[KS] Question regarding Sim Cheong

[Walraven, B.C.A.]

Dear Maria Mercedes Gallo,
 
There is considerable uncertainty about the origin of the Sim Ch'eong story. Some scholars, in particular Kim Tonguk, have looked for an origin in oral literature. Kim Tonguk thought of the forms of the novel in p'ansori as the oldest. 
 
Bill Skillend of SOAS, though, argued that the versions of the story that were printed in Seoul (in the nineteenth century) were older than the versions from Cheonju (wanp'anbon) which are closest to p'ansori as it is sung (see his article "Puritas Submersa resurgit,"in Asiatische Studies/Etudes Asiatiques 34:2 of 1980; the journal is Swiss and the text of the article in English, no need to brush up your Latin).  Certainly one of the most popular Wanp'anbon editions is of a very late date, 1913 if my memory serves me right. The Seoul versions, which Skillend thinks may go back to the late eighteenth century, are much less jocular than the Wanp'anbon, more "respectable," and quite different in the details of the story. A book that discusses the complex relation between the different versions is Ch'oe Unsik, Sim Ch'eong cheon yeon'gu which concludes that the Seoul version is older than the Cheonju edition. 
 
Shamans of the East Coast also sing the story of Sim Ch'eong and for that reason I have written one chapter about these shamanic versions and the possible origins of these in my 1994 book Songs of the shaman: the ritual chants of the Korean mudang. Some people believed that the shamanic songs, as oral literature, were the original source of the story, but for that I could not find any evidence. Different mudang produce different texts, but these obviously go back to p'ansori or printed editions.
 
I have to confess that I have not kept up with the issue for many many years, but there may be someone on the list who is able to furnish more recent literature on the subject.
 
Best wishes,
 
Boudewijn Walraven
 
 

________________________________

From: koreanstudies-bounces at koreaweb.ws [mailto:koreanstudies-bounces at koreaweb.ws] On Behalf Of Fianna Mithlond
Sent: woensdag 25 augustus 2010 5:23
To: Korean Studies Mailing List
Subject: [KS] Question regarding Sim Cheong


Good evening!

I'm writing from Argentina (please excuse my grammar mistakes, my English still needs improvement), with a question to which I haven't been able to find an answer yet.

Does anybody know around what time the traditional tale of Sim Cheong ( 심청 ) was written? Or in which century the first written records of it became known? I've only found the dates of famous performances of it as pansori, from 1788 onwards.

Thank you very much for your time.

María Mercedes Gallo. 

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