[KS] 5th 14th 23rd

Werner Sasse werner_sasse at hotmail.com
Sat Dec 10 23:28:32 EST 2016


Dear Ross,

thanks, and of course you are right, it is the Tongguk sesigi (which has kept me busy for too many years now)

Thank you for giving me the translation of this great man Gale, I will keep it in mind. I especially like the "defeat" (not only because it matches the feeling I have in these questions...)

Hope there will be a chance to see each other again some time

Best,

Werner


________________________________
From: Koreanstudies <koreanstudies-bounces at koreanstudies.com> on behalf of King, Ross <Ross.King at ubc.ca>
Sent: Saturday, December 10, 2016 6:43 AM
To: Korean Studies Discussion List
Subject: Re: [KS] 5th 14th 23rd

Dear Werner:

This looks like Hong Songmo's [???] _Tongguk sesigi_.

It won't answer any of your questions, but it might interest you to know that James Scarth Gale translated a big chunk of this. His unpublished manuscript translation can be found in Diary 23 (pp. 8-30; this bit on p. 28) of his papers at the Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto. This particular passage he rendered as follows (I have changed the Gale romanization to McCune-Reischauer, as any self-respecting researcher should   ;) ):

"THE SAM-P'AE-IL (Three Days of Defeats)
They are the 5th the 14th and 23rd. They are called the three days of defeat. If there
is any special thing to be done wherever luck is involved it is not undertaken, as a journey
or a feast, etc. From the days of Koryo these three days were said to be the days
on which the King worked and so the people did not begin anything on this day
and so it finally became an unlucky day. It was not originally an unlucky day."

Ross

Ross King
Professor of Korean and Head of Department
Department of Asian Studies, University of British Columbia
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Ross King | University of British Columbia - Academia.edu<https://ubc.academia.edu/RossKing>
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Ross King, University of British Columbia, Asian Studies Department, Faculty Member. Studies History of language, writing, and literary culture in the sinographic cosmospolis, Korean linguistics, and Persian Language.





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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