Calligraphy by An Jung-geun

This calligraphy by the patriot An Jung-geun, titled Jangbu susa sim yeocheol uisa imwi gisaun (丈夫雖死心如鐵義士臨危氣似雲), is one of a group of works of calligraphy (yumuk) that An Jung-geun (1879–1910) brushed while imprisoned at Lüshun Prison, between his shooting of Itō Hirobumi, the chief instigator of Japan's invasion of Joseon, at Harbin Station in Manchuria on 26 October 1909, and his execution there on 26 March 1910. The works in this collective designation were written in February and March of 1910. Each bears, to the left of the main text, the inscription "Written in the second (or third) month of the gyeongsul year [1910], in Lüshun Prison, by An Jung-geun, a man of Korea," followed by a seal impressed with his own palm print. Much of the content is didactic, drawn from passages of the Analects and the Records of the Grand Historian, alongside expressions of his own state of mind, observations on the changing times, warnings to Japan, and, in some cases, a studio name written out as a gift for someone. Most of the pieces were given to Japanese officials of the day, such as prosecutors and prison guards. Among them, the calligraphy "Yokbo dongyang seon'gae jeongnyak sigwasilgi chuhoe hageup" was given to Orita Tadasu, who had served at the front during the Russo–Japanese War and was afterwards posted to Lüshun Prison; when his family returned to Japan at Liberation on 15 August 1945, it passed to his nephew Orita Kanji, who donated it to Dankook University on 20 February 1989. The calligraphy "Eonchungsin haengdokgyeong manbanggahaeng" was donated to the Society for the Veneration of Patriot An Jung-geun in October 2002 by Yagi Masazumi, grandson of a man who had served as a prison officer at Lüshun during An's imprisonment. And the calligraphies "Gukga anwi nosimchosa" and "Wiguk heonsin gunin bonbun" were, as indicated by the inscription "Presented to Prosecutor Yasuoka" at the head of each, given to the prosecutor involved in his case. Jangbu susa sim yeocheol uisa imwi gisaun: though a great man may die, his heart remains as hard as iron; though a patriot faces danger, his spirit soars like the clouds.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Dongjak-gu, Seoul

Designation

Treasure · 보물