Did you know the Japanese supposedly found and killed a snake between forty and fifty feet long (4, 5 jang – 丈) in Hamheung, Korea in 1906? One jang (丈) is supposed to be ten cheok (척 - 尺), and one cheok is supposed to be about one foot. In pure Korean, cheok (척 - 尺) is written as 자.
The Japanese supposedly burned the snake, which caused a stench so bad that seven Japanese soldiers died that night after vomiting up blood.
Good stuff. Hope to see more posts soon - I know I'm not the only one hoping for regular updates on this blog.
ReplyDeleteCount me among those who'd love to see you posting again.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: where did you hear about the snake?
There's a legend about a large serpent that lived in a cave on Jeju to which the people made yearly sacrifices. Perhaps there is some truth to the story.
It was not just a snake; it was a flying snake. In other words, it appears to have been an oriental dragon, and there were two of them. The first was killed, but the second came out of the same hole later and avoided the bullets. It flew around the area that evening crying, apparently over the death of its companion.
ReplyDeleteThe story was reported in a 1906 entry in the "Maecheon Yarok" (매천야록). I may translate the whole entry and post it later.