[KS] 5th 14th 23rd

Sat Dec 10 10:26:48 EST 2016

국어대사전: page 1501: 삼패일(三敗日)[명]{민}매월 5일.14일.23일 으로서 외출(外出).여행(旅行) 같은 것을 기(忌)하는 날. 고려(高麗) 때 이 사흘이 임금의 소용일(所用日)이였음으로 민감에소는 큰일을 하지  않았는대  이 습속이 내려 오면서 변한 것임. 파일(破日). Dr. Edward D. Rockstein 

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"All history was a palimpsest, scraped clean and re-inscribed exactly as often as was necessary."
George Orwell; Nineteen Eighty-Four; 1949.

      From: Werner Sasse <werner_sasse at hotmail.com>
 To: list korean studies <koreanstudies at koreanstudies.com> 
 Sent: Saturday, December 10, 2016 1:20 AM
 Subject: [KS] 5th 14th 23rd

Dear colleagues,In a translation I am working at there is a paragraph which bothers me, but I cannot come up with solutions. Any help will be appreciated...
初五十四二十三日稱三敗日 The 5th, 14th, and 23rd days are called the “Three Ruining Days”.每月忌百事不敢動作不宜出行Every Month people are afraid to do anything, any work or leaving the house.盖自麗俗以此三日卽君上所用之日故臣民不容爲忌日云本非敗日也  It is said that since Koryŏ customarily the king took these three days and therefore ministers and all people incorrectly made them into taboo days. Originally they were not “Ruining Days”
Questions I have:
1) 5-14-23 with the difference of 9 makes me think of the Nine Influencers 九曜 (skr. Nahagraha, often translated as “planets” or “luminaries”). Does it have to do with birthday or any other important event? With mercury (number 5 in numerology) and its influence? Or withjupitermok-chiksŏng木直星, the 5th of the 九曜? 2) which Koryŏ king (or, since it is ahanmun text, Koguryŏ "king")?3) And who is behind the "It is said..."?
Translations, secondary literature, and three days wasted in the internet did not help me. Of course, I could just not bother and translate the text as it is, but I would just like to find some background to these enigmatic statements. It would be nice for me and probably for any serious reader of the translation...
Looking forwardWerner

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