[KS] 5th 14th 23rd

[Werner Sasse]

Dear Dennis,

the ???????? was of no help in my questions, simply because it did not address them. The suggestion there (and repeated again and again elsewhere) that with  Guo Pu the origin has been found is only guesswork and besides off the point. Not to mention my other questions...

Much of  scholarship these days has the bad habit of simply not bothering to search for this kind of background information whenever it is not easily found. But I always feel that  readers should be put into the position to understand not only the surface information of enigmatic statements like the one I  mentioned. I suspect he writer has drawn on some knowledge common among educated people in his days but which is unavailable to the foreign reader (and most likely the native one these days as well). Maybe I am a dreamer...

Best,

Werner


________________________________
From: Koreanstudies <koreanstudies-bounces at koreanstudies.com> on behalf of Dennis Lee <dennislee.edu at gmail.com>
Sent: Saturday, December 10, 2016 9:10 AM
To: Korean Studies Discussion List
Subject: Re: [KS] 5th 14th 23rd

Dear Werner,

I'm guessing you already checked this source, but did the ????????'s entry on the "Three Ruining Days" help at all or was that part of your three ruined days? (sorry I couldn't help myself!).

Best,
Dennis


On Sat, Dec 10, 2016 at 3:20 PM, Werner Sasse <werner_sasse at hotmail.com<mailto:werner_sasse at hotmail.com>> wrote:


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...


???? ???????? The 5th, 14th, and 23rd days are called the "Three Ruining Days".

????? ???? ???? Every Month people are afraid to do anything, any work or leaving the house.

?????????????????????????????  It is said that since Koryo 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 ?? (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 with jupiter mok-chiksong ???, the 5th of the ???

2) which Koryo king (or, since it is a hanmun text, Koguryo "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 forward

Werner


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