary texts with me, and helped form my rudimen- tary ideas into readable shapes. Without Ross King’s meticulous eyes and kindness in reading and rereading my drafts, not to mention his expertise on Middle Korean and the Samgang haengsil-to, the manuscript would not have seen the current state. Peter Kornicki encouraged me from the beginning to embark on this new area of study and gave me opportunities for this project to advance. Xiaoqiao Ling has been a loyal friend who read my first drafts every time I finished a section, thereby providing me with consistent pressure to write on. Arizona State University has been an ideal environment for a novice (in many senses) scholar like myself. Colleagues who participated in read- ing groups at the School of International Letters and Cultures, Stephen West, Daniel Gilfillan, John (Yu) Zou, John Creamer, Yoon Sun Yang, Sookja Cho, and Xiaoqiao Ling, have all read parts of the manuscript at various stages. Robert Joe Cutter, Stephen Bokenkamp, Madeline Spring, Hoyt Tillman, Marcus Cruse, and Juliann Vitulo have also read various parts and excerpts of the manuscript, and provided generous criticisms and encouragements. My senior colleagues among the Asian Studies x preface faculty were especially nurturing and supportive of me in pursuing this project without being distracted by administrative and teaching duties. The inquisitiveness and intelligence of the students who took my “Books and Print Culture of Premodern East Asia” kept me on task. This book would never have appeared
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