Songjopyojeonchong Tomb vol. 8~10

This book is a rare printed edition, gathering outstanding memorials to the throne from Song-dynasty China, produced with Gyemija, the first cast bronze movable type of the Joseon period. It was published during the reign of King Taejong (1400-1418), though the person responsible for its publication is unknown. It was printed chiefly with the small Gyemi type (gyemisoja), part of the bronze type cast in 1403, the third year of King Taejong, known as Gyemija. Gyemija's typeface was modelled on the characters found in the Gyeongyeon gojiu, the old commentary edition used for the royal lectures, of the Book of Poetry, the Book of Documents, and the Chunqiu Zuo Zhuan (Zuo's Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals). It is a valuable source for research into the history of type-casting and typesetting techniques in the Goryeo and Joseon periods, but because the type was in use for only a short time, surviving copies are rare. The volume is bound as a single book combining chapters 8, 9 and 10. The spine title is given as 'Songpyo'. It has no original cover; a single blank leaf is inserted at the front and back, after which the book was rebound with a yellow cover, sewn with white thread in the five-hole binding method, in the traditional thread-bound style. Looking at impressions printed with the Gyemija type, the shapes of the type, both large and small, are irregular and their size is inconsistent. When the type was set for printing, the frame was fixed first, and a printing plate was then prepared with the ruled lines and centre-fold markers fixed along the upper and lower borders, with the type in each column arranged to fit tightly together. As a result, the vertical alignment is uneven, with pronounced rising and falling between lines, so that the strokes of characters above and below often overlap. This type was cast in 1403, the third year of King Taejong, and remained in use for only eighteen years, until the Gyeongjaja type was cast in 1420, the second year of King Sejong. Surviving books printed with it include the Donglae seonsaeng gyojeong buksa sangjeol, the Sipchilsa chan gogeum tongyo, the Singan yupyeon yeokgeo samjang munseon daechaek, the Chando hoju juraeye, and the Doeun seonsaeng sijip. This book is valuable as a printing made with Gyemija, the first cast bronze movable type of the Joseon dynasty. The typeface of Gyemija can be said to resemble the square-brush Ouyang Xun style found in Southern Song Sichuan editions, combined with rounder brushwork and traces of the sharp 'slender gold' style. This printed edition is also an extremely important source for the history of the development of typesetting techniques from the end of Goryeo to the early Joseon period.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Jecheon, Chungbuk

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산