Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of illustrations
- List of contributors
- Preface
- Note on the text
- Korean dynasties
- Glossary
- East Asia
- Principal places in works discussed
- Introduction
- 1 Language, forms, prosody, and themes
- 2 From oral to written literature
- 3 Hyangga
- 4 Silla writings in Chinese
- 5 Koryŏ songs
- 6 Koryŏ writings in Chinese
- 7 Early Chosŏn eulogies
- 8 Early Chosŏn sijo
- 9 Early Chosŏn kasa
- 10 Late Chosŏn sijo
- 11 Late Chosŏn kasa
- 12 Chosŏn poetry in Chinese
- 13 Chosŏn fiction in Chinese
- 14 Chosŏn fiction in Korean
- 15 P'ansori
- 16 Folk drama
- 17 Literary criticism
- 18 Early twentieth-century poetry
- 19 Early twentieth-century fiction by men
- 20 Early twentieth-century fiction by women
- 21 Late twentieth-century poetry by men
- 22 Late twentieth-century poetry by women
- 23 Late twentieth-century fiction by men
- 24 Late twentieth-century fiction by women
- 25 Literature of North Korea
- Bibliography
- Suggestions for further reading
- Index
5 - Koryŏ songs
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 September 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of illustrations
- List of contributors
- Preface
- Note on the text
- Korean dynasties
- Glossary
- East Asia
- Principal places in works discussed
- Introduction
- 1 Language, forms, prosody, and themes
- 2 From oral to written literature
- 3 Hyangga
- 4 Silla writings in Chinese
- 5 Koryŏ songs
- 6 Koryŏ writings in Chinese
- 7 Early Chosŏn eulogies
- 8 Early Chosŏn sijo
- 9 Early Chosŏn kasa
- 10 Late Chosŏn sijo
- 11 Late Chosŏn kasa
- 12 Chosŏn poetry in Chinese
- 13 Chosŏn fiction in Chinese
- 14 Chosŏn fiction in Korean
- 15 P'ansori
- 16 Folk drama
- 17 Literary criticism
- 18 Early twentieth-century poetry
- 19 Early twentieth-century fiction by men
- 20 Early twentieth-century fiction by women
- 21 Late twentieth-century poetry by men
- 22 Late twentieth-century poetry by women
- 23 Late twentieth-century fiction by men
- 24 Late twentieth-century fiction by women
- 25 Literature of North Korea
- Bibliography
- Suggestions for further reading
- Index
Summary
VICISSITUDES OF TEXTUAL TRANSMISSION
The difficulty of studying vernacular poetry of the Koryŏ dynasty can be traced to several obstacles. One is the lack of a uniform system of writing during that period. Although hyangch'al was used by King Yejong in 1120 to write a poem (or used by a scribe recording the royal poems) it was not in general use for recording vernacular poetry. Great Master Kyunyŏ wrote his eleven songs in hyangch'al, but his songs are usually discussed under hyangga of the Silla period. In fact, most songs of popular origin were transmitted by word of mouth until they were put down in writing in the Korean alphabet as late as the early sixteenth century.
The intensive study of Chinese classics and the prestige accorded to writing in literary Chinese contributed to the dearth of material. The Koryŏ dynasty, which espoused Buddhism as the state religion, nevertheless imitated fashionable conventions of government that were traditionally Chinese and based on Confucian political and moral philosophy. With the adoption of the civil service examination system, the two-corps system of government – civil and military – became effective in 958 but only the civil officials chosen by this examination were occupied with state affairs. After seventy-five years of peace (1047–1122), Koryŏ was battered by a military coup internally and by successive invasions of the Khitans, Jurchens, Mongols, and Japanese externally.
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- Information
- A History of Korean Literature , pp. 99 - 117Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2003