[KS] New Book on Choi Chi-won

[Youngsook Pak]

Dear Coll​eagues,

I have just received the following publication from the author,

Key Sun Ryang, *Koun Ch'oe Ch'i-won (b. 857) and His Tang Poetry*. 孤雲崔致遠唐詩.
Chinese Text with Korean and English Translations and Commentary (漢文. 韓. 英.
譯註). Chicago Spectrum Press, 2016. 380pp including index glossary and
Reference sources (ISBN: 978-158374-040-8).

Together with David Mason's new book we have now two publications on Ko Un
'Lonely Cloud'.

Youngsook Pak

On 2 June 2016 at 14:39, David Mason <mntnwolf at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Dear colleagues,
>
> I am pleased to announce my tenth book on Korea:
> *Solitary Sage:  The Profound Life, Wisdom and Legacy of Korea’s “Go-un”
> Choi Chi-won*
>
> This is a comprehensive biography and legacy-evaluation of Choi Chi-won
> (857-?), one of Korea’s most interesting and iconic historical figures, the
> first such book ever written in English.  It is of academic quality,
> suitable for undergraduate or MA students of Korean or East Asian studies,
> and for courses of those levels on Korean history, culture and
> religion/philosophy.
>
> It includes well over a hundred photos of artworks and sites associated
> with him.  Full footnotes with *Han-geul* / *Hanja* and dates for every
> name or term, list of references, and useful Appendix charts of the 83
> sites in Korea that have relics of him or memorial shrines to him (yes, 83
> in this small country! and there are 4 more in China...).   Most of what
> can be known about the ancient background of his Gyeongju Choi (also
> spelled Choe) Clan, and Korean Confucianism and Daoism before him and in
> his days, are included to provide rich context.
>
> His amazingly broad and deep legacies over the millennium since Unified
> Shilla collapsed, right through the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties and the
> 20th century, are described and discussed, including sections on his
> *Pungryu* concept, the *Cheonbu-gyeong* (holy scripture of all branches
> of *Seondo*), his status as a progenitor of Korean Literature, the
> associated ceremonial and tourism sites, and modern national identity &
> spirit.
>
> “Go-un” or Lonely Cloud, known by Koreans for a millennium simply as the
> Great Sage, is considered a primary ancestral-hero of traditional Korean
> Daoist, Buddhist and Confucian culture, of Oriental literature, education
> and diplomacy.  Following a remarkably successful career as a brilliant
> Confucian government official in Tang China and then back in his native
> Shilla Kingdom, he became a wandering historian of Korean Buddhism and
> then, supposedly, was one of few Koreans who achieved the highest level of
> Daoist sage-hood, achieving “Spirit-Immortal” status rather than dying.  He
> is claimed as a key progenitor of Korea’s Daoism, Confucianism and the
> 2.1-million-strong Choi Clan.
>
> Choi Chi-won has a tremendous legacy-significance to several contemporary
> issues of Korea, including its international “brand-image” &
> self-promotion, its diplomacy and relations with China (one of his poems
> was quoted by President Xi to President Park at their first summit!),
> government policy, tourism offerings, cultural themes and national identity.
>
> It has long been difficult for scholars to separate the folklore myths and
> legends about the Solitary Sage’s life from the recorded facts, and make a
> coherent story out of them – this volume does-so in English for the first
> time.  Every Korean knows his name, and he is in all the school textbooks
> on history and literature; and over a thousand books have been published
> about him and his legacy in Korean, and a hundred or so in Japanese &
> Chinese...
>
> At this probably-too-late stage, I am attempting to become a "21st-century
> scholar", keeping-up with the millennials we teach, and so this tome has
> been independently published (main ISBN: 978-1-329-56586-9), and my webpage
> showing the book and offering it for sale, including hardcover edition, is:
> http://www.san-shin.org/Goun-Solitary-Sage-Choi-Chiwon.html
>
> AND, in that attempt, it is available in 4 digital POD and E-book
> versions, at:
> http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/David_A_Mason_Korean_Daoism
>
> Reviewers can get a free hardcover copy by mail within Korea, simply by
> contacting myself.  Reviewers outside of Korea are requested to download
> the black-white-photos E-book version from lulu as above (or Amazon, etc)
> and the publisher will repay the cost, by PayPal or etc.
>
> The kind assistance of my fellow Koreanist scholars in 'spreading the
> word' about this new book, getting it onto publication-lists, library
> wish-lists, appropriate bibliographies and etc;  getting it linked-to from
> related webpages, and getting it reviewed in relevant academic journals --
> will be highly appreciated.
>
>
> Sincere Regards,
> *David A. Mason*
> Professor at Chung-Ang University, Seoul
> Honorary Ambassador of the Baekdu-daegan Mountain-Range
> tour-guide, lecturer and author on traditional cultural sites
>
>
>
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