[In] Hamheung-bu (咸興府), there is (有) Gugak (九閣), the place where the Highest Emperor Taejo shot arrows while riding a horse (太祖高皇帝騎射之地也). At the relay station (站) a Japanese (倭) said (謂) up above the castle (閣上) there is (有) a precious (寶) gas (氣). [If you] dig (掘) into the ground (地) twenty or so feet (數丈), there is (有) a boulder (磐石). [When] the rock (石) was broken (破), a giant (大) snake (蛇) flew out (飛出). [It] was forty to fifty feet long (長四五丈) [with a girth] four or five times bigger than that of a house’s crossbeam (大如屋梁四五倍). One Japanese (一倭) shot (銃) [at] it (之), [but] missed (不中). Six Japanese (六倭), simultaneiously (齊) shot (銃) and killed (斃) it (之).
[When] it was burned (燒) outside the east gate (于東門外), the stench (臭) was so (極) terrible (惡) a green (靑) gas (氣) covered (冪) the whole (一) fortress (城). [During] the night (夜) seven (七) Japanese (倭) vomited (嘔) blood (血) and died (死). The next day (明日) another (又一) snake (蛇) came out through the crack in the rock (從石隙中出). [It] was as big as (大如) [the one] from the day before (昨). [They] shot (銃) at it (之), [but] missed (不中). It flew around the fortress (繞城而飛) sadly (哀) crying (鳴) throughout the night (達夜).
咸興府有九閣 太祖高皇帝騎射之地也 站倭謂閣上有寶氣 掘地數丈 有磐石 石破 大蛇飛出 長四五丈 大如屋梁四五倍 一倭銃之不中 六倭齊銃斃之 燒于東門外 臭極惡 靑氣冪一城 夜七倭嘔血死 明日又一蛇 從石隙中出 大如昨 銃之不中 繞城而飛哀鳴達
Sunday, July 10, 2016
Do you believe in flying dragons?
The following is my translation of a 1906 entry from the Korean text Maecheon Yarok (梅泉野錄 - 매천야록), which was written by poet, scholar, and activist Hwang Hyeon (黃玹 - 황현), whose pen name was Maecheon (梅泉 - 매천). Maecheon Yarok seems to have been the private "field (野) journal (錄)" of Mr. Hwang, who used it to record news, events, and opinion from about 1864 until 1910. Actually, 野錄 seems to be an abbreviation of 野史記錄, which means "Record of Unofficial History." 野史 (야사) means "unofficial history," and 記錄 (기록) means "a record." The opposite of 野史 (야사) would be 正史 (정사), which means "official history" or "authentic history." There are many, many interesting stories in his journals, but this is one I found particularly interesting:
Saturday, July 09, 2016
What looks and sounds like a "cuckoo"?
The answer: an azalea
The pure Korean word for "azalea" is 진달래, and the pure Korean word for "cuckoo" is 소쩍새, but, interestingly, at least to me, the Sino-Korean word for both "azalea" and "cuckoo" is 杜鵑 (두견). Except for context, the only way to distinguish the meanings of the two would be to add the Chinese characters for "flower" and "bird" to the end of the word, such as 杜鵑花 (두견화) for "azalea" and 杜鵑鳥 (두견조) for "cuckoo," though Koreans would say 두견새 instead of 두견조, using the pure Korean word for bird (새) instead of the Sino-Korean (鳥 - 조). Anyway, I wonder how the same two Chinese characters came to be used for both a flower and a bird.
Individually, 杜 (두) is a kind of "pear tree" and 鵑 (견) a kind of "cuckoo," which would suggest to me that when Koreans hear the word 두견, the bird comes to mind before the flower. And that may suggest that Koreans may think of the 杜鵑花 (두견화) as the "cuckoo flower," maybe without even realizing it refers to an azalea.
The pure Korean word for "azalea" is 진달래, and the pure Korean word for "cuckoo" is 소쩍새, but, interestingly, at least to me, the Sino-Korean word for both "azalea" and "cuckoo" is 杜鵑 (두견). Except for context, the only way to distinguish the meanings of the two would be to add the Chinese characters for "flower" and "bird" to the end of the word, such as 杜鵑花 (두견화) for "azalea" and 杜鵑鳥 (두견조) for "cuckoo," though Koreans would say 두견새 instead of 두견조, using the pure Korean word for bird (새) instead of the Sino-Korean (鳥 - 조). Anyway, I wonder how the same two Chinese characters came to be used for both a flower and a bird.
Individually, 杜 (두) is a kind of "pear tree" and 鵑 (견) a kind of "cuckoo," which would suggest to me that when Koreans hear the word 두견, the bird comes to mind before the flower. And that may suggest that Koreans may think of the 杜鵑花 (두견화) as the "cuckoo flower," maybe without even realizing it refers to an azalea.
Monday, July 04, 2016
What is the Korean word for "rumor"?
The Korean word for "rumor" is 소문 (所聞), which is actually a relative clause meaning "that which (所) is heard (聞)" or "what is heard." Therefore, 所 can mean "place," but it can also mean "that which", which signals the start of a Chinese object noun or pronoun relative clause. Consider the following sentence:
Here is another example of 所 being used to signal an object clause:
In English, the above sentence essentially means, "You did not reply to my question." In Korean, the above sentence translates as "당신이 (子) 대답한 것은 (所答) 내가 묻은 것은 아니다 (非我所聞也). The "非...也" combination translates into Korean as "아니다." A shortened expression is 答非所問 (답비소문), which literally means "the answer (答) is not (非) what (所) was asked (問)," but can be translated as "an irrelevant answer."
Notice that 소문 (所聞) and 소문 (所問) are both pronounced the same in Korean, but mean two completely different things, which is why it is important to be able to recognize the Chinese characters.
兒即歸以所聞告其母
The boy (兒) immediately (即) returned (歸), taking (以) what [he] had heard (所聞) to tell (告) his (其) mother (母).In the above sentence, 以 means "to take" and is part of an expression meaning "to take something and then do something with it." In Korean, the 以 translates as 가지다, so in Korean the sentence would translate as follows: 아이가 (兒) 즉시 (即) 돌아가서 (歸) 들린 것을 가지고 (以所聞) 그의 어머니에게 말했다 (告其母).
Here is another example of 所 being used to signal an object clause:
子所答非我所問也
What you answered (子所答) is not (非) what I asked (我所問也).子 can mean "son" or "child," but it can also be used to mean "you." 所答 translates as "that which (所) was answered (答)" or "what was answered," but since it was preceded here by the subject pronoun 子, the clause 子所答 translates as "what you answered." 我 means "I," and 所問 means "what was asked," but since 所問 was preceded by the subject pronoun 我, the clause 我所問 translates as "what I asked."
In English, the above sentence essentially means, "You did not reply to my question." In Korean, the above sentence translates as "당신이 (子) 대답한 것은 (所答) 내가 묻은 것은 아니다 (非我所聞也). The "非...也" combination translates into Korean as "아니다." A shortened expression is 答非所問 (답비소문), which literally means "the answer (答) is not (非) what (所) was asked (問)," but can be translated as "an irrelevant answer."
Notice that 소문 (所聞) and 소문 (所問) are both pronounced the same in Korean, but mean two completely different things, which is why it is important to be able to recognize the Chinese characters.
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