Manuscript Geongeorok Deung Documents (set) (Ganyangnok) held at Yeonggwang Naesanseowon Confucian Academy

This is a set of five titles in ten volumes — the manuscripts Geongeorok (Ganyangnok), Ganggamhoeyo, and Unjerok, together with Munseonju and Japji — held at Naesanseowon Confucian Academy in Yeonggwang. They are the writings of the Neo-Confucian scholar Gang Hang (pen name Sueun, 1567–1618), a native of Yeonggwang in the Joseon period. Gang Hang was taken prisoner by Japanese forces during the Jeongyu War, and the book recording what he experienced in Japan is precisely the Geongeorok (Ganyangnok). Captured and taken to Japan, Gang Hang, regarding himself as a guilty subject, first titled the work Geongeorok; it was renamed Ganyangnok when his disciples had it printed from woodblocks in 1656, the seventh year of King Hyojong. The book comprises: the "Jeokjung bongso" (Memorial Submitted to the King from Enemy Territory), sent to the king while he was in captivity; the "Jeokjung gyeonmunnok" (Record of What Was Seen and Heard in Enemy Territory), describing conditions in various parts of Japan at the time; the "Ye Seungjeongwon gyesa" (Report Submitted to the Royal Secretariat), presented after his return to Korea; the "Seomnan sajeok" (Account of the Ordeal of Captivity), recording the course of his suffering in the enemy country; and the "Gobuin gyeok" (Proclamation to Fellow Captives), addressed to other prisoners. These records set down, without omission, both the sufferings endured by prisoners in the enemy country and the actual conditions he observed and heard there, and even touch on the domestic policies needed to prepare against future invasions, making this a document that can supplement the otherwise weak store of Joseon intelligence on Japan at the time. Of the Geongeorok (Ganyangnok), the "Jeokjung bongso" and "Seomnan sajeok" appear to be in Gang Hang's own hand, while the rest appear to be in other hands. Nevertheless, regardless of whether it is entirely autograph, this book records facts about Japan's geography and customs at the time and so holds important value as a historical source. The Unjerok (three volumes) is a compilation of poems and prose that Sueun exchanged in ordinary times, comprising 112 pieces in all: 54 poems, 21 elegies and eulogies, 20 official documents (memorials, public reports, and the like), 10 letters and reports, five accounts, and two dedicatory writings for the raising of a ridgepole. Unje was the place in Yeonggwang where a branch of the Jinju Gang clan, to which Sueun belonged, kept a separate residence, and it was there that Sueun taught his sons and disciples after retiring from office. The Ganggamhoeyo (three volumes) is Sueun's own compilation and revision of the Chinese histories the Zizhi Tongjian (Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government) and the Tonggam Gangmok. In particular, to supplement points left incomplete in Zhu Xi's Gangmok, he synthesised the Tonggam Jeoryo (Abridged Comprehensive Mirror) of So-mi Gang-ssi, the Gangmok Seobeop (Rules for Writing the Gangmu) of Yu U-ik, and the Gangmok Balmyeong (Elucidation of the Gangmu) of Yun Gi-sin, extracting and editing only their main points. This manuscript was copied from a draft compiled before the work was printed from woodblocks, and to judge from the extent and organisation of the printed edition, only part of it now survives; this manuscript is the sole surviving copy. The Munseonju (two volumes) is a commentary added by Sueun Gang Hang to the Wenxuan, the thirty-volume anthology of representative Chinese poetry and prose from the Qin and Han dynasties through to the Qi and Liang, compiled by Crown Prince Zhaoming (Xiao Tong) of the Liang dynasty. It was originally selected and annotated in three volumes — first, middle and last — but only the middle and last now survive. There is also a single volume, the Japji (Miscellaneous Records). As for the name of this item of cultural heritage: since the title actually inscribed on the physical work reads Geongeorok, and since the author himself used this title until it was printed from woodblocks in 1656, it has been designated under the title Geongeorok, rather than Ganyangnok, as a set of documents including the Geongeorok and the others, since it is Gang Hang's representative work. However, because it is widely known as Ganyangnok, it is necessary to record this name alongside it as well (Geongeorok [Ganyangnok]). This manuscript set contains the vivid record of Sueun Gang Hang, who personally experienced both the Imjin and Jeongyu Wars, and so its value as a historical source is very high. Moreover, with the exception of part of the Geongeorok (Ganyangnok), all of it is a manuscript personally composed and written by Sueun Gang Hang, which adds further to its value. Furthermore, among these manuscripts, the three titles Ganggamhoeyo, Unjerok, and Geongeorok (Ganyangnok) were later printed from woodblocks by his disciples and descendants after their compilation, so that the pattern of transmission of these texts between manuscript and printed forms can be traced, giving them value for the history of both scholarship and publishing.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yeonggwang, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산