Gwonseonmun (Words to Encourage Good Deeds) by Lady Seol

The Gwonseonmun (Words to Encourage Good Deeds) by Lady Seol is a document of writing and painting created by Lady Seol, wife of Sin Mal-ju, a civil official active from the reign of King Danjong to that of King Seongjong of Joseon, containing content that encourages good deeds. According to its content, while Lady Seol was living with her husband in Sunchang, Jeollabuk-do, she composed the gwonseonmun and painted a picture of the temple in order to restore Gangcheonsa Temple on nearby Mount Gangcheonsan, circulating it to solicit donations from believers. Of the sixteen panels in total, fourteen contain the gwonseonmun text and the remaining two depict a coloured painting of the temple; on the reverse are letters and a gwonseonmun that had been handed down in the homes of her descendants. It also bears the date 'the seventh month of the eighteenth year of Chenghua' (1482, the thirteenth year of King Seongjong) and the seal of 'Jeongbuin Seol.' This album is the oldest surviving example of calligraphy by a woman writer of the Joseon period, and is highly valued as a text on the law of cause and effect written by a lady of the Jeongbuin rank from a scholar-official family.

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Where it is

Region

Jeonju, Jeonbuk

Designation

Treasure · 보물