Namchungjanggongsigo Woodblocks

Namchungjanggongsigo is a one-volume collection of poems by Nam Yeon-nyeon (1653–1728), a military official of the Joseon reign of King Yeongjo, printed from woodblocks in 1748, the twenty-fourth year of King Yeongjo. Nam Yeon-nyeon's courtesy name was Subaek and his pen name was Hyeonam. Having passed the military examination at the age of twenty-four, he went on to hold a succession of posts beginning with royal messenger. When Yi In-jwa's Rebellion broke out in 1728, the fourth year of King Yeongjo, he died defending Cheongju Garrison, and the court bestowed on him the posthumous title Chungjanggong in recognition of his loyalty. Nam Yeon-nyeon had left behind his own handwritten manuscripts, and of the roughly 1,600 poems recorded in the four-volume autograph draft, one hundred were selected and, by royal command, edited and printed by the contemporary civil official Hong Gye-hui. The Namchungjanggongsigo woodblocks are the blocks carved at that time to print this one-volume edition. The draft manuscript written by Nam Yeon-nyeon comprises, in Volume 1, 130 five-character quatrains and 310 seven-character quatrains; in Volume 2, 180 five-character regulated poems and 180 seven-character regulated poems; in Volume 3, 270 seven-character quatrains and 150 five-character regulated poems; and in Volume 4, 376 seven-character regulated poems and 20 miscellaneous poems. The Namchungjanggongsigo woodblocks number 52 in total: 4 blocks for the preface, 25 for the main text, 18 for the appendix, 4 for the afterword, and 1 for the combined title page. Each block measures about 47 cm wide, 23 cm high, and around 1 cm thick. The draft manuscript of Namchungjanggongsigo runs to four volumes: Volume 1 has 74 pages, Volume 2 has 120 pages, Volume 3 has 100 pages, and Volume 4 has 136 pages, with all four volumes set at 12 lines per page. As a complete set of woodblocks for a collection of poetry and prose, preserved without a single block missing, the Namchungjanggongsigo woodblocks are valuable material for academic and literary research and for the study of woodblock carving and calligraphic style.

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Where it is

Region

Eumseong, Chungbuk

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산