The Story of Hong Gildong (18 page)

114
.
radiant mountain:
(
myeongsan
) A geomantically auspicious mountain.

115
.
feast for Father's monumental tablet:
In a respectable household, a deceased parent was regularly honored with a feast presented before the monumental tablet.

116
.
great wife:
(
daebuin
) Honorific title given to the widow of an important personage.

117
.
ceremonial litter:
(
yoyeo
) A litter is a platform that is carried by people, usually with a sedan chair for a highborn person to ride on, but a
yoyeo
is a specific type of litter that carries the monumental tablet of the deceased for a ceremonial purpose.

118
.
wild geese:
The coordinated movement of wild geese in flight was used as a metaphor for the harmonious relationship of siblings.

119
.
fealty to a greater country:
Korea paid fealty to various Chinese dynasties throughout its history. When Joseon was founded in
1392
, it agreed to an “older brother–younger brother” relationship with Ming dynasty China. With the rise of the Qing (Manchu) dynasty in the mid-seventeenth century, Joseon, in the reign of King Injo, first resisted but finally capitulated to the new rulers of China in
1636
. After Qing's defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War (
1894
–
95
) and its loss of influence in Korea, King Gojong declared an end to Joseon's tributary relationship with China by proclaiming the Empire of Korea (Daehan Jaeguk) in
1897
.

120
.
Year of the Blue Rat:
(
gapja
) In premodern Korea, years were reckoned through a sixty-cycle (sexagenary) system, the terms of which were created by matching one of five stems represented by the five basic elements and their associated colors—wood (blue), fire (red), earth (yellow), metal (white), and water (black)—to one of twelve branches denoted by the twelve astrological animals of rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, fowl, dog, and pig, for a total of sixty possible terms. The year of
gapja
is the first of the sixty-year cycle.

121
.
Ju Abu:
Korean name for the Chinese historical figure Zhou Yafu (mid-second century BCE), a famed general of the Han dynasty (the text wrongly associates him with the state of Chu) renowned for the military discipline of his army. His greatest achievement was putting down the Rebellion of the Seven States (
154
BCE) on behalf of the Han emperor.

122
.
Seong Tang brought down Geol, and King Mu brought down Ju:
Reference to two Chinese rulers who established new dynasties by destroying previous ones. Gildong is telling the King of Yul that the rise and fall of these dynasties were natural to the flow of history, so he should resign himself to his inevitable fall and surrender to him. Seong Tang is the Korean name for the Chinese ruler Shang Tang (King Cheng Tang, the founder of the Shang dynasty, r.
1673
–
1646
BCE), and Geol is the Korean name for Jie, the tyrannical last monarch of the Xia dynasty (see note
94
). King Mu is the Korean name for King Wu (the founder of the
Zhou dynasty, r.
1046
–
1043
BCE), and Ju is the Korean name for Zhou, the posthumous name of Di Xin, the tyrannical last monarch of the Shang dynasty. It is interesting that Gildong previously told the King of Joseon that he would have liked to have served him with the loyalty of Yong Bong (Long Feng) and Bigan, who were the subjects of the doomed kings Jie and Zhou mentioned here. So Gildong, who once aspired to the ideal of a loyal and courageous servant of his sovereign, has now taken on the role of a ruler who brings down a king and his dynasty.

123
.
the burning of jade and rock alike:
An expression signifying the destruction of every person, high or low, righteous or wicked.

124
.
the King of Yul and his son:
There was no previous mention of a son of the King of Yul who died, so there is probably a passage missing in this version of the story. The
gyeongpan
30
text does tell of the crown prince and the Queen of Yul Island who followed the monarch in committing suicide after his defeat in battle.

125
.
Annam:
Annam
literally means “peaceful south,” so “the Country of Annam” (
Annamguk
) could be rendered as “Peaceful Country of the South.” Annam was also the southernmost province of China, which encompassed the northern part of Vietnam until the tenth century, and Vietnam as a whole was commonly referred to as Annam for much of the country's premodern history. In the imagination of the people of North Asia, however, the name evoked a legendary place in the general area of the exotic far south, so it should not be identified with any specific locale.

126
.
Hyeondeok:
A royal title that literally means “manifestation of virtue.” Dynastic founders posthumously granted such royal titles to their fathers.

127
.
Queen Hyeondeok:
Technically, “queen to King Hyeondeok.”

128
.
consort
chungryeol
of the left and consort
chungryeol
of the right:
Chungryeol
literally means “ardent fidelity.” Two courtly positions of near-equal rank were differentiated by the terms “left” (
jwa
) and “right” (
u
), with the left higher than the right. So Jeong is made a consort of more senior status than Jo.

129
.
grand lord:
(
buwongun
) The highest noble title granted to a meritorious subject, including the king's father-in-law.

130
.
Yo and Sun:
Korean names for the legendary ancient Chinese rulers Yao (traditionally c.
24
th–
23
rd centuries BCE) and Shun (traditionally c.
23
rd–
22
nd centuries BCE), two of the semimythical Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors of the earliest period of Chinese history, who were revered by Kongzi and countless
others throughout the centuries as ideal monarchs under whose rule their realms enjoyed perfect peace and harmony. In
The
Analects
, Kongzi says, “Sublime was the way Shun and Yu held possession of the empire” (Book
8
,
18
) and “Great was Yao as a ruler!” (Book
8
,
19
). Confucius,
The Analects
,
125
–
26
.

131
.
royal secretary:
(
hanrim haksa
) A special honorific title given to meritorious secretaries of the royal court.

132
.
minister of personnel:
Gildong's half brother, Inhyeon, has attained the position of minister of personnel, a rank of senior second grade.

133
.
royal envoy of consolation and counsel:
(
wiyusa
) This title for a royal envoy was usually given to a king's representative who was sent out to organize and dispense aid and resources in disaster-stricken places. See Anders Karlsson, “Royal Compassion and Disaster Relief in Choso˘n Korea,”
Seoul Journal of Korean Studies
20
,
1
(June
2007
):
71
–
98
.

134
.
loosened his hair:
In normal times, both men and women of
yangban
families kept their hair meticulously organized to maintain a respectable appearance. The men let their hair grow out, tying it in a topknot and keeping everything in order with the aid of headbands made of horsehair. With the commencement of the mourning period, however, the hair was loosened and allowed to hang free as a sign of both grief and the mourner's required withdrawal from society.

135
.
Within three months:
In traditional funeral arrangements, careful consideration had to be given to the time of burial, as interring the body on an inauspicious date could bring misfortune to the descendants of the deceased. Due to the complex rules of ritualistic taboo, determining a good day for the burial could be a difficult task that took some time. During most of the Joseon dynasty period, high-status people were given up to three months for the purpose. See Deuchler,
The Confucian Transformation of Korea
,
198
–
99
.

136
.
Year of the Red Snake:
(
jeongsa
, see note
120
) The significance of the year is unclear since it makes no sense when taken literally. The Red Snake year comes fifty-three years after the Blue Rat year, which is when Gildong invaded Yul Island. If his mother dies in the Red Snake year at the age of seventy, then she was seventeen when her son set off on the invasion. But she was nineteen when Gildong was conceived. Such references to years were probably made to mimic historical writings.

137
.
follow the way of holy men:
A common theme in the legends of Daoist holy men is their withdrawal from society to isolate
themselves in remote locales (usually high mountains) to meditate. Once they reach an essential understanding of the way of the universe, they transcend themselves to a state in which they become immortal, supernaturally powerful, and supremely indifferent to the concerns of the world.

138
.
Angi Saeng and Jeok Songja:
Korean names for the mythic Chinese holy men Anqi Sheng and Chi Songzi. They are two famous examples of Daoist immortals (
xin
) who attained everlasting life and supernatural power through the attainment of ultimate wisdom. When Gildong says that he wants to become friends with them, he means that he would also like to go into isolation to study the way of the universe, in the hope of attaining spiritual transcendence.

139
.
gan
:
A unit for measuring area. A
gan
is a little over
3
.
3
square meters or thirty-five square
feet.

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