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IVoRKS BY IVm. Elliot Griffis
THE MIKADO’S EMPIRE
JAPANESE FAIRY WORLD
COREA, THE HERMIT NATION
MATTHEW GALBRAITH PERRY
COREA
The Hermit Nation
I.— ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL HISTORY
II.— POLITICAL AND SOCIAL COREA
III.— MODERN AND RECENT HISTORY
BY
WILLIAM ELLIOT GEIFFIS
LATE OF THE lilPEEIAL UJUVEBSITY OP TOKIO, JAPAH
AUTHOR OF “THE MDCADO’S EMPIRE"
Third Edition, Revised and Enlarged
With Additional Chapter on COREA IN 1888
AUG 2 R
NEW YORK
CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS
1888
CoPTBiOHT, 1882, 1888, bt
CHARLES SCRIBXER’S SONS.
Tbow's
Printing and Bookbinding Company,
201-213 East Z2th St,,
NKW YORK.
TO
ALL COREAN PATRIOTS:
WHO SEEK
BT THE AID OF SCIENCE, TRUTH, AND PUKE RELIGION,
TO ENLIGHTEN
THEMSELVES AND THEIR FELLOW-COUNTRYMEN,
TO RID
THEIR LAND OF SUPERSTITION, BIGOTRY, DESPOTISM, AND
PRIESTCRAFT— BOTH NATIVE AND FOREIGN —
AND TO PRESERVE
THE INTEGRITY, INDEPENDENCE, AND HONOR, OF THEIR COUNTRY
THIS UNWORTHY SKETCH
OF
THEIR PAST HISTORY AND PRESENT CONDITION
IS DEDICATED.
PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITIOH.
The reception of this work, both in the United States and Eu-
rope, as well as in the East, has been most kindly. From those
best able to criticise it thoroughly, by having made themselves
familiar by travel in the interior of Corea beyond the ports and
capital, have come gratifying words of high appreciation. Of
course errors have been pointed out, and these, wherever proved,
have been corrected in the present edition. The publishers have
also generously permitted the inti-oduction of new matter, in the
form of foot-notes, and the addition of a supplementary chapter.
The author returns hearty thanks to Ensign G. C. Foulke and
Lieutenant J. G. Bernadon, United States Navy ; General Lucius
H. Foote, Mr. Pierre L. Jouy, Eev. Horace C. Underwood, Dr. H.
N. Allen, Mr. W. G. Aston, Mr. Percival Lowell, Mr. W. E. Carles,
Eev. Henrj’ Loomis, Soh Kwang Pom, Yu Kil Jun, Pien Su, and
the other naval officers, natives, travellers, missionaries, and resi-
dents in Corea who have aided him with their criticisms, or infor-
mation. He will be grateful if others will point out inaccuracies.
He is heartily glad that others have entered the field to awaken in-
terest in the once “ hermit nation,” which is soon to become, let
us hope, civilized, social, and Christian.
W. E. G.
Boston, June 30, 1888.
PREFATORY NOTES TO SECOND EDITION.
The publishers have informed the author of their intention to
issue an edition of the present work in a cheaper form. By their
courtesy, he would improve the opportunity to add a few words of
comment upon our present knowledge of Corea, and upon affiiirs
in Cho-sen since the treaty was made with the United States.
Concerning the first matter there is little to be said. A con-
siderable number of naval, diplomatic, missionary, and commercial
visitors from America and Europe have visited the Corean capital
and parts adjacent Few of them have gone beyond beaten
tracks ; and, owing to recent political disorders, thorough research
has as yet hardly begun. We look, however, for results of value
from the presence of the American missionaries and the scientific
commission now in the country. We have not, therefore, made
any addition to our text
The reception of this work, both in this country- and Europe,
has been most kindly. Since its issue, in October, 1882, several
events of interest have occun-ed, of which w'e here take note.
The treaty negotiated by Commodore Shufeldt was duly ratified
by the United States Senate, and on Febmai*y 26, 1883, Presi-
dent Arthur sent in the name of Lucius H. Foote as minister
plenipotentiai-y to Corea. The appointment was confirmed on
the following day. General Foote reached -Chi-mul-po, in the
U. S. Steamship Monocacy, May 13th, and the formal ratifications
of the treaty were exchanged in the capital six days later.
The guns of the Monocacy — the same which shelled the Han forts
in 1870 — fired the first salute ever given to the Corean flag.
The king responded by sending to the United States an em-
bassy of eleven persons, led by Min Tong Ik and Hong Tong Sik,
members respectively of the Conservative and Liberal parties.
Their interview with President Ax’thur was in the paidors of the
PREFATORY XOTES TO SECOIfD EDITIOIf.
IX
Fifth Avenue Hotel, New York, on September 17th. All the
Coreans were di’essed in their national costume, which they wore
habitually while in America. After spending some weeks in the
study of American institutions in several cities, part of the embassy
returned home by way of San Francisco, leaving one of their num-
ber at Salem, Mass., to remain as a student ; while Min Yong Ik
and two secretaries embarked on the U. S. Steamship Trenton, and,
after visiting Europe, reached Seoul in June, 1884. The author
spent a most profitable and pleasant evening, November 27th, with
the three Coreans before they left New York. Many questions con-
cerning their country were discussed. Mr. Everett Fraser, No. 123
Front Street, New York City, now acts as his Corean majesty’s
consul-general in the United States.
On that same evening, November 27, 1883, there was a banquet
in the Corean capital to celebrate the signing of the treaties made
the day before with Great Britain and Gennany. Sir HaiTy Parkes
and HeiT Zappe had succeeded in negotiating conventions which
are even more liberal in their provisions than that made with the
United States. The principal foreign adviser of the Corean gov-
ernment since 1882 has been Herr Paul von MoUenforf, whom the
Coreans employed at the suggestion of Li Himg Chang. Italy and
Russia have also entered into diplomatic relations with Corea.
Other evidences of the influence of the West upon Corea were the
opening of a telegraph-ofiice at Fusan, February 28, 1884, on the
completion of the submarine electric cable from Nagasaki, the emis-
sion of native silver coins, and the inauguration of light-house and
postal systems.
While evervdhing seemed to promise well for the nascent civili-
zation imported from Christendom, the political situation was one
fraught with danger. The military camps of two rival, almost hos-
tile, nations were upon the soil. A Corean Liberal declares that
the sending of Chinese troops to Corea in 1882 was the work of
two or three Chinese leaders, under the pretext of protecting China
from Russian invasion. Their real, but secret, purpose was, he de-
clares, to prevent the Coreans from adopting western civilization.
“The seed of the riot [of December 4-6, 1884] was sown by Chi-
nese barbarism, and ripened by Chinese cruelty.”
X
PREFATORY NOTES TO SECOND EDITION.
The affair fvas in its origin a popular demonstration, instigated
by Radical Progressives against Chinese influence as exhibited by
a rapacious and undisciplined soldiery. It took the form of a mur-
derous attack upon the conservative or pro-Chinese ministers of the
court, five or six of whom were slain. During the excitement an
angiy mob surrounded the palace, and the king sent for the pro-
tection of the Japanese legation-guards. The Chinese military re-
sented this, moved on the royal residence, and a collision was pre-
cipitated, in which several tens of men were killed. A bloody battle
ensued, and the Japanese, greatly outnumbered, retreated in good
order to their legation. This building was besieged by the mob,
and finally deserted by the Japanese, who, with all their country-
men, left the city for Chi-mul-po. The legation, which had cost
$80,000, and the army stores were, with much other property in
the city, fired by the rioters. The foreigners in Seoul took refuge
in General Foote’s house, and soon afterward left for Chi-mul-po.
Dr. H. N. Allen, the American surgeon, was kept busy for weeks
in attendance upon the victims wounded in the rioting, num-
bering about one hundred. The house of Hong Yong Sik, who
had been beheaded by the Chinese, was by government order
turned into a hospital, or “ House of Cirtlized Virtue,” and put in
charge of Dr. Allen. Ensign George W. Foulk and Lieutenant J.
B. Bernadon, of the U. S. Navy, remained in the legation during
the exodus of foreigners from Seoul, our flag not being lowered at
any time. Foulk writes under date of June, 1885 : “ In
Corea, I used it [“Corea, the Hex’mit Nation,”] as a field book ;
but in the disturbances of December last, my house was looted by
the mob, and all my effects carried off. The library of the palace
was lost at the same time ; so that I must infer the book you sent
to His Majesty was also lost.”
The Corean Government has recently made claim upon that of
Japan for the extradition of the Liberals who had fled to the lat-
ter country — a demand very properly refused. Three of these
refugees arrived in San Francisco, June 11, 1885. Their names are
Pak Yong Ho, a nobleman, and envoy to Japan in 1881 ; So Kwang
Pom, secretary to the embassy to the United States in 1883 ; and
Sai Jai Pil, a graduate of the Tokio I^Iihtaiy Academy. All were
PEEFATOKY NOTES TO SECOND EDITION.
XI
members of the Liberal ministry overthrown, in December last,
during the tumult.
Negotiations between China and Japan relative to the affair of
December, 1884, were carried on between the Mikado’s Ambassador
Ito and Li Hung Chang, at Tientsin. They resulted in a treaty,
w’hich was formally ratified May 7, 1885. Both powers agreed to
withdraw their troops within four months, and to invite the King
of Corea to have a sufficient military force drilled for the public
security by officers selected from a third power (probably the
United States). The text of the treaty was published May 27th.
The attention of Christian people is now being concentrated
upon Corea as a missionary field. "With commendable promptness
no less than ten American missionaries are, at this writing, either
already in their field, or on the route thither. A number of native
refugees in Japan are under Christian influences, and are earnest
inquirers. Some are pronounced believers, and one Eijiutei is trans-
lating the Bible into his native language. Three representative men
are now among us, in our own land, studying our country and the
faith of her people. The Corean character seems to be a happy
medium between the stolid Chinaman and the changeable Japanese.
With the memorj’ of recent martyrdoms, Corea may become Chris-
tian sooner and more thoroughly than Japan, and aid in the mighty
work of evangelizing China. This is the faith held by some who
have studied the three peoples.
The feeling of the progressive men of Corea concerning them-
selves and ourselves finds expression in a recent letter from one of
their number. Tliese sentiments may fitly conclude our introduc-
tory words to an edition of a book designed to make our new
treaty-neighbor better known :
“We are the weakest nation in the orient, on account of our
having been for thousands of years in a hermit condition.”
“We are a new-born nation, and but three years of age.”
“ If we should reckon our national age, in regard to our political
relations to other nations in the world, it would begin from the
treaty that we made with the United States.”
Schenectady, N. Y., July 6, 1885.
PREFACE.
In the year 1871, while living at Fukui, in the province of
Echizen, Japan, I spent a few days at Tsuruga and Mikuni, by the
sea which separates Japan and Corea. Like “ the Saxon shore ” of
early Britain, the coast of Echizen had been in primeval times
the landing-place of rovers, immigrants, and adventurers from the
continental shore opposite. Here, at Tsuruga, Corean envoys had
landed on their way to the mikado’s court. In the temple near by
were shrines dedicated to the Corean Prince of ^limana, and to
Jingu Kogo, Ojin, and Takenouchi, whose names in Japanese tra-
ditions are associated ■with “The Treasure-land of the West.”
Across the bay hung a sweet-toned bell, said to have been cast in
Corea in a.d. 647 ; in which tradition — untested by chemistry —
declared there was much gold. Among the hills not far away,
nestled the little village of Awotabi (Green Nook), settled centuries
ago by paper-makers, and visited a miUenium ago by tribute-
bearers, from the neighboi'ing peninsula ; and famous for produ-
cing the crinkled paper on which the diplomatic correspondence
between the two nations was "wi-itten. Some of the first families in
Echizen were proud of thefr descent from Cho-sen, while in the
villages, where dwelt the Eta, or social outcasts, I beheld the de-
scendants of Corean prisoners of war. Everywhere the finger of
tradition pointed westward across the waters to the Asian main-
land, and the whole region was eloquent of “kin beyond sea.”
Birds and animals, fruits and falcons, vegetables and trees, farmers’
implements and the potter’s wheel, names in geography and things
PREFACE.
Xlll
in the arts, and doctrines and systems in religion were in some way
connected with Corea.
The thought often came to me as I walked within the moss-
grown feudal castle walls — old in story, but then newly given up
to schools of Westeim science and languages — why should Corea be
sealed and mysterious, when Japan, once a hermit, had opened her
doors and come out into the world’s market-place ? TMien would
Corea’s awakening come? As one diamond cuts another, why
should not Cho-ka (Japan) open Cho-sen (Corea) ?
Turning with dehght and fascination to the study of Japanese
histoiy and antiquities, I found much that reflected light upon the
neighbor countiy. On my return home, I continued to seai-ch for
materials for the story of the last of the hermit nations. Xo mas-
ter of research in China or Japan having attempted the task, from
what Locke calls “ the roundabout ■\’iew,” I have essayed it, with
no claim to originahty or profound research, for the benefit of the
general reader, to whom Corea “ suggests,” as an American lady
said, “ no more than a sea-shell.” Many ask “What’s in Corea ?”
and “Is Corea of any importance in the histoiy of the world?”
My purpose in this work is to give an outline of the history of
the Laud of Morning Calm — as the natives call their countr}" — from
before the Christian era to the present year. As “ an honest tale
speeds best, being iflainly told,” I have made no attempt to em-
bellish the narrative, though I have sought infonnation from
sources from within and without Corea, in maps and charts, coins
and pottery, the language and art, notes and narratives of eye-wit-
nesses, pencil-sketches, paintings and photogi'aphs, the standard
histories of Japan and China, the testimony of sailor and diploma-
tist, missionary' and castaway, and the digested knowledge of critical
scholars. I have attempted nothing more than a historical outline
of the nation and a glimpse at the political and social life of the
people. For lack of space, the original manuscript of “ Kecent and
Modem History,” part HI., has been greatly abridged, and many
topics of interest have been left untouched. "
The bulk of the text was written between the years 1877 and
XIV
PREFACE.
1880 ; since ^vliich time the literatiu’e of the subject has been en-
riched by Ross’s “Corea” and “ Corean Primer,” besides the Gram-
mar and Dictionary of the Corean language made by the French
missionaries. With these linguistic helps I have been able to get
access to the language, and thus clear up doubtful points and ob-
tain much needed data. I have boirowed largely from Dallet’s
“Histoire d’Eglise de Coree,” especially in the chapters devoted to
Folk-lore, Social Life, and Christianity. In the Bibliogi’aphy fol-
lowing the Preface is a hst of works to which I have been more
or less indebted.
IMany friends have assisted me wdth correspondence, advice, or
help in translation, among whom I must first thank my former stu-
dents, Hasegawa, Hiraii, Haraguchi, Matsui, and Imadatte, and my
newer Japanese friends, Ohgimi and Kimura, while others, alas !
will never in this world see my record of acknowledgment — K.
Yaye' and Egi Takato — whose interest w^as manifested not only in
discussion of mooted points, but by search among the book-shops
in IGoto and TOkio, which put much valuable standard matter in my
hands. I also thank Mr. Charles Lanman, Secretary of the Legation
of Japan in Washington, for four ferrotypes taken in Seoul in 1878
by members of the Japanese embassy ; INR. D. R. Clark, of the
United States Transit of Venus Survey, for foui- photographs of
the Corean villages in Russian Manchuria ; 3R. R. Ideura, of Tokio,
for a set of photographs of Kang-wa and vicinity, taken in 1876,
and ]VIr. Ozawa Nankoku, for sketches of Corean articles in Japanese
museums. To Lieutenant Wadhams, of the United States Navy,
for the use of charts and maps made by himself while in Corea in
1871, and for photographs of flags and other trojDhies, now at
Annapolis, cajjtured in the Han forts ; to Fleet-Surgeon H. O. iMayo,
and other officers of the United States Na^y, for valuable informa-
tion, I hereby express my grateful appreciation of kindness shown.
I would that Admiral John Rodgers, Commodore H. C. Blake, and
Minister F. F. Low were living to receive my thanks for their
courtesies personally shown me, even though, in attempting to
■wi’ite history, T have made criticisms also. To Lieutenant N. Y.
Yanagi, of the HjTographic Bm-eau, of the Japanese Navy, for a
PREFACE.
XV
set of charts of the coast of Corea ; to IVIr. Metcalfe, of Milwaukee,
for photographs of Coreaus ; to Miss Mai’shall, of New York, for
making colored copies of the battle-flags cai^tured by our naval
battalion in 1871, and for the many favors of correspondents — in St.
Petersburg, Mr. Hoffman Atkinson ; in Peking, Jugoi Arinori
Moii ; in Tukio, Dr. D. B. McCartee, Hon. David Mui’ray, Kev.
J. L. Amerman, and others whose names I need not mention. To
Gen. George W. McCuUum, Vice-President, and to IMr. Leopold Lin-
dau. Librarian, of the American Geogi-aphical Society, I return my
warmest thanks ; as well as to my dpar wife and helpmeet, for her
aid in copying, proof reading, suggestions, and criticism during the
progress of the work.
In one respect, the presentation of such a subject by a compiler,
while shorn of the fascinating element of i^ersonal experience, has an
advantage even over the narrator who describes a cormtrj' through
which he has travelled. With the various reports of many wit-
nesses, in many times and places, before him, he views the whole
subject and reduces the many impressions of detail to unity, cor-
recting one by the other. Travellers usually see but a jjortion of
the countiy at one time." The compiler, if able even in part to con-
trol his authorities, and if anything more than a tyro in the art
of literary appraisement, may be able to furnish a hand-book of in-
formation more valuable to the general reader.
In the use of my authorities I have given heed to Bacon’s ad-
vice— tasting some, chewing others, and swallowing few. In ancient
history, original authorities have been sought, and for the story of
modem life, only the reports of careful eye-witnesses have been set
down as facts ; while opinions and judgments of alien occidentals
concerning Corean social life^re rarely bon’owed wdthout due
flavoring of critical salt.
Corean and Japanese life, customs, beliefs, and history are often
reflections one of the other. Much of what is reported from Corea,
which the eye-witnesses themselves do not appear to understand,
is perfectly clear to one familiar with Japanese life and history.
China, Corea, and Japan are as links in the same chain of civil-
ization. Corea, like Cypnis between Egypt and Greece, wiU yet
XVI
PREFACE.
supply many missing details to the comparative student of language,
art, science, the development of civilization, and the distribution of
hfe on the globe.
Some future writer, with more ability and space at command
than the undersigned, may discuss the question as to how far the
opening of Corea to the commerce of the world has been the result
of internal forces ; the scholar, by his original research, may prepare
the materials for a worthy history of Corea dmang the two or three
thousand years of her history ; the geologist or miner may deter-
mine the question as to how far the metallic wealth of Corea will
affect the monetai’y equilibrium of the world. The missionary has
yet to prove the full power of Christianity upon the people— and
before Corean paganism, any form of the religion of Jesus, Boman,
Greek or Keformed, should be welcomed ; while to the linguist, the
man of science, and the political economist, the new country
opened by American diplomacy presents problems of profound in-
terest.
W. E. G.
SCHENECTADT, N. Y., October 2, 1882.
BIBLIOGBAPHY,
Tite following is a list of books and papers containing information about
Corea. Those of primary value to which the compiler of this work is specially
indebted are marked with an asterisk (*) ; those to which slight obligation, if
any, is acknowledged with a double asterisk ; and those which he has not
consulted, with a dagger (f). See also under The Corean Language and
Cartography, in the Appendix.
* History of the Eastern Barbarians. “ Book cxv. contains a sketch of the
tribes and nations occupying the northeastern seaboard of China, with the
territory now known as Manchuria and Corea.” This extract from a
History of the Later Han Dynasty (25-220 A.D.), by a Chinese scholar of
the fifth century, has been translated into English by Mr. Alexander
Wylie, and printed in the Revue de TExtreme Orient, No. 1, 1882. Du
Halde and De Mailla, in French, and Ross, in English, have also given
the substance of the Chinese writer’s work, which also furnishes the basis
of Japanese accounts of Corean history previous to the fourth century,
f The Subjugation of Chaou-seen, by A. Wylie. (Atti del IV. Cong. int. degli
Orient, ii., pp. 309-315, 1881.) This fragment is a translation of the 95th
book of the History of the Former Han Dynasty of China.
* Empire de la Chine et la Tartarie Chinoise, par P. du Halde.
The Kojiki and Nihongi, written in Japan during the eighth century,
throws much light on the early history of Corea.
* Wakan-San-sai Dzuye. Article on Cho-sen in this great Japanese Encyclo-
paedia.
f Tong-Kuk Tong-Kan (General View of the Eastern Kingdom), a native Co-
rean history written in Chinese.
* Zenrin Koku Iloki (Precious Jewels from a Neighboring Country), by
Shiuho. Japan, 1586.
* Corea, its History, Manners, and Customs, by John Ross. 1vol., pp. 404. II- •
lustrations and maps. Paisley, 1880..
* Tlie Cliinese Reader’s Manual, by W. Fred. Mayers. 1 vol., pp. 440. Shang-
hae, 1874. An invaluable epitome of Chinese history, biography, chro-
nology, bibliography, and whatever is of interest to the student of
Chinese literature.
* K6-ch5 Rekidai Enkaku Zukai. Historical Periods and Changes of the
Japanese Empire, with maps and notes, by Otsuki Toyo.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
xviii
**San Koku Tsu-ran To-setsu. Mirror of the Three [Tributary] Kingdoms,
Cho-sen, Riu kiu, and Yezo, by Ein Shihei, 1785. This work, with its
maps, was translated into French by J. Klaproth, and published in Paris,
1832. 1 vol. 8vo, pp. 288, of which pp. 158 relate to Cho-sen. Digested
also in Siebold’s Archiv.
** Archiv zur Bescriebung von Japan, by Franz von Siebold. This colossal
work contains much matter in text and illustrations relating to Corea, and
the digest of several Japanese books, in the part entitled Xachrichten
uber Korai, Japan’s Bezage mit der Koraischen Halbinsel und mit Schina.
** Corea und dessen Einfluss auf die Bevolkerung Japans. Zeit. fiir Ethncl-
ogie, Zitzungbericht VIII. p. 78, 1876. P. Kempermann.
** O Dai Ichi Ran. This work, containing the annals of the emperors of Ja-
pan, is a bird’s-eye view of the principal events in Japanese history, written
in the style of an almanac, which Titsingh copied down from translations
made by Japanese who spoke Dutch. Klaproth revised and corrected
Titsingh’s work, and published his own version in 1834. Paris and Lon-
don, 8vo, pp. 460. This work contains many references to Corea and the
relations of the two countries, transcribed from the older history.
** Tableaux Historiques de I’Asie, depuis la monarchie de Cyrus jusque nos
jours, accompagnes de recherches historiques et ethnographiques, etc.
Par J. Klaproth, Paris, 1826. Avec un atlas in folio. This manual of
the political geography of Asia is very useful, but not too accurate.
f A Heap of Jewels in a Sea of Learning (Gei Kai Shu Jin ; Jap. pron.). A
chapter from this Chinese book treats of Corea.
f Cho-sen Hitsu Go-shin. A collection of conversations with the pen, with a
Corean who could not speak Japanese. By Ishikawa Rokuroku Sanjin,
Yedo.
* The Classical Poetry of the Japanese. By Basil Hall Chamberlain. Lon-
don, 1880.
** An Outline History of Japanese Education, New York, 1876. This mono-
graph, prepared for the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia, reviews
the educational influences of Corea upon Japan. The information given
is, with other data, from Klaproth, utilized in Pickering’s Chronological
History of Plants, by Charles Pickering, M.D., Boston, 1879.
* Japanese Chronological Tables. By William Bramsen, TGkio, 1880. An in-
valuable essay on Japanese chronology, which was, like the Corean, based
on the Chinese system. We have used this work of the lamented scholar
(who died a few months after it was published) in rendering dates ex-
pressed in terms of the Chinese into those of the Gregorian or modern
system.
•* History of the Mongols. 3 vols. pp. 1827. London, 1876. By Henry Howorth.
This portly work is full of the fruits of research concerning the people
led by Genghis Khan. It contains excellent maps of Asia, and of Mon-
golia, and Manchuria, illustrating the Mongol conquests.
f Cho-sen Ki-che. (Memorandum upon Corean Affairs.) The Chinese ambassa-
dor sent by the Ming emperor in 1450, gives in this little work an account
of his journey, which throws light upon the political and geographical
situation of Cho-sen and China at that time. Quoted by M. Scherzer, but
not translated.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
XIX
* Xihon Guaishi. Military History of Japan, by Rai Sanyo. This is the
Japanese standard history. It was published in 1827 id twenty-two vol-
umes. It covers the period from the Taira and Minamoto families to that
of the Tokugawa in the seventeenth century. The first part of this work
was translated into English by Mr. Ernest Satow, and published in The
Japan Mail at Yokohama, 1872-74. In the latter portion the invasion of
Cho-sen, 1592-97, is outlined.
*Cho-sen Seito Shimatsuki. A work in five volumes, giving an account of
the embassies, treaties, documents relating to the invasion of 1592-97,
with an outline of the war, geographical notes, with nine maps by Yama-
zaki Masanagi and Miura Katsuyoshi.
* Illustrated History of the Invasion of Cho-sen. Written by Tsurumine
Hikoichiro. Illustrations by Hashimoto Giokuron. 20 vols. Yedo, 1853.
This popular work, besides an outline of Corean history from the beginning,
condensed from local legends and Chinese writers, details the operations
of war and diplomacy relating to Hideyoshi’s invasion. It is copiously
illustrated with first-class wood engravings. It has not been translated.
* Cho-sen Monogatari. A Diary and Narrative of the Japanese Military Opera-
tions in Cho-sen during the Campaign of 1594-97, by Okoji Hidemoto.
Copied out and published in 1072, and again in 1849. This narrative of
an eye-witness was written by the author at the time of the events de-
scribed, and afterward copied by his own son and deposited in the temple
at which his ancestors worshipped. This vivid and spirited story of the
second invasion of Cho-sen by Ilideyoshi has been translated into German
by Dr. A. Pfizmaier, under the title Der Feldzug der Japaner gegen Corea,
im Jahre, 1.597. 2 vols. Vienna, 1875 : 4to, pp. 98 ; 1870 : 4to, pp. 58.
** Chohitsuroku. History of the Embassies, Treaties, and War Operations
during the Japanese Invasion. This work is by a Corean author, who
was one of the ministers of the king throughout the war. It is written
in Chinese, has a map, and gives the Corean side of the history of affairs
from about 1585 to 1.598. 3 vols.
* Tliree Severall Testimonies Concerning the mighty Kingdom of Coray,
tributary to the Kingdom of China, and bordering upon her Northeastern
Frontiers, and called bj’ the Portugales, Coria, etc., etc., collected out of
Portugale yeerely Japonian Epistles, dated 1590, 1592, 1.594. In Hak-
luyt, London, 1000.
*Hideyoshi’s Invasion of Korea. Trans. A.siatic Society of Japan. By W. G.
Aston. In these papers Mr. Aston gives the results of a studj' of the cam-
paign of 1592-97, as found in .Japanese and Corean authors.
•• Lettre Annuelle de Mars 1.593, ecrite par le P. Pierre Gomez aii P. Cliiude
Acquavira, general de la Compagnie de Jesus. Milan, L597, p. 112 et
suiv. In Hakluyt.
* Histoire de la Religion Chri-tienne au Japon. Par Leon Pages. 2 vols.,
text and documents. Paris, 1869.
•* Histoire des deux Conquerans Tartares, qui ont subjuge la Chine, par le R.
P. Pierre Joseph D’Orliens.
*Cho-sen Monogatari (Romantic Narrative of Tr.avels in Corea), by two Men
from Mikuni, in Echizen, cast ashore in Tartary in 1045. This work is
digested in Siebold’s Archiv.
XX
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
* Narrative of an Unlucky Voyage and Imprisonment in Corea, 1653-1667.
In Astley’s and Pinkerton’s Voyages. By Hendrik Hamel.
* Imperial Chinese Atlas, containing maps of China and each of the Provinces,
including Shing-king and the neutral strip.
Histoire de I’Eglise de Coree, par Ch. Ballet. 2 vols. 8vo, pp. 982. Paris,"
1874. This excellent work contains 192 pages of introduction, full of ac-
curate information concerning the political social life, geography, and
language of Corea, and a history of the introduction and progress of Ro-
man Christianity, and the labors of the French missionaries, from 1784-
1866. It contains also a map and four charts of Corean writing.
* Une Expedition en Coree. In la Tour du Monde for 1873 there is an ar-
ticle of 16 pp. (401-417) with illustrations, by M. H. Zuber, a French
naval officer, who was in Corea in 1866 under Admiral Roze. An excel-
lent descriptive paper by an eye-witness.
* Diary of a Chinese Envoy to Corea (Journal d’une Mission en Coree), by
Koei Ling, Ambassador of his Majesty the Emperor of China, to the court
of Cho-sen in 1866. Translated from the Chinese into French by F.
Scherzer, Interpreter to the French Legation at Peking. 8vo, pp. 77.
Paris, 1882. This journal of the last Chinese ambassador to Seoul is well
rendered, and is copiously supplied with explanatory notes, and a colored
map of the author’s route from Peking through Chili, Shing-King, via,
Mukden, and through three provinces of Corea to Seoul,
t Many memoirs and special papers prepared by French officers in the expedi-
tion to Corea in 1866 were prepared and read before local societies at
Cherbourg, Lyons, etc.
f Expedition de Coree. Revue maritime et coloniale, February, 1867, pp.
474-481.
f Paris. Moniteur, 1866-67.
** Lettre sur la Cor& et son Eglise Clirctienne. Bulletin de la Societe
Geographique de Lyon, 1876, pp. 278-282, and June, 1870, pp. 417-422,
and map.
** The Corean Martyrs. By Canon Shortland. 1 vol., pp. 115. London. Com-
piled from the letters of the French missionaries.
”'*Nouvelle Geographie Universelle. This superb treasury of geographical
science, still unfinished, contains a full summary of our knowledge of Corea,
especially showing the prominent part which French navigators, scholars,
and missionaries have taken in its exploration. Paris.
♦♦ Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean and Round the World. By
William R. Broughton. 2 vols. 4to, with atlas. London, 1804.
** Voyage Round the World. By Jean Francois de Gallon de La Perouse.
London, 1799.
** Voyages to the Eastern Seas in the year 1818. By Basil Hall. New York,
London, and revised by Captain Hall in 1827. Jamaica, N. T.
* Narrative of a Voyage in His Majesty’s late Ship Alceste, to the Yellow Sea,
along the Coast of Corea, and through its numerous hitherto undiscovered
Islands, etc., etc. By John McLeod, Surgeon of the Alceste. 1 vol., pp.
288 (see pp. 88-53). London, 1877. A witty and lively narrative.
** Voyages along the Coast of China(Corea), etc. By Charles Gutzlaff. 1 vol., pp.
332. New Y’ork, 1833. (From July 17, to August 17, 1832 ; pp. 254-287.)
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
XXI
‘Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Samarang, during the years 1843-46.
By Captain Sir E. Belchdr. 2 vols. 8vo, pp. 574r-378. London, 1848.
Vol. i. pp. 324-358; vol. ii., pp. 444—466, relate to Corea.
• American Commerce with China. By Gideon Nye, Esq. In the Far East.
Shanghae, 1878. A history of the commercial relations of the United
States with China, especially before 1800.
• Diplomatic Correspondence of the United States, China, and Japan, 1866-81.
• Report of the Secretary of the Navy to Congress, pp. 275-313. 1872.
• Private Notes, Charts, and Maps of Officers of the United States Navy who
were in Corea in 1871.
**A Summer Dream of ’71. A Story of Corea. By T. G. The Far East.
Shanghae, April, 1878.
• Journey through Eastern Mantchooria and Korea. By Walton Grinnell.
Journal American Geographical Society, 1870-71, pp. 283-300.
• Japan and Corea. A valuable monograph in six chapters, by Mr. E. H.
House, in The Tokio Times, 1877.
•* On a Collection of Crustacea made in the Corean and Japanese Seas. J.
Muirs, 1879. London Zoological Society’s Proceedings (pp. 18-81, pis.
1-113). Reviewed by J. S. Kingsley. Norwich, N. Y. American
Naturalist.
•* A Private Trip in Corea. By Frank Cowan, M.D. The Japan Mail, 1880.
f Tlie Leading Men of Japan. By Charles Lanman. Boston, 1882. Contains
a chapter on Corea.
• Manuscript volume of pencil notes made by Kawamura Kuanshiu, an officer
on the Japanese gunboat Unyo-kuan, during her cruise and capture of
the Kang-wa Fort, 1875. Partly printed in the Japan Mail.
• Journals of Japanese Military and Diplomatic Officers who have visited Corea,
and Correspondence of the Japanese newspapers, from Seoul, Fusan, Gen-
san, etc. These liave been partly translated for the English press at Yo-
kohama.
• Correspondence, Notes, Editorials, etc., in the English and French newspa-
pers published in China and Japan.
** Maru-maru Shimbun (Japanese Punch).
• Cho-sen : Its Eight Administrative Divisions. 1 vol. Tokio, Japan, 1882.
• Cho-sen Jijo. A short Account of Corea, its History, Productions, etc. 2
vols. Toki'i, 1875.
• Cho-sen Bunkenroku (Tilings Seen and Heard concerning Corea). By Sato
Hakushi. 2 vols. Tokio, 1875.
• Travels of a Naturalist in Japan [Corea] and Manchuria. By Arthur Adams.
1 vol., pp. 334. London, 1870. See chaps, x., xi., pp. 125-166.
•‘Ueberdie Reise der Kais. Corvette Hertha, in besondere nach Corea.
Kramer, ^larine Prediger. Zeit. fur Ethnologie, 1873. Verhandlungen,
pp. 49-54.
•• A Forbidden Land. By Ernest Oppert. 1 vol., pp. 349. Illustrations,
charts, etc. New York, 1880.
** Journeys in North China. By Rev. A. Williamson. 2 vols. 16mo. Lon-
don, 1870. Besides a chapter on Corea, this work contains an excellent
map of the country north and east of Cho-sen
•* The Middle Kingdom. By S. Wells Williams.
XXll
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
’"‘Consular Reports in the Blue Books of the British Government, especially
the Reports of Mr. McPherson, Consul at Xiu-chwang. January, 1H6G.
* Handbook for Central and Northern Japan, with maps and jjlans. Satow
and Hawes. 1 vol. 16mo, pp. 48!). This work, which leaves nothing to
be desired as a guide-book, contains several references to Corean art and
history.
The Wild Coasts of Nipon. By Captain H. C. St. John (who surveyed some
parts of Southern Corea in H.B.M.S. Sylvia). See chap, xii., pp. 2.35-255,
with a map of Corea.
■"* Darlegun aus der Geschichte und Geographie Coreas. PfLzmaier. 8vo, pp.
5C. Vienna, 1874.
f Petermann’s Mittheilungen, No. 1, Carte No. 19, 1871.
*• Das Konigreich Korea. Von Klodeu. Aus alien Welth., x.. Nos. 5 u. 6.
f Corea. Geographical Magazine. (S. Mossman.) vi. p. 148, 1877.
f Corea. By Captain Allen Young, Royal Geographical Society. Vol. ix.. No.
6, pp. 296-300.
'"’"China, with an Appendix on Corea. By Charles Eden. 1 vol., pp. 281-
322. London. A popular compilation.
Korea and the Lost Tribes, and Map and Chart of Korea. Text and illus-
trations. Tlie title of this work is sufficient. Even the bibliography of
Corea has a comic side.
** Chi-shima (Kurile Islands) and Russian Invasion. A lecture delivered in
Japanese, before the Tokio United Geographical Society, February 24,
1882. By Admiral Enomoto. This valuable historical treatise, translated
for the Japan Mail and Japan Herald, contains much information about
Russian operations in the countries bordering the North Pacific and the
Coreans north of the Tumen.
t Bulletin de la Societe Geographique, 1875. Corean villages in the Russian
possessions described.
*’" Ravensteins, The Russians on the Amoor. London, 1861.
f Die Insel Quelpart. Deutsche Geogr. Blatter, 1879. iii.. No. 1, S. 45-46.
t A Trip to Quelpaert. Nautical Magazine, 1870, No. 4, p. 321-325.
Tlie Edinburgh Review of 1872, and Fortnightly Review of 1875, contain
articles on Corea.
* The Missionary Record of the United Presb^-terian Church of Scotland,
Edinburgh, containing the Correspondence and Notes of the Missionaries
laboring among the Chinese and Coreans, and who have translated the
New Testament into Corean.
t La Coree, par M. Paul Tournafond, editor of L’Exploration, a geographical
journal published in Paris, which contains frequent notes on Corea,
f La Coree, ses Ressources, son avenir commercial, par Maurice Jametel.
L’Economiste Fran^ais, Juillet 23, 1881.
* The Japan Herald, The Japan Mail, Tlie Japan Gazette, L’Echo du Japan,
of Yokohama, and North China Herald, Shanghae, have furnished much
information concerning recent events in Corea.
Corea, the Last of the Hermit Nations. Sunday Magazine, New York, IVIay, 1878.
Corea and the United States. The Independent, New York, Nov. 17, 1881.
Corea, the Hermit Nation. Bulletin of the American Geographical Society,
New York, 1881, No. 3.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
xxiii
Chautauqua Text-Books, No. 34. Asiatic History ; China, Corea, Japan. 16mo,
pp. 86. New York, 1881.
Library of Universal Knowledge, articles Corea, Fusan, Gensan, Kang-wa, etc.
New York, 1880.
Cyclopaedia of Political Science, etc., article Corea. Chicago, 1881.
The Corean Origin of Japanese Art. Century Magazine. December, 1882.
By Wm. Elliot GrifiSs.
ORTHOGRAPHY AND PRONUNCIATION.
Ix ,the transliteration of Corean names into English, an attempt has been
made to render them in as accurate and simple a manner as is, under the cir-
cumstances, possible. The Coreans themselves have no uniform system of
spelling proper names, nor do the French missionaries agree in their render-
ings— as a comparison of their maps and writings shows. Our aim in this
work has been to use as few letters as possible.
Japanese words are all pronounced according to the European method — a as
in father, i as in prey, e as in men, i as in machine, o as in bone, m as in tune, u
as in mn ; ai as in aide, ua as in quarantine, ei as in feign, and iu is sounded
as yu ; g is always hard ; and c before a vowel, g soft, /, q, s used as z, x, aud
the combinations ph and th are not used. The long vowel, rather diphthong o,
or oho, is marked o.
The most familiar Chinese names are retained in their usual English form.
Corean words are transliterated on the same general principles as the Japa-
.Aese, though ears familiar with Corean wilt find the obscure sound between
0 aud short u is written with either of these letters, as Chan-yon, or In-chiun,
or Kiung-sang. Ch may sometimes be used instead ofy / and e where o ov a
or u might more correctly be used, as in Kang-wen, or Wen-chiu. Instead of
the French on. or ho, we have written W, as in Whang-hai, Kang-wa, rather
than Hoang-hai, Kang-hoa, Kang-ouen, Tai-ouen Kun, etc. ; and in place of
te we have used ch, as Kwang-chiu rather than Kwaug-tsiu, and Wen-chiu
than Oueu-tsiu.
MAPS AND PLANS.
PAGE
Ancestral Seats of the Fuyu Kace, 25
Sam-han, 30
Ancient Japan and Corea, ......... 56
The Neutral Territory, .......... 85
The Japanese Military Operations of 1592, 99
The Campaign in the North, 1592-1593 107
The Operations of the Second Invasion, 131
Plan of Uru-san Castle, 138
Home of the Manchius and their Migrations, 155
The Jesuit Survey of 1709, 165
Ping-an Province, ........... 181
The Yellow Sea Province, ......... 185
The Capital Province, 188
Military Geography of Seoul, 190
Chung-chong Province, 194
Chulla-do, . . .......... 199
The Province Nearest Japan, 204
Kang-wen Province, 208
Corean Frontier Facing Manchuria and Russia, ..... 210
Southern Part of Ham-kiung, ......... 215
The Missionary’s Gateway into Corea, 364
Border Towns of Northern Corea, ........ 365
The French Naval and Military Operations, 1866, ..... 379
Map Illustrating the “ General Sherman ” Affair, ..... 393
Map Illustrating the “ China ” Affair, ....... 400
Map of the American Naval Operations in 1871, 415
General Map of Corea,
At end of volume.
CONTENTS
PART L
ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL HISTORY.
CHAPTER I.
PAGE
Tlie Corean Peninsula, 1
CHAPTER II.
The Old Kingdom of Clio-sen, 11
CHAPTER HI.
The Fuyu Race and their Migrations, ....... 19
CHAPTER IV.
Sam-han, or Southern Corea, 30
CHAPTER V.
Epoch of the Three Kingdoms. — Hiaksai, 35
CHAPTER VI.
Epoch of the Three Kingdoms. — Korai, 40
CHAPTER VIL
Epoch of the Three Kingdoms. — Shinra, 45
CHAPTER Vm.
Japan and Corea, 51
XXVI
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IX.
PAGB
Korai, or United Corea, 63
CHAPTER X.
Cathay, Zipangu, and the Mongols, 70
CHAPTER XI.
New Cho-sen, 76
CHAPTER Xn.
Events Leading to the Japanese Invasion, 88
CHAPTER Xin.
The Invasion — On to Seoul 95
CHAPTER XTV.
The Campaign in the North, ......... 104
CHAPTER XV.
The Retreat from Seoul, 115
CHAPTER XVI.
Cespedes, the Christiau Chaplain 121
CHAPTER XVn.
Diplomacy at Kioto and Peking, ........ 124
CHAPTER XVIIL
The Second Invasion, .......... 129
CHAPTER XIX.
The Siege of Uru-san Castle, ......... 137
CHAPTER XX.
Changes after the Invasion, 145
CHAPTER XXI.
The Issachar of Eastern Asia, 154
CHAPTER XXn.
The Dutchmen in Exile, 167
CONTENTS. XXV ii
PART II.
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL COEEA.
CHAPTER XXIII.
PAGE
The Eight Provinces, .......... 179
CHAPTER XXR^
The King and Royal Palace, 218
CHAPTER XXV.
Political Parties, 224
CHAPTER XXVI.
Organization and Methods of Government, 239
CHAPTER XXVII.
Feudalism, Serfdom, and Society, 237
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Social Life. — IVonian and the Family, ....... 244
CHAPTER XXIX.
Child Life, 256
CH.1PTER XXX.
Housekeeping, Diet, and Costume, 262
CHAPTER XXXI.
Mourning and Burial, 277
CHAPTER XXXII.
Out-door Life. — Characters and Employments, 284
CHAPTER XXXIII.
Shamanism and Mythical Zoology, ... • . . . . 300
XXVlll
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
PAGE
Legends and Folk-lore, 307
CHAPTER XXXV.
Proverbs and Pithy Sayings, 317
CHAPTER XXXVI.
The Corean Tiger, 320
CHAPTER XXXVn.
Religion, . 326
CHAPTER XXXVin.
Education and Culture, 337
PABT III.
MODERN AND RECENT HISTORY.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
PAGE
The Beginnings of Christianity — 1784^1794, 347
CHAPTER XL.
Persecution and Martyrdom — 1801-1834, 353
CHAPTER XLI.
The Entrance of the French Missionaries — 1835-1845, .... 361
CHAPTER XLH.
The Walls of Isolation Sapped, 367
CHAPTER XLni.
The French Expedition, ' • 377
CHAPTER XLIV.
American Relations with Corea, 388
CONTENTS.
XXIX
CHAPTER XLV.
PAGE
A Body-Snatcliing Expedition, 396
CHAPTER XLVI.
Our Little War with the Heathen, 403
CHAPTER XLVn.
Tlie Ports Opened to Japanese Commerce, 420
CHAPTER XLVIII.
The Year of the Treaties, 433
Supplementary Chapter, 443
APPENDIX.
The Corean Language, 455
Measures, Weights, Money, Time, Calculation, .... 463
Cartography, 468
INDEX, 469
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGB
Citj of Seoul, FrordUspiece.
Corean Coin, 10
Coin of Modern Clio-sen, 18
The Founder of Fuyu Crossing the Sungari River, 20
Coin of the Sana-han, or the Three Kingdoms, 34
Coin of Korai, C9
Two-masted Corean Vessel, To
The Walls of Seoul, • ... 79
Magistrate and Servant, .......... 81
Corean Knight of the Sixteenth Century, 101
Styles of Hair-dressing in Corea, ........ 161
A Pleasure-party on the River, 196
Corean Village in Russian Territory, 211
Table Spread for Festal Occasions, 264
Gentlemen’s Garments and Dress Patterns, 275
Thatched House near Seoul, 282
Battle-flag Cantured by the Americans in 1871, 305
Battle-flag Captured in the Han Forts, 1871, 320
House and Garden of a Noble, 355
Breech-loading Cannon of Corean Manufacture, 382
The Entering Wedge of Civilization, 407
I.
ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL
HISTORY.
COEEA:
THE HERMIT NATION.
CIIAPTEE I.
THE COREAN PENINSULA.
Corea, though unknown even by name in Europe until the six-
teenth century, was the subject of description by Arab geogra-
phers of the middle ages. Before the peninsula was known as a
political unit, the envoys of Shinra, one of the three Corean states,
and those from Persia met face to face before the throne of China.
The Arab merchants trading to Chinese ports crossed the Yellow
Sea, visited the peninsula, and even settled there. The youths of
Shinra, sent by their sovereign to study the arts of war and peace
at Nanking, the medineval capitol of China, may often have seen and
talked with the merchants of Bagdad and Damascus. The Corean
term for Mussulmans is hoi-hoi, “ round and round " men. Corean
art shows the undoubted influence of Persia.
A very interesting passage in the chronicles of Japan, while
illustrating the sensitive regard of the Japanese for the forms of
etiquette, shows another point of contact between Corean and
Saracen civilization. It occurs in the Nihon O Dai Ichi Ban, or
“ A View of the Imperial Family of Japan.” “ In the first month
of the sixth year of Tempio Shoho [February, 754 a.d.], the Japan-
ese nobles Ohan no Komaro and Kibi no Mabi returned from
China, in which counti-y they had left Fujiwara no Seiga. The
former reported that at the audience which they had of the Em-
peror Gen-sho, on New Year’s Day [January 18th], the ambassadors
2
COREA.
of Towan [Thibet] occupied the first place to the ^est, those from
Shinra the first place to the east, and that the second place to the
west had been destined for them (the Japanese envoj's), and the
second place to the east for the ambassadors of the Kingdom
of Dai Shoku [Persia, then part of the empire of the Caliphs].
Komaro, offended with this arrangement, asked whv the Chinese
should give precedence over them to the envoys of Shinra, a state
which had long been tributary to Japan. The Chinese officials,
impressed alike with the firmness and displeasure exhibited by
Komaro, assigned to the Japanese envoys a place above those of
Persia and to the envoys of Shinra a place above those of Thibet.”
Thus the point at issue was settled, by avoiding it, and assign-
ing equal honor to Shinra and Japan.
This incident alone show’s that close communications were kept
up between the far east and the west of Asia, and that Corea was
known beyond Chinese Asia. At that time the boundaries of the
two empires, the Arab and the Chinese, touched each other.
The first notice of Corea in w’estem books or writings occurs in
the works of Khordadbeh, an Arab geographer of the ninth centurv’,
in his Book of Koads and Provinces. He is thus quoted by Rich-
thofen in his work on China (p. 575, note) :
“ What lies on the other side of China is unknown land. But
high mountains rise up densely across from Kautu. These lie over
in the land of Sila, which is rich in gold. 'Mussulmans who visit
this country often allow themselves, through the advantages o^the
same, to be induced to settle here. They export from thence gin-
seng, deerhorn, aloes, camphor, nails, saddles, porcelain, satin,
zimmit (cinnamon?) and galanga (ginger?).”
Richthofen rightly argues that Sila is Shinra and Kantu is the
promontoiy province of Shantung. This Arabic term “Sila” is a
corruption of Shinra — the predominant state in Corea at the time
of Khordadbeh.
The name of this kingdom was pronovmced by the Japanese,
Shinra, and by the Chinese, Sinlo — the latter easily altered iu
Arabic mouths to Sila.
The European name Corea is derived fi’om the Japanese term
Korai (Chinese Kaoli), the name of another state in the peninsula,
rival to Shinra. It was also the official title of the nation fi’om the
eleventh to the fourteenth century. The Portuguese, who were the
first navigators of the A'ellow Sea, brought the name to Europe,
calling the coimtry Coria, whence the English Corea.
THE COREAN PENINSULA.
3
The French Jesuits at Peking Gallicized this into Coree. Fol-
lowing the genius of their language, they call it La Coree, just as
they speak of England as L’Angleterre, Germany as L’Allemande,
and America as LAmerique. Hence has arisen the curious desig-
nation, used even by English wTuters, of this peninsula as “the
Corea.” But what is good French in this case is very had English,
and we should no more say “ the Corea ” than “ the Germany,”
“the England,” or “the America.” English usage forbids the
employment of the definite article before a proper name, and those
writers who persist in prefixing the definite article to the proper
name Corea are either ignorant of the significance of the word, or
knowingly violate the law's of the English language. The native
name of the cormtry is Chu-sen (Morning Calm or Fresh Morning),
which French writers, always prodigal in the use of vowels, spell
Tsio-sen, Teo-cen, or Tchao-sian. The Chinese call it Tung kwo
(Eastern Kingdom), and the Manchius, Sol-ho or Solbo.
The peninsula, with its outlying islands, is nearly equal in size
to Minnesota or to Great Britain. Its area is between eighty and
ninety thousand square miles. Its coast line measures 1,740 miles.
In general shape and relative position to the Asian Continent it
resembles Florida. It hangs down between the Middle Kingdom
and the Sunrise Land, separating the sea of Japan and the Yellow
Sea, between the 34th and 43d parallels of north latitude. In its
general configuration, when looked at from the westward on a good
map, especially the magnificent one made by the Japanese War
Department, Cho-sen resembles the outspread wings of a headless
butterfly, the lobes of the wings being toward China, and their tops
toward Japan.
Legend, tradition, and geological indications lead us to believe
that ancientl}' the Chinese promontory and province of Shantung
and the Coreau peninsula were connected, and that dry land once
covered the sp.ace filled by the Avaters joining the Gulf of Pechili
and the Yellow Sea. These Avaters are so shallow that the eleA^a-
tion of their bottoms but a few feet would restore their area to the
land surface of the globe. On the other side, also, the sea of Japan
is very shallow, and the straits of Corea, at their greatest depth,
haA’e but eighty-three feet of AA'ater. That portion of the Chinese
proA'ince of Shing King, or Southern Manchuria, bordering the sea,
is a great plain, or series of flats elevated but a few feet aboA-e tide
water, which becomes nearly impassable diu'ing lieaAy rains.
A mai'ked difference is noted betAveeu the east and Avest coasts
4
COREA.
of the peninsula. The former is comparatively destitute of harbors,
and the shore is high, monotonous, and but slightly indented or
fringed with islands. It contains but three provinces. On the
west coast are five provinces, and the sea is thickly strewn with
islands, harbors and landing places, while navigable rivers are
more numerous. The “ Corean Archipelago ” contains an amaz-
ing number of fertile and inhabited islands and islets rising out
of deep water. They are thus described by the naturalist Arthur
Adams :
“ Leaving the huge, cone-like island of Quelpaert in the distance,
the freshening breeze bears us gallantly toward those unknown
islands which form the Ai'chipelago of Korea. As you approach
them you look from the deck of the vessel and you see them dot-
ting the wide, blue, boundless plain of the sea — groups and clusters
of islands stretching away into the far distance. Far as the eye
can reach, their dark masses can be faintly discerned, and as we
close, one after another, the bold outlines of their mountain peaks
stand out clearly against the cloudless sky. The water from which
they seem to arise is so deep ai’ound them that a ship can almost
range up alongside them. The rough, gray granite and basaltic
chffs, of which they ai’e composed, show them to be only the
rugged peaks of submerged mountain masses which have been rent,
in some great convulsion of nature, fr'om the peninsula which
stretches into the sea from the main land. You gaze upward and
see^ the weird, fantastic outline which some of their tom and
riven peaks present. In fact, they have assumed such peculiar
forms as to have suggested to navigators characteristic names.
Here, for example, stands out the fretted, crumbling towers of one
called 'Windsor Castle, there frowns a noble rock-ruin, the Monas-
tery, and here again, mounting to the skies, the Abbey Peak.
“ Some of the islands of this Archipelago are veiy lofty, and one
was ascertained to boast of a naked granite peak more than two
thousand feet above the level of the sea. Many of the summits are
crowned with a dense forest of conifers, dai'k trees, very similar in
appearance to Scotch firs.”
The king of Corea may well be called “ Sovereign of Ten
Thousand Isles.”
Almost the only striking featm-e of the inland physical geogra-
phy of Cho-sen, heretofore generally known, is that chain of morm-
taius which traverses the peninsula from North to South, not in a
straight hne, but in an exceedingly sinuous course, similar to the
THE COREAN PENINSULA.
5
tacking of a ship when sailing in the eye of the -n-incl. As the
Coreans say, “ it winds out and in ninety-nine times.”
Striking out from Manchuria it trends east-ward to the sea at
Cape Bruat on the 41st parallel, thence it strikes south-west about
eighty miles to the region west of Broughton’s Bay (the narrowest
part of Corea), whence it bears westward to the sea at the 37th paral-
lel, or Cape Pehssier, -where its angle culminates in the lofty mountain
peaks named by the Russians Mount Popoff — after the inventor of
the high turret ships. From this point it throws off a fringe of
lesser hUls to the southward while the main chain strikes south-
west, and after forming the boundary between tw'o most southern
pro-sdnces reaches the sea near the Amherst Isles. Nor does its
course end here, for the uncounted islands of the Archipelago, with
their fantastic rock-ruins and perennial greeneiy, that suggest de-
serted castles and abbeys mantled with ivj’, are but the -wave-worn
and shattered remnants of this lordly range.
This chief feature in the phj'sical geography of the peninsula de-
termines largely its configuration, climate, river system and water-
shed, pohtical divisions, and natural barriers. Speaking roughly.
Eastern Corea is a mountainous ridge of which Western Corea is
but the slope.
No river of any importance is found inside the peninsula east of
these mountains, except the Nak-toug, which drains the valley
formed by the interior and the sea-coast ranges, while on the -west-
ward slope ten broad streams collect the tribute of their melted
snows to enrich the valleys of five jirorinces.
Through seven parallels of latitude this range fronts the sea of
Japan with a coast bamer -which, except at Yung-hing Bay, is nearly
destitute of harbors. Its timbered heights pi'esent a wall of living
gi-een to the mariner sailing from Madivostok to Shanghai.
Great differences of climate in the same latitude are observed on
opposite sides of this mountain range, which has various local epi-
thets. From their height and the i^ermanence of their -winter
covering, the word “white” foi'ms an oft-recui-ring part of their
names.
The division of the counti-y into eight dj, or provinces, which
are grouped in southern, central, and northern, is based mainly on
the river basins. The rainfall in nearly every pro-vince finds an
outlet on its own sea-border. Only the western slopes of the two
northeasteiTi provinces are exceptions to this inile, since they dis-
choi’ge part of their waters into streams emptying beyond their
6
COREA.
boundaries. The Yalu, and the Han — “the river”— are the only
streams whose sources lie beyond their own provinces. In rare in-
stances are the rivers known by the same word along their whole
length, various local names being applied by the people of different
neighborhoods. On the maps in this work only the name most
commonly given to each stream near its mouth is printed.
In respect to the sea basins, three provinces on the west coast
form one side of the depression called the Yellow Sea Basin, of
which Northeastex’n China forms the opposite rim. The three east-
ern df), or circuits, lining the Sea of Japan, make the concave in the
sea basin to which Japan offers the corresponding edge. The entire
northern boundary of the peninsula from sea to gulf, except where
the colossal peak Paik-tu-(‘ White Head’) foi-ms the water-shed, is
one vast vaUey in -^lich lie the basics of the Yalu and Tumen.
Corea is, in reality, island, as the following description of
White Head Mountain, obtained from the Journal of the Chinese
Ambassador to Seoul, shows. This mountain has two summits,
one facing north, the other east. On the top is a lake thirty n
around. In shape the peak is that of a colossal white vase open to
the sky, and fluted or scolloped round the edge like the vases of
Chinese porcelain. Its crater, white on the outside, is red, with
whitish veins, inside. Snow and ice clothe the sides, sometimes as
late as June. On the side of the north, there issues a runnel, a
yard in depth, which falls in a cascade and forms the som-ce of the
(Tumen) river. Three or four ri from the smnmit of the mountain
the stream divides into two jxarts ; one is the source of the Yalu
River.
In general, it may be said to dwellers in the temperate zone
that the climate of Corea is excellent, bracing in the north, and in
the south tempered by the ocean breezes of summer. The winters
in the higher latitudes are not more rigorous than in the State of
New York ; while, in the most southern, they are as delightful as
those in the Carolinas. In so mormtainous and sea-girt a coimtiy'
there are, of course, great climatic varieties even in the same prov-
inces.
As compared with European countries of the same latitude.
Corea is much colder in winter and hotter in summer. In the
north, the Tumen River is usually frozen during five months in the
j'ear. The Han River at Seoul may be crossed on ice during two
or three months. Even in the southern provinces, deep snows
cover the mountains, though the plains ai'e usually free, rai'ely
THE COREAN PENINSULA.
7
holding the snow during a whole day. The lowest point to which
the mercury fell, in the observation of the French missionaries, was
at the 35th parallel of latitude 8° and at the 37th parallel 15° (F.).
The most delightful seasons in the year are spring and autumn. In
summer, in addition to the great heat, the rain falls often in tor-
rents that blockade the roads and render travelling and transport
next to impossible. Toward the end of September occurs the pe-
riod of tempests and variable winds.
A glance at the fauna of Corea suggests at once India, Europe,
Massachusetts, and Florida. In the forests, especially of the two
northern circuits, tigers of the largest size and fiercest aspect
abound. When food fails them, they attack human habitations,
and the annual list of victims is very large. The leopard is com-
mon. There are several species of deer, which furnish not only
hides and venison, but horns which, when “ in velvet,” are highly
prized as medicine. In the fauna are included bears, wild hogs
and the common pigs of stunted breed, wild cats, badgers, foxes,
beavers, otters, several species of martens. The salamander is
found in the streams, as in western Japan.
Of domestic beasts, horses are very numerous, being mostly of
a short, stunted breed. Immense numbers of oxen are found in
the south, funiishing the meat diet craved by the people who eat
much more of fatty stuff than the Japanese.
Goats ai'e rai-e. Sheep are imported from China only for sacri-
ficial purjjoses. The dog serves for food as well as for companion-
ship and defence. Of birds, the pheasant, falcon, eagle, crane, and
stork, are common.
Corea has for centux-ies successfully carried out the policy of
isolation. lustead of a peninsula, her nilers have striven to make
her an inaccessible island, and insulate her from the shock of
change. She has built not a Great Wall of masonry, but a barrier
of sea and river-flood, of moxmtain and devastated land, of palisades
and cordons of anned sentinels. Frost and snow, storm and win-
ter, she hails as her allies. Not content with the sea-border she
desolates her shoi-es lest they tempt the maiiner to land. Between
her Chinese neighbor and herself, she has placed a neutral space of
uuplanted, unoccupied land. This strip of forests and desolated
plains, twenty leagues wide, stretches between Corea and Manchu-
ria. To form it, four cities and many villages were suppressed
three centuries ago, and left in ruins. The soil of these solitudes
is very good, the roads easy, and the hills not high.
8
COREA.
For centuries, only the wild beasts, fugitives from justice, and
outlaws from both countries, have inhabited this fertile but forbid-
den territory. Occasionally, borderers would cultivate portions of
it, but gather the produce by night or stealthily by day, venturing
on it as prisoners woiild step over the “ dead line.” Of late years,
the Chinese Government has respected the neutrality of this barrier
less and less. One of those recurring historical phenomena pecu-
liar to Manchuria — the increase and pressure of population — has
within a generation caused the occupation of large portions of this
neutral strip. Parts of it have been surveyed and staked out by
Chinese surveyors, and the Corean Government has been too feeble
to prevent the occupation. Though no towns or vUlages are marked
on the map of this “No-man’s land,” yet already, a considerable
number of small settlements exist upon it.
As this once neutral territory is being gradually obliterated, so
the former lines of palisades and stone walls on the northern bor-
der which, two centuries and more ago, were strong, high, guarded
and kept in repair, have year by year, dining a long era of peace,
been suffered to fall into decay. They exist no longer, and should
be erased from the maps.
The pressure of population in Manchuria upon the Corean bor-
der is a portentous phenomenon. For Manchuria, which for ages
past has, like a prolific hive, swarmed off masses of humanity into
other lands, seems again prejiaring to send off a fresh cloud. Al-
ready her millions press upon her neighbors for room.
The clock of history seems once more about to strike, perhaps
to order again another dynasty on the oft-changed throne of China
From mysterious Mongolia, have gone out in the past the vari-
ous hordes called Tartars, or Tatars, Huns, Turks, Kitans, Mongols,
Manchius, Perhaps her loins also are already swelling with a new
progeny. This marvellous region gave forth the man-children who
destroyed the Roman Empire ; who extinguished Christianity in
Asia and Aiiica, and nearly in Europe ; who, after conquering India
and China threatened Christendom, and holding Russia for two
centuries, created the largest emph’e ever known on earth ; and
finally reared “ the most improvable race in Asia ” that now holds
the throne and empire of China.
Cho-sen since acting the hermit policy of ancient Egypt and me-
diteval China, has preserved two loopholes at Fusan and Ai-chiu,
the former on the sea towai’d Japan, and the latter in the north-
west, on the Chinese border, "VMiat in time of peace is a needle’s
THE COREAN PENINSULA.
9
eye, is in time of -war a flood-gate for enemies. From the west, the
invading armies of 'China have again and again marched around
over the Gulf of Liao Tung and entered the peninsula to plunder
and to conquer, while Chinese fleets from Shan-tung have over and
over again arched their sails in the Yellow Sea to furl them again
in Corean Eivers. From the east, the Japanese have pushed across
the sea to invade Corea as enemies, to help as allies against China,
to levy tribute and go away enriched, or anon to send their grain-
laden ships to their staniug neighbors.
From a political point of \iew the geographical position of this
country is most unfortunate. Placed between two rival nations,
ahens in blood, temper, and policy, Cho-sen has been the rich grist
between the upper and nether millstones of China and Japan. Out
of the north, rising from the vast plains at Manchuria, the conquer-
ing hordes, on their way to the prize lying south of the Great Wall,
have over and over again descended on Corean soil to make it their
gi’anary. From the pre-historic forays of the tribes beyond the
Sungari, to the last new actors on the scene, the Russians, who
stand u-ith their feet on the Tumen, looking over the border on her
helpless neighbor, Corea has been threatened or devastated by her
eager enemies.
Nevertheless Corea has always remained Corea, a separate
country ; and the people are Coreans, more allied to the Japanese
than the Chinese, yet in language, politics, and social customs, dif-
ferent from either. As Ireland is not England or Scotland, neither
is Cho-sen China nor Japan.
In her boasted history of “four thousand years,” the little
kingdom has too often been the Ireland of China, so far as misgov-
emment on the one side, and fretful and spasmodic resistance on
the other, are considered. Yet ancient Corea has also been an
Ii'eland to Japan, in the better sense of giving to her the art, let-
ters, science, and ctliics of continental cirtlization. As of old, went
forth fi'om Tara’s halls to the British Isles and the continent, the
bard and the monk to elevate and civilize Europe with the culture
of Rome and the religion of Cliristianity, so for centmaes there
crossed the sea from the peninsula a stream of scholar’s, artists,
and missionaries who brought to Japan the social culture of Cho-
sen, the literature of China, and the religion of India. A gi’ateful
bonze of Japan has well told the story of Corea’s part in the chali-
zation of his native country in a book entitled “Precious Jewels
from a Neighbor Countrj'.”
10
COREA.
Corea fulfils one of the first conditions of national safety in
having “scientific frontiers,” or adequate natural boundaries of
river, mountain, and sea. But now what was once barrier is
highway. "What was once the safety of isolation, is now the weak-
ness of the recluse. Steam has made the water a surer path than
land, and Japan, once the pupil and anon the conqueror of the
little kingdom, has in these last days become the helpful friend of
Corea’s people, and the opener of the long-sealed peninsula.
Already the friendly whistle of Japanese steamers is heard in
the harbors of two ports in which are trading settlements. At
Fusan and Gensan, the mikado’s subjects hold commercial rivalry
with the Coreans, and through these two loopholes the hermits of
the peninsula catch ghmpses of the outer world that must waken
thought and create a desire to enter the family of nations. The iU
fame of the native character for inhospitality and hatred of foreign-
ers belongs not to the people, nor is truly characteristic of them.
It inheres in the government which curses country and people, and
in the ruling classes who, like those in Old Japan, do not wish the
peasantry' to see the inferiority of those who govern them.
Corea cannot long remain a hermit nation. The near future
will see her 023en to the world. Commerce and pure Chiistianity
wUl enter to elevate her peojAe, and the student of science, ethnol-
ogy, and language will find a tempting field on which shall be
solved many a yet obscure problem. The forbidden land of to-day
is, in many striking jDoints of comparison, the analogue of Old
Japan. While the last of the hermit nations awaits some gallant
Perry of the future, we may hope that the same brilliant path of
jjrogi'ess on which the Sumise Kingdom has entered, awaits the
Land of Morning Calm.
We add a postscrij^t. As our manuscript tm-ns to print, we
hear of the treaty successfully negotiated by Commodore Shufeldt.
Corean Coin — ** Eastern Kingdom, Precious Treasure.”
CHAPTER II.
THE OLD KINGDOM OP CHO-SEN.
Like almost every country on earth, whose history is known,
Corea is inhabited by a race that is not aboriginal. The present
occupiers of the land drove out or conquered the people whom they
found upon it. They are the descendants of a stock whose ances-
tral seats were beyond those ever white mountains which buttress
the noidhern frontier.
Nevertheless, for the origins of their national histoiy, we must
look to one whom the Coreans of this nineteenth century still call
the founder of their social order. The scene of his labors is laid
partly within the peninsula, and chiefly in Manchuria, on the well
watered plains of Shing-king, formerly called Liao Tung.
The third dynasty of the thirty-three or thirty-four lines of
rulers who have filled the oft-changed throne of China, is known
in history as the Shang (or Yin). It began b.c. 1766, and after a
line of twenty-eight sovereigns, ended in Chow Sin, who died b.c.
1122. He was an unscrupulous tyrant, and has been called “the
Nero of China.”
One of his nobles was Ki Tsze, viscount of Ki (or Latinized,
Kicius). He was a profound scholar and author of important por-
tions of the classic book, entitled the Shu King. He was a coun-
sellor of the tyrant king, and being a man of upright character,
was greatly scandalized at the conduct of his licentious and cruel
master.
The sage remonstrated with his sovereign hoiking to turn him
from his evil ways. In this noble purpose he was assisted by two
other men of rank named Pi Kan and Wei Tsze. AU their efforts
were of no avail, and finding the reformation of the tyrant hopeless,
Wei Tsze, though a kinsman of the king, voluntarily exiled him-
self from the realm, while Pi Kan, also a relative of Chow Sin, was
cnielly murdered in the following manner :
The king, mocking the wise coimseUor, cried out, “They say
12
COREA.
that a sage has seven orifices to his heart ; let us see if this is the
case with Pi Kan.” This Chinese monarch, himself so much Like
Herod in other respects, had a wife who in her character re-
sembled Herodias. It was she who expressed the bloody wish to
see the heart of Pi Kan. By the imperial order the sage was put to
death and his body ripped open. His heart, tom out, was brought
before the cmel pair. Ki Tsze, the third counsellor, was cast into
prison.
Meanwhile the people and nobles of the empii-e were rising in
arms against the tyrant whose mismle had become intolerable.
They were led on by one "Wu Wang, who crossed the Yellow River,
and met the tyrant on the plains of Muh. In the gi-eat battle that
ensued, the army of Chow Sin was defeated. Escaping to his pal-
ace, and ordering it to be set on fire, he perished in the flames.
Among the conqueror’s first acts was the erection of a memorial
mound over the gi’ave of Pi Kan, and an order that Ki Tsze should
be released from prison, and appointed Prime 3ilinister of the
realm.
But the sage’s loyalty exceeded his gratitude. In spite of the
magnanimity of the oflfer, Ixi Tsze frankly told the conqueror that
duty to his deposed sovereign forbade him serving one whom he
could not but regard as a usm-per. He then departed into the
regions lying to the northeast. With him went several thousand
Chinese emigrants, mostly the remnant of the defeated army, now
exiles, who made him their king. It is not probable that in his
distant realm he received investment from or jiaid tribute to King
Wu. Such an act would be a m'tual acknowledgment of the
righteousness of rebellion and revolution. It would jarove that the
sage forgave the usui-per. Some Chinese historians state that Ki
Tsze accepted a title from Wu Wang. Others maintain that the
investiture “ was a euphemism to shield the character of the ances-
tor of Confucius.” The migration of Ki Tsze and his followers
took place 1122 n.c.
Ki Tsze began vigorously to reduce the aboriginal people of his
realm to order. He policed the borders, gave laws to his subjects,
and gradually introduced the principles and practice of Chinese
etiquette and polity thi'oughout his domain. Previous to his time
the people lived in caves and holes in the gi’ound, dressed in leaves,
and were destitute of manners, morals, agriculture and cooking,
being ignorant savages. The divine being, Dan Kim, had jiartially
civilized them, but Kishi, who brought 5,000 Chinese colonists with
THE OLD KINGDOM OF CHO-SEN.
13
him, taught the aborigines letters, reading and writing, medicine,
many of the arts, and the political principles of feudal China. The
Japanese pronounce the founder’s name Kishi, and the Coreaus
Kei-tsa or Kysse.
The name conferred by Kishi, the civilizer, upon his new domain
is that now in use by the modem Coreans — Cho-sen or Morning
Calm.
This ancient kingdom of Cho-sen, according to the Coreans,
comprised the modern Chinese province of Shing-king, which is
now about the size of Ohio, having an area of 43,000 square miles,
and a population of 8,000,000 souls. It is entirely outside and
west of the limits of modern Corea.
In addition to the space already named, the fluctuating bound-
aides of this ancient kingdom embraced at later periods much terri-
tory beyond the Liao Eiver toward Peking, and inside the line now
marked by the Great Wall. To the east the modem province of
Ping-an was included in Cho-sen, the Ta-tong River being its most
stable boundary. “ Scientific frontiers,” though sought for in those
ancient times, were rather ideal than hard and fast. With all due
allowance for elastic boundaries, wo may say that ancient Cho-sen
lay chiefly within the Liao Tung peninsula and the Corean prorince
of Ping-an, that the Liao and the Ta-tong Rivers enclosed it, and
that its northern border lay along the 42d parallel of latitude.
The descendants of Ki Tsze are said to have ruled the countiy
until the fourth century before the Christian era. Their names
and deeds are alike unknown, but it is stated that there were forty-
one generations, making a blood-line of eleven hundred and thu-ty-
oue years. The line came to an end in 9 a.d., though they had lost
power long before this time.
By common consent of Chinese and native tradition, Ki Tsze
is the founder of Corean social order. If this tradition be true,
the civilization of the hermit nation nearly equals, in point of time,
that of China, and is one of the very oldest in the world, being
contemporaneous with that of Egypt and Chaldea. It is certain
that the natives plume themselves upon their antiquity, and that
the particular vein of Corean arrogance and contempt for western
civilization is kindred to that of the Hindoos and Chinese. Ei’om
the lofty height of thirty centuries of tradition, which to them is
unchallenged history, they look with pitying contempt upon the
upstart nations of yesterday, who live beyond the sea under some
other heaven. When the American Admiral, John Rodgers, in
14
COREA.
1871, entered the Han River with his fleet, hoping to make a treaty,
he was warned off with the repeated answer that “ Corea was satis-
fied with her civilization of four thousand j'ears, and wanted no
other.” The perpetual text of aU letters from Seoul to Peking, of
all proclamations against Christianitj’, of all death-waiTants of con-
verts, and of the oft-repeated refusals to open trade with foreign-
ers is the praise of Ki Tsze as the founder of the virtue and order
of “ the little kingdom,” and the loyalty of Corea to his doctrines.
In the letter of the king to the Chinese emperor, dated Novem-
ber 25, 1801, the language foUovdng the opening sentence is as
given below :
“His Imperial Majesty knows that since the time when the
remnants of the army of the Yin dynasty migrated to the East
[1122 B.C.], the little kingdom has always been distinguished by
its exactness in fulfilling aU that the rites prescribe, justice and
loyalty, and in general by fidelity to her duties,” etc., etc.
In a royal proclamation against the Christian religion, dated
January 25, 1802, occurs the following sentence :
“The kingdom granted to Ki Tsze has enjoyed great peace dur-
ing four hundred years [since the establishment of the ruling dy-
nasty], in all the extent of its tenitory of two thousand ri and
more,” etc.
These are but specimens from official documents which illus-
trate their pride in antiquity, and the reverence in which their first
law giver is held by the Coreans.
Nevertheless, though Kishi may possibly be called the foimder
of ancient Cho-seu, and her greatest legislator, yet he can scarcely
be deemed the ancestor of the people now inhabiting the Corean
peninsula. For the modem Coreans are descended from a stock
of later origin, and quite difierent from the ancient Cho-senese.
From Ki Tsze, however, sprang a line of kings, and it is possible
that his blood courses in some of the noble families of the king-
dom.
As the most ancient traditions of Japan and Corea are based
on Chinese writings, there is no discrepancy in their accounts of
the beginning of Cho-sen history.
Ki Tsze and his colonists were simply the first immigrants to
the country northeast of China, of whom history speaks. He
found other people on the soil before him, concerning whose origin
nothing is known in writing. The land was not densely populated,
but of their numbers, or time of coming of the aborigines, or
THE OLD KINGDOM OF CHO-SEN.
15
Tvliether of the same race as the tribes in the outlying islands of
Japan, no means j^et in our power can give answer.
Even the stoiy of Ki Tsze, when critically examined, does not
satisfy the rigid demands of modem research. Mayers, in his
“Chinese Keader’s Manual” (p. 3G9), does not concede the first
part of the Chow dynasty (1122 b.c.-255 a.d.) to be more than
semi-historical, and places the beginning of authentic Chinese hi.s-
tory between 781 and 719 b.c., over four centui'ies after Ki Tsze’s
time. Koss (p. 11) says that “the stoiy of Kitsu is not impossible,
but it is to be received with suspicion.” It is not at aU improbable
that the Cho-sen of Ki Tsze’s founding lay in the Sungari vaUey, and
was extended southward at a later period.
It is not for us to dissect too critically the tradition concerning
the founder of Corea, nor to locate exactly the scene of his labors.
Suffice it to say that the general history, prior to the Christian era,
of the country whose story we are to teU, divides itself into that
of the north, or ChO-sen, and that of the south, below the Ta-tong
River, in which region three kingdoms arose and flouiished, with
varj'ing fortunes, during a millennium.
IVe return now to the well-established histoiy of Ch5-sen. The
Great Wall of China was built by Cheng, the founder of the Tsiu
dynasty (b.c. 255-209), who began the work in 239 a.d. Before
his time, China had been a feudal conglomerate of peth', warring
kingdoms. He, by the power of the sword, consolidated them into
one homogeneous empire and took the title of the “First Univer-
sal Emperor” (Shi Whang Ti). Kot content with sweejiing away
feudal institutions, and building the Great Wall, he ordered aU the
literary records and the ancient scrij^tures of Confucius to be de-
stroyed by fire. Yet the empire, whose peri^etuiri' he thought to
secure by building a rampart against the barbarians without, and
by destroying the material for rebeUious thought within, fell to
pieces soon after, at his death, Avhen left to the care of a foolish
son, and China was plunged into bloody anarchy again.
One of these petty kingdoms that arose on the mins of the em-
l^ire was that of Yen, which began to encroach upon its eastern
neighbor Cho-sen.
In the lat«r days of the Ki Tsze family, great anarchy prevailed,
and the last kings of the line were unable to keep their domain in
order, or guard its boundaries.
Taking advantage of its weakness, the king of Yen began boldly
and openly to seize upon Cho-sen territoiy, annexing thousands of
16
COREA.
square miles to Lis own domain. By a spasmodic effort, the suc-
cessors of Ki Tsze again became ascendant, reannexing a large
part of the territory of Yen, and receiving great numbers of her
people, who Lad fled from cml war in CLina, witLin tLe borders of
CLo-sen for safety and peace.
TLus tLe spoiler was spoiled, but, later on, tLe kingdom of Yen
was again set up, and tLe rival states fixed tLeir boundaries and
made peace. TLe Han dynasty in b.c. 206 claimed tLe imperial
power, and sent a summons to tLe king of Yen to become vassaL
On Lis refusing, tLe CLinese emperor despatcLed an army against
Lim, defeated Lis forces in battle, extinguisLed Lis dynasty, and an-
nexed Lis kingdom.
One of tLe survivors of tLis revolt, named Wei-man, witL one
thousand of Lis followers, fled to tLe east. Dressing themselves
like wild savages they entered CLo-sen, pretending, with Gibeoni-
tisL craft, that they Lad come from the far west, and begged to be
received as subjects.
Kijun, the king, like another Joshua, believing their profes-
sions, welcomed them and made their leader a vassal of high rank,
with the title of ‘Guardian of the Western Frontier.’ He also set
apart a large tract of land for Lis salary and support.
In Lis post at the west, Wei-man played the traitor, and collect-
ing a number of Lis former countrymen from the Yen province,
suddenly sent to Kijun a messenger, informing Lim that a large
CLinese army of the conquering Han was about to invade CLn-sen.
At the same time, he suggested that he should be called to the
royal side and be made Protector of the Capital His desire being
granted, he hastened with Lis forces and suddenly appearing before
the royal castle, attacked it. Kijun was beaten, and fled by sea,
escaping in a boat to the southern end of the peninsula.
AVei-man then proclaimed himself King of CLo-sen, 194 b.c. He
set out on a career of conquest and seized several of the neighbor-
ing provinces, and CLo-sen again expanded her boundaries to cover
an immense area. Wei-man built a city somewhere east of the Ta-
tong River. It was named Wang-Lien.
Two provinces of modem Corea were thus included witLin Cho-
sen at this date. TLe new kingdom grew in wealth, power, and
intelligence. Many thousands of the CLinese gentry, fleeing before
the conquering arms of the Han “usurpers,” settled witLin the lim-
its of CLo-sen, adding greatly to its prosperity.
Diu’ing the reign of Yukio (CLinese, Yow Jin), the grandson of
THE OLD KINGDOM OP CHO-SEN.
17
Wei-man, he received a summons to become vassal to the Chinese
emperor, who sublimely declared that henceforward the eastern
frontier of China should be the Ta-tong Eiver — thus virtually wip-
ing out Cho-sen with a proclamation. In b.c. 109, a Chinese am-
bassador sailed over from China, entered the Ta-tong Eiver, and
visited Yuhio in his castle. He plead in vain with Yukio to render
homage to his master.
Nevertheless, to show his respect for the emperor and his envoy,
Yukio sent an escort to accompany the latter on his way. The
sullen Chinaman, angry at his defeat, accepted the safe conduct
of the Cho-sen trooi^s until beyond the Ta-tong River, and then
treacherously put their chief to death. Hurrying back to his mas-
ter, he glossed over his defeat, and boasted of his perfidious murder.
He was rewarded with the appointment of the governorship of Liao
Tung.
Smarting at the insult and menace of this act, Y'ukio, raising an
army, mai'ched to the west and slew the traitor. Having thus un-
furled the standai-d of defiance against the mighty Han dynasty, he
returned to his castle, and awaited with anxious irreparation the
coming of the invading hosts which he knew would be hurled upon
him from China.
The avenging expedition, that was to carry the banners of China
farther toward the sunrise than ever before, was despatched both
by land and sea, b.c. 108. The horse and foot soldiers took the
laud route around the head of Liao Tung Gulf, crossed on the ice
of the Yalu River, and marched south to the Ta-tong, where the
Cho-sen men attacked their van and scattered it.
The fleet sailed over fr-om Shantung, and landed a force of
several thousand men on the Corean shore, in February or March,
B.c. 107. Without waiting for the entire army to penetrate the
countiw, Yukio attacked the advance guards and drove them to
the moimtains in disorder.
Diplomacy was now tried, and a representative of the emperor
was sent to treat uuth YMkio. The latter agreed to yield and be-
come vassal, but had no confidence in the general whom he had
just defeated. His memory of Chinese perfidy was still so fresh,
that he felt unable to trust himself to his recently humbled ene-
mies, and the negotiations ended in failure. As usual, with the
unsuccessful, the Chinaman lost his head.
Recourse was again had to the sword. The Chinese crossed
the Ta-tong River on the north, and defeating the Cho-sen ai'my.
18
COREA.
marched to the king’s capital, and laid siege to it in conjunction
with the naval forces. In spite of their superior numbers, the in-
vaders were many months vainly beleaguering the fortress. Yet,
though the gariison wasted daily, the king would not yielcL
Knowing that defeat, with perhaps a cruel massacre, awaited them,
four Cho-sen men, awaiting their opportunity, during the fighting,
discharged their weapons at Yukio, and leaving him dead, opened
the gates of the citadel, and the Chinese entered.
With the planting of the Han banners on the city walls, b.c.
107, the existence of the kingdom of Cho-sen came to an end.
Henceforth, for several centuries, Liao Tung and the land now com-
prised within the two northwestern provinces of Corea, were parts
of China.
The conquered teiritory was at once divided into four provinces,
two of which comprised that part of Corea north of the Ta-tong
Kiver. The other two were in Liao Tung, occupying its eastern
and its western half. Within the latter w'as the district of Kokorai,
or Kaokuli, at whose history we shah now glance.
Coin of Modern ChO-sen. “ Cho>sen, Current Treasure.*'
CHAPTER III.
THE FUYU RACE AND THEIR MIGRATIONS.
Somewhere north of that vast region watered by the Sungari
River, itself only a tributary to the Amui', there existed, according
to Chinese tradition, in very ancient times, a petty kingdom called
Korai, or To-h. Out of this kingdom sprang the foimder of the
Corean race. Slightly altering names, we may say in the phi’ase of
Genesis : “ Out of Korai went forth Ko and builded Corea,”
though what may be sober fact is WTapped up in the following
fantastic legend.
Long, long ago, in the kingdom called To-li, or Korai (so pro-
nounced, though the characters are not those for the Korai of later
days), there hved a king, in whose harem was a waiting-maid. One
day, while her master was absent on a himt, she saw, floating in the
atmosphere, a glistening vapor which entered her bosom. This
ray or tiny cloud seemed to be about as big as an egg. Under its
influence, she conceived.
The king, on his return, discovered her condition, and made
up his mind to jiut her to death. Upon her explanation, how-
ever, he agreed to spare her life, but at once lodged her in prison.
The child that was born proved to be a boy, which the king
promptly cast among the pigs. But the swine breathed into his
nostrils and the baby lived. He was next put among the horses,
but they also nourished him with their breath, and he lived.
Stnick by tliis eHdent will of Heaven, that the child should live,
the king hstened to its mother’s prayers, and permitted her to
nourish and train him in the palace. He grew up to be a fair
youth, full of energj', and skilful in archery. He was named
“Light of the East,” and the king appointed him Master of his
stables.
One day, while out hunting, the king pennitted him to give an
exhibition of his skill This he did, drawing bow with such im-
erring aim that the royal jealousy was kindled, and he thought of
20
COREA.
nothing but how to compass the destruction of the youth. Know-
ing that he would be killed if he remained in the royal service,
the young archer fled the kingdom. He directed his course to
the southeast, and came to the borders of a vast and impassable
river, most probably the Sungari. Knowing his pursuers were
not far behind him he cried out, in a gi-eat strait.
The Founder of Fuyu Crossing the Sungari River. (Drawn by G. Hashimoto, Yedo, 1853*)
“ Alas ! shall I, who am the child of the Sun, and the grandson
of the Yellow Kiver, be stopped here powerless by this stream.”
So sariug he shot his aiTOws at the water.
Lumediately all the fishes of the river assembled together in
a thick shoal, making so dense a mass that their bodies became a
floating bridge. On this, the young prince (and according to the
THE FUYU RACE AND THEIR MIGRATIONS.
21
Japanese version of the legend, three others -with him), crossed
the stream and safely reached the fui-ther side. No sooner did he
set foot on land than his pursuers appeared on the opposite shore,
vrhen the bridge of fishes at once dissolved. His three compan-
ions stood ready to act as his guides. One of the three was
dressed in a costume made of sea-weeds, a second in hempen gar-
ments, and a third in embroidered robes. Aniving at their
city, he became the king of the tribe and kingdom of Fujm,
which lay in the fertile and weU-watered region between the Sim-
gari River and the Shan Alyn, or Ever- White Moimtains. It ex-
tended several hundred miles east and west of a line drawn south-
ward through Kirin, the larger half lying on the west.
Fuyu, as described by a Chinese A\Titer of the Eastern Han
dynasty (25 b.c.-190 a.d.), was a land of fertile soil, in which
“ the five cereals ” (wheat, rice, millet, beans, and sorghum) coiild
be raised. The men were tall, muscrd.ar, and brave, and withal
generous and com-teous to each other. Theii* anns were bows and
arrows, swords, and lances. They were skilful horsemen. Their
ornaments were large pearls, and cut jewels of red jade. They
made spirits from grain, and were fond of chinking bouts, feast-
ing, dancing, and singing. With many chinkers there were few
cups. The latter were rinsed in a bowl of water, and with gi-eat
ceremony passed from one to another. They ate with chopsticks,
out of bowls, helping themselves out of large dishes.
It is a striking fact that the Fujm people, though living so far
from China, were dwellers in cities which they siuTOimded with
palisades or walls of stakes. They lived in wooden houses, and
stored theh crops in gi-anaries.
In the administration of justice, they were severe and prompt.
Tliey had regular prisons, and fines were part of theii* legal sj*s-
tem. Tlie thief must repay twelve-fold. Adultery was punished
by the death of both parties. Further revenge might be taken
upon the woman by exposing her dead body on a mound. Cer-
tain relatives of a criminal were denied burial in a coflSn. The
other members of the family of a criminal suffering capital pun-
ishment were sold as slaves. ]\Iiu:derers were bm*ied alive with
theii* rictims.
Tlie Fuyu religion was a worship of Heaven, their greatest
festival being in the eleventh month, when they met joyfuUy to-
gether, laj*ing aside aU grudges and cjuaiTels, and freeing their
prisoners. Before setting out on a militai*y expedition they wor-
22
COREA.
shipped Heaven, and sacrificed an ox, examining the hoof, to obtain
an omen. If the cloven paii; remained separated, the portent was
evil, if the hoof closed together, the omen was auspicious.
The Fu}ti chief men or nilers were named after the domestic
beasts, beginning with their noblest animal, the horse, then the ox,
the dog, etc. Eulers of cities were of this order. Their king was
buried at his death in a coffin made of jade.
Eridently the Fuj-u people were a vigorous northern race,
well clothed and fed, rich in grain, horses and cattle, possessing
the arts of life, vith considerable literary culture, and well ad-
vanced in social order and political knowledge. Though the Chi-
nese -wTiters classed them among barbarians, they were, in con-
trast with their- immediate neighbors, a ci-vilized nation. Indeed,
to account for such a high stage of civilization thus early and so
far fom China, HE. Eoss suggests that the scene of the Ei Tsze’s
labors was in Fuyu, rather than in ChO-sen. Certain it is that
the Fuyu people were the fii-st nation of Manchuria to emerge
from barbarism, and become politically well organized. It is signifi-
cant, as seiwing to support the conjectrrre that Ki Tsze formded
Fuyu, that we discern, even in the early history- of this vigor-
ous nation, the institution of feudahsm. Me find a king and no-
bles, with fortified cities, and wealthy men, -nith farms, herds of
horses, cattle, and granaries. Me find also a class of ser-fs, created
by the degradation of criminals or their relatives. The other
Manchm’ian people, or barbarians, surrormding China, were stdl
in the nomadic or patriarchal state. Miry so early beyond China
do we find a well-developed feudal system and high pohtical or-
ganization ?
It was from feudal China, the China of the Tin dynasty, from
which Ki Tsze emigrated to the nor-theast. Knowing no other
form of government, he, if their founder, doubtless introduced
feudal forms of government.
Mhatever may be thought of the theory there suggested, it is
certainly sru'prising to find a distinctly marked feudal system,
ah’eady past the rndimentary- stage, in the wHdemess of Man-
chmia, a thousand miles away from the seats of Chinese culture,
as early as the Christian era.
As nearly the whole of Europe was at some time feudalized, so
China, Corea, and Japan have each passed through this stage of
pohtical life.
The feudal system in China was abohshed by Shi Mhang Ti,
THE FUYU RACE AND THEIR MIGRATIONS.
23
thefil’st universal Emperor, b.c. 221, buttliat of Japan only after an
interval of 2,000 years, surviving until 1871. It lingers stiU in
Corea, whose histoiy it has gi’eatly influenced, as our subsequent
narrative will prove. In addition to the usual features of feudal-
ism, the existence of serfdom, in fact as well as in form, is proved
by the testimony of Dutch and French observers, and of the lan-
guage itself. The richness of Corean speech, in regard to eveiy
phase and degiee of servitude, would suffice for a Norman land-
holder in mediaeval England, or for a Carolina cotton-planter be-
fore the American civil war.
Out of this kingdom of Fuyu came the people who are the
ancestors of the modern Coreans. In the same Chinese history
which describes Emm, we have a pictm’e of the kingdom of Koko-
rai (or Kao-ku-li), which had Fuyu for its northern and Cho-sen
for its southern neighbor. “The land was two thousand Zi square,
and contained many great mountains, and deep valleys.” There
was a tradition among the Eastern barbarians that they were an
offshoot from Fuyu. Hence their language and laws were very
much alike. The nation was dirided into five families, named
after the four points of the compass, with a yellow or central
tribe.
Evidently this means that a few families, perhaps five in num-
ber, leaving Fujai, set out toward the south, and in the valleys
west of the Yalu River and along the 42d parallel, founded a
new nation. Their first king was Ko, who, perhaps, to gain the
prestige of ancient descent, joined his name to that of Korai
(wTitten however with the characters which make the sound of
modem Korai) and thus the realm of Kokorai received its name.
A Japanese ■\sTiter derives the term Kokorai from words se-
lected out of a passage in the Chinese classics refen-ing to the
high mormtains. The first character Ko, in Kokorai, means high,
and it was under the shadows of the lofty Ever YiTiite Mountains
that this vigorous nation had its cradle and its home in youth.
Here, too, its warriors nourished their strength until their clouds
of horsemen burst upon the frontiers of the Chinese empire, and
into the old kingdom of Cho-sen. The people of this young state
were rich in horses and cattle, but less given to agiiculture.
They lived much in the open air, and were fierce, impetuous,
strong, and hardy. They were fond of music and pleasui’e at
night. EspeciaEy characteristic was their love of decoration and
display. At them public gatherings they decked themselves in
24
COREA.
dresses embroidered with gold and silver. Their houses were also
adorned in various ways. Their chief display was at funerals,
when a prodigal outlay of precious metals, jewels, and embroi-
deries was exhibited.
In their rehgion they sacrificed to Heaven, to the spirits of the
land, and of the harvests, to the morning star, and to the celestial
and invisible powers. There were no prisons, but when crimes
were committed the chiefs, after deliberation, put the criminal to
death and reduced the wives and children to slavery. In this way
serfs were provided for labor. In their buiial customs, they
made a cairn, and planted fir-trees around it, as many Japanese
tombs are made.
In the general forms of their social, religious, and political life,
the people of Fujui and Kokorai were identical, or nearly so ;
while both closely resemble the ancient Japanese of Yamato.
The Chinese authors also state that these people were already
in possession of the Confucian classics, and had attained to an un-
usual degi’ee of hteraiy cultiu’e. Their officials were divided into
twelve ranks, which was also the ancient Japanese number. In
the method of di^-ination, in the wealing of flowery costumes, and
in certain forms of etiquette, they and the Japanese were alike.
As is now well known, the ancient form of government of the
Yamato Japanese (that is, of the conquering race from Corea and
the north) w'as a rude feudalism and not a monarchy. Further,
the central jiart of Japan, first held by the ancestoi-s of the mi-
kado, consists of five provinces, like the Kokorai dirfsion, into five
clans or tribes.
At the opening of the Christian era we find the people of Ko-
korai ah’eady strong and restless enough to excite attention from
the Chinese com-t In 9 a.d. they were recognized as a nation
with their own “kings,” and classified with Huentu, one of the
districts of old Cho-sen. One of these kings, in the year 30, sent
tribute to the Chinese emperor. In 50 a. n. Kokorai, by invitation,
sent their wairfors to assist the Chinese anny against a rebel horde
in the northwest. In a.d. 70 the men of Kokorai descended upon
Liao Tung, and haring now a taste for border war and conquest,
they marched into the petty kingdom of Wei, which lay in what is
now the extreme northeast of Corea. Absorbing this Httle coun-
tiy, they kept up constant warfai-e against the Chinese. Though
their old kinsmen, the Fujti men, were at times allies of the Han,
yet they gi-adually spread themselves eastwai’d and southward, so
THE FUYU RACE AND THEIR MIGRATIONS.
25
Fuyu and Manchiu.
2G
COREA.
that by 169 a.d. the Kokorai kingdom embraced the -whole of the
territory of old Cho-sen, or of Liao Timg, -with all the Corean
peninsula north of the Ta-tong, and even to the Tumen River.
This career of conquest sufi'ered a check for a time, when a
Chinese expedition, sailing up the Yalu River, invested the capital
city of the king and defeated his army. The king fled beyond
the Tumen River. Eight thousand people are said to have been
made prisoners or slaughtered by the Chinese. For a time it
seemed as though Kokorai were too badly crippled to move again.
Anarchy broke out in China, on the fall of the house of Han,
A.D. 220, and lasted for half a centmy. That period of Chinese his-
toi-j", from 221 to 277, is called the “Epoch of the Three King-
doms.” Duiing this period, and until well into the fifth century,
while China was rent into “Northern” and “Southern” di^-isions,
the military activities of Kokorai were employed with varying re-
sults against the petty kingdoms that rose and fell, one after the
other, on the soil between the Great WaU and the Yalu River.
During this time the nation, free from the power and oppression of
China, held htr owm and compacted her power. In the fifth cen-
tm-y her warriors had penetrated nearly as far west as the modem
Peking in their cavahy raids. Wily in diplomacy, as brave in
war, they sent tribute to both of the rival claimants for the throne
of China -which were likely to give them trouble in the future.
Dropping the family name of their first king, they retained that
of their ancestral home-land, and called their nation Korai.
Meanwhile, as they multiphed in niimbers, the migration of Ko-
korai people, henceforth kno-vm as Korai men, set steadily south-
ward. Weakness in China meant strength in Korai. The Chinese
had bought peace -with their Eastern neighbors by titles and gifts,
-w'hich left the Koraians free to act against their southern neigh-
bors. In steadily displacing these, they came into collision -with
the little kingdom of Hiaksai, whose histoiy -will be narrated
farther on. It -wiU be seen that the Korai men, people of the
Fuyu race, finally occupied the territory of Hiaksai. Already the
Koraians, sm-e of tether conquest south-ward, fixed their capital at
Piug-an.
In 589 A.D. the house of Sui was established on the dragon
throne, and a poi’tentous message was sent to the King of Korai,
which caused the latter to make vigorous war preparations. Evi-
dently the Chinese emperor meant to throttle the yoimg giant of
the north, while the young giant was equally determined to live.
THE FUYU RACE AND THEIR MIGRATIONS.
27
The movement of a marauding force of Koraians, even to the inside
of the Great Wall, gave the bearded dragon not only the pretext
of war but of annexation.
For this pui’pose an army of three hundred thousand men and
a fleet of several hundred war-jimks were prepared. The latter
were to sail over from Shantung, and enter the Ta-tong Eiver, the
goal of the expedition being Ping-an city, the Koraian capital.
The horde started without provisions, and ainived in mid-sum-
mer at the Liao River in want of food. While waiting, during the
hot weathei’, in this malarious and muddy region, the soldiers died
by tens of thousands of fever and plague. The incessant rains
soon rendered the roads impassable and transpori of provisions
an impossibihty. Disease melted the mighty host away, and the
army, reduced to one-fifth its numbers, was forced to retreat. The
war-junks fared no better, for storms in the Yellow Sea drove them
back or foimdered them by the score.
Such a frightful loss of life and material did not deter the
next emperor, the infamous Yang (who began the Grand Canal),
from followng out the scheme of his father, whom he conveni-
ently poisoned while already dying. Li spite of the raging fam-
ines and losses by flood, the emperor ordered magazines for the
armies of invasion to be established near the coast, and contin-
gents of troops for the twenty-four corps to be raised in every
2>rorince. All these preijarations caused local famines and drove
many of the peojile into rebellion.
This anny, one of the greatest ever assembled in China, num-
bered over one million men. Its equipment consisted largely of
banners, gongs, and trampets. The undisciplined horde began
their march, aiming to reach the Liao River before the hot season
set in. They found the Koraian anny ready to dispute their pas-
sage. Three bridges, hastily constructed, were thrown across the
stream, on which horse and foot pressed eagerly towai’d the
enemy. The width of the river had, however, been miscalcula-
ted and the bridges were too short, so that many thousands of the
Chinese were dro^vned or killed by the Koraians, at unequal odds,
while fighting on the shore. In two days, however, the bridges
were lengthened and the whole force crossed over. The Chinese
van imrsued their enemy, slaughtering ten thousand before they
could gain the fortified city of Liao Tung. Once inside their
walls, how'ever, the Korai soldiers were time to their reputation of
being siflendid gamson fighters. Instead of easy victory the
28
COREA.
Chinese army lay around the city unable, even after several
months’ besieging, to breach the walls or weaken the spirit of the
defenders.
Meanwhile the other di\’ision had marched northward and
eastward, according to the plan of the campaign. Eight of these
army corps, numbeiing 300,000 men, arrived and went into camp
on the west bank of the Yalu River. In spite of express orders to
the contrary, the soldiers had thrown away most of the hundred
days’ rations of grain with which they started, and the commissa-
riat was verj' low. The Koraian commander, canying out the
Fabian policy, tempted them away from their camp, and led them
by skirmishing parties to -ndthin a hundred miles of Ping-an.
The Chinese fleet lay within a few leagues of the invading army,
but land and sea forces were mutually ignorant of each other’s vi-
cinity. Daring not to risk the siege of a city so well fortified by
natm’e and art as Ping-an, in his present lack of supphes, the Chi-
nese general reluctantly ordered a retreat, which began in Late
summer, the nearest base of supplies being Liao Tung, four hun-
di’ed miles away and through an enemy’s country.
This was the signal for the Koraians to assume the offensive,
and like the Cossacks, upon the army of Napoleon, in Russia, they
hung upon the flanks of the hungry fugitives, slaughtering thou-
sands upon thousands.
When the Chinese host were crossing the Chin-chion River,
the Koraian army fell in full force upon them, and the fall of the
commander of their rear-guard turned defeat into a rout. The
disorderly band of fugitives rested not tUl well over and beyond
the Yalu River. Of that splendid ai’my of 300,000 men only a
few thousand reached Liao Tung city. The weapons, spoU, and
prisoners taken by the Koraians were “myriads of mj-riads of
mjTiads.” The naval forces in the river, on hearing the amazing
news of theii’ comi-ades’ defeat, left Corea and crept back to China.
The Chinese emperor was so enraged at the utter failure of his
prodigious entei-prise, that he had the fugitive officers publicly
put to death as an example.
In spite of the disasters of the previous year, the emperor
Yang, in 613, again sent an army to besiege Liao Tung city. On
this occasion scaling ladders, 150 feet long, and towel's, mounted
on wheels, were used with great effect. Just on the eve of the
completion of their gi'eatest work and tower the Chinese camp
was suddenly abandoned, the emperor being called home to put
THE FIJYU RACE AHD THEIR MIGRATIONS.
29
down a formidable rebellion. So cautious were the besieged and
so sudden was the flight of the besiegers, that it was noon before
a Koraian ventui-ed iuto camp, and two days elapsed before they
discovered that the retreat was not feigned. Then the Koraian
gan’ison attacked the Chinese reai’-guard with severe loss.
The rebeUion at home having been put doAvn the emperor
again cherished the plan of crushing Korai, but other and greater
insvuTections broke out that required his attention ; for the three
expeditions against Corea had wasted the empme even as they had
sealed the doom of the Sui d}*nasty. Though no land forces could
be spared, a new fleet was sent to Corea to lay siege to Ping-an city.
Even with large portions of his dominions in the hands of rebels,
Yang never gave up his plan of humbling Korai. This project
was the cause of the most frightful distress in China, and seeing
no hope of saving the country except by the mui’der of the infa-
mous emperor, cowai’d, di-unkard, tju-ant, and voluptuary, a band
of conspirators, headed by Yli Min, put him to death and Korai
had rest.
To summarize this chapter. It is possible that Ki Tsze was
the founder of Fujai. The Kokorai tribes were peoj^le who had
migi-ated from Fujai, and settled north and Avest of the upper
water's of the Yalu River. They entered into relations Avith the
Chinese as early as 9 a.d., and coming into collision AA-ith them by
the year 70, they kept up a fitful warfare A\'ith them, sustaining
mighty invasions, until the seventh centun', while in the mean-
time Korai, instead of being crushed by China, grew in area and
numbers until the nation had spread into the peninsula, and OA'er-
run it as far as the Han River.
Thus far the history of Corea has been that of the northern
and western part of the peninsula, and has been derived chiefly
from Chinese sources. We turn now to the southern and eastern
portions, and in nari’ating their history we shall point out then-
relations with Japan as well as Av-itli China, reljing largely for oui'
information upon the Japanese annals.
CHAPTER rV^
SAM-HAN, OR SOUTHERN COREA.
At the time of the suppression of Cho-sen and the incorpora-
tion of its territoiy with the Chinese Empire, b.c. 107, all Corea
south of the Ta-tong River was divided into three han, or geo-
graphical divisions. Their exact boundaries are imcertain, but
their general topogi'aphy may be learned from the map.
SAM-HAN, OR SOUTHERN COREA,
31
MA-HAN AND BEN-HAN.
This little country included fifty-foui’ tribes or clans, each one
independent of the other, and living under a sort of patriarchal
government. The larger tribes are said to have been composed
of ten thousand, and the smaller of a thousand, families each.
Kound numbers, however, in ancient records are worth little for
critical pui’poses.
South of the Ma-han was the Ben-han, in which were twelve
tribes, ha'S'ing the same manners and customs as the Ma-han, and
speaking a different yet kindred dialect. One of these clans
formed the little kingdom of Amana, from which came the fii’st
visit of Coreans recorded in the Japanese annals.
After the overthrow of his family and kingdom by the traitor
Wei-man, Kijun, the king of old Cho-sen escaped to the sea and
fled south toward the archipelago. He had with him a number
of his faithful adherents, their wives and children. He landed
among one of the clans of Ma-han, composed of Chinese refugees,
who, not wishing to hve under the Han emperors, had crossed the
Yellow Sea. On accoimt of their numbering, originally, one hun-
dred families, they called themselves Hiaksai. Either by conquest
or invitation Kijun soon became their king. Glimpses of the
manner of life of these early people are given by a Chinese writer.
The Ma-han people were agricMtural, dwelling in -v-illages, but
neither driring nor riding oxen or horses, most probably because
they flid not possess them. Their huts were made of earth
banked uj^on timber, ■with the door in the roof. They went bare-
headed, and coiled or tied their hair in a knot. They set no value
on gold, jewels, or embroideiy, but wore pearls sewed on their
clothes and htmg on their necks and ears. Perhaps the word here
translated “pearl” may be also applied to drilled stones of a
cylindrical or cmwed shape, like the majatama, or “bent jewels,”
of the ancient Japanese. They shod their feet with sandals, and
wore garments of woven stuff. In etiquette they were but slightly
advanced, pajing little honor to women or to the aged. Like oiu*
Indian bucks, the young men tested their endurance by tortm’e.
Shtting the skin of the back, they ran a cord through the flesh,
upon which was hung a piece of wood. This was kept suspended
till the man, imable longer to endm-e it, cried out to have it taken
off.
32
COREA.
After the field work was over, in early summer, they held
drinking bouts, in honor of the spirits, with songs and dances.
Scores of men, quickly following each other, stamped on the
gi’oimd to beat time as they danced. In the late autumn, after
haiwests, they repeated these ceremonies. In each clan there was
a man, chosen as mler, to sacrifice to the spirits of heaven. On
a gi’eat pole they hung drums and bells for the service of the
heavenly spiiits. Perhaps these are the originals of the taU and
slender pagodas with their pendant wind-beUs at the many eaves
and comers.
Among the edible products of Ma-han were fowls with tails fiv3
feet in length. These “hens with tails a yard long” were evi-
dently pheasants — stid a delicacy on Corean tables. The large
apple-shaped jjears, which have a wooden taste, half way between
a pear and an apple, were then, as now, produced in great num-
bers. The flavor improves by cooking.
As Kijun’s government was one of vigor, his subjects advanced
in civilization, the Hiaksai people gradually extended their au-
thority and influence. The clan names in time faded away or be-
came symbols of family bonds instead of governmental authority,
so that by the fourth century Hiaksai had become paramount
over all the fifty-four tribes of Ma^han, as well as over some of
those of the other two /ian.
Thus arose the kingdom of Hiaksai (called also Kudara by the
Jairanese, Petsi by the Chinese, and Baiji by the modem Coreans),
which has a history extending to the tenth centuiw, when it was
extingTiished in name and fact in united Corea
Its relations with Jaj>an were, in the main, friendly, the island-
ers of the Sunrise Kingdom being comrades in arms Avith them
against their invader’s, the Chinese, and their hostile neighbors,
the men of Shim’a — whose origin we shall now proceed to detail
SHIX-HAS.
After the fall of the Tsin dynasri’ in China, a small body of
refugees, learing their- native seats, fled across the Yellow Sea
towar’d the Sea of Japan, resting only when over the great moun-
tain chain. They made settlements in the valleys and along the
sea-coast. At first they preserved their blood and language pure,
forming one of the twelve clans or ti-ibes into which the han or
country was divided.
SAM-HAN, OR SOUTHERN COREA.
33
This name Shin (China or Chinese), which points to the origin
of the clan, belonged to but one of the twelve tribes in eastern
Corea. As in the case of Hiaksai, the Shin tribe, being possessed
of superior power and intelligence, extended their authority and
boundaries, gradually becoming verj' powerful. Under their
twenty-second hereditary chief, or “king,” considering themselves
paramount over aU the clans, they changed the name of their
countrj" to Shinra, which is pronounced in Chinese Sinlo.
Between the years 29 and 70 a.d., according to the Japanese
histories, an envoy from Shinra arrived in Japan, and after an
audience had of the mikado, presented him with mirrors, swords,
jade, and other works of skill and ari. In this we have a hint as
to the origin of Japanese decorative art. It is evident from these
gifts, as well as from the reports of Chinese historians concern-
ing the refined manners, the hereditaiy aristocracy, and the for-
tified strongholds of the Shinra people, that their grade of chili-
zation was much higher than that of their northern neighbors.
It was certainly superior to that of the Japanese, who, as we
shall see, were soon temi^ted to make descents upon the fertile
lauds, rich cities, and defenceless coasts of their risitors fr'om the
west.
How long the Chinese colonists who settled in Shin-han pre-
soiwed their language and customs is not knowm. Though these
were lo.st after a few generations, yet it is evident that theii* influ-
ence on the aborigines of the country' was veiy great. From first
to last Shinra excelled in civilization all the petty states in the
peninsula, of which at first there were seventy-eight. Unlike the
Ma-han, the Shin-han people lived in palisaded cities, and in
houses the doors of which were on the ground and not on the
roof. They cultivated mulberry-trees, reared the silk-worm, and
wove silk into fine fabrics. They used wagons with yoked oxen,
and horses for draught, and practised “the law of the road.”
Man-iage was conducted "with appropriate ceremony. Dancing,
drinking, and singing were favorite amusements, and the lute was
played in addition to drums. They understood the art of smelt-
ing and working iron, and used this metal as money. They car-
ried on trade with the other han, and -with Japan. How far these
arts owed their encouragement or origin to traders, or travelling
merchants from China, is not known. Evidently Shinra enjoyed
leadership in the peninsula, largely from her culture, wealth, and
knowledge of iron. The cui’ious custom, so well known among
3
34
COREA,
American savages, of flattening the heads cf newly bom infants, is
noted among the Shin-han people.
Neither Chinese history nor Japanese tradition, though they
give us some account of a few hundred families of emigrants from
China who settled in the akeady inhabited Corean peninsula, throws
any light on the aborigines as to whence or when they came. The
cuidain is lifted only to show us that a few people are already
there, with language and customs different from those of China.
The descendants of the comparatively few Chinese settlers were
no doubt soon lost, mth their language and ancestral customs,
among the mass of natives. These aboriginal tribes were destined
to give way to a new people from the far north, as we shall leam
in our further naiTative. The Japanese historians seem to distin-
guish between the San Han, the three countries or confederacies
of loosely organized tribes, and the San Goku, or Three Kingdoms.
The Coreans, however, speak only of the Sam-hanj meaning
thereby the three political divisions of the peninsula, and using
the word as referring rather to the epoch. The common “ cash,”
or fractional coin cvuTent in the country, bears the characters
meaning “ circulating medium of the Three Kingdoms,” or Sam-
han. These were Korai in the north, Shinra in the southeast, and
Hiaksai in the southwest. Other Japanese names for these were
respectively Komc, Shu'iaki, and Kudara, the Chinese terms being
Kaoli, Sinlo, and Pe-tsi.
Like the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and TTales,
called also Britannia, Caledonia, and Cambria, these Corean states
w'ere distinct in origin, were conquered by a race from without,
received a rich infusion of alien blood, struggled in rivalry for
centuries, and were finally united into one nation, with one flag
and one sovereign.
Coin of the Sam-han or the Three Kingdoms. " Sam-han, Current Treasure."
CHAPTER Y.
EPOCH OP THE THREE KINGDOMS.— HIAKSAI.
The history of the peninsular states from the time in -which it is
first known imtil the tenth centui-y, is that of almost continuous
ci-vil war or border fighting. The boundaries of the rival king-
doms changed from time to time as raid and reprisal, -rictory or
defeat, tiimed the scale of war. A series of maps of the penin-
sula expressing the political situation duiang each century or
half-century would show many variations of boundaries, and re-
semble those of Great Britain when the various native and con-
tinental tribes were struggling for its mastery. Something like
an attempt to depict these changes in the political geography of
the peninsiila has been made by the Japanese historian, Otsuki
Toyo, in his work entitled “Historical Periods and Changes of the
Japanese Empire.”
Yet though our narrative, tlirough excessive brerity, seems to be
only a picture of war, -we must not forget that Hiaksai, once low-
est in ci-vilization, rapidly became, and for a while continued, the
leading state in the peninsula. It held the lead in literary culture
imtil crushed by China. The classics of Confucius and Mencius,
■with letters, writing, and their whole train of literai-y blessings,
■were introduced first to the peninsuLa in Hiaksai. In 374 a.d.
Ko-ken was appointed a teacher or master of Chinese literature,
and enthusiastic scholars gathered at the court. Buddhism fol-
lowed with its educational influences, becoming a focus of light
and cMture. As early as 372 a.d. an apostle of northern Buddh-
ism had penetrated into Liao Tung, and perhaps across the
Y’alu. In 384 a.d. the missionary Marananda, a Tliibetan, for-
mally established temples and monasteries in Hiaksai, in which
women as, well as men became scholastics. Long before this new
element of cirilization was rooted in Shinra or Korai, the faith of
India was established and flouri.shing in the little kingdom of Hi-
aksai, 60 that its influences were felt as far as Japan. The first
36
COREA,
teacher of Chinese letters and ethics in Nippon was a Corean
named Wani, as was also the first missionary who carried the im-
ages and sutras of northern Buddhism across the Sea of Japan.
To Hiaksai more than to any other Corean state Japan owes her
first impidse toward the civilization of the west
Hiaksai came into coUision with Kokorai as early as 345 a,d.,
at which time also Shinra suffered the loss of several cities. In
the fifth century a Chinese army, sent by one of the emperors of
the Wei djmasty to enforce the payment of tribute, was defeated
by Hiaksai. Such unexpected military results raised the reputa-
tion of “ the eastern savages ” so high in the imperial mind, that the
emperor offered the King of Hiaksai the title of “ Great Protector
of the Eastern Frontier.” By this act the independence of the
little kingdom was virtually recognized. In the sixth century,
having given and received Chinese aid and comfort in alliance
with Shinra against Korai, Hiaksai was ravaged in her borders by
the troops of her irate neighbor on the north. Later on we find
these two states in peace with each other and aUied against Shin-
ra, which had become a vassal of the Tang emperors of China.
From this line of China’s rulers the kingdoms of Korai and
Hiaksai were to receive crushing blows. In answer to Shinra’s
prayer for aid, the Chinese emperor, in GGO, despatched from
Shantung a fleet of several hundred sail with 100,000 men on
board. Against this host from the west the Hiaksai army could
make little resistance, though they bravely attacked the invaders,
but only to be beaten. After a victory near the mouth of the
Rin-yin River, the Chinese marched at once to the capital of Hi-
aksai and again defeated, with terrible slaughter, the provincial
army. The king fled to the north, and the city being nearly
empty of defenders, the feeble gan-ison opened the gates. Tlie
Tang banners fluttered on all the walls, and another state was ab-
sorbed in the Chinese empire. For a time Hiaksai, like a fly
snapped up by an angiy dog, is lost in China.
Not long, however, did the bttle kingdom disappear from
sight. In G70 a Buddhist priest, fired -with patriotism, raised an
army of monks and priests, and joining Fuku-shin (Fu-sin), a
brave general, they laid siege to a city held by a large Chinese
garrison. At the same time they sent word to the emperor of
Japan praying for succor against the “robber kingdom.” They
also begged that Hosho (Ftmg), the youthful son of the late king,
then a hostage and pupil at the mikado’s court, might be invested
EPOCH OP THE THREE KINGDOMS.— HIAKSAL
37
■with the royal title and sent home. The mikado despatched a
fleet of 400 junks and a large body of soldiers to escort the royal
heir homeward. On his arrival Hosho was proclaimed king.
Meanwhile the priest-army and the forces under Fuku-shin
had reconquered nearly aU their territory’’, when they suffered a
severe defeat near the sea-coast from the large Chinese force
hastily despatched to put do-wn the rebellion. The invaders
marched eastward and effected a junction -with the forces of
Shinra. The prospects of Hiaksai were now deplorable.
For even among the men of Hiaksai there was no imity of pur-
pose. Fuku-shin had put the priest-leader to death, which arbi-
trary' act so excited the suspicions of the king that he in tm-n
ordered his general to be beheaded. He then sent to Japan, ap-
pealing for reinforcements. The mikado, willmg to helj) an old
ally, and fearing that the Chinese, if victorious, might invade his
own dominions, qmckly responded. The Japanese contingent ar-
rived and encamped near the mouth of the Han River, prepara-
tory' to a descent by sea upon Shinra. Unsuspecting the near
presence of an enemy, the allies neglected their usual A'igilance.
A fleet of war-junks, flying the Tang streamers, suddenly ap-
peared off the camp, and while the Japanese were engaging these,
the Chinese land forces stmck them in flank. Taken by' sui-prise,
the mikado’s warriors w'cre driven like flocks of sheep into the
water and dro^^'ned or shot by' the Chinese archers. The Japanese
vessels were burned as they lay' at anchor in the bloody' stream,
and the remnants of the beaten army got back to their islands in
pitiable fragments. Hcsho, after witnessing the destruction of
his host, fled to Korai, and the country was given over to the
waste and pillage of the infuriated Chinese. The royal line, after
thirty generations and nearly seven centuries of rule, became ex-
tinct. The sites of cities became the habitations of tigers, and
once fertile fields Avere soon overgrown. Large portions of Hiak-
sai became a wHderaess.
Though the Chinese Government ordered the bodies of those
killed in war and the white bones of the A'ictims of famine to be
buried, yet many thousands of Hiaksai families fled elsewhere to
find an asylum and to found new industries. The people who
remained on their fertile lands, as well as all Southern Corea, fell
under the sway of Shinra.
The fragments of the beaten Japanese army gradually returned
to their native country or settled in Southern Corea. Thousands
38
CORE^
of the people of Hiaksai, detesting the idea of living as slaves of
China, accompanied or followed their aUies to Japan. On their
an-ival, by order of the mikado, 400 emigrants of both sexes were
located in the province of Omi, and over 2,000 were distributed in
the Kuanto, or Eastern Japan. These colonies of Coreans founded
}iotteries, and their descendants, mingled by blood •with the Japan-
ese, follow the trade of their ancestors.
In 710 another body of Hiaksai people, dissatisfied with the
poverty of the country and tempted by the offers of the Japan-
ese, formed a colony numbering 1,800 persons and emigrated
to Japan. They were settled in IMusashi, the province in which
Tokio, the modem capital, is sitiiated. Various other emi-
gi’ations of Coreans to Japan of later date are referred to in the
annals of the latter coimtrj", and it is fair to presume that tens of
thousands of emigrants from the peninsula fled from the Tang in-
vasion and mingled with the islanders, producing the composite
race that inhabit the islands ruled by the mikado. Among the
refugees were many priests and nuns, who brought their book3
and learning to the com't at Kara, and thus diffused about them a
literary atmosphere. The establishment of schools, the awaken-
ing of the Japanese intellect, and the first beginnings of the htera-
tm’e of Japan, the composition of their oldest historical hooka,
the Kojiki and the Kihongi — all the fruits of the latter half of the
seventh and early part of the eighth century — are directly trace-
able to this influx of the scholars of Hiaksai, which being de-
stroyed by China, lived again in Japan. Even the pronunciation
of the Chinese characters as taught by the Hiaksai teachers re-
mains to this day. One of them, the mm Homio, a learned lady,
made her system so popular among the scholars that even an im-
perial proclamation against it could not banish it. She established
her school in Tsushima, a.d. 655, and there taught that system of
[Chinese] prommciation [ Go-oii\ which still holds sway in Japan,
among the ecclesiastical Literati, in ojDposition to the Kan-on of the
secular scholars. The Go-on, the older of the two pi’ommciations, is
that of ancient North China, the Kan-on is that of mediaeval South-
ern China (Nanking). Corea and Japan having phonetic alpha-
bets have preserved and stereotj'ped the ancient Chinese pronun-
ciation better than the Chinese language itself, since the Chinese
have no phonetic ■writing, but only ideographic characters, the
pronunciation of which varies during the progress of centuries.
Hiaksai had given Buddhism to Japan as early as 552 A.n., but
EPOCH OF THE THREE KINGDOMS. —HI AKSAL
39
opposition had prevented its spread, the temple was set on fire,
and the images of Buddha thrown in the rivex*. In 684 one
Say^ki brought another image of Buddha from Corea, and Umako,
son of Iname, a minister at the mikado’s com-t, enshrined it in a
chapel on his owtx groxmds. He made Yeben and Simata, two
Cox’eans, his piiests, and his daughter a mm. They celebrated a
festival, and henceforth Buddhism ‘ grew apace.
The cotmtiy toward the sunidse was then a new land to the
peninsulars, just as “the West” is to us, or Australia is to Eng-
land ; and Japan made these fugitives welcome. In their train
came industi^% learning, and skill, enriching the island kingdom
Mith the best infusion of blood and culture.
Hiaksai was the first of the three kingdoms that was weak-
ened by civil war and then feU a A-ictim to Chinese lust of con-
quest.
The progress and fall of the other two kingdoms wiU now be
narrated. Beginning -ndth Korai, we shall foUow its story from
the year 613 a.d., Avhen the invading hordes of the Tang djmasty
had been driven out of the peninsxila with such aAvfxd slaughter
by the Koraians.
' There are coloss.il stone images at Pe-chiu (Pha-jiu) in the capital prov-
ince, and at Un-jin in Chung-chong Do. Tlie former, discovered by Lieuten-
ant J. G. Bernadon, U.S.N. , are in tlie midst of a fir-wood, and are carved in
lialf-figure out of bowlders in place, the heads and caps projecting over the
tops of the trees. One wears a square cap and the other a round one, from
which Mr. G. W. Aston conjectures that they symbolize the male and female
elements in nature (p. 329). At Un-jin in Chung-chong D5 Mr. G. C. Foulke,
U.S.N., saw, at a distance of fifteen miles, what seemed to be a lighthouse.
On approach, this half-length human figure proved to be a pinnacle of white
granite, sixty-four feet high, cut into a representation of Buddha. Similar
statues may perhaps bo discovered elsewhere. Coreans call such figures mi-
ryek (stone men, as the Chinese characters given in the French-Corean dic-
tionary read), or miriok, from the Chinese MUe, or Buddha. (In Japanese,
the Buddha to come is Miroku-butsu—a. verbal coincidence ) Professor Terrien
de Lacouperie has written upon this theme with great learning. Besides the
lop-ears, forehead-mark, and traditional countenance seen in the Buddhas of
Chinese Asia, there is on the Un-jin figure a very high double cap, on which
are set two slabs of stone joined by a central column, suggesting both the cere-
monial cap of ancient Chinese ritual and the Indian pagoda-like umbrella.
These miriok stand in what w.as once Hiaksai. In his “ Life in Corea,” Mr.
Carles gives a picture of the one at Un-jin. Smaller ones exist near monas-
teries and temples.
CH^VPTER VI.
EPOCH OF THE THREE KINGDOMS.— KORAL
After the struggle in which the Corean tiger had worsted the
Western Dragon, early in the seventh century, China and Korai
were for a generation at peace. The bones of the slain were
buried, and sacrificial fii'es for the dead soothed the spirits of the
victims. The same imperial messenger, who in 622 was sent to
supervise these offices of religion, also visited each of the courts
of the three kingdoms. So successful was he in his mission of
peaceful diplomacy, that each of the Coi-ean states sent envoys
with tribute and congratulation to the imperial throne. In proof
of his good wishes, the emperor returned to his vassals all his
prisoners, and declared that their young men woffid be re-
ceived as students in the Imperial University at his capital.
Henceforth, as in many instances during later centuries, the
sons of nobles and promising youth from Korai, Shinra, and
Hiaksai went to study at Nanking, where theii' envoys met the
Arab traders.
Korai having been divided into five provinces, or circuits,
named respectively the Home, North, South, East, and West divi-
sions, extended fr'om the Sea of Japan to the Liao River, and en-
joyed a brief speU of peace, except always on the southern border ;
for the chronic state of Korai and Shinra was that of mutual hos-
tility. On the north, beyond the Tumen River, was the kingdom
of Pu-hai, with which Korai was at peace, and Japan was in inti-
mate relations, and China at jealous hostility.
The Chinese court soon began to look with longing eyes on
the territory of that part of Korai lying west of the Talu River,
believing it to be a geographical necessity that it should become
their scientific frontier, while the emperor cherished the hope of
soon rectifying it. Though unable to forget the fact that one of
his predecessors had wasted millions of lives and tons of treasure
in vainly attempting to humble Kokorai, his ambition and pride
EPOCH OP THE THREE KINGDOMS— KORAL
41
spurred him on to wade through slaughter to conquest and re-
venge. He waited only for a pretext.
This time the destinies of the Eastern Kingdom were pro-
foundly influenced by the character of the feudalism brought into
it from ancient times, and which was one of the characteristic insti-
tutions of the Fujui race.
The Government of Korai was simply that of a royal house,
holding, by more or less binding ties of loyalty, powerful nobles,
who in turn held their lands on feudal temu-e. In certain con-
tingencies these noble land-holders were scarcely less powerful
than the king himself.
In C41 one of these liegemen, whoso ambition the king had in
vain attempted to curb and even to put to death, revenged him-
self by killing the king with his own hands. He then proclaimed
as sovereign the nephew of the dead king, and made himself
prime minister. Having thus the control of all power in the state,
and being a man of tremendous physical strength and mental
ability, all the people submitted quietly to the new order of
things, and were at the same time diverted, being sent to ravage
Shinra, annexing all the coimtry do^^■n to the 37th j^arallel. The
Chinese emperor gave investiture to the new king, but ordered
this Corean Warwick to recall his troops from invading Shinra,
the ally of China. The minister paid his tribute loyally, but re-
fused to acknowledge the right of China to interfere in Corean
politics. The tribute was then sent back w ith insult, and war be-
ing certain to follow, Korai prepared for the worst. War with
China has been so constant a phenomenon in Corean history that
a special term, Ho-ran, exists and is common in the national an-
nals, since the “ Chinese wars ” have been numbered by the score.
Again the sails of an invading fleet whitened the waters of the
Yellow Sea, carrying the Chinese army of chastisement that was
to land at the head of the peninsula, while two bodies of troops
were despatched by different routes landward. The Tang em-
peror was a stanch believer in "Wliang Ti, the Asiatic equivalent
of the Eirropean doctrine of the dirine right of kings to reign — a
tenet as easily found by one looking for it in the Confucian clas-
sics, as in the Hebrew scriptures. He professed to be marching
simply to vindicate the honor of majesty and to punish the regi-
cide rebel, but not to harm nobles or people. The invaders soon
overran Liao Tung, and city after city feU. Tlie emiieror himself
accompanied the army and burned his bridges after the crossing
42
COREA.
of every river. In spite of the mud and the summer rains he
steadily pushed his way on, helping with his own hands in the
works at the sieges of the waUed cities — the ruins of which stiU
litter the plains of Liao Tung. In one of these, captured only
after a protracted investment, 10,000 Koraians are said to have
been slain. In case of submission on summons, or after a slight
defence, the besieged were leniently and even kindly treated.
By July aU the countiy west of the Yalu was in possession of the
Chinese, who had crossed the river and arrived at Anchiu, only
forty miles north of Ping-an city.
By tremendous personal energy and a general le^y in mass, an
army of 150,000 Korai men was sent against the Chinese, which
took up a position on a hiU about three miles from the city. The
plan of the battle that ensued, made by the Chinese emperor him-
self, was skilfully carried out by his lieutenants, and a total defeat
of the entrapped Koraian army followed, the slain numbering
20,000. The next day, Avith the remnant of his army, amounting
to 40,000 men, the Koraian general surrendered. Fifty thousand
hordes and 10,000 coats of mail were among the spoils. The foot
soldiers were dismissed and ordered home, but the Koraian lead-
ers were made prisoner's and marched into China.
After so cr-ushing a loss in men and material, one might expect
instant sui’render of the besieged city. So far from this, the gar-
rison redoubled the energy of their defence. In this we see a
striking trait of the Corean militar-y character which has been no-
ticed from the era of the Tangs, and before it, down to Admiral
Rodgers. Chinese, Japanese, French, and -\mericans have experi-
enced the fact and marreUed thereat. It is that the Coreans are
poor soldiers in the open field and exhibit slight proof of per'sonal
A'alor. They cannot face a dashing foe nor endure stubbor'n fight-
ing. But put the same men behind walls, bring them to bay, and
the timid stag amazes the hounds. Their whole nature seems re-
inforced. They are more than brave. Tlieir courage is sublime.
They fight to the last man, and fling themselves on the bare
steel when the foe deal's the parapet. The Japanese of 1592
looked on the Corean in the field as a kitten, but in the castle as
a tiger. The French, in 1866, never found a force that could face
rifles, though behind AvaUs the same men were invincible. The
American handful of tax's kept at harmless distance thousands of
black heads in the open, but inside the fori they met giants in
braA'ery. No nobler foe ever met American steeL Even Avhen dis-
EPOCH OF THE THREE KINGDOMS— KORAI.
43
armed they fought their enemies with dust and stones until slain
to the last man. The sailors found that the sheep in the field
were lions in the fort.
The Coreans themselves knew both their forte and their foible,
and so understood how to foil the invader from either sea. Shut
out fr-om the rival nations on the right hand and on the left by
the treacherous sea, buttressed on the north by lofty mountains,
and separated from China by a stretch of barren or broken land,
the peninsula is easily secure against an invader far from his base
of supphes. The ancient policy of the Coreans, by which they
over and over again foiled theii* mighty foe and finally secui-ed
their independence, was to shut themselves up in their well-pro-
visioned cities and castles, and not only beat off but starve away
their foes. In their state of feudalism, when every city and strate-
gic tomi of importance was well fortified, this was easily accom-
plished. The ramparts gave them shelter, and their personal valor
secured the rest. Reversing the usual process of starving out a
beleaguered gairison, the besiegers, unable to fight on emj^ty
stomachs, were at last obhged to raise the siege and go home.
Long persistence in this resolute policy finally saved Corea
from the Chinese colossus, and preserved her individuality among
nations.
Faithful to their character, as above set forth, the Koraians
held their own in the city of Anchiu, and the Chinese could make
no impression upon it. In spite of catajiults, scaling ladders,
movable towers, and artificial mounds raised higher than the
walls, the Koraians held out, and by sorties bravely captured or
desti’oyed the enemy’s works. Not daring to leave such a fortified
city in their rear, the Chinese covdd not advance further, while
their failing provisions and the advent of fr'ost showed them that
they must retreat.
Hungrily they turned their faces toward China.
In spite of the intense chagrin of the foiled Chinese leader, so
great was his admiration for the valor of the besieged that he sent
the Koraian commander a valuable present of rolls of silk. The
Koraians were unable to pursue the flying invaders, and few feU
by their weapons. But hunger, the fatigue of crossing impassa-
ble oceans of worse than Virginia mud, cold •vs'inds, and snow
storms destroyed thousands of the Cliinese on their weary home-
ward march over the mountain passes and quagmires of Liao
Tung. The net results of the campaign were great glory to Korai ;
44
COREA-
and besides the loss of ten cities, 70,000 of her sons were captives
in China, and 40,000 lay in battle graves.
According to a custom which Californians have learned in om*
day, the bones of the Chinese soldiers who died or were killed in
the campaign were collected, brought into China, and, with due
sacrificial rites and lamentations by the emperor, solemnly buried
in their native soU. Irregular warfare stUl continued between the
two coimtries, the offered tribute of Korai being refused, and the
emperor waiting until his resources w’ould justify him in sending
another vast fleet and army against defiant Korai TMiile thus
waiting he died.
After a few years of peace, his successor found occasion for
war, and, in GGO a.d., despatched the expedition which crushed
Hiaksai, the ally of Korai, and worried, without humbling, the lat-
ter state. In GG4 Korai lost its able leader, the regicide prime
minister — that rock against which the waves of Chinese invasion
had dashed again and again in vain.
His son, who would have succeeded to the office of his father,
was opposed by his brother. The latter, fleeing to China, became
guide to the hosts again sent against Korai “to save the people
and to chastise their rebellious chiefs.” This time Korai, without
a leader, was doomed. The Chinese armies having their rear well
secm’ed by a good base of supphes, and being led by skilful com-
manders, marched on from victory to victory, until, at the Talu
River, the various detachments united, and breaking the front of
the Korai army, scattered them and marched on to Ping-an. The
city smTendered without the discharge of an arrow. The line of
kings of Korai came to an end after twenty-eight generations, rul-
ing over 700 years.
All Korai, with its five provinces, its 17G cities, and its four or
five millions of people, was annexed to the Chinese empire. Tens
of thousands of Koraian refugees fled into Shinra, thousands into
Pu-hai, north of the Tumen, then a rising state ; and many to the
new coimtry of Japan. Desolated by slaughter and i*avaged by
fire and blood, war and famine, large portions of the land lay
waste for generations. Thus fell the second of the Corean king-
doms, and the sole dominant state now supreme in the peninsula
was Shini’a, an outline of whose history we shall proceed to give.
CHAPTER YII.
EPOCH OF THE THREE KINGDOMS.— SHUHl A.
Whex Sliinra becomes first kno^vn to us from Japanese tradi-
tion, her place in the peninsula is in the southeast, comprising por-
tions of the modem provinces of Kang-wen and Kiung-sang. The
jieople in this wann and fertile part of the peninsula had veiy
probably sent many colonies of settlers over to the Japanese Isl-
ands, which lay only a hundred miles off, with Tsushima for a
stepping-stone. It is probable that the “rebels” in Kiushiu, so
often spoken of in old Japanese histories, were simply Coreans or
their descendants, as, indeed, the majority of the inhabitants of
Kiushiu originally had been. The Yamato tribe, which gradually
became paramount in Japan, w'ere probably immigi’ants of old Ko-
korai stock, that is, men of the Fujni race, who had crossed from
the north of Corea over the Sea of Japan, to the land of Sunrise,
just as the Saxons and Engles pushed across the North Sea to
England. They found the Kumaso, or Kiushiu “rebels,” trouble-
some, mainly because these settlers from the west, or southern
mainland of Corea, considered themselves to be the righteous
owners of the island rather than the Yamato people. At all
events, the pretext that led the mikado Chiu-ai, who is said to
have reigned from 192 to 200 a.d., to march against them was, that
these people in Kiushiu would not acknowledge his authority.
His vrife, the Amazonian queen Jingu, was of the opinion that the
root of the trouble was to be foimd in the peninsula, and that the
army should be sent across the sea. Her husband, having been
killed in battle, the queen was left to carry out her purposes,
which she did at the date said to be 202 a.d. She set sail from
Hizen, and reached the Asian mainland probably at the harbor of
Fusan. Enable to resist so well-appointed a force, the king of
Shinra submitted and became the declared vassal of Japan. En-
voys from Hiaksai and another of the petty kingdoms also came
to the Japanese camp and made friends with the invaders. After
46
COREA.
a two months’ stay, the victorious fleet, richly laden with precious
gifts and spoil, returned.
How much of truth there is in this narrative of Jingu it is diffi-
cult to teU. The date given cannot be trustworthy. The truth
seems at least this, that Shinra was far superior to the Japan of
the early Christian centuries. Buddhism was foi-mally established
in Shinra in the year 528 ; and as early as the sixth century a steady
stream of immigrants — traders, artists, scholars, and teachers, and
later Buddhist missionaries — passed from Shinra into Japan, in-
terrupted only by the wars which from time to time broke out.
The relations between Nippon and Southern Corea wiU be more
fully related in another chapter, but it will be well to remember
that the Japanese always laid claim to the Corean peninsula, and
to Shinra especially, as a tributary nation. They supported that
claim not only whenever embassies from the two nations met at the
coimt of China, but they made it a more or less active part of their
national policy down to the year 1876. Many a bloody war grew
out of this claim, but on the other hand many a benefit accrued
to Japan, if not to Shinra.
Meanwhile, in the peninsula the leading state expanded her
borders by gradual encroachments upon the little “ kingdom ” of
Mimana to the southwest and upon Hiaksai on the north. Tlie
latter, having always considered Shinra to be inferior, and even a
dependant, war broke out between the two states as soon as Shinra
assumed perfect independence. Korai and Hiaksai leagued them-
selves against Shinra, and the game of wai' continued, with various
shifting of the pieces on the board, imtil the tenth century-. The
thi’ee rival states mutually hostile, the Japanese usually friends to
Hiaksai, the Chinese generally helpers of Shinra, the northern
nations beyond the Tumen and Sungari assisting Korai, varying
their operations in the field with frequent alliances and counter-
plots, make but a series of dissolring- views of battle and strife,
into the details of which it is not profitable to enter. Though
Korai and Hiaksai felt the heaviest blows fr*om China, Shinra was
harried oftenest by the armies of her neighbors and by the Japan-
ese. Indeed, from a tributary point of view, it seems question-
able whether her alliances ^vith China were of any benefit to her.
In times of peace, however, the blessings of education and civiliza-
tion flowed freely from her gi'eat patron. Though farthest east
from China, it seems certain that Shinra was, in many respects,
the most highly ci\-ilized of the three states. Especially was this
EPOCH OF THE THREE KINGDOMS— SHINRA.
47
tlio case clui’ing the Tang era (618-905 ad.), when the mutual re-
lations between China and Shinra were closest, and arts, letters,
and customs were borrowed most hberally by the puj)il state.
Even at the present time, in the Corean idiom, “Tang-yang” (times
of the Tang and Yang dynasties) is a synonym of jn-osperity.
The term for “Chinese,” applied to works of art, poetiy, coins,
fans, and even to a certain disease, is “Tang,” instead of the
ordinary word for China, since this famous dynastic title repre-
sents to the Corean mind, as to the student of Kathayan his-
torj% one of the most brilliant epochs knowm to this longest-hved
of empires. What the names of Plantagenet and Tudor repre-
sent to an Anglo-Saxon mind, the terms Tang and Sung are to a
Corean.
Dmdng this period. Buddhism was being steadily propagated,
until it became the prevailing cvilt of the nation. Reseiwing the
stoiy of its progi’CBs for a special chapter, we notice in this place
but one of its attendant blessings. In the ci\'ilization of a nation,
the possession of a vernacular alphabet must be acknowledged to
be one of the most potent factors for the spread of intelligence
and cultui’e. It is believed by many linguists that the Choc-
taws and Coreans have the only two perfect alphabets in the
world. It is agreed by natives of Cho-sen that their most pro-
found scholar and ablest man of intellect was Chul-chong, a
statesman at the court of Kion-chiu, the capital of Shinra. This
famous penman, a scholar in the classics and ancient languages of
India as well as China, is credited with the invention of the Nido,
or Corean syllabarj', one of the simplest and most perfect “ alpha-
bets ” in the world. It expresses the sounds of the Corean lan-
guage far better than the kata-kana of Japan expresses Japanese.
Chul-chong seems to have invented the Nido syllabary l)y giving a
phonetic value to a certain number of selected Chinese characters,
which are ideographs expressing ideas but not sounds. Perhaps
the Sanskrit alphabet suggested the model both for manner of use
and for forms of letters. The Nido is composed almost entirely
of straight lines and circles, and the letters belonging to the same
class of labials, dentals, etc., have a similarity of form easily
recognized. The Coreans state that the Nido was invented in
the early part of the eighth century, and that it was based on the
Sanskrit alphabet. It is worthy of note that, if the date given be
true, the Japanese kata-kana, invented a century later, was per-
haps suggested by the Corean.
48
COREA.
One remarkable effect of the use of phonetic writing in Corea
and Japan has been to stereotype, and thus to preserve, the ancient
sounds and pronimciation of words of the Chinese, which the latter
liave lost. These systems of writing outside of China have served,
like Edison’s phonographs, in registering and reproducing the
manner in which the Chinese spoke, a whole millennium ago.
This fact has already opened a fertile field of research, and may
yet yield rich treasures of discovery to the sciences of history and
linguistics.
Certainly, however, we may gather that the Tang era was one
of learning and literary progress in Corea, as in Japan — aU coun-
tries in pupilage to China feeling the glow of literary' splendor in
which the Middle Kingdom w’as then basking. The young nobles
were sent to obtain theii’ education at the court and schools of
Nanking, and the fair damsels of Shinra bloomed in the harem of
the emperor. Imperial ambassador's frequently visited the court
of this kingdom in the far east. Chinese costume and etiquette
were, for a time, at least, made the rigorous mile at court. On one
occasion, in 653 a.d., the envoy from Shinra to the mikado came
ar-rayed in Chinese dress, and, neglecting the ceremonial forms of
the Japanese com-t, attempted to obserwe those of China. The
mikado was highly irritated at the supposed insult. The premier
even advised that the Corean be put to death ; but better counsels
prevailed. During the eighth and ninth centuries this flourish-
ing kingdom was well known to the Arab geographers, and it is
evident that Mussulman travellers visited Shinra or resided in
the cities of the peninsula for purposes of trade and commerce, as
has been shown before.
Kion-chiu, the capital of Shinra, was a brilliant centre of art
and science, of architecture and of literary and religious light.
Imposing temples, grand monasteries, lofty pagodas, halls of
scholars, magnificent gateways and towers adorned the city. In
campaniles, equipped with water-clocks and with ponderous beUs
and gongs, which, when stmck, flooded the valleys and hUl-tops
with a rich resonance, the sciences of astronomy and horoscopy
were cultivated. As from a fountain, rich streams of knowledge
flowed from the capital of Shinra, both over the peninsula and to
the court of Japan. Even after the decay of Shinra’s power in
the political unity of the whole peninsula, the nation looked upon
Kion-chiu as a sacred city. Her noble temples, haUs, and towers
stood in honor and repair, enshrining the treasures of India, Per-
EPOCH OF THE THREE KINGDOMS— SHINRA.
49
sia, and China, until the ruthless Japanese torch laid them in
ashes in 1596.
The generation of Corean people during the seventh century,
' when the Chinese hordes desolated large portions of the penin-
sula and crushed out Hiaksai and Korai, saw the borders of
Shinra extending from the Everlasting "White Mountains to the
Island of Tsushima, and occupying the entire eastern half of the
l^eninsula. From the beginning of the eighth imtil the tenth
centurj', Shinra is the supreme state, and the pohtical power of
I the Eastern Kingdom is represented by her alone. Her ambition
tempted, or her Chinese master commanded, her into an invasion
; of the kingdom of Pu-hai beyond her northern border, 733 a.d.
Her annies crossed the Tumen, but met with such spirited resist-
ance that only half of them retmmed. Shinra’s desire of con-
; quest in that direction was appeased, and for two centiuries the
1 land had rest fi-om blood.
Until Shim-a fell, in 934 a.d., and united Corea rose on the
. ruins of the three kingdoms, the histoiy of this state, as fovmd in
' the Chinese annals, is simply a list of her kings, who, of course,
received investiture from China. On the east, the Japanese, hav-
ing ceased to be her pupils in civilization during times of peace,
. as in time of war they w’ere her conquerors, turned their atten-
tion to Nanking, receiving directly therefrom the arts and sci-
ences, instead of at second-hand thi’ough the Corean peninsula.
They foimd enough to do at home in conquering all the tribes in
the north and east and centralizing their system of government
' after the model of the Tangs in China. For these reasons the
' sources of information concerning the eighth and ninth centuries
fail, or rather it is more exact to say that the history of Shinra is
that of peace instead of war. In 869 we read of pirates from her
^ shores descending upon the Japanese coast to plunder the tribute
, ships from Buzen jjrorince, and again, in 893, that a fleet of fifty
junks, manned by these Corean rovers, was driven ofif from Tsus-
hima by the Japanese troops, with the loss of three hundred slain.
Another descent of “foreign pirates,” most probably Coreans,
upon Ed Island, in 1019, is recorded, the strangers bemg beaten
ofi" by reinforcements from the mainland. The very existence of
I these marauders is, perhaps, a good indication that the power of
f the Shinra government was falling into decay, and that lawdess-
»| ness within the kingdom was preparing the w'ay for some mighty
hand to not only seize the existing state, but to imite all Corea
50
COREA,
into political, as well as geographical, unity. In the far north
another of those great intermittent movements of population was
in process, which, though destroying the kingdom of Puhai beyond
the Tumen, was to repeople the desolate land of Korai, and again
call a dead state to aggressive life. From the origin to the fall of
Shinra there were three royal families of fifty-five kings, ruling
nine hundred and ninety-three years, or seven years less than a
millennium. *
Despite tlie modern official name of the kingdom, Cho-sen, the people of
Corea still call their country Gaoli, or Korai, clinging to the ancient name.
In this popular usage, unless we are mistaken, there is a flavor of genuine
patriotism. Cho-sen does indeed mean Morning Calm, but the impression
made on Western ears, and more vividly upon the eye by means of the
Chinese characters, is apt to mislead. The term is less a reflection of geo-
graphical position than of the inward emotions of those who first of all were
more Chinese than Corean in spirit, and of a desire for China’s favor. The
term Cho-sen savors less of dew and dawn than of policy and prosy fact. It is
probable, despite the Corean’s undoubted love of nature and beautiful scenery,
that Americans and Europeans have been led astray as to the real significance
of the phrase “morning calm.” At the bottom, it means rather peace with
China than the serenity of dewy morning. Audience of the Chinese emperor
to his vassals is always given at daybreak, and to be graciously received after
the long and tedious prostrations is an auspicious beginning as of a day of heav-
en upon earth. To the founder of Corea, Ki Tsze, the gracious favor of the
Chow emperor was as “morning calm and so toNi Taijo, in 1392 a.d., was
the sunshine of the Ming emperor’s favor. In both instances the name Cho-
sen given to their realm had, in reality, immediate reference to the dayspring
of China’s favor, and “ the calm of dawn ” to the smile of the emperor.
CHAPTER Vm.
JAPAN AND COREA.
It is as nearly impossible to write the history of Corea and ex-
clude Japan, as to tell the story of mediaeval England and leave
out France. Not alone does the finger of sober history point di-
rectly westward as the immediate source of much of what has been
hitherto deemed of pure Japanese origin, but the fountain-head of
Japanese mythology is found in the Sungari valley, or imder the
shadows of the Ever-Wliite Mountains. The first settler of Japan,
like him of Fuyu, crosses the water upright upon the back of a
fish, and brings the rudiments of literature and ci\'ilization with
him. The remarkable crocodiles and sea-monsters, from which
the gods and goddesses are bom and into which they change, the
diagons and tide-jewels and the various mystic sj'mbols which
they employ to work their spells, the methods of dirination and
system of prognostics, the human saciifices and the manner of
their rescue, seem to be common to the nations on both sides of
the Sea of Japan, and point to a common heritage from the same
ancestors. Language comes at last with her revelations to fm-nish
proofs of identity.
The mischievous Susanoo, so famous in the pre-historic legends,
told in the Kojiki, half scamp, half benefactor, who planted aU
Japan wdth trees, brought the seeds from which they grew from
Corea. His rescue of the maiden doomed to be devoiu’ed by the
eight-headed dragon (emblem of water, and symbolical of the sea
and rivers) reads like -a galhint fellow saring one of the human
beings who for centuides, vmtil the now ruling dmasty abolished
the custom, were saciificed to the sea on the Corean coast front-
ing Japan. In Kioto, on Gi-on Street, there is a temple which
tradition declares was “founded in G56 a.d. by a Corean envoy in
honor of Susanoo, to whom the name of Go-dzu Tenno (Heavenly
King of Go-dzu) was given, because he was originally worshipped
in Go-dzu Mountain in Corea.”
52
COREA.
Dogs are not held in any honor in Japan, as they were an-
ciently in Kokorai. Except the sUk-haired, pug-nosed, and large-
eyed chin, which the average native does not conceive as canine,
the dogs run at large, ownerless, as in the Levant ; and share the
work of street scavenging with the venerated crows. Yet there
are two places of honor in which the golden and stone effigies
of this animal — highly ideahzed indeed, hut still inu — are en-
thi'oned.
The ama-inu, or heavenly dogs, in fanciful sculpture of stone
or gilt wood, represent guardian dogs. They are found in pairs
guarding the entrances to miya or temples. As aU miya (the
name also of the mikado’s residence) were originally intended to
serve as a model or copy of the palace of the mikado and a re-
minder of the divinity of his person and throne, it is possible that
the ama-inu imitated the golden Corean dogs which support and
guard the throne of Japan. Access to the shrine was had only by
passing these two heavenly dogs. These creatures are quite dis-
tinct from the “dogs of Fo,” or the “hons” that flank the gate-
ways of the magistrate’s office in China. Those who have had
audience of the mikado in the imperial throne-room, as the writer
had in Januaiw, 1873, have noticed at the foot of the throne, serv-
ing as legs or supports to the golden chair, on which His !Majesty
sits, two dogs sitting on their haunches, and upright on their fore-
legs. These fearful-looking creatures, with wide-open mouths,
hair curled in tufts, esi)eciaUy around the front neck, and with
tails bifurcated at their upright ends, are called “Corean dogs.”
For what reason placed there we know not. It may be in witness
of the conquest of Shinra by the empress Jingu, who called the
king of Shinra “ the dog of Japan,” or it may point to some for-
gotten s^^Tubohsm in the past, or typify the vassalage of Corea — so
long a fundamental dogma in Japanese pohtics. It is certainly
strange to see this creatm-e, so highly honored in Fuyu and dis-
honored among the ^nilgar in Japan, placed beneath the mikado’s
throne.
The Japanese laid claim to Corea from the second century
until the 27th of Febmarv, 1876. On that day the mikado’s min-
ister plenipotentiary signed the treaty, recognizing Cho-sen as an
independent nation. Tlirough aU the seventeen centuries which,
according to their annals, elapsed since their armies first com-
pelled the vassalage of them neighbor, the Japanese regarded the
states of Corea as tributaiw. Time and again they enforced their
JAPAN AND COREA
03
claim with bloody invasion, and when through a more enlightened
policy the rulers voluntarily acknowledged their former enemy as
an equal, the decision cost Japan almost immediately afterward
seven months of civil war, 20,000 hves, and fifty millions of dol-
lars in treasure. The mainspring of the “ Satsuma rebellion ” of
1877 was the official act of friendship by treaty, and the refusal of
the Tokio Government to make war on Corea.
From about the beginning of the Christian era until the fif-
teenth century the relations between the two nations were very
close and active. Alternate peace and war, mutual assistance given,
and embassies sent to and fro are recorded with lively frequency
in the early Japanese annals, especially the Nihongi and Kojiki.
A more or less continual stream of commerce and emigration
seems to have set in from the peninsvda. Some wi-iters of high
authority, who are also comparative students of the languages of
the two coimtries, see in these events the origin of the modern
Japanese. They interpret them to mean nothing less than the
peopling of the archipelago by continental tribes passing through
the peninstda, and landing in Japan at various points along the
coast from Eaushiu to Kaga. Some of them think that Japan was
settled wholly and only by Timgusic races of Northeastern Asia
coming from or tlu-ough Corea. They base their belief not only
on the general stream and tendency of Japanese tradition, but also
and more on the proofs of language.
The first mention of Corea in the Japanese annals occui’S in
the fifth volume of the Nihongi, and is the perhajjs half-fabulous
narrative of ancient tradition. In the Goth year of the reign of
the tenth mikado, Sujin (97-30 b.c.), a boat filled with people from
the west appeared off the southern point of Cho-shiu, near the
modem town of Shimonoscki. They would not land there, but
steered their covmse from cape to cape along the coast vmtil they
reached the Bay of Keji no Wara in Echizen, near the modern
city of Tsimiga. Here they disembarked and announced them-
selves from Amana Sankan (Amana of the Three Han or King-
doms) in Southern Corea. They unpacked their treasures of finely
wrought goods, and their leader made offerings to the mikado
Sujin. These immigrants remained five years in Echizen, not
far from the city of Fukui, till 28 b.c. Before leaving Japan,
they presented themselves in the capital for a farewell audience.
The mikado Mimaki, having died three years before, the risi-
tors were requested on their return to call their country IMimana,
54
COREA.
after their patron, as a memorial of their stay in Japan. To
this they assented, and on their return named their district
Mimana.
Some traditions state that the first Corean envoy had a horn
gi’owing out of his forehead, and that since his time, and on ac-
coimt of it, the bay near which he dwelt was named Tsunaga (Horn
Bay) now coiTupted into Tsuruga.
It may he added that nearly aU mythical characters or heroes
in Japanese and Chinese history are represented as having one or
more very short horns growing out of their heads, and are so de-
lineated in native art.
Six years later an envoy from Shinra arrived, also bringing pre-
sents to the mikado. These consisted of mirrors, jade stone,
swords, and other precious articles, then common in Corea but
doubtless new in Japan.
According to the tradition of the Kojiki (Book of Ancient Le-
gends) the fom-teenth mikado, Chiu-ai (ad, 192-200) was holding
his court at Tsuruga in Echizen, in a.d. 194, when a rebellion
broke out in Kiushiu. He marched at once into Kiushiu, against
the rebels, and there feU by disease or aiTow. His consort, Jingu
KogO, had a j^resentiment that he ought not to go into Kiushiu,
as he would siu'ely fail if he did, but that he should strike at the
root of the trouble and sail at once to the west.
After his death she headed the Japanese army and, leading the
troops in person, quelled the revolt. She then ordered aU the
available forces of her realm to assemble for an invasion of Shinra.
Japanese modern miters have laid gi’eat stress upon the fact that
Shini-a began the aggi’essions which brought on war, and in this
fact justify Jingu’s action and Japan’s right to hold Corea as an
honestly acquired possession.
AU being ready, the doughty queen regent set sail from the
coast of Hizen, in Japan, in the tenth month ad. 202, and beached
the fleet safely on the coast of Shinra. The King of Shinra, accus-
tomed to meet only with men from the rude tribes of Kiushiu, was
suiqjiised to see so w'eU-appointed an army and so lai’ge a fleet from
a land to the eastwai’d. Struck with teiTor he resolved at once to
submit. Tjing his hands in token of submission and in pi'esence
of the queen Jingu, he declared himself the slave of Japan. Jingu
caused her bow’ to be suspended over the gate of the palace of the
king in sign of his submission. It is even said that she -wrote
on the gate “The King of Shinra is the dog of Japan.” Perhaps
JAPAN AND COREA.
55
these are historic words, which find their meaning to-day in the
two golden dogs forming part of the mikado’s thi'one, like the
Scotch “ stone of Scone,” under the coronation chair in Westmin-
ster Abbey.
The followers of Jingu evidently expected a rich booty, but
after so peaceful a conquest the empress ordered that no looting
should be allowed, and no spoil taken except the treasures consti-
tuting tribute. She restored the king to the throne as her vassal,
and the tribute was then collected and laden on eighty boats with
hostages for futru-e annual tribute. The offerings comprised pic-
tui'es, works of elegance and art, mirrors, jade, gold, silver, and
silk fabrics.
Preijarations were now made to conquer Hiaksai also, when
Jingu was suiq^rised to receive the voluntary submission and offers
of tribute of this countr}'.
The Japanese airny remained in Corea only two months, but
this brief expedition led to great and lasting restdts. It gave the
Japanese a keener thii-st for martial glory, it opened their eyes to
a higher state of aids and ci-sdlization. From this time forth there
flowed into the islands a constant stream of Corean emigrants, who
gave a great impulse to the spirit of improvement in Japan. The
Ja])anese accept the story of Jingu and her conquest as sound
historj', and adorn their greenback paper money with pictures of
her foreign exploits. Critics reject many elements in the tradi-
tion, such as her controlling the waves and drowning the Shiura
army by the jewels of the ebbing and the flo\s-ing tide,' and the
delay of her accouchement by a magic stone carried in her girdle.
The Japan'ese ascribe the glory of victory to her then unborn babe,
afterward deified as Ojin, god of war, and worshipped by Buddhists
as Hachiman or the Eight-bannered Buddha. Yet many temples
are dedicated to Jingu, one especially famous is near Hiogo, and
Koraiji (Corean village) near Oiso, a few miles from Yokohama,
has another which was at first built in her honor. Eridently the
core of the narrative of conquest is fact.
At the time when the faint, dim light of trustworthy tradition
dauTis, we find the people inhabiting the Japanese archipelago to
be roughly divided, as to their political status, into four classes.
In the central province around Kioto ruled a kingly house —
' Tlie story, told in full in the Heike Monogatari, is given in English in
“ Japanese Fairy World.”
56
COREA.
the mikado and his family — with tributary nobles or feudal chiefs
holding their lands on military tenure. This is the ancient classic
land and realm of Yamato. Four other provinces adjoining it
have always formed the core of the empire, and are called the Go-
Kinai, or five home provinces, suggesting the five clans of Kokorai.
To the north and east stretched the little known and less civil-
ized region, peopled by tribes of kindred blood and speech, who
spoke nearly the same language as the Yamato tribes, and who
had probably come at some past time from the same ancestral
seats in Manchmia, and called the Kuan-to, or region east {to) of
the barrier {kuan) at Ozaka ; or poetically Adzuma.
StiU further north, on the main island and in Yezo, lived the
Ainos or Ebisii, probably the aborigines of the soil — the straight-
eyed men whose descendants still live in Yezo and the Kuriles.
JAPAN AND COREA.
57
The northern and eastern tribes were first conquered and thor-
oughly subdued by the Yamato tribes, after which all the far north
was overrun and the Ainos subjugated.
In the extreme south of the main island of Japan and in Kiu-
shiu, then called Kumaso by the Yamato people, lived a number
of tribes of perhaps the same ethnic stock as the Yamato Japan-
ese, but further removed. Their progenitors had probably de-
scended from Manchuria through Corea to Japan. Their blood and
speech, however, were more mixed by infusions from Malay and
southern elements. Into Kiushiu — it being neai’est to the conti-
nent— the peninsulars were constantly coming and mingling with
the islanders.
The allegiance of the Kiushiu tribes to the royal house of Ya-
mato was of a very loose kind. The history of these early centu-
ries, as shown in the annals of Nihon, is but a series of revolts
against the distant warrior mikado, whose life was chiefly one of
war. He had often to leave his seat in the central island to march
at the head of his followers to put do^vTX rebellions or to conquer
new tribes. Over these, when subdued, a prince chosen by the
conqueror was set to rule, who became a feudatorj' of the mikado.
The attempts of the Yamato sovereign to wholh' reduce the
Kiushiu tribes to submission, were greatly fnistrated by their
stout resistance, fomented by emissaries from Shinra, who insti-
gated them to “revolt,” while adventurers from the Corean main-
land came over in large numbers and joined the “ rebels,” who
were, in one sense, their own compatriots.
From the time of Jingu, if the early dates in Japanese history
are to be trusted, may be said to date that belief, so firmly fixed
in the Japanese mind, that Corea is, and always was since Jingu’s
time, a tributary' and dependency of Japan. This idea, akin to
that of the claim of the English kings on France, led to frequent
expeditions from the third to the sixteenth centmy, and which,
even as late as 1874, 1875, and 1877, lay at the root of tlmee civil
wars.
All these expeditions, sometimes national, sometimes filibuster-
ing, served to drain the resources of Japan, though many impulses
to development and higher civilization were thus gained, espe-
cially in the earlier centuries. It seemed, until 1877, almost im-
possible to eradicate from the military mind of Japan the convic-
tion that to surrender Corea was cowardice and a stain on the
national honor. But time will show, as it showed centuries ago
COREA.
58
in England, that the glory and prosperity of the conqueror were
increased, not diminished, when Japan relinquished aU claim on
her continental neighbor and treated her as an equal
The Coreans taught the Japanese the arts of peace, while the
Coreans profited from their neighbors to improve in the business of
war. We read that, in 316 a.d., a Corean ambassador, bringing
the usual tribute, presented to the mikado a shield of iron which
he believed to be invulnerable to Japanese arrows. The mikado
called on one of his favorite marksmen to practice in the presence
of the envoy. The shield was suspended, and the archer, drawing
bow, sent a shaft through the iron skin of the buckler to the as-
tonishment of the visitor. In aU their battles the Coreans were
rarely able to stand in open field before the archers from over the
sea, who sent tnie cloth-yard shafts from their oak and bamboo
bows.
The paring of tribute to a foreign country is never a pleasant
duty to perform, though in times of prosperity and good harvests
it is not difficult. In periods of scarcity from bad crops it is well
nigh impossible. To insist upon its payment is to provoke rebel-
lion. Instances are indeed given in Japanese history where the
conquerors not only remitted the tribute but even sent ship loads
of rice and barley to the starring Coreans. When, however, for
reasons not deemed sufficient, or out of sheer defiance, their vas-
sals refused to discharge their dues, they again felt the iron hand
of Japan in war. During the reign of Turiaki, the twenty-second
mikado (a.d. 457-477), the three states failed to pay tribute. A
Japanese army landed in Corea, and conquering Hiaksai, com-
pelled her to retui'n to her duty. The campaign was less suc-
cessful in Shinra and Korai, for after the Japanese had left the
Corean shores the “ tribute ” was sent only at intervals, and the
temper of the half-conquered people was such that other expe-
ditious had to be despatched to inflict chastisement and compel
payment.
The gallant but vain succor given by the Japanese to Hiaksai
during the war with the Chinese, in the sixth century, which re-
sulted in the destruction of the little kingdom, has already been
detailed. Among the names, forever famous in Jap^ese art and
tradition, of those who took part in this expedition are Sate-hiko
and Kasi-wad6. The former sailed away from Hizen in the year
536, as one of the mikado’s body-guard to assist their allies the
men of Hiaksai. A poetical legend recounts that his wife, Sayo-
JAPAN AND COREA.
59
hime, climbed the hills of Matsiu’a to catch the last glimpse of his
receding sails. Thus intently gazing, with straining eyes, she
turned to stone. The peasants of the neighborhood stih discern
in the ■weathem-wom rocks, high up on the cliffs, the figm-e of a
lady in long trading court dress with face and figure eagerly bent
over the western waves. Not only is the name Matsura Sayohime
the s\Tnbol of devoted love, but from this incident the famous
author Bakin constructed his romance of “The Great Stone Si^irit
of Matsura.”
Kasiwade, who crossed over to do “frontier service ” in the
peninsula a few years later, was driven ashore by a snow squall at
an vmknown part of the coast. MTiile in this defenceless condi-
tion his camp was invaded by a tiger, which cai-ried off and de-
voured his sou, a lad of tender age. Kasiwade at once gave chase
and followed the beast to the mormtains and into a cave. The
tiger leaping out upon him, the wary warrior bearded him with
his left hand, and buried his dirk in his throat. Then finish-
ing him with his sabre, he skinned the binite and sent home the
trophy. From olden times Cho-sen is knoAvn to Japanese chil-
dren only as a land of tigers, while to the soldier the “marshal’s
baton canned in his knapsack ” is a tiger-skin scabbard, the emblem
and possession of rank.
As the imperial court of Japan looked upon Shiura and Hiak-
sai as outlying vassal states, the frequent militaiy movements
across the sea were reckoned under “frontier sendee,” hke that
beyond the latitude of Sado in the north of the main island, or in
Kiushiu in the south. “ The thi-ee countries ” of Corea were far
nearer and more familiar to the Japanese soldiers than were Tezo
or the Kiu Kiu Islands, which were not j^art of the emiDire till
several centuries afterward. Kara Kuni, the countiy of Kara
(a coiTuption of Korai ?), as they now call China, was then ap-
plied to Corea. Not a little of classic poetiy and legend in
the Yamato language refers to this western frontier beyond the
sea. The elegy on Ihemai’o, the soldier-prince, who died at Iki
Island on the voyage over, and that on the death of the Corean
nun Biguwan, have been put into English verse by l\Ir. Cham-
berlain (named after the English explorer and wTiter on Corea,
Ba.sU Hall), in his “Classical Poetry of the Japanese.” This
Corean lady left her home in 714, and for twenty-one years found
a home with the mikado’s Prime Minister, Otomo, and his wdfe, at
Nara. She died in 735, while her hosts were away at the mineral
60
COREA.
springs of Ai-ima, near Kobe ; and the elegy "was ■written by their
daughter. One stanza describes her hfe in the new country,
“ And here with aliens thou didst choose to dwell,
Year in, year out, in deepest sympathy ;
And here thou huiltest thee a holy cell.
And so the peaceful years went gliding by.”
An interesting field of research is still open to the scholar who
■wiU point out aU the monuments of Corean origin or influence in
the mikado’s empire, in the arts and sciences, household customs,
diet and dress, or architecture ; in short, what by nature or the
hand of man has been brought to the land of Sunrise from that of
Morning Calm. One of the Corean princes, who settled in Japan
early in the seventh centuiy% founded a family which afterward
i*uled the famous pro-rince of Nagato or Choshin One of his de-
scendants welcomed Francis Xavier, and aided his work by gifts of
ground and the pri\'ilege of preaching. Many of the temples in
Kioto stiU contain images, paintings, and altar furniture brought
from Corea. The “Pheasant Bridge ”stiU keeps its name from
bygone centuries ; in a garden near by pheasants were kept for the
supply of the tables of the Corean embassies. The Arab and Per-
sian treasures of art and fine workmanship, in the imperial archives
and museums of Kara, which have excited the wonder of foreign
■\'isitors, are most pi'obably among the gifts or pm-chases from
Shinra, where these imports were less rare. A Buddhist monk
named Shiuho has gathered up the traditions and learning of the
subject, so far as it illustrated his faith, and in “Precious Jewels
from a Neighboring Country,” published in 1586, has -written a
naiTative of the introduction of Buddhism from Corea and its hter-
ai'y and missionary influences upon Japan.
Under the chapters on Art and EeHgion we shall resume this
topic. As earnestly as the Japanese are now availing themselves of
the science and progress of Christendom in tliis nineteenth cen-
tury, so earnestly did they borrow the culture of the west, that is
of Corea and China, a thousand years ago.
The many thousands of Coreans, who, during the first ten centu-
ries of the Christian era, but especially in the seventh, eighth, and
ninth, settled in Japan, hved peaceably -with the people of their
adopted country, and loyally obeyed the mikado’s rule. An exception
to this course occurred in 820, when seven hundred men who some
time before had come from Shinra to Totomi and Suruga revolted.
JAPAN AND COREA.
61
killed many of the Japanese, seized the rice in the store-houses,
and put to sea to escape. The people of Musashi and Sagami pm--
sued and attacked them, putting many of them to death.
The general history of the Coreans in Japan divides itself into
two parts. Those who came as voluntary immigi’ants in time of
peace were in most cases skilled workmen or fanners, who settled
in lands or in AdUages gi’anted them, and were put on political and
social equahty with the mikado’s subjects. They founded indus-
tries, intermarried wdth the natives, and theii- identity has been
lost in the general body of the Japanese people.
With the prisoners taken in war, and with the laborers im-
pressed into their service and carried off by force, the case was far
different. Tliese latter were set apart in \illages by themselves —
an outcast race on no social equality Avith the people. At first
they were employed to feed the imperial falcons, or do such
menial work, but under the ban of Buddhism, which forbids the
destruction of Hfe and the handling of flesh, they became an ac-
cursed race, the “Etas” or pariahs of the nation. They were the
butchers, skinners, leather-makers, and those whose business it was
to handle coiq)ses of criminals and aU other defiling things. They
exist to-day, not gi’eatly changed in blood, though in costume, lan-
guage, and general appearance, it is not possible to distinguish
them from Japanese of purest blood. By the humane edict of the
mikado, in 18G8, gi-anting them aU the rights of citizenship, theii'
social condition has greatly improved.
From the ninth century onward to the sixteenth, the relations
of the two countries seem to be unimporiant. Japan was engaged
in conquering northward the barbarians of her main island and
Yezo. Her intercourse, both political and religious, grew to be
so direct with the com-t of China, that Corea, in the Japanese
annals, sinks out of sight except at rare intervals. Nihon in-
creased in wealth and civilization while Cho-sen remained station-
ary or retrogi'aded. In the nineteenth centui-y the awakened Sun-
rise Kingdom has seen her former self in the hei'mit nation, and
has stretched forth willing hands to do for her neighbor now, what
Corea did for Japan in centm-ies long gone by.
StiU, it must never be forgotten that Corea was not only the
bridge on which civilization crossed from China to the archipelago,
but was most probably the pathway of migration by which the
rulers of the race now inhabiting Nihon reached it from their an-
cestral seats around the Sungari and the Ever-White Mountains.
62
COREA.
True, it is not absolutely certain whether the homeland of the mi-
kado’s ancestors lay southward in the sea, or westward among the
mountains, but that the mass of the Corean and Japanese people
are more closely allied in blood than either are with the Chinese,
Manchius, or Malays, seems to be proved, not only by language
and physical traits, but by the whole course of the historv' of both
nations, and by the testimony of the Chinese records. Both Co-
reans and Japanese have inherited the peculiar institutions of their
Fujti ancestors — that race which alone of all the peoples sprung
from Manchnria migrated toward the rising, instead of toward the
setting, sun.
CHAPTER IX.
KORAI, OR UNITED COREA.
The fertile and well-watered region drained by the Amui’ River
and its tributaries, stretching from the Pacific Ocean to Lake Bai-
kal, covers the ancestral seats of many nations, and is perhaps the
home of nations yet to arise. It may be likened to a great inter-
mittent geyser-spring which, at intervals, overflows with tenfific
force and volume. The movements of population southward seem,
on a review of Chinese and Corean history, almost as regular as a
law of nature. As the conquerors from the central Asian plateaus
have over and over again descended into India, as the barbaifians
overran the Roman empire, so out of the region drained by the
Amur and its tributaries have bm-st forth, time and again, floods of
conquest to overwhelm the rich plains of China. Or, if we regard
the flowery and grassy lands of Manchuria and beyond as a great
hive, full of busy life which, from the pressure of increasing num-
bers, must swarm off to relieve the old home, we shall have a true
illustration. Time and again have clouds of human bees, with the
sting of their swords and the honey of their new energy, issued
from this ancient hive. The swarms receive different names in
history : Him, Turk, Tartar, IMongol, Manchiu, but they aU emerge
from the same source, giving or receiifing dj-nastic names, but
beiog in reality Tungusic people of the same basic stock.
A tribe inhabiting one of the ravines or rich river flats of the
Sungari region increases in wealth and numbers. A powerful
chief leads them to war and rictory. Tribes and lands are an-
nexed. Martial valor, wealth, and strength increase. Ambition
and the pressure of numbers tempt to farther conquest. Over
and beyond the Great Wall is the ever-glittering prize — teeming
China. The march begins southward. After many a battle, and
only, it may be, after a generation of war against the imperial le-
gions beyond the frontiers, the goal is reached. The Middle
Kingdom is conquered and a new dynasty sits on the Dragon
64
COREA.
Throne, until long peace enervates and luxury weakens. Then
out of the old northern seats of population roUs a new flood of
conquest, and a new swarm of conquerors is hived offl
Thus we see the original land embracing the Amur and Sim-
gari valleys has had its periods of power and decay, of historical
and unhistorical life. Unity and movement make history, disin-
tegi’ation and apathy cause the page of history to be bhmk. But
the land is still there with the people and the possibilities of the
future.
In spite of the associations of hoary antiquity that cluster
around Asiatic countries, the reader of history does not expect to
hear of single empires enduring through many centuries. With
the exception of Japan, no nation of Asia can show' a d^-nastic line
extending through a millennium. The empires fotmded by Asia-
tic conquerors are short-lived. The countries and the people
remain, but the nalers constantly change, and the building up,
flourishing, decay, and dissolution suggest the seasons rather than
the centm-ies. No enduring political fabrics, like those of Borne
or Britain, are known in Asia. Though China and India abide like
the oak, their rulers change like the leaves. Socially, these coun-
tries are the symbols of petrifaction, politically they are as the
kaleidoscope. From this law of continuous political mutation,
Corea has not been free.
In one of these epochs of historical movement, at the opening
of the eighth centuiy, there arose the kingdom of Puhai, the capi-
tal of which was the present city of Kiiin. Its northern boimda-
ries first touched the Sungari, and later the Amm*, shifting to the
Sungari again. Its southern border was at fij-st the Tumen Eiver,
and later the modem prorince of Ham-kiung was included in it.
Lines di’awn southwardly through Lake Hanka on the east, and
Mukden on the west, would enclose its longitude. Its life lasted
from about 700 to 925 a.d. This kingdom was continually on bad
terms with China, and the Tang emperors for nearly a century at-
tempted to crush it into vassalage. Piihai made brave resistance,
being aided not only by the large numbers of Koraians, who had
fled when beaten by the Chinese across the Tumen Eiver, but also
by the Japanese, whose supremacy they acknowledged by payment
of tribute. With the latter their relations were always of a peace-
ful and pleasant natui'e, and the correspondence and other docu-
ments of the risiting embassies to the mikado’s court are stiU pre-
seiwed in Japan.
KOKAI, OR UNITED COREA,
65
Yet though Puhai was able to resist China and hold part of
the old territory of Korai, it fell before the persistent attacks of
the Kitan tribes, whose empire, lasting from 907 to 1125 a.d.,
stretched from west of Lake Baikal to the Pacific Ocean. In the
early part of the tenth centuiy this Puhai kingdom, whose age
was scarcely two centuries, melted away again into tribes and vil-
lages, each with its chief. The country being without political
unity returned to unhistorical obsciirity, as part of the Kitan em-
pire. Without crossing the Tumen, to enter China by way of
Corea, the Kitans marched at once around the Ever-IMiite Moim-
tains and down the Liao Tung valley into China.
The breaking up of Puhai was not without its influence on the
Corean peninsula. As early as the ninth century* thousands of
refugees, driven before the Kitans or dissatisfied with nomad life
on the plains, recrossed the Tumen and a great movement of emi-
gration set into Northern Corea, which again became populous,
cultivated, and rich. With increasing prosperity better govern-
ment was desired. Tlie worthlessness of the rulers and the pros-
pect of a successful revolution tempted the ambition of a Buddh-
ist monk named Ktmg-wo who, in 912 a.d., left his monastery
and raised the flag of rebellion. He set forth to establish another
pohtical fabric of mushroom dimation, which was destined to
make way for a more permanent kingdom, and, in the end, united
Corea.
With his followers, Kung-wo attacked the city of Kaichow (in
the modem Kang- wen prorince), and was so far successful as to
enter it and proclaim himself king. His personal success was
of short duration. His lieutenant, Wang-ken, that is Wang the
founder, was a descendant of the old kingly house of Korai. Dm--
ing all the time of Chinese occupancy, or Shinra supremacy, his
family had kept alive their spirit, traditions, and claims. Think-
ing he could rule better than a priest, Wang put the ex-monk to
death and proclaimed himself the tme sovereign of Korai. All
this went on without the interference of China, which at this time
was tom by internal disorder and the ravages of the same Kitan
tribes that had destroyed Puhai. Wang made Ping-an and Kai-
chow the capitals of his kingdom, and resolved to take full advan-
tage of his opportunity to conquer the entire peninsula and unite
aU its parts under his sceptre.
Circumstances made this an easy task. With China passive,
Shinra weak, through long absorption in luxury and the arts of
CO
COREA.
peace, and with most part of the population of the peninsula of
Korain blood and descent, the work was easy. The whole countiy,
from the Ever-'White Mountains to Quelpart Island, was ovemm
and welded into unity. The name of Shinra was blotted out after
a line of fifty-six kings and a hfe of nine hundred and ninety-three
years. For the first time the peninsula became a pohtical unit,
and the name Korai, springing to life again like the Arabian
phoenix out of its ashes, became the symbol alike of united Corea
and of the race which peopled it. Even yet the name Korai
(Gauli or Gori in the vernacular) is generally used by the people.
The probabilities are that the people of the old Fuyu race,
descendants of the tribes of Kokorai, as the more vigorous stock,
had aheady so far supplanted the old aboriginal people inhabiting
Southern Corea as to make conquest by Wang, who was one of
their own blood, easy. This is shown in a series of maps repre-
senting the three kingdoms of Corea from 201 to 655 a.d., by the
Japanese scholar Otsuki Toyo. At the former date the Kokorai
peojfie beyond that part of their domain conquered by China have
occupied the laud as far south as the Han River, or to the 37th
parallel. Later, Shinra, in 593, and again in 655, backed by Chi-
nese armies, had regained her tendtory a degree or two northward,
and in the eighth and ninth centuries, acting as the aUy of China,
ruled all the countiy to the Tumen River. Yet, though Shinra
held the land, the inhabitants were the same, namely, the stock of
Korai, ready to rise against their rulers and to annihilate Shinra
in a name and monarchy that had in it nationahty and the pres-
tige of their ancient freedom and greatness.
Thoroughly intent on unirifing his realm, W ang chose a central
location for the national capital. Kion-chiu, the metropolis of
Shinra, was too far south, Ping-an, the royal seat of old Korai,
was too far north ; but one hundi-ed miles neai-er “the river ” Han,
was Sunto. This city, now called Kai-seng, is twenty-five miles
from Seoul and equally near the sea. Wang made Sunto what it
has been for over nine centuides, a fortified city of the first rank,
the chief commercial centre of the country, and a seat of learning.
It remained the capital imtil 1392 a.d. Wang-ken or ^S aug, the
founder of the new dynasty under which the people were to be
governed for over four hundred years, was an ardent Buddhist.
Spite of his having jiut the monk to death to fvu'ther personal
ends, he became the defender of the India faith and made it the
official rehgion. Monasteries were founded and temples built in
KORAI, OR UmTED COREA.
n
great numbers. To fm-nisb revenues for tbe support of these,
tracts of land were set apart as permanent endowment. The four
centuries of the house of Korai are the palmy days of Corean
Buddhism.
From China, which at this time was enjoying that era of hter-
arj’ splendor, for Avhich the Sung djmasty was noted, there came
an impulse both to scholastic actirtty and to something approach-
ing popular education.
The Nido, or native syllabary, w’hich had been invented by
Chul-chong, the statesman of Shinra, now came into general use.
"Uliile Chinese literature and the sacred books of Buddhism were
studied in the original Sanscrit, popular works were composed in
Corean and ■written out in the Nido, or vernacular syllables. The
printing press, invented by the Simg scholars, was introduced and
books were printed from cut blocks. The Japanese are kno'wn to
have adopted printing from Corea as early as the twelfth centurj',
when a work of the Buddhist canon was printed from wooden
blocks. “ A Corean book is known which dates authentically from
the period 1317-1324, over a century before the earliest printed
book kno^vn in Eui'ope.” The use of metal tj'pe, made by moiild-
ing and casting, is not distinctly mentioned in Corea until the year
1420, and the invention and use of the Unmim, a true native al-
phabet, seems to belong to the same period. The eleven vowels
and fourteen consonants serve both as an alphabet and a syllabarj%
the latter being the most ancient system, and the former an im-
provement on it.
The unifier of Corea died in 945 and was succeeded by his son
"NVu. Fifteen years Later the last of the five weak d\Tiasties that
had rapidly succeeded each other in China, fell. The Chinese
emperor proposing, and the Corean king being willing, the latter
hastened to send tribute, and formed an alliance of friendship
with the imperial Sung, ^ho swayed the destinies of China for
the next 166 years (960-1101).
Korai soon came into collision with the Kitans in the following
manner. The royal line of united Corea traced their descent di-
rectly from the ancient kings of Kokorai, and therefore claimed
relationship with the princes of Piihai. On the strength of this
claim, the Koraian king asserted his right to the whole of Liao
Tung, which had been formerly held by Puhai. The Kitans, hav-
ing matters of greater importance to attend to at the time, allowed
its temporary occupation by Korai troops. Nevertheless the king
G8
COREA.
tliought it best to send bomage to the Kitan emperor, in order to
get a clear title to the teiTitorj'. In 1012 he despatched an em-
bassy acknowledging the Kitan supremacy. This verbal message
did not satisfy the strong conqueror, who demanded that the
Koi-aian king should come in person and make obeisance. The
latter refused. A feud at once broke out between them, which led
to a war, in which Korai was worsted and stripped of all her terri-
toi-y west of the Yalu River.
PaUadius has pointed out the interesting fact that a httle \il-
lage about twenty miles north of Tie-ling, and seventy miles north
of Mukden, called Gauh-chan (Korai village) still witnesses by its
name to its former history, and to the possession by Corea of ter-
ritor}" west of the Yalu.
The Kitans, not satisfied with recovering Liao Tung, crossed
the river and invaded Korai, in 101.5. By this time a new nation,
tmder the name of Xiijun or Ninchi, had formed around Lake
Hanka, in part of the temtory of extinct Puhai. With their new
frontagers the Koraians made an aUiance “ as solid as iron and
stone,” and with their aid drove back the Kitan invaders.
Henceforth the boundaries of Corea remained stationarr, and
have never extended beyond the limits with which the western
world is famihar.
An era of peace and prosperity set in, and a thri-ving trade
sprang up between the Xujun and Korai. The two nations, ce-
mented in friendship through a common fear of the Kitans, grew
apace in numbers and prosperity.
The Kitans were known to Chinese authors as early as the fifth
centmy, seven nomad tribes being at that time confederate under
their banners. At the beginning of the tenth century, these wan-
derers had been transformed into hordes of disciplined cavalry.
Their wealth and intelligence having increased by conquest, they
formed a gi’eat empire in 925, which .extended from the Altai
Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, and from within the Great WaU
to the Y’ablonoi Mountains, liaHng Peking for one of its capitals.
It flom'ished tmtil the twelfth century (.\.d. 1125), when it gave
way to the Kin empfre, which held ^longoha and still more terri-
tory than the Kitans possessed within what is now China proper.
This Kin empire was founded by the expansion of the Xiijim,
who, from their seats north of the Tumen and east of the Sungari,
had gradually Avidened, and by conquest absorbed the Kitans.
Aguta, the founder of the new empire, gave it the name of the
KORAI, OR UNITED COREA.
69
Golden Dominion. During its existence Corea was not troubled
by her great neighbor, and for two hundred years enjoyed peace
within her borders. Her commerce now flourished at all points
of the compass, both on land, with her northern and western
neighbors, with the Japanese on the east, and the Chinese south
and west. Much direct intercourse in ships, guided by the mag-
netic needle, “the chaiiot of the south,” took place between
Ningpo and Sunto. JIi-. Edkins states that the oldest recorded
instance of the use of the mariner’s compass is that in the Chinese
historian’s account of the voyage of the imperial ambassador to
Corea, from Nanking by way of Ningpo, in a fleet of eight vessels,
in the year 1122.
The Arabs, who about this time were also trading with the
Coreans, and had lived in their countrj", soon afterward introduced
this sdeut friend of the mariner into their own countiy in the
west, Avhence it found its way into Em-ope and to the hands of
Columbus. To the eye of the Corean its mysterious finger pointed
to the south. To the western man it pointed to the lode-star.
The huge wide-open eyes wliich the sailors of Chinese Asia
paint at the prow of their ship, to discover a path in the sea,
became more than ever an empty fancy before this unerring path-
finder. As useless as the ever-open orbs on a mummy lid, these
lidless eyes were relegated to the domain of poetry, while the
swinging needle opened new paths of science and discoveiy.
Coin of Korai. **Ko-ka” (Name of Year-Period). ‘‘Current Money.'*
CHAPTER X.
CATHAY, ZIPANGU, AND THE MONGOLS.
After a long breathing-spell — as one, in reading history, might
call it — the old hive in the north was again ready to swarm. It was
to be seen once more how useless was the Great WaU of China in
keeping back the many-named invaders, kno\s-n in history by the
collective term Tatars. A new people began descending from
their homeland, which lay near the northern and eastern shores of
Lake Baikal. This inland sea — scarcely known in the school
geogi’aphies, or planted in the average atlas in such proportionate
dimensions as to suggest a pond — is one of the lai’gest lakes in
the world, being 370 miles long and covering 13,300 square miles
of surface. Its shores ai'e now inhabited by Russian colonists and
its waters are narigated by whole fleets of ships and steamers. It
Lies 1,280 feet above the sea.
Beginning their migi-ations from this point, in numbers and
bulk that suggest onl}' the snowball, the Mongol hoi’semen moved
with resistless increase and momentum, consohdating into their
mass tribe after tribe, until their horde seemed an avalanche of
humanity that thi'eatened to crash aU civilization and engulph the
whole earth. These mounted highlanders from the north were
creatui’es who seemed to be horse and man in one being, and to
actualize the old fable of the Centam-s. With a tiger-skin for a
saddle, a thong loop with only the rider’s gi’eat toe thrust in it for
a stiiT-up, a string in the horse’s lower jaw for a bridle, armed
with spear and cimeter, these conquerors who despised walls went
forth to level cities and slaughter all who resisted. In their raids
they found food ever ready in the beasts they rode, for a reeking
haunch of horse-meat, cut from the steed whose saddle had been
emptied by arrow or accident, was usually found slung to their
pommels. A slice of this, raw or warmed, seiwed to sustain life
for these hard riders, who lived aU day in the saddle and at night
slept with it wrapped around them.
For a century the power of these nomads was steadily grow-
CATHAY, ZIPANGU, AND THE MONGOLS.
71
ing, before they emerged clearly into history and loomed up before
the frontiers of the empire. The master mind and hand that
moulded them into imity was Genghis Khan (1160-1227 a.d.).
Who was Genghis Khan ? A Japanese writer, who is also a
traveller in Corea and China, has written in English a thesis which
shows, with strong probability, at least, that this unifier of Asia was
Gen-Ghikc, or Yoshitsrme. This Japanese hero, bom in 1159, was
the field-marshal of the ai*my of the Minamoto who anniliilated the
Taira family.' In 1189, haring fled from his jealous brother, Yori-
tomo, he reached Y’ezo and thence crossed, it is believed, to Man-
chmia. His was probably the gi’eatest military mind which Japarr
ever produced.
That Y’oshitsunc and Genghis Khan were one person is argued
by Mr. Suyematz,’ who brings a surprising an’ay of coirrcidences to
prove his thesis. These are in names, titles, ages, dates, personal
characteristics, flags and banners, myths and traditions, riomen-
clatm-e of famihes, localities and indiriduals, and Japanese relics,
coins, arms, and fortresses irr Mairchirria. Without reaching the
point of demonstration, it seems highly probable that this wonder-
ful personality, this marweUous intellect, was of Japanese origin.
Whoever this restless spirit was, it is certain that he gathered
tribes once bring in freedom like the wild waves into the unity of
the restless sea. Out from the grassy plains of Manchrrria rolled
a tidal-wave of concprest that swept over Asia, and flung its last
drops of spray alike over Japan, India, and Russia. Among the rra-
tious completely ovenam and overar helmed by the Mongol hordes
was Corea.
In 1206, Yezokai — the word in Japanese means Yezo Sea — the
leader of the Mongols, at the reqirest of his chieftains, took the name
of Genghis Khan and proclaimed himself the rarler of air emjrire.
He now set before himself the task of subduing the Kitans and ab-
sorbing their land and people, preparatory to the conquest of
China. This was accomplished in less than six years. Liao Tung
was invaded and, in 1213, his amries were inside the Great Wall.
Three mighty hosts were now organized, one to oveimin all China
to Nepal and Anam, one to conquer Corea and Japan, and one to
bear the white banners of the Mongols across Asia into Europe.
Tliis work, though not done in a day, was nearly completed before
' The Mikado’s Empire, Chapters XIII. and XIV.
’ The Identity of tlie Great Conqueror, Genghis Khan, with tlie Japanese
Hero Yoshitsune, by K. Suyematz of Japan. London, 1879.
COREA.
72
a generation passed.' Genghis Khan led the host that moved to
the west. In 1218 the Corean king declared himself a vassal of
Genghis. In 1231 the murder of a Mongol envoy in Corea was
the cause of the first act of war. The Mongols invaded the coim-
try, captm-ed foi-ty of the principal towns, received the humiliation
of the king, who had fled to Kang-wa Island, and began the aboli-
tion of Corean independence by appointing seventy-two Mongol
prefects to administer the details of local government. The people,
exasperated by the new and strange methods of their foreign con-
querors, rose against them and muidered them all This was the
signal for a second and more tenable invasion. A great Mongol
army ovenan the country in 1241, fought a number of pitched
battles, defeated the king, and again imposed heavy tribute on
their humbled vassal. In 125G the Corean king went in pei*son to
do homage at the com-t of the conqueror of continents.
In the details of the Mongol nile kindness and cruelty were
blended. The most relentless military measures were taken to
secure obedience after the conciliatoiy policy failed. By using
both methods the great Khan kept his hold on the little peninsula,
although the Coreans manifested a constant disposition to revolt
About this time began a brifiiant half centvuy of intercom-se
between Eiu’ope and Cathay, which has been studied and illustra-
ted in the writings of Colonel H. Yule. The two Franciscan monks
Carpinini and Rubruquis visited China, and the camps of the great
Khan, between the years 1245 and 1253. By their graphic narra-
tives, in which the wars of Genghis were described, they made the
name of Cathay (from Kitai, or Kitan) famHiai' in Europe. !Matteo,
Nicolo, and Marco Polo, who came later, as representatives of the
commerce which afterward flourished between Venice and Genoa,
and Ningpo and Amoy, were but a few among many merchants
and travellers. Embassies from the Popes and the Khan ex-
changed courtesies at Avignon and Cambaluc (Peking). Christian
churches were established in Peking and other cities by the Fran-
ciscan monks. The various Europeans who have saved their o\sti
names and a few others from oblivion, and have left us a roman-
tic, but in the main a tiaithful, picture of mediteval Cliina and the
Mongols, were probably only the scribes among a host who traded
or travelled, but never told their story. Among the maiwels of the
empire of the Mongols, in which one might walk safely from Corea
to Russia, was religious toleration. Mlien, however, the Mongols
* See Howorth’s History of the Mongols, London, 1876.
CATHAY, ZIPANGU, AND THE MONGOLS.
73
of central Asia embraced the creed of Islam, bigotiy closed the
highway into Eui'ope, and communications ceased. Cathay, Zi-
pangu, and Corea again sunk fi-om the eyes of Em'ope into the
night of historic darkness.
Khublai Khan having succeeded his gi’andfather, Genghis, and
being now lailer of all the Asiatic mainland, resolved, in 12GG, to
conquer Japan. He wrote a letter to the mikado, but the envoys
were so fiaghtened by the Corean’s exaggerated account of the
difficulties of reaching the empii-e in the sea, that they never sailed.
Other embassies wei’e despatched in 1271 and 1273, and EJiublai
began to jirepare a mighty flotilla and army of invasion. One
himdred of the ships were built on Quelpart Island. His armada,
consisting of 300 vessels and 15,000 men, Chinese, Mongols, and
Coreans, sailed to Japan and was met by the Japanese off the isl-
and of Iki. Owing to their valor, but more to the tempest that
arose, the expedition was a total loss, only a few of the original
number reaching Corea alive.
Evidently desirous of conquering Jai:)an by diplomacy, the
gi'eat Khan despatched an embassy which reached, not the mi-
kado’s, but only the shu-gim’s com't in 1275. His ambassadors
were accompanied by a large retinue from his Corean vassals.
The Japanese allowed only thi'ee of the imposing number to go
to Kamakura, twelve miles from the modem Tekio, and paid no
attention to the Khan’s threatening letters. So imitated were the
brave islanders that when another ambassador from the Khan ar-
rived, in the following year, he disembarked as a prisoner and was
escorted, bomid, to Kamakiu’a, where he was thi’OAm into prison,
kej)t during fom- j-ears, and taken out only to be beheaded.
Upon hearing this, Khublai began the prejiaration of the mighti-
est of his invading hosts. To be braved by a little island nation,
w'hen his sceptre mded from the Dnieper to the Yellow Sea, was
not to be thought of. Various fleets and contingents sailed from
different ports in China and made rendezvous on the Corean coast.
The fleet was composed of 3,500 wai' junks, of large size, haring on
board 180,000 Chinese, Mongols, and Coreans. Among their en-
gines of war were the catapults which the Polos had taught them
to make. They set sail in the autumn of 1281.
From the very first the entei-prise miscarried. The general-in-
chief fell sick and the command devolved on a subordinate, who
had no pLan of operation. The various divisions of the force be-
came separated. It is probable that the majority of them never
74
COREA-
readied the mainland of Japan. The Mongol and Corean contin-
gent reached the province of Chikuzen, but were not allowed to
make a successful landing, for the Japanese drove them back ■with
sword and fire. The Chinese division, amving later, was met by
a terrible tempest that nearly annihilated them and destroyed the
ships already engaged. The broken remnant of the fleet and
armies, taking refuge on the island of Iki, were attacked by the
Japanese and nearly all slain, imprisoned, or beheaded in cold
blood. Only a few reached Corea to tell the tale.
The “ Mongol civilization,” so-called, seems to have had little
influence on Corea. The mighty empire of Genghis soon broke
into many fragments. The vast fabric of his government melted
like a sand house before an incoming wave, and that wave receding
left scarcely a sediment recognizable on the polity or social life of
Corea. Marco Polo in his book hardly mentions the country, though
describing Zipangu or Japan quite fuUy. One e^il efiect of them
forced assistance given to the Mongols, was that the hatred of the
Japanese and Coreans for each other was mutually intensified
After the IMongolian invasion begins that series of piratical raid,
on their coast and robbei'y of theii’ vessels at sea, by Japanese
adventru-ers, that made na-^igation beyond sight of land and ship-
building among the Coreans almost a lost art.
The centuries following the [Mongol invasion were jDeriods of
anarchy and civil war in Japan, and the central government au-
thority being weak the j^irates cotdd not be controlled. Building
or stealing ships, bands of Japanese sailors or ex-soldiers jmt to
sea, captui'ing Corean boats, jimks, and sm-f-rafts. Lantling, they
harried the shores and robbed and murdered the defenceless j^eo-
ple. Growing bolder, the marauders sailed into the Yellow Sea
and landed even in China and in Liao Timg. They kept whole
to^\^lS and cities in teiTor, and a chain of coast forts had to be
built in Shan-timg to defend that pro'since.
The fire-signals which, in the old days of “ the Three Eing-
doms,” had flashed upon the headlands to warn of danger seawai'd,
were now made a national seiwice. The system was perfected so
as to converge at the capital, Svmto, and give notice of danger
from any point on the coast. By this means better protection
against the sea-rovers was secured.
All this erfl experience with the pii'atical Japanese of the mid-
dle ages has left its impress on the language of the Coreans.
From this period, perhaps even long before it, date those words
CATHAY, ZIPAXGU, AXD THE MONGOLS.
75
of sinister omen of 'wliicli we give but one or two examjjlos wbicb
Lave the prefix wai (Japan) in them. A wai-kol, a Luge, fierce man,
of gigantic aspect, with a bad Lead, though perhaps with good
lieaid, a kind of ogre, is a Japanese kol or creatm-e. A destnictive
wind or tj-phoon is a Japanese wind. As western Chi'istendom for
centuries uttered their fears of the Norse pii’ates, “ From the fury
of the Northmen, Good Lord, dehver us,” so the Ivorai peojjle.
Two-Masted Corean Vessel (from a Pnoiograph takers m 1871).
along the coast, for many generations offered up constant petition
to their gods for j)iotection against these Northmen of the Pacific.
Tliis clironic danger from Japanese pirates, which Korai and
Cho-sen endured for a period nearly as extended as that of Eng-
hmd from the Northmen, is one of the causes that have contribu-
ted to make the natives dread the sea as a path for enemies, and
in Corea we see the strange anomaly of a people more than semi-
ci^•ilized whose wTetched boats scarcely go beyond tide-water.
CHAPTER XL
NEW CHU-SEN.
It will be remembered that the first Chinese settler and civ-
Uizer of Corea, Ki Tsze, gave it the name of ChG-sen. Coming
from violence and war, to a land of peace which lay eastward of
his old home, Ki Tsze selected for his new dweUing-place a name
at once expressive of its outward position and his own inward emo-
tions— Chu-sen, or Morning Calm.
For eleven centuries a paid of Manchuifia, including, as the
Coreans believe, the northern half of the peninsula, bore this
name. From the Christian era until the tenth centiuy, the names
of the three kingdoms, Shim'a, Hiaksai, and Kokorai, or Korai,
express the dirided political condition of the coimtry. On the fall
of these petty states, the united peninsula was called Korai. Korai
existed from a.d. 934 until a.d. 1392, when the ancient name of
Cho-sen was restored. Though the Coreans often speak of their
coimtiy as Korai (Gauli, or Gori), it is as the English speak of
Britain — with a patriotic feeling rather than for accuracy. Cho-
sen is still the official and popular designation of the country.
This name is at once the oldest and the newest.
The first bestowal of this name on the peninsula was in poetic
mood, and was the sjunbol of a peaceful triumph. The second
gift of the name was the index of a political revolution not un-
accompanied with bloodshed. The latter days of the dynasty
foimded by Wang were marked by licentiousness and effeminacy
in the palace, and misrule in the country. The people hated the
cruelties of their monarch, the thirty-second of his line, and longed
for a delivei’er. Such a one was Ni Taijo (Japanese, Ri Seiki), who
was bom in the region of Broughton’s Bay, in the Ham-kiung
prorince. It is said of him that fr-om his youth he suiijassed all
others in virtue, intelligence, and skill in manly exercises. He
was especially fond of himting with the falcon.
One day, while in the woods, his favorite bird, in pursuing its
NEW CHO-SEN.
77
quarry, flew so far ahead that it was lost to the sight of its master.
Hastening after it the yoimg man espied a shrine at the roadside
into which he saw his hawk fly. Entering, he found within a her-
mit priest. Awed and abashed at the weird presence of the white-
hearded sage, the lad for a moment was speechless ; but the old
man, addressing him, said : “ What benefit is it for a youth of your
abilities to be seeking a stray falcon ? A throne is a richer prize.
Betake yom-self at once to the cajiital.”
Acting upon the hint thus given him, and leawng the falcon
behind, Taijo wended his way westward to Sunto, and entered the
military seiwice of the king. He soon made his mark and rapidly
rose to high command, until he became lieutenant-general of the
whole army. He man-ied and reared children, and through the
espousal of his daughter by the king, became father-in-law to his
sovereign.
The influence of Taijo was now immense. Wliile with his
soldierly abilities he won the enthusiastic regard of the anny, his
l)opularity with the people rested solely on his virtues. Possessed
of such influence with the court, the soldiers, and the country at
large, he endeavored to reform the abuse of power and to curb the
cmelties of the king. Even to give advice to a despot is an act of
braver}’, but Taijo dared to do it again and again. The king, how-
ever, refused to follow the counsel of his father-in-law or to reform
abuses. He thus daily increased the odium in which he was held
by his subjects.
Such was the state of affairs toward the end of the fourteenth
century, when everything was ripe for revolution.
In China, great events, destined to influence “ the little king-
dom,” were taking plxce. The Mongol dynasty, even after the
breaking uji of the empire founded by Genghis Khan, stiU held
the dragon throne ; but during the later years of their reign, when
harassed by enemies at home, Corea was neglected and her tribute
remained xinpaid. A spasmodic attempt to resubdue the lapsed
vassal, and make Corea a Mongol castle of refuge from impending
doom, was ruined by the energy and valor of Ki Taijo. The
would-be invaders were driven back. The last Mongol emperor
fell in 1341, and the native Ming, or “ Bright,” dj’nasty came into
power, and in 13(18 was fli’mly established.
Their envoys being sent to Corea demanded pledges of vassal-
age. The king neglected, finally refused, and ordered fresh levies
to be made to resist the impending invasion of the Chinese. In
78
COREA.
this time of gloom and bitterness against their own monarch, the
army contained but a pitifully small number of men who could be
depended on to fight the overwhelming host of the Ming veterans
Taijo, in an address to his followers, thus spoke to them :
“ Although the order from the king must be obeyed, yet the
attack upon the Ming soldiers, with so small an anny as oui-s, is
like casting an egg against a rock, and no one of the aiiny will
return alive. I do not teU you this from any fear of death, but
oitr king is too haughty. He does not heed our advice. He has
ordered out the army suddenly without cause, paying no attention
to the suffering which wives and children of the soldiers must
undergo. This is a thing I cannot bear. Let us go back to the
capital and the responsibihty shall fall on my shoulders alone.”
Thereupon the captains and soldiers being impressed with the
pui-ity of their leader’s motives, and admiring his coui-age, resolved
to obey his orders and not the king’s. Ana^'ing at Sunto, he
promptly took measures to depose the king, who was sent to
Kang,-wa, the island so famous in modem as in ancient and mediae-
val history.
The king’s •wrath was very great, and he intrigued to avenge
himself. His plot was made known, by one of his retainers, to
Taijo, who, by a counter-movement, put forth the last radical
measure which, in Chinese Asia means, for a private j>erson, disin-
heritance ; for a king, deposition ; and for a royal line, extinction.
This act was the removal of the tablets of the king’s ancestors from
their shidne, and the issue of an order forbidding fm-ther continu-
ance of sacrifice to them. This Corean and Chinese method of
clapping the extinguisher upon a whole djmasty was no sooner or-
dered than duly executed.
Xi Taijo was now made king, to the great delight of the peo-
ple. He sent an embassy to Nanking to notify the Ming emperor
of affairs in the “outpost state,” to tender his loyal vassalage, to
seek the imperial apjiroval of his acts, and to beg his investiture
as sovereign. This was gi'aciously gi'anted. The ancient name of
Cho-sen was re-vived, and at the petitioner’s request conferred upon
the country by the emperor, who profited by this occasion to en-
force upon the Coreans his calendar and chronology' — the recep-
tion of these being in itself alone tantamount to a suflicient de-
claration of fealty. Fidendship being now fully established with
the Mings, the king of Cho-sen sent a number of youths, sons of
his nobles, to Nanking to study in the imperial Chinese college.
NEW CHO-SEN.
79
The dynasty thus established is still the reigning family in
Corea, though the direct line came to an end in 1864. The Co-
reans in their treaty with Japan, in 1876, dated the document ac-
cording to the 484th year of Cho-sen, reckoning from the acces-
sion of Ni Taijo to the thi-one. One of the first acts of the new
djmasty was to make a change in the location of the national
capitaL The new dynasty made choice of the city of Han Yang,
The Vidlls of Seoul (from a Photogiaph, 1876).
situated on the Han River, about fifty miles from its mouth. Tlie
king enlarged the fortifications, enclosed the city with a wall of
masonry of great extent, extending over the adjacent hills and
valleys. On this wall was a rampart pierced with port-holes for
archers and over the streams were built arches of stone. He or-
ganized the administnitive system which, with slight modification,
is still in force at the present time. The city being well situated,
soon grew in extent, and hence became the seoul or capital (pi’O-
80
COREA.
nounced by the Chinese king, as in Xanking and Peking, and the
Japanese kio, as in Kioto and Tokio). He also re-divided the
kingdom into eight do or provinces. This division stUl maintains.
The names, formed each of two Chinese characters joined to that
of do (circuit or pro-vince), and approximate meanings are given
below.' With such names of bright omen, “ the eight provinces ”
entered upon an era of peace and flourishing prosperity. The
people found out that something more than a change of masters
was meant by the removal of the capital to a more central situa-
tion. Vigorous reforms were carried out, and changes wei» made,
not only in pohtical administration, but in social hfe, and even in
rehgion. In all these the influence of the China of the Ming em-
perors is most manifest.
Buddhism, which had penetrated into every part of the country,
arid had become, in a measure, at least, the religion of the state,
was now set aside and disestablished. The Confucian etliics and
the doctrines of the Chinese sages were not only more diligently
studied and propagated under royal patronage, but were incor-
porated into the religion of the state. From the early part of the
fifteenth centiuy, Confucianism flourished until it reached the point
of bigotry and intolerance ; so that when Christianity was discov-
ered by the magistrates to be existing among the people, it was
put imder the band of extirpation, and its followers thought
worthy of death.
' Beginning at the most northern and eastern, and following the sea line
south around up to the northeast, they are :
Corean.
Japanese.
1.
Ham-kiung, or
Kan-kio do.
2.
Kang-wen, or
Ko-gen do.
3.
Kiung-sang, or
Kei-sho do.
4.
Julia, or
Zen-ra do.
5.
Cliung-chong, or
Giiu-sei do.
6.
Kiung-kei, or
Kei-ki do.
7.
Wliang-hai, or
Ko-kai do.
8.
Ping-an, or
Hei-an do
English.
Perfect Mirror, or Complete View Province.
Bay Meadow Province.
Respectful Congratulation Province.
Completed Network Province.
Serene Loyalty Province.
The Capital Circuit, or Home Province.
Yellow Sea Province.
Peace and Quiet Province.
In this table we have given the names in English which approximate the
sounds of the Chinese characters, with which names of the provinces are writ-
ten, and as they are heard to-day in Cho-sen. The modern Coreans use the
modern Chinese sounds of the characters, while the Japanese cling to the an-
cient Chinese pronunciation of the same characters as they received them
through Hiaksai and Shinra, eleven or twelve centuries ago. The old pure
Corean sounds were Teru-ra tai for Zen-ra do, Tsiku-shaku tai for Chiu-sei do,
Keku-shaku tai for Kei-ki do, etc.
NEW CHO-SEN.
81
Magistrate and Servant.
6
82
COREA.
Whatever may have been the motive for supplanting Buddh-
ism, whether fi*om sincere conviction of the paramount truth of
the ancient ethics, or a desire to closely imitate the Middle King-
dom in everything, even in religion, or to obtain easy and great
wealth by confiscating the monastery and temple lands, it is certain
that the change was sweeping, radical, and thorough. All observ-
ers testify that the cult of Shaka in Corea is almost a shadow. On
the other hand, in many cities throughout the land, are buildings
and halls erected and maintained by the government, in which sit
in honor the statues of Confucius and his gi’eatest disciples.
One great measure that tended to strengthen and make popu-
lar the new reUgious estabhshment, to weaken the old faith, to
give strength and imity to the new government, to foster educa-
tion and make the Corean hterary classes what they are to-day —
critical scholars in Chinese — was what Americans would call “ civil
seiwice reform.” Appointment to office on the basis of merit, as
shown in the literary examinations, was made the rule. Modelled
closely upon the Chinese system, three grades of examinations
were appointed, and three degrees settled. All candidates for
mihtary or civil rank and office must possess diplomas, granted
by the royal or provincial examiners, before appointment could be
made or salary begun. The system, which is stdl in vogue, is
more fully described in the chapter on education.
Among the changes in the fashion of social hfe, introduced
imder the Ni dynasty, was the adoption of the Ming costume. To
the Chinese of to-day the Corean dress and coifiure, as seen in
Peking, are subjects for curiosity and mei-riment. The lack of a
long queue, and the very different cut, form, and general appear-
ance of these eastern strangers, strike the eye of mandarin and
street laborer alike, very much as a gentleman in knee-breeches,
cocked hat, and peruke, or the peasant costumes at Castle Garden,
appear to a New Yorker, stepping from the elevated railway, on
Broadway.
Yet from the fourteenth to the seventeenth centui-y, the Chinese
gentleman di’essed Uke the Corean of to-day, and the mandarin of
Canton or Nanking was as innocent of the Tartar haii'-tail as is the
citizen of Seoul. The Coreans simply adhere to the fashions pre-
valent during the Ming era. The Chinese, in the matter of garb,
however loath foreigners may be to credit it, are more progressive
than their Corean neighbors.
To the house of Ni belongs also the greater honor of abohsh-
NEW CHO-SEN.
83
ing at least two cruel customs which had their roots iu supersti-
tion. Heretofore the same rites which were so long in vogue in
Japan, traces of which were noticed even down to the seventeenth
centur}', held unchallenged sway in Corea. Ko-rai-chang, though
not fully known in its details, was the habit of burying old men
alive. la-chei was the offering up of human saciifices, presumably
to the gods of the moimtains and the sea. Both of these classes
of rites, at once superstitious and horrible, were anciently very fre-
quent ; nor was Buddhism able to utterly abolish them. In the
latter case, they choked the victims to death, and then thi-ew them
into the sea. The island of Chansan was especially noted as the
place of propitiation to the gods of the sea.
The first successors of the founder of the house of Ni hell
gi’eat power, which they used for the good of the people, and
hence enjoyed great popularity. The first after Taijo reigned two
years, from 1398 to 1400. Hetxi-jong, who came after him, nil3d
eighteen years, and among other benefits conferred, established
the Sin-mun-ho, or box for the reception of petitions addressed
directly to the king. Lito this coffer, complaints and prayers fi’om
the peoj^le could laxvfuUy and easily be droppetb Though stiU
kept before the gate of the royal palace in Seoul, it is stated that
access to it is now difficult. It seems to exist more in name than
in fact. Among the first diplomatic acts of King Hetai-jong was
to imite with the Chinese emperor, in a complaint to the mikado
of Japan, against the buccaneers, whom the authorities of the
latter country were unable to control. Hence the remonstrance
was only partially successf\il, and the evil, which was aggravated
by Corean renegades acting as pilots, grew beyond aU bounds.
These rascals made a lucrative living by betrajdng their own coun-
trjmen.
Siei-jong, who succeeded to the throne on the death of his
father, Hetai-jong, enjoyed a long reign of thirty-two years, during
which the fortifications of the capital were added to and strength-
ened. The Manchius beyond the Ever-white Mountains were
then beginning to rise in power, and Liao Tung was distm’bed
by the raids of tribes from ^longolia, which the Ming generals
were unable to suppress. MTien the fighting took place within
fifty miles of her own boimdarj' river, Cho-sen became alarmed,
and looked to the defence of her oxvn frontier and capital. In
1450, on the death of the king, who “ in time of peace prepared
for war,” Mun-jong, his son, succeeded to royal power. As usual
84
COREA.
on the accession of a new sovereign, a Chinese ambassador was
despatched from Peking, which had been the Ming capital since
1614, to Seoul, to confer the imperial patent of investiture. This
dignitaiy, on his return, wrote a book recounting his travels,
under the title of “ Memorandum conceniing the Affaii-s of Cho-
sen.” According to this writer, the military' frontier of Corea at
-that time was at the Eastern Mountain Bai-rier, a few miles north-
west of the present Border Gate. Palladius, the Russian writer,
also states that, during the Ming dynasty, three gi-ades of for-
tresses were erected on the tenitory between the Great Wall and
the Yalu River, “ to guard against the attacks of the Coreans.”
It is more in accordance with the facts to suppose that the Chi-
nese erected these fortifications to guard against invasion from the
Manchius and other northern tribes that were ravaging Liao Tung,
rather than against the Coreans. These defences did not avail to
keep back the invasion which came a generation or two later, and
“ the Corean frontier,” which the Chinese traveller, in 1450, found
much fmiher west than even the present “ waU of stakes,” shows
that the neutral tenitory was then akeady established, and larger
than it now is. Of this striji of rich forest and ginseng land, with
many well-watered and ai-able valleys, once cultivated and popu-
lous, but since the fifteenth centmy desolate, we shall hear again.
In Chinese atlases the space is blank, with not one village marked
where, imtil the removal by the Chinese government of the inhabi-
tants westward, there was a population of 300,000 souls. The de-
population of this large area of fertile soil was simply a Chinese
measm-e of military necessity, which compelled her fiaendly ally
Cho-sen, for her own safety, to post sentinels as far west of her
boimdary river as the Eastern Mountain Banier, described by the
imperial envoy in 1450.
The century which saw America discovered in the west, was
that of Japan’s greatest activity on the sea. On eveiw’ coast within
their reach, from Tartaiw to Tonquin, and from Luzon to Siam,
these bold marauders were known and feared. The Chinese
learned to bitterly regret the day when the magnetic needle, in-
vented by themselves, got into the hands of these daring island-
ers. The wounded eagle that felt the shaft, which had been feath-
ered fr’om his own plumes, was not more to be pitied than the
Chinese people that saw the Japanese craft steeling across the
Y’ellow Sea to ravage and ruin their cities, guided by the compass
bought in China. They not only handed the coasts, but went far
NEW CHO-SEN.
85
up the rivers. In 1523, they landed even at Ningpo, and in the
fight the chief mandarin of the city was killed.
Yet, with the exception of incursions of these pirates, Cho-sen
enjoyed the sweets of peace, and two centui’ies slipped away in
Morning Calm. The foreign vessels from Europe which first, in
1530, touched at the province of Bungo, in Southern Japan, may
possibly have risited some part of the Corean shores. Between
1540 and 154G four arrivals of “ black ships ” from Portugal, are
known to have called at points in Japan. It was from these the
Japanese learned how to make the gunpowder and firearms which,
before the close of the cenhuy, were to be used with such deadly
effect in Corea.
Now came back to Europe accoimts of China and Japan — which
were found to be the old Kathay, and Zipangu of Polo and the Fran-
80
COREA.
ciscans — and of “ Coria,” •which Polo had barely mentioned- It ■was
from the Portuguese, that Europe first learned of this middle land
between the mighty domain of the Mings, and the empire in the
sea. Stirred by the spirit of adventure and enterprise, and un-
willing that the Iberian peninsulars should gain aU the glory, an
English “ Society for the Discovery of Unkno-wn Lands ” was
formed in 1555. A voyage was made as far as Novaia Zemlia
and Weigatz, but neither Corea nor Cathay was reached. Other
attempts to find a northeast passage to India failed, and Asia re-
mained uncircumnavigated until our own and Kordenskbld’s day.
The other attempts to discover a northwest passage to China
around the imaginary' cape, in which North America was supposed
to terminate, and through the equally fictitious straits of Aiiian,
resulted in the discoveries of the Cabots, and of Hudson and Fro-
bisher— of the American continent from the Hudson Eiver to
Greenland, but the way to China lay still around Africa.
From Japan, the only possibility of danger during these two cen-
turies was likely to come. In the north, west, and south, on the
main land, hung the banners of the !Ming emperors of China, and,
as the tribute enforced was very light, the protection of her great
neighbor was worth to Cho-sen far more than the presents she
gave. From China there Avas nothing to fear.
At first the new dynasty sent ships, embassies, and presents
regularly to Japan, which were duly received, yet not at the mi-
kado’s palace in Kioto, but at the sho- gun’s court at Kamakura,
twelve miles fr'om the site of the modem Japanese capital, Tokio.
But as the Ashikaga family became efifemiuate in life, their power
waned, and rival chiefs started up aU over the counti'y. Chxn
fights and clironic intestine wai* became the rule in Japan. Only
small areas of ten-itory were governed from Kamakura, while
the mikado became the tool and prey of rival daimios. One of
these petty lulers held Tsushima, and traded at a settlement on
the Corean coast called Fusan, by means of which some inter-
course wus kept up between the two countries. The Japanese
government had always made use of Tsushima in its commimica-
tions with the Coreans, and the agency at Fusan Avas composed
almost exclusively of retainers of the feudal lord of this island. The
journey by land and sea from Seoul to Kamakura, often consumed
two or three months, and vdth civil wars inland and piracy on the
water, intercomse between the two coimtries became less and less.
The last embassy from Seoul was sent in 1460, but after that.
NEW CHO-SEN.
87
owing to continued intestine war, the absence of the Coreans was
not noticed by the Ashikagas, and as the Tsushima men pm-posely
kept theu* customers ignorant of the weakness of their rulers at
Kamakura and Kioto, lest the ancient vassals should cease to fear
their old master, the Coreans remained in profound ignorance of
the real state of affairs in Japan. As they were never summoned,
so they never came. Gmng themselves no fm-ther anxiety con-
cerning the matter, they rejoiced that such disagreeable duties
were no longer incumbent upon them. It is even said in Corean
histories that their government took the offensive, and under the
reign of the king Chung-jong (1506-1544) captured Tsushima and
several other Japanese islands, formerly tributary to Corea. What-
ever fraction of tnith there may be in this assertion, it is certain
that Japan afterward took ample revenge on the score both of
neglect and of reprisal.
So, imder the idea that peace w^as to last forever, and the morn-
ing calm never to know an evening storm, the nation relaxed all
vigilance. Expecting no danger from the east, the military re-
sources were neglected, the army was disorganized, and the cas-
tles were allowed to dihipidate into min. The moats filled and
became shallow ditches, choked with vegetation, the walls and
ramparts cmmbled piecemeal, and the bamacks stood roofless.
As peace wore sweeter charms, and as war seemed less and less
probable, so did all soldierly duties become more and more irk-
some. The militia system was clianged for the worse. The en-
rolled men, instead of being called out for muster at assigned
camps, and trained to field duty and the actual evolutions of war,
were allowed to assemble at local meetings to perform only holi-
day movements. The muster rolls were full of thousands of
names, but off paper the army of Corea was a phantom. The
people, dismissing all thought of possibility of war, gave them-
selves no concern, lea^ing the matter to the army officials, who
drew pay as though in actual war. They, in turn, devoted them-
selves to dissipation, carousing, and sensual indulgence. It was
while the countiy was in such a condition that the summons of
Japan’s greatest concpieror came to them and the Coreans learned,
for the first time, of the faU of Ashikaga, and the temper of their
new master.
CHAPTEE XII.
EVENTS LEADING TO THE JAPANESE INVASION.
China and Japan are to each other as England and the United
States. The staid Chinaman looks at the Hvely Japanese with
feelings similar to those of John Bull to his American cousin.”
Though as radically different in blood, language, and tempera-
ment as are the Germans and French, they are enough alike to
find food for mutual jealousy. They discover ground for irritation
in causes, which, between nations more distant from each other,
W’ould stir up no feehng whatever. China considers Japan a
young, vain, and boasting stiiphng, whose attitude ought ever
to be that of the pupil to the teacher, or the child to the father.
Japan, on the contrary, considering China as an old fogy, far be-
hind the age, decayed in constitution and fortune ahke, and more
than ready for the grave, resents all dictation or assumption of
superiority. Even before their adoption of the forces of occiden-
tal civihzation in this nineteenth century, something of this
haughty contempt for China influenced the Japanese mind. Japan
ever refused to become vassal or tributary to China, and the mem-
ory of one of her military usurpers, who accepted the honorary
title of Nihon-0, or King of Japan, from the Chinese Emperor, is to
this day loaded with increasing execration. It has ever been the
practice of the Japanese court and people cheerfully to heap upon
their mikado all the honors, titles, poetical and divine appellations
which belong also to the Chinese emperor.
To conquer or humble their mighty neighbor, to cross their
slender swords of di\-ine temper with the clumsy blades of the
continental braves, has been the ambition of more than one Ja-
panese captain. But Hideyoshi alone is the one hero in Japanese
annals who actually made the attempt.
As the Mongol conquerors issuing from China had used Corea
as their point of departure to invade Japan, so Hideyoshi resolved
to make the jieninsula the road for his armies into China. After
EVENTS LEADING TO THE JAPANESE INVASION.
89
two centuries of anarchy in Japan, he followed up the work which
Nobunaga had begun until the proudest daimio had felt the
weight of his arm, and the empire was at peace.
Yet, although receiving homage and congratulations from his
feudal vassals, once proud princes, Hideyoshi w'as iiiitated that
Cho-sen, which he, with all Japanese, held to be a tributary prov-
ince, failed to send hke greetings. Since, to the Ashikagas, she
had despatched tribute and embassies, he was incensed that similar
honors were not awarded to him, though, for over a centmy, aU
official relations between the two countries had ceased.
On the 31st day of July, 1585, Hideyoshi was made Kuam-
baku, or Regent, and to celebrate his elevation to this, the highest
office to which a subject of the mikado’s could aspire, he shortly
afterward gave a great feast in Kioto, and proclaimed holiday
throughout the empire. This feast was graced by the presence
of his highest feudatories, lords, and captains, court nobles and
palace Ladies in their richest robes. Among others was one Yasu-
hiro, a retainer of the lord of Tsushima. Hideyoshi’s memory
had been refreshed by his haring had read to him, from the an-
cient chronicles, the account of Jingu Kogo’s conquests in the
second centuiy. He announced to his captains that, though Cho-
sen was from ancient times tributary to Japan, yet of late years
her envoys had failed to make visits or to send tribute. He then
appointed Yasuhiro to proceed to Seoul, and remind the king and
court of their duty.
The Japanese envoy was a bluff old campaigner, veiy taU, and
of commanding mien. His hair and beard had long since turned
white under years and the hardships of war. His conduct was
that of a man accustomed to command and to instant obedience,
and to expect rictory more by brute courage than by address.
On his journey to Seoul he demanded the best rooms in the ho-
tels, and annoyed even the people of rank and importance with
haughty and strange questions. He even laughed at and made
sarcastic remarks about the soldiers and their weapons. This
conduct, so different from that of previous envoys, greatly sm--
prised the Corean officials. Heretofore, when a Japanese officer
came to Fusan, native troops escorted him from Fusan to Seoul,
overawing him by their fierceness and insolence. Yasuhiro, accus-
tomed to constant war under Hideyoshi’s gourd-banner, rode
calmly on his horse, and, amid the lines of lances drawn up as a
guard of honor, spoke to his followers in a loud voice, telling them
90
COREA.
to watch the escort and note any incivility. In a certain village
he joked with a Corean soldier about his spear, saying, with a pun,
that it was too short and unfit for use. At this, all the Japanese
laughed out loud. The Coreans could not understand the lan-
guage, but hearing the laugh were angry and surprised at such
boldness. At another to^vTi he insulted an aged official who was
entertaining him, by remarking to his own men that his hair and
that of the Japanese grew gray by years, or by war and manlv
hardships ; “ but what,” cried he, “ has turned this man’s hair
gray who has hved aU his life amid music and dancing ? ” This
sarcastic fling, at premature and sensual old age, stung the official
so that he became speechless with rage. At the capital, creden-
tials were presented and a feast given, at which female musicians
sang and wine flowed. During the banquet, when all were well
drunk, the old hero pulled out a gourd full of pepper seeds and
began to hand them around. The singing-girls and servants
grabbed them, and a disgraceful scuffle began. This was what
Yasuhii'o wanted. Highly disgusted at their greedy behavior, he
retm’ned to his quarters and poured out a tirade of abuse about
the manners of the people, which his Corean interpreter duly re-
tailed to his superiors. Yasuhiro made up his mind that the
covmti’y was in no way prepared for invasion ; the martial spirit
of the people was very low, and the habits of dissipation and pro-
fligacy among them had sapped the vigor of the men.
To the offensive conduct of the envoy was added the irritation
produced by the language of Hideyoshi’s summons ; for in his let-
ter he had used the imperial fonn of address, “ we,” the plural of
majesty. Yasuhiro asked for a reply to these letters, that he might
return speedily to Japan. There was none given him, and the Co-
reans, pleading the flimsy excuse of the difficulty of the voyage,
refused to send an embassy to Japan.
Hideyoshi was very angry at the utter failime of Yasuhiro’s
mission. He argued that for an envoy to be content with such an
answer was sm-e proof that he favored the Coreana Some of
Yasuhii’o’s ancestors, being daimios of Tsushima, had served as
envoys to Cho-sen, and had enjoyed a monopoly of the lucrative
commerce, and even held office imder the Corean government
Reflecting on these things, Hideyoshi commanded Yasuhiro and
aU his family to be put to death.
He then despatched a second envoy, named Yoshitoshi, himself
the daimio of Tsu Island, who took with him a favorite retainer,
EVENTS LEADING TO THE JAPANESE INVASION.
91
and a priest, named Gensho, as his secretary. They reached Seoid
in safety, and, after the formal banquet, demanded the despatch
of an envoy to Japan. The Corean dignitaries did not reply at
once, but unofficially sent word, thi'ough the landlord of the hotel,
that they would be glad to agree to the demand if the Japanese
would send back the renegades who piloted the Japanese pirates
in their raids upon the Corean coasts. Thereupon, Yoshitoshi
despatched one of his suite to Japan. With amazing promptness
he collected the outlaws, fourteen in number, and produced them
in Seoul These traitors, after confessing theii’ ciime, were led
out by the executioners and theii' heads knocked oft'. Meanwhile,
having tranquillized “all under Heaven” (Japan), even to Yezo and
the Ainos, and finding nothing “ within the fom- seas ” worth cap-
turing, Hideyoshi cast his eyes southward to the Little kingdom
well named Riu Kiu, or the Sleepy Dragon -svithout horns. The
people of these islands, called Loo Choo, on old maps, are time
Japanese in origin, language, and dynasty. They speak a dialect
kindred to that of Satsuma, and their first historical i-uler was
Sunten, a descendant of Tametomo, who fled from Japan in the
twelfth centuT}". Of the population of 120,000 people, one-tenth
were of the official class, who lived from the public granaries.
Saving aU expense in war equipment, and warding off danger from
the two great powers between which they lay, they had kept the
good wdl of either by making their country act the part of the ass
which crouches down between two burdens. They made presents
to both, acknowledging Japan as their father, and China as their
mother. From early times they had sent tribute-laden junks to
Ningpo, and had introduced the Chinese classics, and social and
political customs. When the jVIing dynasty came into power, the
Chinese monarch bestowed on the Prince of Riu Kiu a silver seal,
and a name for his country’, which meant “ hanging balls,” a refer-
ence to the fact that theur island chain hung like a string of tas-
sels on the skirt of China. Another of their ancient native
names was Okinawa, or “ long rope,” which stretches as a cable
between Japan and Fonnosa. Sugar and rice are the chief pro-
ducts. Hideyoshi, wishing to possess this group of isles as an ally
against China, and acting on the principle of baiting with a sprat
in order to catch a mackerel, sent word to Riu Kiu to pay tribute
hereafter only to him.
The young king, fearing the wrath of the mighty lord of Nip-
pon, sent a priest as his envoy, and a vessel laden with tribute
92
COREA,
offerings. AiTiring in the presence of the august parvenu, the
priest found himself most graciously received. Hideyoshi entered
into a personal conversation with the bonze, and set forth the
benefits of Eiu Kiu’s adherence to Japan alone, and her ceasing to
send tribute to China. At the same time he gave the priest
clearly to understand that, willing or unwiUing, the httle kingdom
was to be annexed to the mikado’s empire. When the priest re-
turned to Riu Kiu and gave the information to the king, the latter
immediately despatched a vessel to China to infonn the govern-
ment of the designs of Japan.
Meanwhile, the coui-t at Seoiil, highly gratified with the action
of the Japanese government in the matter of the renegade pilots,
gave a banquet to the embassy. Yoshitoshi had audience of the
king, who presented him with a horse from his own stables. An
embassy was chosen which left Seoul, in company with Yoshitoshi
and his party, and their musicians and seiwants, in April, 1.590,
and, after a journey and voyage of three months, arrived at Kioto
during the summer of 1590. At this time Hideyoshi was absent
in Eastern Japan, not far from the modem city of Tokio, besieging
Odawara Castle and reducing “ the second Hojo ” family to sub-
mission. Aia-iving at Kioto in the autumn, he postponed audience
with the Coreans in order to gain time for war preparations, for
his heart was set on conquests beyond sea.
Finally, after five months had passed, they were accorded an
intendew. They were allowed to ride in palanquins under the
gateway of the palace without dismounting — a mark of deference
to their high rank — aU except nobles of highest grade being com-
pelled to get out and walk. As usual, their band of musicians ac-
companied them.
They report Hideyoshi as a man of low appearance, but with
eyes that shot fire through their souls. All bowed before him,
but his conduct in general was of a very undignified character.
This did not raise him in the estimation of his guests, who had
ah'eady discovered his tme position, which was that of a subject
of the mikado, whose use of the imperial “ ice” in. his letters was,
in their eyes, a preposterous assumption of authority. They de-
livered the king’s letter, which was addi’essed to Hideyoshi on
terms of an equal as a Koku O (king of a nation, in distinction
from the title of M’hang Ti, by which title the Heavenly Euler, or
Emperor — the ^Mikado of Japan, or the Emperor of China — is
addi’essed). The letter contained the usual commonplaces of
EVENTS LEADING TO THE JAPANESE INVASION.
93
fiiendly greeting, the names of the envoys, and a reference to the
hst of accompanying presents.
The presents — spoken of in the usual terms of Oriental mock
modesty — consisted of two ponies and fifteen falcons, with harness
for bird and beast, rolls of sdk, precious drugs, ink, paper, pens,
and twenty magnificent tiger-skins. The inter^^ew over, Hideyoshi
wished the envoys to go home at once. This they declined to do,
but, leaving Kioto, waited at the port of Sakai. A letter to the
king finally reached them, but couched in so insolent a tone that
the ambassadors sent it back several times to be purged. Even in
its improved foi-m it was the blustering thi’eat of a Japanese bully.
All this consumed time, which was just w’hat Hideyoshi wished.
Some years before this, some Portuguese trading ships had
landed at the island of Tanc, off the south of Jajian. The Japan-
ese, for the first time, saw Europeans and heard their unintelli-
gible language. At first aU attempts to imderstand them were in
vain. A Chinese ship happened to amve about the same time, on
which were some sailors who knew a little Portuguese, and thus
communications were held. The foreigners, being handsomely
treated, gave their hosts some firearms, probably pistols, taught
their use, and how to make powder. These “ queer things, able
to vomit thunder and lightning, and emitting an awful smeU,”
were presented to Shimadza, the daimio of Satsuma, who gave
them to Hideyoshi. Among the presents, made in return to Cho-
sen, were several of these new weapons made by Japanese. They
were most probably sent as a hint, hke that of the Pequot’s offer-
ing of the an-ows vTapped in snake-skin. AVith them were phea-
sants, stands of swords and spears, books, rolls of pajier, and four
hundred gold koban (a coin worth about $5.00).
AVith the returning embassy, Hideyoshi sent the priest and a
former colleague of Yoshitoshi to Seoul. They were instructed to
ask the king to assist Hideyoshi to renew peaceful relations be-
tween Japan and China. These, owing to the long continued
piratical invasions from Japan, during the anarchy of the Ashi-
kaga, had been suspended for some years past.
The peaceful influences of Christianity’s teachings now came
between these two pagan nations, in the mind and person of Yoshi-
toshi, who had professed the faith of Jesus as taught by the Roman
Catholic missionaries from Portugal, then in Japan. Be this as it
may, Yoshitoshi, who had been in Seoul, and lived in Tsushima,
being well acquainted with the militaiy resources of the three
94
COREA.
countries, knew that war would result in ruin to Cho-sen, while,
in measui’ing their swords with China, the Japanese were at fear-
ful odds. Animated by a desire to prevent bloodshed, he resolved
to mediate with the oHve branch. He started on an independent
mission, at his own cost, to persuade the Coreans to use their good
offices at mediation between Japan and China, and thus prevent
war. AiTiving at Fusan, in 1591, he forwarded his petition to
Seoul, and waited in port ten days in hopes of the answer he de-
sired. But aU was in vain. He received only a letter containing
a defiant reply to his master’s buUjdng letter. In sadness he re-
turned to Kioto, and reported his iU-success. Surprised and en-
raged at the indifference of the Coreans, Hideyoshi pushed on his
war preparations with new vigor. He resolved to test to its
utmost the mditary strength of Japan, in order to humble China
as well as her vassal Accustomed to victoiy imder the gourd-
banner in almost every battle during the long series of intestine
wars now ended, an army of seasoned veterans heard jojffully the
order to prepare for a campaign beyond sea.
Hideyoshi, during this year, nominally resigned the office of
Kuambaku, in favor of his son, and, according to usage, took the
title of Taiko, by which name (Taiko Sama) he is popularly known,
and by which we shall refer to him. Among the Coreans, even of
to-day, he is remembered by the title which still inspires their
admiration and teiToi’ — Kuambaku. Chinese rradtei's give a gro-
tesque accoimt of Hideyoshi, one of whose many names they read
as Ping-syew-kye. They call him “ the man under a tree,” in re-
ference to his early nickname of Ednomoto. He is also dubbed
“King of Taiko.” The Jesuit missionaries speak of him in their
letters as Quabacundono (His Lordship the Kuambaku), or by one
of his personal names, Faxiba (Hashiba).
The Coreans were now in a strait. Though under the protec-
torate of China, they had been negotiating with a foreign power.
How would China hke this ? Should they keep the entire matter
secret, or shovdd they inform their suzerain of the intended inva-
sion of China ? They finally resolved upon the latter coui'se, and
despatched a courier to Peking. About the same time the mes-
senger fi’om Riu Kiu had landed, and was on his way •with the
same tidings. The Riiikiuan reached Peking fii'st, and the Corean
an-ived only to confii’m the news. Yet, in spite of such overwhelm-
ing evidence of the designs of Japan, the colossal “ tortoise ” could,
at fii'st, scarce beheve “ the bee ” would attempt to sting.
CHAPTER XIII.
THE INVASION— ON TO SEOUL.
For the pictures of camps, fleets, the details of armory and
commissariat, and all the pomp and circumstance that make up
the bright side of Japanese war preparations in 1591 and 1592, we
are indebted, not only to the Japanese writers, but to those eye
witnesses and excellent “ war correspondents,” the Portuguese
missionaries then in Kiushiu, and especially to Friar Louis Frois.
He tells us of the amplitude, vigor, and brilliancy of Taik5’s meas-
ures for invasion, and adds that the expenses therefor greatly
burdened the “ ethniques ” or daimios who had to pay the cost.
Those feudatories, whose domain bordered the sea, had to furnish
a mighty fleet of junks, while to man them, the quota of every
himdred houses of the fishing population was ten sailors.
The land and naval forces assembled at Nagoya, in Hizen, now
called Karatsu, and famous for being the chief place for the manu-
factui-e of Hizen porcelain. Here a superb castle was built, while
huge inns or resting-places were erected aU along the road from
Kioto. The armies gathered here during the war numbered 500,-
000 men ; of whom 150,000 formed the army of invasion, 00,000
the first reserve, while 100,000 were set apart as Taiko’s body-
guard ; the remainder were sailors, sei^'ants, camp followers, etc.
Beside the old veterans were new levies of young soldiers, and
a corps of matchlock men, who afterward did good execution
among the Coreans. The possession of this new and terrible
weapon gave the invaders a mighty advantage over their enemies.
Though firearms had been known and manufactured in Japan for
a half century, this was the first time they were used against foi-
eign enemies, or on a large scale. Taiko also endeavored to hire
or buy from the Portuguese two ships of war, so as to use their
artillery ; but in this he failed, and the troops were despatched in
native-built vessels. These made a gallant display as they crowded
together by hundreds. At the signal, given by the firing of can-
96
COREA.
non, the immense fleet hoisted sail and, under a fresh breeze, bore
away to the west.
Their swelling saUs, made of long sections of canvass laced
together, vertically, at their edges, from stem to boom (thus dif-
fering from the Chinese, which are laced horizontally), were in-
scribed with immense crests and the heraldic devices of feudal-
ism, many feet in diameter. Near the top were cross-wise bands
or stripes of black. The junks of Satsuma could be distinguished
by the white cross in a cii'cle ; those of Higo by the broad-banded
ring. On one were two crossed aiTow-feathers, on others the
chess-board, the “ cash ” coin and palm-leaves, the butterfly, the
cloisonne sjnnbol, the sim, the fan, etc. Innumerable banners,
gay with armorial designs or inscribed with Buddhist texts, hrmg
on their staves or fluttered gaUy as flags and streamers from the
mastheads. Stuck into the back of many of the distinguished
veterans, or officers, were the sashi-mono, or bannerets. Kato
Kiyomasa, being a strict Buddhist, had for the distinctive blazon
of his back-pennant, and on the banners of his di\*ision, the prayer
and legend of his sect, the Nichirenites, “ Namu siiyo ho eexge kio”
(Glory to the Holy Lotus, or Glorj' to the salvation-bringing book
of the Holy Law of Buddha). On the forward deck were ranged
heavy shields of timber for the protection of the ai’chers. These,
at close quarters, were to be let down and used as boarding
planks, when the sword, pike, and grappling-hook came into play.
Huge tassels, dangling from the prows like the manes of horses,
tossed up and down as the ships rode over the waves. Each junk
had a huge eye painted at the prow, to look out and And the path in
the sea. With the squadron followed htmdreds of junks, laden with
salt meat, rice-wine, dried flsh, and rice and beans, which formed
the staple of the invaders commissariat for man and horse. Trans-
port junks, with cargoes of flints, arrows, ball, powder, wax can-
dles, ship and camp stores, “ not forgetting a single thing,” sailed
soon after, as well as the craft containing horses for the cavalry.
Taiko did not go to Corea himself, being dissuaded by his
aged mother. The court also -wished no weaker hand than his to
hold the reins of government while the ai*my was on foreign
shores. The men to wffiom he entrusted the leadership of the ex-
pedition, were Konishi Yiikinaga and Kato Kiyomasa. To the
former, he presented a fine war horse, telling him to “ gallop over
the bearded savages ” -with it, while to the latter he gave a battle-
flag. Konishi was an impetuous young man, only twenty-three years
THE INVASIOy— OX TO SEOUL.
97
of age. He was a favorite of Taiko, and sprung like tlie latter from
the common people, being the son of a medicine dealer. His
crest or banner was a huge, stuffed, white paper bag, such as drug-
gists in Japan use as a shop sign. In this he followed the example
of his august chief, who, despising the brocade banners of the im-
perial generals, stuck a gom-d on a pole for his colors. For eveiy
\dctory he added another gourd, until his immense cluster con-
tained as many proofs of victoiy as there are bamboo sticks in an
umbrella. The “ gourd-banner ” became the emblem of infallible
victory. Konishi also imitated his master in his tactics — impetu-
ous attack and close following up of victory".
Konishi was a Christian, an ardent convert to the faith of the
Jesuit fathers, by whom he had been baptized in 1584. In their
writings, they call him “ Don Austin ” — a contraction of Augustine.
Other Christian lords or daimios, who personally led their troops
in the field with Konishi, were Aidma, Omm-a, Amakusa, Bungo,
and Tsushima. The personal name of the latter, a former envoy to
Corea, of whom we have read before, was T^oshitoshi. He was the
son-in-law of Konishi. Kuroda, as !Mr. Ernest Satow has sho'wn,
is the “ Kondera ” of the Jesmt winters.
Kato Kiyomasa was a noble, whose castle seat was at Kumamoto
in Higo. From his youth he had been trained to war, and had a
reputation for fierce braverj’. It is said that Kato suggested to
Taiko the plan of invading Corea. His crest was a broad-banded
circle, and his favorite weapon was a long lance with but one
cross-blade instead of two. Kato is the “ Toronosqui ” of the
Jesuit fathers, who never weary of loading his memory with
obloquy. This “ vir ter execrandiis ” was a fierce Buddhist and a
bitter foe to Chiistianity. A large number of fresh autographic
waitings had been made by the bonzes in the monasteries ex-
pressly for Kato’s division. The silk pennon, said to have been
inscribed by Nichiren himself and worn by Kato during the in-
vasion, is now in Tokio, owned by Katsu Awa, and is six centuries
old.
With such elements at work between the two commanders,
bitterness of religious rivalry, personal emulation, the desire to
earn glorj' each for himself alone, the contempt of an old veteran
for a j'oung aspirant, harmony and unity of plan were not to be
looked for. Nevertheless, the personal qualities of each general
were such as to inspire his owm troops with the highest enthu-
siasm, and the army sailed away fully confident of victory.
7
98
COREA.
What were the objects of Taiko in making this war? Evi-
dently his original thought was to invade and humble China.
Then followed the determination to conquer Cho-sen. Ambition
may have led him to rival Ojin Tenno, who, in his mother’s womb,
made the conquest of Shinra, and, as the deified Hachiman,
became the Japanese god of war. Lastly, the Jesuit fathers saw in
this expedition a plot to kill off the Christian leaders in a foreign
land, and thus extirpate Christianity in Japan. To ship the
Christians off to a foreign soil to die of wounds or disease, was
easier than to massacre them. They make Taiko a David, and his
best generals Uriahs — though Coligny, slain twenty years before,
might have served for a more modem illustration.
Certain it is that it was dming the absence of the Christian
leaders that the severest persecutions at home took place. It is
probable, also, that his jealousy of the success and consequent
popularity of the Chiistian generals created irresolution in Taiko’s
mind, leading him to neglect the proper support of the expedition
and thus to bring about a gigantic failure.
Finally, we must mention the theory of a Japanese friend, !Mr.
Egi Takato, who held that Taiko, having whole armies of unem-
ployed warriors, all jealous of each other, was compelled, in order
to ensure peace in Japan, to find employment for their swords.
His idea was to send them on this distant “ frontier service,” and
give them such a taste of home-sickness that peaceful life in Japan
would be a desideratum ever afterward.
The Coreans, by their own acknowledgment, were poorly pre-
pared for a war with the finest soldiers in Asia, as the Japanese
of the sixteenth centuiy certainly were. Nor had they any leader
of ability to direct their efforts. Their king, Sien-jo, the fifteenth
of the house of Ni, who had already reigned twenty-six years, was
a man of no personal importance, addicted entirely to his own
pleasures, a drunkard, and a debauchee. Though the royal pro-
clamation was speedily issued, calling on the people to fortify
their cities, to rebuild the dilapidated castles, and to dig out the
moats, long since choked by mud and vegetation, the people re-
sponded so slowly, that few of the fortresses were found in order
when their enemies laid siege to them. Weapons were plentiful,
but there were no firearms, save those presented as curiosities by
the Taiko to the king. There was little or no military organiza-
tion, except on paper, while the naval defences were in a sad
plight. However, they began to enroll and drill, to lay up stores
THE INVASION— ON TO SEOUL.
99
100
COREA.
of fish and grain for the army, to build ships, to repair their •walls,
and even to manufacture rude firearms.
Yet even the most despondent of the Coreans never dreamed
that the Japanese, on their first arrival, -would sweep everything
before them like a whirlwind, and enter the capital -within eighteen
days after theii- landing at Fusan. One of the first castles garri-
soned and provisioned was that of Tong-nai, near Fusan. On
the morning of May 25, 1592, the sentinels on the coast descried
the Japanese fleet of eight hundred ships, containing the division of
Konishi. Before night the invaders had disembarked, captured
Fusan, and laid siege to Tong-nai Castle, which at once surren-
dered. So sudden was the attack that the governor of the district,
then in the city, was unable to escape. Konishi, Avriting a letter
to the king, ga\'e it into the hands of the gOA'emor, and made him
swear to deliver it safelj', promising him imconditional liberty if
he did so. The governor agi-eed, and at once set out for Seoul ;
but on reaching it he simply said he had escaped, and made no
mention of the letter. His perjuiy was not to remain undetected,
as later events proA’ed. Without an hour’s delay Konishi’s di-
•vision, leaAnug Tong-nai, marched up the Nak-tong valley to
Shang-chiu.
Kato’s dlA-ision, delayed by a storm, arrived next day. Land-
ing immediately, he saw Avith chagiin the pennons of his rival fly-
ing from the ramparts of Tong-nai. Angry at being left behind
by “ the boy,” he took the more northerly of the two routes to the
capital. The two riA-al armies Avere now straining eveiy nerve on
a race to Seoul, each eager to destroy all enemies on the march,
and reach the royal palace first. Km-oda and other generals led
expeditions into the southern provinces of ChuUa and Chung-
chong. These provinces being subdued, and the castles garri-
soned, they were to make theii* way to the capital
The Coreans proved themselves especially good boAvmen, but
inexpert at other Aveapons, their swords being of iron only, short,
clumsy, and easily bent. Theii* speai’s, or rather pikes, were
shorter than the Japanese, Avith heavy blades, from the base of
Avhich hung tassels. The iron heads were hoUow at the base,
forming a socket, in which the staff fitted. The Japanese spear-
heads, on the contraiy, were riveted do-wn and into the wood,
which was iron-banded for fuidher security, making a weapon less
likely to get out of order, while the blades were steel-edged. The
Corean cavalry had heavy, three-pronged spears, which were ex-
THE INVASION— ON TO SEOUL.
101
tremely formidable to look at, but being so heavy as to be im-
wieldly at close quarters, they did httle execution. Many of their
suits of armor were handsomely inlaid, made of iron and leather,
Corean Knight of the Sixteenth Century.
but less flexible and more vulnerable than those of the Japanese,
which were of interlaced silk and steel on a background of tough
buckskin, with sleeves of chain mail The foot soldiers on either
side were incased in a combination of iron chain and plate ai*mor.
102
COREA.
but the Coreans had no glaves, or cross-blades on their pikes, and
thus were nearly helpless against their enemy’s cavalry. The
Japanese were smooth-shaven, and wore stout helmets, with ear-
guards and visors, but the Coreans, with open helmets, without
visors, and whiskered faces, were dubbed “ haiiy barbarians.”
They were beginning to learn the use of powder, which, however,
was so badly mixed as to be exasperatingly slow in burning.
Their very few firearms were of the rudest and most cumbrous
sort. They used on their ramparts a kind of wooden cannon,
made of bamboo-hooped timber, from which they shot heavy
wooden darts, three feet long, pointed with sharp-bladed, Y-shaped
iron heads. The range of these clumsy missiles was very short.
The Japanese, on the contrary, had at several sieges pieces of light
brass ordnance, with which they quickly cleared the walls of the
castles, and then scaled them with long and hght ladders, made
of bamboo, and easily borne by men on a run. The Japanese
were not only better equipped, but their tactics were superior.
Theii* firearms frightened the Corean horses, and the long spears
and halberds of their cavalry were used with fearful effect while
pursuing the fugitives, who were pierced or piiUed off their steeds,
or sabred in droves. Few bodies of native troops faced the inva-
ders in the field, while fire-aiTOws, gunpowder, and ladders quickly
reduced the castles. Not a few of the Corean officers were killed
inside their fortresses by the long range fire of the sharp-shooters
in the matchlock corps.
The greater share of glory fell to Konishi, the younger man.
Taking the southern route, he reached the castle of Shang-chiu, in
the nor-thwestem par-t of Kiung-sang, and captured it Leaving a
garrison, he pushed on to Chiun-chiu. This fortress of Chiun-
chiu is situated in the northeastern part of Chrmg-chong province,
and on the most northerly of the two roads, over which Kato was
then marching. It was at that time considered to be the strongest
castle in the jreninsula. On it rested the fate of the capital It
lay near one of the branches of the Han River, which flows past
Seoul. At this point the two high roads to the capital, on which
the two rivals were moving, converged so as to nearly touch. Chiun-
chiu castle lay properly on Kato’s route, but Konishi, being in the
advance, invested it with his forces and, after a few days’ siege,
captured the great stronghold. The loss of the Coreans thus far
in the three fortresses seized by Konishi, as reported by Friar
Frois, was 5,000 men, 3,000 of whom fell at Chiun-chiu; while the
THE INVASION— ON TO SEOUL.
103
Japanese had lost but 100 killed and 400 wounded. After such a
victoi'y, “ Konishi determined to conquer all Corea by himself.”
Kato and his aimy, arriving a few days after the victory,
again saw themselves outstripped. Konishi’s pennons floated from
everj' tower, and the booty was already disposed of. The goal of
both armies was now “the IMiaco of the kingly city of Coraj".”
Straining every neiwe, Kato pressed forward so rapidly that the
two divisions of the Japanese anny entered Seoul by difierent
gates on the same day. No resistance was offered, as the king,
court, and army had evacuated the city three days before. The
brilliant pageant of the Japanese ai'my, in magnificent an-ay of
gay sHk and ghtteriug armor, was lost on the empty sti’eets of
deserted Seoul
When Taiko heard of the success of his lieutenants in Corea,
especially of Konishi’s exploits, he was filled with joy, and cried
out, “Now my o\vn son seems risen from the dead.”
CHAPTER XIY.
THE CAMPAIGN IN THE NORTH.
The court at Seoul had been too much paralyzed by the sudden
invasion to think of or carry out any effective means of resistance.
Konishi had sent letters from Fusan and Shang-chiu, but these,
through official faithlessness and the accidents of war, had failed
in theii’ purpose. Konishi was too fast for them. When the news
reached Seoul, of the fall of Chiun-chiu castle, the whole populace,
fr'om palace to hut, was seized with a panic which, in a few hours,
emptied the city. The soldiers deserted their post, and the cour-
tiers theii* king, while the people fled to the mountains. His Ma-
jesty resolved to go with his court into Liao Tung, but to send
the royal princes into the northern provinces, that the people
might realize the true state of affaii’S. So hurried were the prep-
arations for flight, which began Jime 9th, that no food was pro-
vided for the journey. The only horses to be obtained were farm
and pack animals, as the royal stables had been emptied by the
nmaway soldiers. The rain feU heavily, in perpendicular streams,
soon tui*ning the roads to mire, and drenching the women and
children. The Corean dress, in wet weather, is cold and imcom-
fortable, and when soaked tiuough, becomes extremely heavy,
making a foot jom*ney a severe tax on the strength. To add to
the distress of the king, as the cortege passed, the people along
the road clamored, with bitter tears, that they were being aban-
doned to the enemy. Tortured with hunger and fatigue, the
^^Tetched party floundered on.
Their first day's joui*ney was to Simto, or Kai Seng, thirty
miles distant. Darkness fell upon them long before they reached
the Rin-j*in River, a tributary of the Han, which joins it a few miles
above Kang-wa Island. The city lay beyond it, and the crossing
of the stream was done in the light of the conflagration kindled
behind them. The king had ordered the torch to be appHed to
the barracks and fortifications which guarded the southern bank
THE CAMPAIGN IN THE NORTH.
105
of the river. Another motive for this incendiary act was to de-
prive their pui’suers of ready materials to ferry themselves across
the river. It was not until near midnight that the miserable fugi-
tives, tortured with hvmger and almost dead with fatigue, entered
the city. Though feehng safe for the moment, since the Japanese
pui’suers could not cross the river vlthout boats or rafts, most of
the king’s household were doomed still to suffer the pangs of hun-
ger. The soldiers had stolen the food provided for the party, and
the king had a scant supper, while his household remained himgry
imtil the next day, when some of the military gave them a little
rice. The march was resumed on the following morning and kept
up until Ptng-an was reached. Here they halted to await the
progress of events.
The king ordered his scattered forces to rally at the Rin-yin
River, and, on its northern bank, to make a determined stand.
Kato and Konishi, remaining but a short time in the capital,
imited their dirisions and pressed forward to the north. Reach-
ing the Rin-yin River, they found the Corean junks drawn up on
the opposite side in battle aiTay. Tlie Japanese, being without
boats, could not cross, and waited vainly dui-ing several days for
something to turn ujj. Finally they began a feigned retreat.
This induced a portion of the Corean army to cross the river,
when the Japanese turned upon them and cut them down with
terrible slaughter. With the few rafts and boats used by the
enemy, the Jai)anese matchlock men rapidly crossed the stream,
shot down the sailors and the remaining soldiers in the junks, and
thus secured the fleet by which the whole anny crossed and began
the march on Ping-an.
The rival Japanese commanders, Kato and Konishi, who had
hitherto refrained from open quaiTel, now found it impossible to
remain longer together, and drew lots to decide their future fields
of action in the two northern prorinces. Ham-kiung feU to Kato,
who immediately marched eastward with his dirision, taking the high
road leading to Gensan. Konishi, to whom the province of Ping-an
fell, pushed on to Piug-an City, an'i\'ing on the south bank of the
river toward the end of July, or about three weeks after leaving
Seoul. Here he went into camp, to await the reinforcements
under Kuroda and Yoshitoshi. These soon afterward andved,
haring traversed the four prorinces bordering on the Yellow Sea.
The great need of the Japanese was floating material ; next to
this, their object was to discover the fords of the river. On
I
106
COREA.
July 20th they made a demonstration against the fleet of junks
along the front of the city, by sending out a few detachments of
matchlock men on rafts. Though unsuccessful, the Corean king
was so fidghtened that he fled with his suite to Ai-chiu. The
gairison still remained alert and defiant.
Delay made the Japanese less vigilant. The Corean command-
ers, noticing this, planned to surprise their enemy by a night
attack. Owing to bad management and delay, the various detach-
ments did not assemble on the opposite side of the river until
near dayhght. Then forming, they charged furiously upon Ko-
nishi’s camp, and, taking his men by surprise, carried off hundreds
of prisoners and horses, the cavahy suffering worse than the infan-
tiy. Kui’oda’s division came gallantly to their support, and drove
the Coreans back to the river. By this time it was broad day-
hght, and the cowardly boat-keepers, frightened at the rout of
their coimtrymen, had pushed off into mid-stream. Hundreds of
the Coreans were drowned, and the main body, left in the lurch,
were obhged to cross by the fords. This move gave the Japanese
the possession of the coveted secret. Flushed with victory, the
entfre army crossed over later on the same day and entered the
city. Dispmted by their defeat, the garrison fled, after flinging
their weapons into the castle moats and ditches of the city ; but
aU the magazines of grain, dried fish, etc., were now in the hands
of the invaders. Frois reports, from hearsay, that 80,000 Coreans
made the attack on Konishi’s camp, 8,000 of whom were slain.
The news of the fall of Ping-an City utterly demoralized the
Coreans, so that, horses being still numerous, the courtiers de-
serted the king, and the villagers everywhere looted the stores of
food provided for the army. Many of the fugitives did not cease
their flight until they had crossed the Talu Kiver, and found them-
selves on Chinese territory. These bore to the Governor of Liao
Tvmg province, who had been an anxious observer of events, the
news of the fall of Ping-an, and the iiTesistible character of the
invasion. The main body of the Corean army went into camp
at Sun-an, between An-ton and Sun-chon. In Japan, there was
great rejoicing at the news received from the frontier, because, as
Fi’ois wi’ote, Konishi, “ in twenty days, hath subdued so mighty a
kingdom to the cro^m of Japan.” Taiko sent tlie brilliant young
commander a two-edged sword and a horse — “ pledges of the most
peerless honor that can possibly be done to a man.”
The Japanese soldiers felt so elated over their victory that they
THE CAMPAIGN IN THE NORTH.
107
expected immediate orders to march into China. With this pur-
pose in view, Konishi sent word to the fleet at Fusan to sail round
the western coast, into Ta-tong River, in order to co-operate with
the victorious forces at Ping-an. Had this junction taken place,
it is probable China would have been invaded by Japanese ar-
mies, and a general war between these rival nations might have
turned the current of Asiatic history. This, however, was not to
be. Corean valor, with the aid of gunpowder and improved naval
construction, prevented this, and kept three hundred miles of dis-
tance, in a mountainous countrj^ between the Japanese and their
base of supplies.
Oriental rhetoric might describe the situation in this wise : the
eastern dragon of invasion flew across the sea in winged ships, and
108
COREA.
speedily won the crystal of victory. But on land the dragon must
go upon its belly. The Corean navy snatched the jewel from the
very claws of the dragon, and left it writhing and hungry-.
In cool western phrase, sinister, but significant, Konishi was
soon afterward obliged to “ make a change of base.” The biil-
hant success of the army seems to have impressed tlie Japanese
naval men with the idea that there was nothing for them to do. On
the coutraiy, the Cho-sen people set to woi-k to improve the archi-
tecture of their vessels by having them double-decked. They also
provided for the safety of their fighting men, by making hea\’y
bulwarks, and rearing, along the upper deck, a line of strong
planks, set edge^vise, and bolted together. Behind these, archers
discharged their missiles without danger, while from port-holes
below they fired their rude, but effective, cannon. Apijearing off
the inlet, in which the Japanese fleet lay at anchor, they at first
feigned retreat, and thus enticed their enemies into pursuit.
TMien well out on the open sea, they turned upon their pm*suers,
and then theii’ superior preparation and equipment were evident
at once.
Lively fighting began, but this time the Coreans seemed invul-
nerable. They not only gained the advantage by the greater
length of their lances and grappling-hooks, with which, using
them like long forks, they pulled them enemies into the sea, but
they sunk a number of the Japanese junks, either by their artil-
leiy or by ramming them with their prows. The remnant of the
beaten fleet crept back to Fusan, and aU hope of helping the army
was given up. The moral effect of the victory upon the Corean
people was to insjiire them to sacrifice and resistance, and in
many skii-mishes they gained the advantage. They now awaited
hopefully the approach of Chinese reinforcements.
To the Chinese it seemed incredible that the capture of the
strongest castles, the capital, and the chief northern city, could be
accomphshed without the treasonable connivance of the Coreans.
In order to satisfy his own mind, the Chinese mandarin sent a spe-
cial agent into Corea to examine and report. The government at
Peking were even more suspicious, but after some hesitation, they
despatched, not without misgiving, a small body of Chinese sol-
diers to act as a body-guard to the Corean king. These braves
crossed the frontier ; but while on their way to Ping-an, heard ot
the fall of the city, and, facing about, mai'ched back into Liao
Tung. The king and the fr-agments of his court now sent cornier
THE CAMPAIGN IN THE NORTH.
109
after courier with piteous appeals to Peking for aid, even offering
to become the subjects of China in return for succor rendered. A
force of 5,000 men was hastily recruited in Liao Tung, who
marched rapidly into Corea. Early in August the Japanese pick-
ets first descried the yellow silk banners of the Chinese host.
These were inscribed with the two characters Tai-Ming (Great
Brightness), the distinctive blazon of the Ming djmasty. For the
first time, in eight centuries, the armies of the rival nations were
to meet in pitched battle.
The Chinese seemed confident of success, and moved to the
attack on Ping-an with neither wariness nor fear. Having in-
vested the city, they began the assault on August 27th. The
Japanese allowed them to enter the city and become entan-
gled in its narrow lanes. They then attacked them from ad-
vantageous positions, which they had occupied preAiously, assail-
ing them with showers of arrows, and charging them with their
long lances. One body of the Ming soldiers attempted to scale
the wall of a part of the fortifications, which seemed to have been
neglected by the Japanese, when near the top, the whole face of
the castle being covered wdth climbing men, the garrison, nishing
from their hiding-places, tumbled over or speared their enemies,
who fell down and into the mass of their comrades below. Those
not killed by thrusts or the fall, were shot by the gunners on the
ramparts, and the Chinese now received into their bosoms a
shower of lead, against which their armor of hide and iron was of
slight avail In this fight the Ming commander wus slain. The
rout of the Chinese army was so complete, that the fugitives never
ceased their retreat imtil safely over the border, and into China.
The government at Peking now began to understand the power
of the enemy wdth whom they had to deal An army of 40,000
men was raised to meet the invaders, and, in order to gain time, a
man, named Chin Ikei, was sent, independently of the Coreans, to
treat with Konishi and propose peace. Some years before the
Japanese pirates had carried off a Chinaman to Japan, where he
w’as kept captive for many years. Retmming to China, he made
the acquaintance of Chin Ikei, and gave him much information
concerning the countiy and people of his captivity. Chin Ikei was
evidently a mercenaiy adventurer, who could talk Japanese, and
hoped for honors and promotion by acting as a go-between. He
had no commission or any real authority. The Chinese seem to
have used him only as a cat’s-paw.
110
COREA.
Arriving at the Corean camp, at Sun-an, early in October, and
fully trusting the honor of the Japanese commander. Chin Ikei
ventured, in spite of the warnings of the frightened Coreans, and
to their intense admiration, ■within the Japanese Lines, and had a
conference -with Konishi, Yoshitoshi, and Gensho. The Chinese
agent agreed to proceed to Peking, and, returning to Ping-an after
fifty daj’s, to report the approval or disapproval of his government.
To this Konishi agreed, and there was a truce. The conditions of
peace, insisted on by Konishi, were that the Japanese ancient ter-
ritory in the peninsula, namely, those portions covered by the old
states of Shinra and Hiaksai, should be delivered over to Japan,
to be held as vassal provinces. This demand virtually claimed all
Corea south of the Ta-tong River, in right of ancient possession
and recent conquest and occupation.
Arriving in Peking, Chin Ikei found the Chinese army nearly
ready to march, and, as their government disowned his right to
treat "with the Japanese, nothing, except the time gained for the
Chinese, resulted from the negotiations. Meanwhile Kato Eiiyo-
masa, ■with his troops, had overran the whole extent of Ham-
kiung, the longest and largest pro^vince of Corea, occupying also
parts of Kang-wen. No great pitched battle in force was fought,
but much hard fighting took place, and many castles were taken
after bloody sieges. In one of these, the two royal princes, sent
north by their father on his flight from Seoul, and many men of
rank were captm*ed. Among his prisoners, was “ a young girl re-
puted to be the most beautifiil in the whole kingdom.” In the
pm'suit of the fugitives the Japanese were often led into ■wild and
lonely regions and into the depths of trackless mountains and for-
ests, in which they met, not only human foes, but faced the tiger
disturbed from his lair. They were often obliged to camp in
places where these courageous beasts attacked the sentries or the
sleeping soldiers. Kato himself slew a tiger ■with his lance, after
a desperate struggle. After a hard campaign, the main body of
the troops fixed their camp at Am-pen, near Gensan, but closer to
the southern border of the pro^dnce. Nabeshima’s camp was in
Kang-wen, three days’ jommey distant. From a point on the sea-
coast near by, in fair weather, the island cone of Dagelet is visible.
To the question of Kato, some Corean prisoners falsely answered that
this was Fujiyama — the worshipped mountain of the home-land,
and “ the thing of beauty and a joy forever ” to the Japanese peo-
ple. Immediately the Japanese reverently uncovered their heads
THE CAMPAIGN IN THE NORTH.
Ill
and, kneeling on the strand, gazed long and lovingly with home-
sick hearts — a scene often portrayed in Japanese decorative art.
Thus the year 1592 drew near its close ; the Japanese, neces-
sarily inactive, and the spiidt of patriotism among the Coreans
rising. Collecting local volimteer troops and forming guerilla
bands, they kept the Japanese camps, along the road from Fusan
to Ping-an, constantly vigilant. They ferreted out the spies who
had kept the Japanese informed of what was going on, and
promptly cut off their heads. Isolated from all communication,
Konishi remained in ignorance of the immense Chinese army that
was marching against him. The discovery, by the Japanese, of the
existence of the regular Chinese troops in Corea, was wholly a
matter of accident. According to Chinese report, the commander
of the Ming army, Li-yu-son (Japanese, Ri Jo Sho), was a valiant
hero fresh from mighty rictories over the rising Manchiu tribes
in the north. The march of his host of GO, 000 men through
Liao Timg in winter, especially over the mountain passes, Avas a
severe one, and the horses are said to ha\'e sweated blood. E\i-
dently the expectation of the leader was to drive out the inva-
ders and annex the country to China. "When the Corean moim-
tains appeared, as they reached the Yalu River, the leader cried
out, “ There is the place which it depends on our A'alor to recover
as our hereditary' possessions.” On the sixth day, after crossing
the frontier, he arrived at Sun-an. It was then near the last of Janu-
ary', 1592, and the NeAV Year was close at hand. Word was sent
to Konishi that Chin Ikei had arrived and was ready to reopen
negotiations, Avith a faA'orable reply. Konishi promptly despatched
a captain, with a guard of tAventy men, to meet Chin Ikei and escort
him Arithin the lines. It being New Year’s Day, February 2, 1593,
the guard sallied out amid the rejoicings of their comrades who,
tired of desolate Chu-sen, longed for peace and home. The treach-
erous Chinamen receiA’ed the Japanese AA'ith apparent cordiality,
and feasted them until they were weU drunk. Then the unsuspi-
cious Japanese Avere set upon while their swords were imdraAvn in
their scabbards. All were kiUed except two or three. Accord-
ing to another account, they feU into an ambuscade, and fought
so bravely that only three were taken alive. From the surA'ivors
Konishi first learned of the presence of the IVIing army. The pre-
text, afterward given by the lying Chinaman, was that the inter-
preters misunderstood each other, and began a quarrel. The
gravity of the situation was noAv apparent. A Chinese army, of
112
COREA.
whose numbers the Japanese were ignorant, menaced them in
front, while aU around them the natives w^re gathering in num-
bers and in courage to renew the struggle for their homes and
country. The new army from China was evidently well equipped,
disciplined, and supplied, while the Japanese forces were far in
an enemy’s country, distant from their base of supphes, and with
a desolate territory in the rear. Under this gloomy aspect cf
afiau'S, the faces of the soldiers wore a dispirited air.
Konishi’s alternative lay between the risk of a battle and re-
treat to Kai-seng. He was not long in resolving on the former
course, for, in six days afterward, the Ming host, gay with gleam-
ing arms, bright trappings, and dragon-bordered silk banners,
appeared within sight of the city’s towers. Konishi anxiously
watched their approach, having posted his little force to the best
advantage. The city was defended on the west by a steep moim-
tainous ridge, on the north by a hUl, and on the south by a river.
The Japanese occupying the rising groimd to the north, which
they had fortified by earthworks and palisades.
At break of day, on February 10th, the allies began a fiuious
assault along the whole hne. The Japanese at first drove back their
besiegers with their musketry fire, but the Chinese, with their
scahng ladders, reached the inside of the works, where their num-
bers told. M’hen night fell on the second day of the siege, all the
outworks were in their possession, and nearly two thousand of the
Japanese lay dead. The citadel seemed now an easy prize to the
Corean generals ; but the Chinese commander, seeing that the
Japanese were preparing to defend it to the last, and that his own
men were exhausted, gave the order to return to camp, expecting
to renew the attack next morning.
Konishi had despatched a courier to Otomo, the Japanese offi-
cer in command at Hozan, a small fortress in MTiang-hai, to come
to his aid. So fai’ from obeying, the latter, frightened at the
exaggerated reports of the numbers of the Chinese, evacuated his
post and marched back to Seoul. Unable to obtain succor from
the other garrisons, and having lost many men by battle and dis-
ease, while many more were disabled by wounds and sickness,
Konishi gave orders to retreat. One of his bravest captains was
put in command of the rear-guard, and the castle was silently de-
serted at midnight. In this masterly retreat, httle was left behind
but corpses. Crossing, upon the ice, the river, which was then
frozen many feet in thickness, their foes were soon left behind.
THE CAMPAIGN IN THE NORTH.
113
Next day the allied army, surprised at seeing no enemy to meet
them, entered the castle, finding neither man nor spoil of any kind.
The Coreans wished to pui'sue their enemy, but the Chinese com-
mander, not only forbade it, but glad of a pretext by which he
could shift the blame on some other person, cashiered the Corean
general for aUoTving the Japanese to escape so easily. Konishi,
without stopping at Kai-seng, was thus enabled to reach Seoul,
now the headquarters of all the invading forces. Fully expecting
the early advance of the Chinese, the men were now set to work
in fortifying the city.
In the flush of success, Li-yu-simg, the Ming commander, sent
an envoy with a haughty summons of surrender to Kato and Na-
beshima. To this Kato answered in a tone of defiance, guarded
his noble prisoners more vigilantly, and with his own hand, in sight
of the envoj', put the beautiful Corean girl to death, by transfixing
her, with a spear, from waist to shoulder, while bound to a tree.
He immediately sent reinforcements to the castle of Kie-chiu, then
thi-eatened by the enemy.
The Corean patriots, who organized small detachments of
troops, began to attack or repel the invaders in several places, and
even to lay siege to castles occupied by Japanese wherever they
suspected the garrison was weak. The possession of a few firearms
and even rude artillerj' made them very daring. They compelled
the evacuation of one fortress held by Kato’s men by the following
means. A Corean, named Richosun, says a Japanese author, in-
vented bombs, or shin-ten-rai (literally, heaven-shaking thunder),
containing poison. Going secretly to the foot of the castle, he dis-
charged the bombs out of a carmon into the castle. As soon as they
fell or touched anything they burst and emitted poisonous gas, and
every one within reach fell dead. The first of these balls fell into
the garden of the castle, and the Japanese soldiers did not know
what it was. They gathered around to examine it, and while doing
so, the powder in the ball exploded. The report shook heaven and
earth. The ball was rent into a thousand pieces, which scattered
like stars. Every man that was hit instantly fell, and thus more than
thirty men were kOled. Even those who were not struck fell down
stimned, and the soldiers lost their courage. Many balls were after-
ward thrown in, which finally compelled the evacuation of the castle.
From the above account it seems that the Coreans actually in-
vented bombs similar to the modem iron shells. They may have
been fired from a heavy wooden cannon, a sort of homtzer, made
’ 8
114
COREA.
by boring out a section of tree trunk and booping it along its
whole length with stout bamboo. Such cannon are often used in
Japan. They wdl shoot a ten or twenty j)ound rocket or case of
fireworks many hundred feet in the air. The Corean most proba-
bly selected a spot so distant from the castle that a sortie for its
capture could not be successfully made. Corean gunpowder is
proverbially slow in burning, which accoimts for the fact that the
Japanese had time to gather round it. The bomb was most proba-
bly a thin shell of iron, loaded only with gunpowder, which, like the
Chinese mixture, contains an excess of sulphur. The military cus-
toms of the Japanese required every man disabled by a wound to
commit hai’a-kii'i, so that the number of actual deaths must have
been swelled by the suicides that followed wounds inflicted by the
ii’on fragments. The Japanese were so completely demoralized
that they evacuated the castle.
Two other castles at Kinzan and Kishiu, being beleagured by the
patriots, Kato started to succor the slender garrisons. The Coreans,
hearing this, redoubled their efforts to capture them before Kato
should an-ive. They had so far succeeded that the Japanese officer
in the citadel, having lost nearly aU his men, went into the keep, or
fireproof storehouse, in the centre of the castle, and opened his
bowels, preferring to die by his own hands rather than allow a Corean
the satisfaction of killing him. Just at that moment the black rings
of Kato’s banners appeared in sight. The Coreans, setting the castle
on fire, and giving loud yells of defiance and victory, disappeared,
Kato and Xabcshimahad received an urgent message from Seoul
to come with their troops, and thus unite all the Japanese forces
in a stand against the Chinese. Kato disliked exceedingly to obey
this order because he knew it came from Konishi, but he finally
set out to march across the country. Thorough discipline was
maintained on the mai’ch, and the rivei-s were safely crossed.
Cutting down trees, the soldiers, in companies of five or ten, hold-
ing on abreast of logs, forded or floated over the most impetuous
torrents, while the cavalry kept the Coreans at bay. Though an-
noyed by attjicks of gueiuUa parties on their flanks, the Japanese
succeeded in reaching Seoul without serious loss.
By the retreat of the Japanese armies, and their concentration
in Seoul, the four northern provinces, comprising half the king-
dom, were virtually lost to them. At the fall of Ping-an the war
foimd its pivot, for the Japanese never again retrieved their for-
tunes in Cho-sen.
CHAPTER XY.
THE RETREAT FROM SEOUL.
The allies, after looking well to their commissariat, began their
march on Seoul, abou^he middle of Febniaiy, with forces which
the Japanese believe(jTO number two hundred thousand men. The
light cavalry formed the* advance guard. The main body, after
floundering thi'ough the muddy roads, anived, on February 26th,
about forty miles northwest of Seoul
In the first skirmish, which took place near the town shortly
afterward, the allies drove back the Japanese advance detachment
with heavy loss. Li-yo-sun, the commander-in-chief, now ordered
the army to move against the capital.
In the*coimcil of war, held by the Japanese generals, Ishida,
who, like Konishi, was a Christian in faith, adHsed the evacuation
of Seoul This, of course, provoked Kato, who rose and angrily
said : “ It is a shame for us to give up the capital before we have
seen even a single banner of the Ming army. The Coreans and
our people at home will ca^ us cowards, and say we were afraid of
the Chinamen.” Hot words then passed between the rival generals,
but Otani and others made peace between them. All concluded
that, in order to guard against treason, the Coreans in the capital
must be removed. Thereupon, large portions of the city were set
on fire, and houses, gates, bridges, public and private buildings,
were soon a level waste of ashes. The people, old and young, of
both sexes, sick and well, were driven out at the point of the lance.
To the stem necessities of war were added the needless carnage
of massacre, and hundreds of harmless natives were cmeUy mur-
dered. Only a few lusty men, to be used as laborers and burden-
bearers, were spared.
Years after, the memory of this frightful and inhuman slaugh-
ter, burdening the conscience of many a Japanese soldier, drove
him a penitent suppliant into the monasteries. There, exiled from
the world, with shaven head and priestly robe, he spent his days
116
COREA.
in fasting, \ngils, and prayers for pardon, seeking to obtain Xii-
vana with the Eternal Buddha.
IMeanwhile the work of fortification went on. The advance
guard of the Chinese host were now within a few miles of the city,
and daily skirmishes took place. The younger Japanese officers
clamored to lead the van against the Chinese, but Kobayekawa,
an elderly general, was allowed to an-ange the order of battle, and
the Japanese aiTuy marched out from the capital to the attack in
three dmsions, Kobayekawa leading the third, or main body of ten
thousand men, the others having only three thousand each. In the
battle that ensued the Japanese were at first unable to hold their
gi’oimd against the overwhelming forces of their enemies. The Chi-
nese and Coreans di'ove back their first and second divisions with
hea\'y loss. Then, thinking victory ceidain, they began a pursuit
with both foot soldiers and cavaky, which led them into disorder and
exhausted their strength. "Vnien weU wearied, Kobayekawa, having
waited till they were too far distant from thek camp to receive
reinforcements, led his diA-ision in a charge against the aUies. The
battle then became a hand-to-hand fight on a gigantic scale. The
Chinese were aimed mainly with swords, which were short, heavy,
and double-edged. The allies had a large number of cavaky en-
gaged, but the gi'ound being mky from the heavy rains, they were
unable to form or to chai’ge with effect. Thek advantage in other
respects was more than covmterbalanced by the length of the Japan-
ese swords, the strength of their aimor, and their veteran valor and
coolness. Even the foot soldiers wielded swords having blades
usually two, but sometimes tkree and four, feet long.
The Jajianese have ever prided themselves upon the length,
slenderness, temper, and keen edge of thek blades, and look with
unmeasured contemiit ujiou the short and clumsy weapons of the
continental Asiatics. They proudly caU thek native land “ The
countiy ruled by a slender sword.” Marvellous in wonder and
voluminousness are their legends, literature, and exact history
concerning ken (two-edged, short falchion), and katana (two-handed
and single-edged sabre). In this battle it was the sword alone
that decided the issue, though fireaims lent thek deadly aid. The
long, cross-bladed spears of thek foot soldiers were also highly
effective, first, in warding off the sabre strokes of the Chinese cav-
alry, and then rmhorsing them, either by thrust or gi'apple. One
general of high rank was pulled off his steed and killed.
The Japanese leaders were in thek best spirits, as well as in
THE RETREAT FROM SEOUL.
117
their finest equipments. One was especially noticeable by his
gilded hehnet that flashed and towered conspicuously. It was
probably that of Kato, whose head-gear was usually of incredible
height and dazzling splendor.
After a long struggle and frightful slaughter, the allies were
beaten back in confusion. Ten thousand Chinese and Coreans,
according to Japanese accounts, were slaughtered on this bloodiest
day and severest pitched battle of the first invasion.
The Chinese suffered heavily in officers, and their first taste of
war in the field with such veterans as the soldiers of Taiko was
discoTiraging in the extreme. Li-yo-sim di-ew oft his forces and
soon after retired to Simto. Not knotelng that Kato had got into
Seoul, and feaiing an attack from the rear, on Ping-an, he drew
off his main body to that city, leaving a garrison at Sunto. Tired,
disgusted, and scared, the redoubtable Chinaman, like “ the beaten
soldier that fears the top of the tall grass,’’ sent a lying report to
Peking, exaggerating the numbers of the Japanese, and asking for
release from command, on the usual Oriental plea of poor health.
As for the Japanese, they had lost so hearily in killed, that they
were unable to foUow up the victor}*, if rictory it may be called.
A small force, however, pressed forward and occupied Kai-jo,
while the main body prepared to pass a miserable winter in the
desolate capital.
The Corean stronghold of An-am was also assaulted. This cas-
tle was built on a precipitous steep, having but one gate and flank
capable of access, and that being a nairow, almost peiqjendicffiar,
cutting through the rocks. The attacking force entered the
gloomy valley shut in from light by the luxm-iant forest, which
dai'kened the path even in the daytime. At the tops, and on the
ledges of the rocks beetling over the entrance-u ay, the Corean
archers took up advantageous positions, while others of the gam-
son, with huge masses of rock and timber piled near the ledge,
stood ready to hurl these upon the invaders.
Awaiting in silence the approach of theii* enemies, they soon
saw the Japanese fan-standards and paper-strip banners approach,
when these were directly beneath them, ever}* bow twanged, and a
shower of aiTows rained upon the invaders, while volleys of stones
feU into their ranks, crushing heads and helmets together. The
besiegers were compelled to draw off and arrange a new attack ;
but in the night the gamson withdrew. Next day the Jajianese en-
tered, gairisoned the castle, and decorated it with their streamers.
118
COREA.
The long-continued abandonment of the soil, owing to the war
and the presence of three large armies, bore their natural fruits,
and turned feidile Corea into a land of staiwation. Famine began
its ravages of death on friend and foe alike. The peasants peti-
tioned theii’ government for food, but none was to be had. Thou-
sands of the poor jieople died of starvation. The fathers suffered
in camp, whUe the dead mothers lay unbuiied in the houses, and
the children, tortm-ed mth hunger, cried for food. One day a
captain in the Chinese army foimd, by the roadside, an emaciated
infant vainly seeking for nomdshment from the cold and rigid
breast of its dead mother. Touched with compassion, the waiiior
took the child and reared him to manhood under his own care.
Some rice was distributed to the ■wretched people from the
government store-houses in certain places, but still the groans and
cries of the staiwing filled the air. Pestilence entered the Japan-
ese camp, and thousands of the home-sick soldiers died inglori-
ously. The long winter I'ains made the liAung despondent and
gloomy enough to commit hara-kiri, while the state of the roads
and the dashing corn-age of the guerillas, who pushed their raids
to the very gates of the camps, made foraging an unpopular duty
among the men. In such discomfort, •wdnter wore away, and tardy
sjjring approached. In this state of affairs the Japanese were
>\illing to listen, and the allies ready to offer, tei-ms of peace. A
Corean soldier, named Kijunchin, by permission of his superior
officer, had penetrated into Seoul to -visit the two captive princes.
On his return to the camjj, he stated that the Japanese generab
were very homesick and heartily tired of the war. At the same
time, a letter was received from Konishi, stating his readiness to
receive terms of peace. Chin Ikei was again chosen to negotiate.
Beaching the Japanese lines at Kai-jo, he held an interview -with
Konishi, and the following points of agreement wei'e made :
1. Peace between the three countries.
2. Japan to remain in possession of the thi-ee southern prov-
inces of Cho-sen.
3. Corea to send tribute to Japan as heretofore.
4. Hideyoshi to be recognized as King of Corea The three
other articles dra-wn up were not made public, but the acknowl-
edgment of Taiko as the equal of the Emperor of China was evi-
dently one of them. The Japanese, on their part, were to return
the two captive princes, withdi-aw aU their armies to Fusan, and
evacuate the coimtry when the stipubtions were canied out
THE RETREAT FROM SEOUL.
119
Both parties ■were weary of the war. The Ming commander
had requested to be reheved of his command and to return to
China, while the three old gentlemen, who were military advisers
in the Japanese camp, yearning for the pleasm-es of Kioto, -wrote
to Taiko, asking leave to come home, telling him the object of
his ambition was on the eve of attainment, and that he was to
receive investiture from the Chinese emperor, and recognition as
an equal.
Scholarship and literature were not at a very high premium at
that time among the Japanese military men. The martial -virtues
and accompHshments occupied the time and thoughts of the war-
riors to the exclusion of book learning and skill at words. The
sword for the soldier, and the pen for the priest, was the rule.
The bluff warrior in armor looked with contempt, not unmingled
with awe, upon the shaven-pated man of ink and brush. One of
the bonzes from the monastery was usually of necessity attached to
the service of each commander. It was by reason of the ignorance,
as well as the vanity, of the illiterate Japanese generals that such a
mistake, in supposing that Taiko was to be recognized as equal to
the Emperor of China, was rendered possible. The wily Chin Ikei,
who drove a lucrative trade as negotiator, hood%\inked Konishi, who
would not have been thus ourtvitted if he had had a bonze present
to inspect the -wTiting. Being a Christian, however, he was on bad
terms with the bonzes.
In both camps there -were those who bitterly opposed any
peace short of that -which the sword decided. The Corean gen-
erals chafed at the time wasted in parley, and -wished to march on
the Japanese at once, whose ranks they knew were decimated
with sickness, and their spirit and discipline relaxed under the
idea of speedy return home. An epidemic had also broken out
among their- horses, probably owing to scant provender. Thus
crippled and demoralized, rtctory would certainly follow a well-
planned attack in force. Within the camp of the invaders Achil-
les and Agamemnon were as far as ever from harmony. Kato
sullenly refused to entertain the idea of peace, partly because
Konishi proposed it, but mainly because, if the two princes were
given up, his achievements would be brought to naught, and
aU the glory of the war Avould redound to his rival. Only af-
ter the ear-nest representation by his fr-iends of the empty gran-
aries, and the danger of impending starv-ation, the great sickness
among the troops, and the fearful loss of horses, was he in-
120
COREA.
duced to agree with the other commanders that Seoul should be
evacuated.
Meanwhile, the aUies were advancing toward the capital.
On May 22, 1593, the Japanese, with due precautions, evacua-
ted the city, and the vanguard of the Chinese army entered on the
same day. The retreat of the Japanese was effected in good
order, and, to guard against treacheiy, they bivouacked in the
open air, avoiding sleeping in the houses or -sTllages, and rigidly
kept up the -sugUance of their sentinels and the discipline of the
divisions. In this way the various detachments of the army safely
reached Fusan, Tong-nai, Kinka, and other places near the coast
Here, after fortifying theii’ camps, they rested for a space from the
alarms of war, almost within sight of their native land. The allies
later on marched southward and went into camp a few leagues to
the northward. Since crossing the Yalu Eiver, the Chinese had
lost by the sword and disease twenty thousand men.
CIIAPTEE XYI.
CESPEDES, THE CHRISTIAN CHAPLAIN.
The aspect of affairs had now changed from that of a trium-
phal march through Corea into China and to Peking, to long and
tedious camp life, ■with uncei'tain fortunes in the field, which prom-
ised a long stay in the peninsula. Konishi had now breathing time
and space for reflection. Being an ardent Clmstian — after the
faith and practice of the Portuguese Jesuits — he wished for him-
self and his fellow-believers the presence and ministrations of one
of the Em’opean friars to act as chaplain. He therefore sent, prob-
ably when at or near Fusan, a message to the superior of the
Mission in Japan, asking for a priest.
Toward the end of 1593, the Vice-Provencal of the Company of
the Jesuits despatched Father Gregoiuo de Cespedes and a Japan-
ese convert named “Foucan Eion ” to the army in Chn-sen. They
left Japan and spent the winter in Tsushima, the domain of Yoshi-
toshi, one of the Christian lords then in the field. Early in the
spring of 1594 they reached Corea, an-mng at Camp Comangai (most
probably a name given by the Japanese after the famous hero Ku-
magaye), at which Konishi made his headcpiarters. The two holy
men immediately began their labors among the Japanese armies.
They went from castle to castle, and from camp to camp, preach-
ing to the pagan soldiers, and administering the rite of baptism
to all who professed the faith, or signed themselves with the cross.
They administered the sacraments to the Christian Japanese, com-
forted and prayed with the sick, reformed abuses, assisted the
wounded, and shi-ived the drtng. New converts were made and
old ones strengthened. Bring in a foreign land, of fever or of
■u'ounds, the soul of the Japanese man-at-arms was comforted -u-ith
■words of hope from the lips of the foreign priest. Held before his
glazing eyes gleamed the cmcifix, on which appeared the image of
the world’s Redeemer. The home-sick wari’ior, j:)ining for wife
and babe, was told of the “House not made with hands.”
122
COREA.
The two brethren seem to have been very popular among the
Japanese soldiers. Perhaps they already dreamed of planting the
faith in Corea, when, suddenly, theii’ work was arrested at its height
by Kato, whose jealousy of Konishi was only equalled by his fanati-
cal zeal for the Buddhist faith. Being in Japan he denounced the
foreign priest to Taiko, declaring that these zealous endeavors to
propagate the Chiistian faith only concealed a vast conspii-acy
against himself and the power of the mikado. At this time Taiko
was dealing with the Jesuits in Japan, and endeavoring to rid the
country of their presence by shipping them off to China. He
fully beheved that they were political as well as religious emissa-
ries, and that their aim was at temporal power. These suspicions,
as every student of Japan knows, were more than well foxmded.
Besides accusing Cespedes, Kato insinuated that Konishi him-
self was leading the conspiracy. The cry of cho-teki (rebel, or
enemy of the mikado) in Japan is enough to blacken the character
of the bravest man and greatest favorite. Treason against the mi-
kado being the supreme crime, Konishi found it necessary to
retm'u to Kioto, present himself before Taiko, and cleanse his repu-
tation even from suspicion. This the lull in the active operations,
occasioned by the negotiations of Chin Ikei, enabled him to do.
Immediately sending back the priest, he shortly aftem-ard
crossed the straits, and, meeting Taiko, succeeded in fidly ingrati-
ating himself and allaying all suspicion.
The wife of Konishi had also embraced the Christian faith, her
baptized name being Marie. To her, while in camp, he had sent
two Corean lads, both of whom were of rank and gentle blood, the
elder being called in the letters of the Jesuits “ secretary to the
Corean king.” He was the son of a brave captain in the anny,
and was thirteen years old. The lady, Maiie, touched by their
misfortune, kept the younger to be educated in the faith under
her own direction, and sent the elder to the Jesuit seminary* in
Kioto. Of this yoimg man’s career we catch some glimpses from
the letters of the missionaries. At the college he was a favorite,
by reason of his good character, gentle manners, and fine mind.
Professing the faith, he was baptized in 1603, taking the name of
Vincent. He began his religious work by instructing and cate-
chising Japanese and his numerous fellow Coreans at Nagasaki.
VTien about thirty-three years old, the Jesuits, wishing to estab-
lish a mission in Corea, proposed to send him to his native land as
missionai’y ; but not being able, on account of the persecution
CESPEDES, THE CHRISTIAN CHAPLAIN.
123
then raging in Japan, he was chosen by the Father Provencal to
go to Peking, communicate with the Jesuits there, and enter Corea
from China. At Peking he remained four years, being unable to
enter his own country by reason of the Manchius, who then held
control of the northern provinces of Manchm’ia and were advancing
on Peking, to set on the thi’one that family which is stdl the ruling
d^masty of the Middle Kingdom. Vincent was recalled to Japan
in 1620, where, in the persecutions under lyemitsu, the third To-
kugawa sho-gun, he feU a victim to his fidelity, and was martyr-
ized in 1625, at the age of about forty-four.
Warned of the dangers of patronizing the now proscribed relig-
ion, there was no farther retmm of zeal on Konishi’s part, or that
of the other Christian princes, and no farther opportimity was
given to plant the seeds of the faith in the desolated land.
Of the large numbers of Corean prisoners sent over to Japan,
from time to time, many of those li\dng in the places occupied by
the missionaries became Christians. Many more were sold as
slaves to the Portuguese. In Nagasaki, of the three hunth-ed or
more li^dng there, most of them were converted and baptized.
They easily learned the Japanese language so as to need no inter
preter at the confessional — a fact which goes to prove the close
affinity of the two languages.
Others, of gentle blood and scholarly attainments, rose to posi-
tions of honor and eminence under the government, or in the
households of the daimir>s. Many Corean lads were adopted by
the returned soldiers or kept as servants. Mdien the bloody per-
secutions broke out, by which many thousand Japanese found
death in the hundred forms of torture which hate and malice in-
vented, the Corean converts remained steadfast to their new-found
faith, and suffered martyrdom with fortitude equal to that of theii’
Japanese brethren. But, by the army in Corea, or by Cespedes,
no seed of Christianity was planted or trace of it left, and its in-
troduction was postponed by Providence until two centuries later.
CHAPTER xyh.
DIPLOMACY AT KIOTO AND PEKING.
The Chinese ambassadors, with whom was Chin Ikei, set sail
from Fusan, and reached Nagoya, in Hizen, on June 22d. Taiko
received them in person, and entertained them in magnificent
style. His lords imitated the august example set them, and both
presents and attentions were showered upon the guests. Among
other entertainments in their honor was a naval reHew, in which
hundreds of ships, decorated \Adth the heraldiy of feudalism, were
ranged in hue. The boats moved in procession ; the men, standing
up as they worked the sculls, sang in measm-ed chonis. The
sheaves of ghttering weapons, speai's, and halberds arranged at
their bows, were inlaid with gold and pearl. The cabins were
arranged with looped brocades and striped canvas, with huge
crests and imperial chiysanthemums of colossal size. The am-
bassadors were dehghted, both -with the lovely sceneiy and the
attentions paid them, and so remained until August.
Little, however, came of this mission. Taiko sent orders to
Kato to release the Corean princes and nobles ; and Chin Ikei,
who usually went off like a clumsy blvmderbuss, at half-cock, hied
back to Cho-sen to tell the news and get the credit of having se-
cm’ed this concession. The Coreans were made to beai' the blame
of the war, and the envoys of China, in good humor, retmaied to
Peking in company with a Japanese ambassador.
Yet Taiko, though willing to be at peace with China, did not
intend to spare unhappy Cho-sen. To soothe the spii-it of Kato,
the order was given to captui-e the castle of Chin-chiu, forty miles
west of Fusan, which had not yet been taken by the Japanese,
though once before invested.
Alarmed at the movements of the invaders, the Coreans tried
to revictual and garrison the devoted fortress, and even to attack
the enemy on the way. Unable, however, to make a stand against
theii’ foes, they were routed with frightful carnage. Kato led
DIPLOMACY AT KIOTO AND PEKING.
125
the besieging force, eager to make speedy capture so as to irritate
the Coreans and prevent the peace he feared.
He invested the castle which the Coreans had not been able to
reinforce, but the -sigorous resistance of the gamson, who thi-ew
stones and timber upon the heads of his assaulting parties, drove
him to the invention of Kame-no-kosha, or tortoise-shell wagons,
which imitated the defensive armor of that animal. Collecting
together several hundred green hides, and di’y-hardening them in
the fire, he covered four hea-vily built and slant-roofed wagons
Y-ith them. These vehicles, proof against fire, missiles, or a crash-
ing weight, and filled with soldiers, were pushed forward to the
foot of the walls. While the matchlock men in the lines engaged
those fighting on the ramparts, the soldiers, under the projecting
sheds of the tortoise wagons, that jutted against the walls, began
to dig under the foundations. These being undei-mined, the stones
were pried out, and soon fell in sufficient number to cause a
breach. Lito this fresh soldiers rashed and quickly stormed the
castle. The slaughter inside was fearful.
The news of the fall of this most important fortress fell like a
clap of thunder in Peking, and upon the Corean king, who was pre-
panng to go back to Seoul. The Chinese government appointed
fresh commissioners of war, and ordered the formation of a new
and larger anny.
The immediate advance of the invaders on the capital was ex-
pected, but Kato, harfng obeyed Taiko’s orders, left a gandson in
the castle and fell back on Fusan.
The Chinese general, upbraiding Chin Ikei for his insincerity,
sent him to Konishi again. Their intendew was taken up mainly
Ydth mutual charges of bad faith. Chiu Ikei, returning, tried to
persuade the Chinese commander to evacuate Corea, or, at least,
retire to the frontier. Though he refused, being stiU imder orders
to fight, the Chinese army moved back fo’om Seoul toward Man-
churia, while Konishi, on his OTvn responsibility, despatched a letter
to the Chinese emperor. Large detachments of the Japanese
army actually embarked at Fusan, and returned to Japan. In the
lull of hostilities, negotiations were canded on at Peking and
Kioto, as well as between the hostile camps. The pen took the
place of the matchlock, and the ink-stone furnished the ammuni-
tion.
A son was bom to Taiko, and named Hideyori. A great pag-
eant, in honor of the infant, was given at the newly built and
126
COREA.
splendid castle of Fushimi, near Kioto, which was graced by a
large number of the commanders and veterans of Corea, who had
returned home on fiirlough, while negotiations were pending. The
result of the Japanese mission to Peking was the despatch of an
ambassador extraordinary, named Eishosei, with one of lesser
rank, to Japan, by way of Fusan.
On his arrival, he requested to see Konishi, who, however,
evaded him, excusing himself on the plea of expecting to hear
from Taiko, after which he promised to hold an interview. Ko-
nishi then departed for Japan, taking Chin Ikei with him. On
his return he still avoided the Chinese envoy, for he had no defin-
ite orders, and the other generals refused to act without direct
word from their master in Kioto. Meanwhile Chin Ikei, consumed
with jealousy, and angry at the Peking mandarins for ignoring
him and withholding official recognition and honors, planned re-
venge against Eishosei ; for Chin Ikei believed himself to have
done great things for Cho-sen and China, and yet he had received
neither thanks, pay, nor promotion for his tods, while Eishosei,
though a yoimg man, with no experience, was honored with high
oflSce solely on accoimt of being of rank and in official favor at
Peking. Evidently with the intent of injuring Eishosei, Chin Ikei
gave out that Taiko did not wish to be made King of Cho-sen,
but had sent an envoy to China merely to have a high ambassador
of China come to Japan, that he might insult or rather return the
insult of the sovereign of China, in the person of his envoy, by
making him a prisoner or putting him to death. Konishi and
Chin Ikei again crossed to Japan to arrange for the reception of
the Chinese envoys.
The reports started by Chin Ikei, coming to the ears of Eisho-
sei, so frightened him that he fled in disguise from Fusan, and
absconded to China. His colleague denounced him as a coward,
and declaring that the Chinese government desired only “ peace
wuth honor,” sailed with his retinue and two Corean officers to
Japan. “ And Satan [Chin Ikei], came also among them.” All
landed safely at Sakai, near Ozaka, October 8, 1596.
Audience was duly given with pomp and grandeur in the gor-
geous castle at Fushimi, on October 24th. The ambassador
brought the imperial letter, the patent of rank, a golden seal, a
crown, and silk-embroidered robes of state. At a banquet, given
next day, these robes were worn by Taiko and his officei*s.
Formalities over, the !Ming emperor’s letter was delivered to
DIPLOMACY AT KIOTO AND PEKING.
127
Taiko, who at once placed it in the hands of three of the most
learned priests, experts in the Chinese language, and ordered them
to translate its contents literally.
To Konishi, then at Kioto, came misgivings of his abilities as a
diplomatist. Visiting the bonzes, he earnestly begged them to
soften into polite phi’ase anything in the letter that might imtate
Taiko. But the priests were inflexibly honest, and rendered the
text of the letter into the exact Japanese equivalent. In it the
patent of nobihty first granted to the Ashikaga sho-gtm (1403-
1425) was refeiTed to; and the gist of this last imperial letter
was : “ We, the Emperor of China, appoint you, Taiko, to be the
King of Japan” (Nippon O). In other words, the mighty Kuam-
baku of Japan was insulted by being treated no better than one
of the Ashikaga generals !
This Avas the mouse that was bom from so great a mountain
of diplomacy. The rage of Taiko was so great that, with his own
hands, he would have slain Konishi, had not the bonzes plead for
his life, claiming that the responsibility of the negotiations rested
upon three other prominent persons. As usual, the “ false-hearted
Coreans ” Avere made to bear the odium of the misunderstanding.
The Chinese embassy, dismissed in disgrace, retmuied in Janu-
ary, 1596, and made knoAATi their humiliation at Peking ; Avhile
the King of Corea, Avho had been liAung in Seoid during the ne-
gotiations, appealed at once for speedy aid against the impending
invasion. Hidcyoshi again applied himself AA-ith renewed Arigor to
raising and drilling a neAV army, and obtaining ships and sup-
plies. A grand reAnew of the forces of inVasion, consisting of one
hundi-ed and sixty-three thousand horse and foot soldiers, was held
under his inspection. Kuroda, Nagamasa, and other generals,
with then' divisions, sailed away for Eusan, January 7, 1597, and
joined the army under Konishi and Kato.
The new levies from China, which had been waiting under
arms, crossed the Yalu and entered from the west at about the
same time. Marching doAvm through Ping-an and Seoul, a diAu-
sion of ten thousand garrisoned the castle of Nan-on, in ChuUa.
The Coreans, meanwhile, fitted out a fleet, under the command of
Genkai, expecting a second Auctory on the water.
An extinguisher was put on Chin Ikei, who was suspected of
being in the pay of Konishi. Genkai, a Chinese captain, had long
believed him to be a dangerous busybody, vrithout any real powers
from the Peking government, but only used by them as a decoy
128
COREA.
duck, -while, in reality, he was in the pay of the Japanese, and the
chief hinderance to the success of the allied aims. On the other
hand, this volunteer politician, weary and disappointed at not re-
cehing from China the high post and honors which his ambition
coveted, was in a strait. Taiko urged him to secure from China
the claim of Japan to the southern half of Corea. China, on the
contrary, ordered him to induce the Japanese generals to leave
the country. Thus situated. Chin Ikei knew not what to do. He
sent a message, through a priest, to Kato, urging him to make
peace or else meet an aimy of one hundred thousand Chinamen.
The laconic reply of the Japanese was : “ I am ready to fight. Let
them come.”
Bluffed in his last move, and aware of the plots of Genkai, his
enemy. Chin Ikei, at his -wits’ end, resolved to escape to Konishi’s
camp. The spies of Genkai immediately reported the fact to their
master, who lay in wait for him. Suddenly confronting his -vic-
tim, they demanded his errand. “ I am going to treat with Eiato,
the Japanese general ; I shall be back in one month,” answered
Chin Ikei. He was seized and, on being led back, was thro-wn
into prison. A searching party was then despatched at once to
his house. There they found gold, treasure, and jewels “ moun-
tain high,” and his -wife li-ving in luxury. Belie-ving aU these to
have been purchased by Japanese gold, and the fruits of bribery,
the Chinese confiscated the spoil and imprisoned the traitor’s
family.
This ended all fm’ther negotiations until the end of the war.
Henceforth, on land and water, by the veterans of both armies,
with fi-esh levies, both of allies and invaders, the issue was tried
by sword and siege.
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE SECOND mVASION.
•
The plan of the second invasion was to land all the Japanese
forces at Fusan, and then to divide them into three columns,
which -were to advance by the south to Nan-on castle in ChuUa,
and by two roads, northward and westward, to the capital. As
before, Konishi and Kato Kiyomasa were the two field command-
ers, while Hideaki, a noble lad, sixteen years old, was the nomi-
nal commander-in-chief.
The Coreans had made preparations to fight the Japanese at
sea as weU as on land. Their fleet consisted of about two hundred
vessels of heavy build, for butting and ramming, as weH as for ac-
commodating a maximum of fighting men. They were two hun-
dred and fifty or three himdred feet in length, with huge stems, hav-
ing enormous mdders, the tillers of which were worked by eight
men. Their high, flat prows were hideously carved and painted to
represent the face and open jaws of a dragon, or demon, ready to
devour. Stout spars or knotted logs, set upright along the gunwale,
protected the men who worked the catapults, and heavily built
roofed cabins sheltered the soldiers and gave the archers a vantage
ground. The rowers sat amidships, between the cabins and the
gunwales, or rather over on these latter, in casements made of
stout timber. The catapults were on deck, between the bows.
They were twenty-four feet long, made of tree-tnmks a yard in
circumference. Immense bows, drawm to their notches by wind-
lasses, shot iron-headed darts and bolts six feet long and fom- in-
ches thick. On some of the ships towers were erected, in which
cannon, missile-engines, and musketeers were stationed, to shoot
out fire-arrows, stones, and balls. At close quarters the space at
the bows — about one-third of the deck — was free for the move-
ments of the men Avielding spear and sword, and for those who
plied the gra25pling hooks or boarding planks. The decks crowded
with men in armor, the gUtter of steel and flash of oars, the blare
9
130
COREA.
of the long Corean trumpets, and the gay fluttering of thousands
of silken flags and streamers made brilliant defiance.
The Japanese accepted the challenge, and, sailing out, closed
with the enemy. Wherever they could, they ran alongside and
gave battle at the bows. Though their ships were smaller, they
were more manageable. In some cases, they ran under the high
stems and climbed on board the enemy’s ships. Once at hand to
hand fight, their superior swordsmanship quickly decided the day.
Their most formidable means of offence which, next to their can-
non, won them the \ictory, were their rockets and fire-arrows,
which they were able to shoot into the sterns, where the dry
wood soon caught fire, driving the crews into the sea, where they
drowned. Two hours fighting sufficed, by which time one hun-
dred and seventy-four Corean ships had been burned or taken.
News of this brilhant -snctory was at once sent by a swift vessel to
Japan.
Endeavors were made to strengthen the gaiiison at Nan-on,
but the Jajjanese general, Kato Yoshiakira, meeting the reinforce-
ments on their way, prevented their design. Kato Kiyomasa,
changing his plans, also marched to Nan-on, resolving to again,
if possible, snatch an honor from his rival As usual, the younger
man was too swift for him. Konishi now moved his entire com-
mand in the fleet up the Sem River, in ChuUa province, and land-
ing, camped at a place called Uren, eighteen ri from Nan-on castle.
He rested here five days in the open meadow land to allow the
horses to relax their limbs after the long and close confinement in
the ships. From a priest, whom they foimd at this place, they
learned that the ganlson of Nan-on numbered over 20,000 Chi-
nese and Coreans, the reinforcements in the pro^•ince, and on their
way, numbered 20,000 more, while in the north was another Chi-
nese corps of 20,000.
At the council of war held, it was resolved to advance at once
to take the castle before succor came. In spite of many lame
horses, and the imperfect state of the compiissariat, the order to
march was given. Men and beasts were in high spirits, but many
of the horses were ridden to death, or rendered useless by the
forced march of the cavahw. Early on the morning of September
21st, the advance gnai'd camped in the morning fog at a distance of
a mile from the citadel The main body, coming up, surrounded
it on all sides, pitched their camp, threw out them pickets, set up
their standards, and proceeded promptly to fortify their hues.
THE SECOND INVASION.
131
Nan-on castle was of rectangular form, enclosing a space nearly
two miles square, as each side was nine thousand feet long. Its
walls, which were twelve feet high, were buUt of great stones, laid
together without cement. Though no mortar had been used on
wall or tower, shell-lime had been laid over the outside, in which
132
COREA.
glistened innumerable fragments of nacre and the enamel of
shells, giving the structure the appearance of glittering porcelain.
At the angles, and at intei'vals along the flanks, were towers, two
or three stories high. The four ponderous gates were of stone,
fourteen feet high.
The preparations for defence were all that Chinese science
could suggest. In the dry ditch, thi’ee hundred feet wide, was an
abatis of tree-tranks, with their branches outward, behind which
were iron-plated wagons, to be filled with archers and spearmen.
From the towers, fire-missiles and shot from fireai-ms were in
readiness.
The weak points, at which no enemy was expected, and for
which jjreparations for defence were few, were on the east and
west.
No effect being produced dming the first two days, either by
bullets or fire-ari'ows, Konishi, on the thii'd, sent large detach-
ments of men into the rice-fields, then covered with a promising
harvest of growing rice, which the fanners, in the hope of jseace,
had sown. Reaping the green, juicy stalks, the hundi’eds of sol-
diers gathered an enormous quantity of sheaves and waited, with
these and their stacks of bamboo poles and ladders, until night.
In the thick darkness, and in perfect silence, they moved to a part
of the waU which, being over twenty feet high, was but slightly
guarded, and began to build a platform of the sheaves. Four Ja-
panese, reaching the top by chmbing, raised the war-cry, and one
of the towers being set on fire by theu- aiTows, the work was dis-
covered. Yet the matchlock men kept the walls swept by their
bullets, while the work of piling fr-esh sheaves and bundles of
bamboo went on. The gi*eenness of the rice-stalks made the mass
both firm and fire-proof. At last the moimd was so high that it
overtopped the waR The men now climbed over the ramparts
by the hundreds, and the swordsmen, leaping into the castle,
began the fight at hand to hand. Most of the Chinese fought
with the courage of despair, while others, in then.- panic, opened
the gates to escape, by which more of the besiegers entered. The
garrison, smitten in front and rear, were diaven to the final waU
by Konishi’s troops. On the other side a body of picked men,
from Kato’s army, joined in the slaughter. They had entered the
castle at the rear, by scaling a ragged niountain path known only
to the Corean prisoners, whose treachery they had purchased by
the promise of theii’ hves. Between the two attacking forces the
THE SECOND INVASION.
133
Coreans and Chinese, who could not escape, were slain by thou-
sands.
Among many ciirious incidents narrated by Ogawuchi, who
tells the story of this siege and attack, was this. As he entered
the castle, amid the smoke and confusion, in which he saw some
of the panic-stricken garrison destroying themselves, he cut off the
heads of two enemies, and then, suddenly recoUecting that this
fifteenth day of the eighth month was the day sacred to Hachi-
man, the god of war and Buddha of the Eight Banners, he flung
down his bloody sword, put his red palms together, and bowing
his head, prayed devoutly toward his adored Japan. His devo-
tions ended, he sliced off the noses from the heads of the two
enemies he had slain, wrapped them in paper, tA^dsted the pack-
age to his girdle, and sprang forward to meet, with but thi’ee men,
the charge of fifty horsemen. The first sweep of the Japanese
sabre severed the leg of the nearest rider, who fell to the earth on
the other side of his horse, and Ogawnichi’s companions killing each
his man, the enemy fled. Tlie fires of the burning towers now
lighted up the whole area of the castle, while the autumn moon
rose red and clear. Ogawuchi slew, with his ovra hand, Keku-
shiu, one of the Chinese commanders. His body, in rich armor,
lined with gold brocade, was stripped, and the trappings secured
as trophies to be sent home, while his head was presented for
Konishi’s inspection next morning.
According to the barbarous custom of the victors, they severed
the heads of the bodies not already decapitated in fight, \mtil the
castle space resembled a great slaughter-yard. Collecting them
into a great heap, they began the official count. Tlie number of
these ghastly trophies, or “ glory-signs,” was three thousand seven
hundred and twenty-six. The ears and noses of the slain were
then sheared off, and -with the commander’s head, were packed
with salt and quick lime in casks, and sent to Japan to fonn the
great ear-tomb now in Kioto, the horrible monument of a most
unrighteous war.
A map of the castle and town, with the list of the most meri-
torious among the ^detors, was duly sent back to Taiko. Then
the AvaUs and towers, granaries, and barracks were destroyed.
This work occupied two days.
Promptly on September 30th the army moved on to Teru-shiu,
the cavalry riding day and night, and reaching the castle only to
find it deserted, the garrison having fled toward Seoul The Jap-
134
COREA.
anese remained here ten days, levelling the fortress with fire and
hammer.
As the cold weather was approaching, the Japane!^ command-
ers, after council, resolved at once to march to the capital Eiat-
suyoshi and Kiyomasa had joined them, and the advance north-
ward was at once began. By October 19th they were within
seventeen miles of Seoul*
The successes on land, brilliant though they were, were bal-
anced by the defeat of the Japanese navy off the southern coast.
The Chinese admiral Rishinshin, in conjunction with the Coreans,
w'on an important \dctory over Kuroda’s naval forces a few days
after the fall of Nan-on. In this instance, the Chinese ships were
not only heavy enough to be formidable as rams, but were made
more manageable by numerous rowers sitting in well-defended
timber casements, apparently covered with metal The warriors,
too, seem to have been armed with larger lances. The Chinese
commanders, having improved their tactics, so managed their ves-
sels that the Japanese fleet was destroyed or driven away.
This event may be said to have decided the fate of the cam-
paign. Bereft of their fleet, which woidd, by going round the
west coast, have afforded them a base of supplies, they were now
obhged to advance into a country nearly empty of forage, and
with no store of pro^■isions, As in the opening of the war, so
again, the loss of the fleet at a critical period made retreat neces-
saiy even at the moment of victory.
Meanwhile, the Chinese general Keikai, thoroughly dishking
the rigors of a camp in a Corean winter, and feeling deeply for his
soldiers suffering from exposure in a desolate land, determined on
closing the war as soon as possible. Erecting an altar, in presence
of the army, he offered sacrifices to propitiate the spirits of Heaven
and Eai'th, and prayed for rictoiy against the invaders. Then, after
seeing weU to commissariat and equipment, he gave orders for a
general movement of aU the allied forces, with the design of end-
ing the war by a brief and decisive campaign. The Japanese gen-
erals at Koran, by means of their spies and advance parties, kept
themselves weU informed of the movements of the enemy. At a
’ Their line of inarch, as shown in the Japanese histories, was to Sen-ken,
October 11th ; to Kumu-san, where they experienced the first frost ; to Kumui,
October 12th ; to Chin-zon ; to Fnnki ; to Shaku-shiu ; to Koran ; to Chin-zen.
These are names of places in Chulla and Chung-chong, expressed in the Ja
pauese and old Corean pronunciation.
THE SECOND INVASION.
135
skirmisli at Chin-zen the Chinese advance guard was defeated
with heavy loss, but the Japanese at once began their retreat.
Shishida and Ota, who were further east, learning of the over-
whelming odds against them, fell back into Uru-san, which was
already manned by a detachment of Kato’s corps.
While Kato and Katsuyoshi were at Chin-zen, a grand tiger
hunt was proposed and carried out, in which a soldier was bitten
in two places and died. The army agreed that tiger-hunting re-
quired much nerve and valor. Besides the tiger steaks, which they
ate, much fresh meat was furnished by the numerous crane, pheas-
ants, and “ the ten thousand things different from those in Japan,”
which they made use of to eke out their scanty rations.
To remain in camp until the Han Eiver was frozen over, and
could be crossed easily, or to press on at once, was the question
now considered by the Japanese. While thus debating, word
came that the Chinese armies had made junction at Seoul, and
numbered one hundred thousand men. The Japanese “ felt cold
in their breasts ” when they heard this. Far from their base of
supphes, their fleet destroyed, and they at the thi’eshold of winter
in a famine-stricken land, they were forced, reluctantly, again to
retreat into Kiung-sang.
This turning their backs on Seoul was, in reality, the begin-
ning of their march homeward. The invaders, therefore, emiched
themselves vith the spoil of houses and temples as they moved
toward the coast — gold and silver brocades, rolls of sdk, paint-
ings, works of art, precious manuscripts, books vu-itten with gold
letters on azure paper, inlaid weapons and armor, rich mantles,
and whatever, in this long-settled and wealthy province, pleased
their fancy. On the boundaries of roads and pro^-inces they no-
ticed large dressed stone columns of an octagonal form, with in-
sciiptions upon them. Their route lay from Chin-zen, which they
left in ashes, on October 25th, to Chin-nan ; to Ho-won ; to Ho-
kin ; to Karon ; reaching Kion-chiu, the old capital of Shinra,
after some fighting along the way.
The Japanese were impressed with the size and grandeur of
the buildings in this old seat of the cmlization and learning of
Shinra and Koran Here, in ancient days, was the focus of the
arts, letters, religion, and science which, from the west, the far off
mysterious land of India, and the nearer, yet august, empire of
China, had been brought to Corea. Here, too, them own ancient
mikados had sent embassies, and from this historic city had radia-
136
COREA.
ted the influences of civilization into Japan. A.S Buddhism had
been the dominant faith of Shinra and Korai, this was the old
sacred city of the peninsula, and among the historic edifices stih
standing and most admired were the haUs and pagodas of the
Eternal Buddha. Kion-chiu was to the Japanese verj’ much what
London is to an American, Geneva to a Protestant, or Dordrecht
to a Hollander. Yet, in spite of all classic associations, the city
was wantonly destroyed. On the morning of November 2d, be-
ginning at the magnificent temples, the whole city was given to
the torch. Three hundred thousand dwellings were burned, and
the flames lighted up the long night with the glare of day.
The next morning, turning their backs on the gray waste of
ashes, they resumed theu* march. Kokio, Kunoi, Sin-ne were
passed through. Skirmishing and the destruction of castles, and
the burning of granaries, were the pastimes enjoyed between
camps. On November 18th the army reached a river, where the
Coreans made an unsuccessful night attack, repeating the same in
the morning, while the Japanese were crossing the stream, with
the same negative results.
Thence thi’ough Yei-tan, they came to Keku-shiu, another
famous old seat of Shinra’s ancient grandeur. The beautiful situa-
tion and rich appearance of the city charmed the invaders, who
lingered long in the deserted streets before applying the torch.
The “ three hundi-ed thousand houses of the people ” were clus-
tered around the great Buddhist temple in the centre. The clock-
tower, eighteen stoi’ies high, was especially admired. The massive
swinging beam by A\hich the tongueless bells, or gongs, of the
Far East are made to boom out the hours, struck against a huge
bronze lotus eight or nine feet in diameter. This sacred flower
of the Buddhist emblem of peace and calm in Nirvana had in
Coi’ean art taken the place of the suspended beU, being most
probably a cup-shaped mass of metal set with mouth upright, or
like a bell turned ripside do^m — such being the form often seen
in the temples of Chinese Asia. Again did antiquity, religion, or
the promptings of mercy fail to restrain the invaders. Securing
what spoils they cared for, everything else was burned up.
After camping at Kiran, they reached the sea-coast, at IJru-san,
November 18th.
CHAPTER XIX.
THE SIEGE OP URU-SAN CASTLE.
The Japanese now took up the spade as their immediate wea-
pon of defence against the infuriated Coreans and the avenging
Chinese. A force of twenty-three thousand men was at once set
to woi'k, “ without regard to wind or rain,” along the hnes marked
out by the Japanese engineers. To furnish the wood for towers,
gates, huts, and engines, a party of two thousand axemen and la-
borers, guarded by twenty-eight mounted pickets and three hun-
dred matchlock men, with seven flags, went daUy into the forest.
The winter huts were hastily erected, walls thrown up, ditches
dug, towers built, and sentinels and Avatch stations set. The work
went on from earliest daybreak till latest twihght, the carpenters
so suffering from the cold that “their finger nails dropped off.”
By the first part of Januaiy the castle was almost completed.
From the eleventh day the garrison took rest.
The fortress Avas three-sided, the south face lAung on the sea.
The total line of works Avas about three and a half miles, pierced
by three gates. The inner defences were in three parts, or maru.
The third maru, or enclosure, had stone walls, one toAver and one
gate ; the second had two towers, two gates ; and the first or
chief citadel had stone Avails, forty-eight feet high, A\-ith two towers
and two gates.
The war operations, which had hitherto covered large spaces
of the countrj', noAV found the pivot at this place situated in Kiung-
sang, on the sea-coast, thirty-five miles north of Fusan. Another
commander, Asano, marched to assist the garrison and entered
the castle before the Ming army arrived. His advance guard, Avhile
reconnoitring, was defeated by the Coreans, yet he succeeded, by
an impetuous charge, in entering the castle.
The Chinese, smarting under their losses at Chin-sen, and stimg
by the gibes of the Coreans, now hastened to Uru-san, to swallow
up the Japanese. The Corean army, which had been collecting
138
COREA.
around the Japanese camps, were soon joined by the advance
guard of the Ming army. The arrival of the Chinese forces was
made known in the following manner.
A Japanese captain commanded one of the advance pickets,
N
Plan of Uru-san Castle.— Explanation : Hon, First Enclosure; Ni, Second; San, Third; G, Gates;
asm Bodies of Troops.
which had their quarters in the cloisters of Ankokuji (Temple of
the Peaceful Coimtry). One night a board, inscribed with Chi-
nese characters, was set up before the gate of the camp. The sol-
diers, seeing it in the morning, but imable to read Chinese, car»
THE SIEGE OF URU-SAN CASTLE.
139
ried it to their captain, who handed it to his priest-secretary. The
board contained a warning that the Chinese were near and would
soon attack Um-san. Betraying no emotion and saying nothing,
the captain soon after declared himself on the sick-list, and se-
cretly absconded to Fusan. The tmth w'as, that an overwhelm-
ing Ming army was now in front of them and their pm’pose to in-
vest the castle was thus published. The entire Japanese forces
were now gathered close under the walls, or inside the castle, and
the sentinels were doubled.
On the morning of January 30th the Ming anny suddenly as-
saulted the castle. A small detachment, evidently a decoy and
forlorn hope, attempting to scale the walls, was driven back by the
matchlock men and began to retreat. Seeing this, the Japanese
recklessly opened the barbican gate and began pm’suit of their
enemies, thinking they were only Coreans. Lui’ed on to a dis-
tance, they suddenly found themselves encu’cled by a mighty host
By their black and yellow standards, and their excellent tactics,^
the Japanese officers saw that they were Ming soldiers. The dust
raised by the horses of the oncoming enemy seemed to the garri-
son as high as Atago Mountain in Japan. They now knew that
eighty thousand Chinese were before their gates. Only after hard
fighting, was the remnant of the Japanese sortie enabled to get
back within the castle, while the allies, surrounding the walls,
fought as fiercely as if they intended to take it by immediate as-
sault. Some of the bravest leaders of the gamson feU outside,
but no sooner were the gates locked than Katsuyoshi, without ex-
tracting the two aiTows from his wounds, or stanching the blood,
posted the defenders on the walls in position. Ogawuchi had per-
formed the hazardous feat of sallying out and firing most of the
outside camps. He re-entered the castle with aiTOws in his clothes,
but received no wounds. The battle raged until night, when the
Chinese drew off.
The Japanese had suffered fearfully by the first combat beyond
and on the walks. “ There was none but had been shot at by five
or ten or fifteen arrows.” One of their captains reckoned their
loss at eighteen thousand thi’ee hundred and sixty men, which
left them but a garrison of five thousand fighting men. A large
number of non-combatants, including many of the friendly people
of the neighborhood, had crowded into the fortifications, and had
to be fed.
Food growing scarcer, and danger increasing, Asano sent word
140
COREA.
to Kato for help. On a fleet horse the messenger arrived, after a
ride of two days. Kato had, in Japan, taken oath to Asano’s
father to heljj him in everj' strait. Immediately, with seventy
picked companions, he put out to sea in seven boats, and, after
hard rowing, succeeded in entering the castle.
On Januaiy 31, 1598, the war-conch soimded in the Afing camp,
as the signal of attack, and the ears of the besieged were soon
deafened by the yeUs of the “ eighty thousand ” besiegers. The
Japanese were at fii’st terrified at the clouds of dust, through
which the a^^-ful sight of ranks of men, twenty deep, were on aU
sides visible. The enemy, anned with shields shaped like a fowl’s
wings, upon which they received the missiles of the garrison,
charged on the outer works, but when into and on the slope of the
ditch, flung their shields away, and plied axe, knife, sword, and
lance. Though seven attacks were repulsed, the wall was breached,
the outer works were gained by overwhelming numbers, and the
garrison was driven into the inner enclosure.
Night feU upon the work of blood, but at early mom, the
enemy waked the garrison with showers of arrows, and with lad-
ders and hurdles of bamboo, tried to scale the walls. In four
hom’s, seven attacks in force had been repulsed, yet the fighting
went on. In spite of the intense cold, the soldiei-s perspired so
that the sweat froze on their armor. Over their own heaps of
corpses the Chinese attempted to force one of the gates, while,
from the walls of the inner citadel, and from the higher gate above
them, the Japanese smote them. The next day the carnage ceased
from the third to the ninth hour. On February 3d, the Chinese,
with their ladders, were again repulsed. At night their sentinels
“ gathered hoar-frost on them helmets,” while guarding the night
long against the sortie, which they feared. Another attack from
the clouds of enemies kept up the work of killing. Some of the
Japanese wanlors now noticed that their stockings and greave-
bands kept slipping down, though adjusted repeatedly. The fact
was their flesh had shrank until their bones were nearlyvisible,
and “their legs were as lean as bamboo sticks.” Anotherwairio^
taking off his helmet and vizor, was seen to have a face so thin
and wizen that he reminded his comrades of one of those hungry
demons of the nether world, which they had seen so often depicted
in temple pictures at home.
On Februaiy 5th, the Ming generals, who had looked upon the
reduction of Ura-san as a small affair to be settled by the way, and
THE SIEGE OP URU-SAN CASTLE.
141
vexed at not having been able to take it by one assault, tried ne-
gotiation. In fact, they were suffering from lack of provisions.
The Japanese sent back a defiant answer, and some of them pi’of-
ited by the lull in the fighting to make fires of broken arrows and
lances, to strip the armor from the dead and frozen carcasses of
their steeds, and enjoy a dinner of hot horse-meat. The vast num-
ber of shafts that had fallen within the walls, were gathered into
stacks, and those damaged were reserved for fuel. Outside the
citadel, they lay under the waU in heaps many feet high.
The next day, Februai’y Gth, was one of quiet, but it was in-
tensely cold, and many of the worn out soldiers of the garrison
died. Sitting under the sunny side of the towers for warmth, they
were found in this position frozen to death. Yet amid aU the suf-
fering, the Japanese jested with each other, poured out mutual
compliments, and kei^t light hearts and defiant si^irits.
A council of war had been hell February 2d, at Fusan, and a
messenger sent to encourage the garrison. By some means he was
able to communicate Avith his beleaguered brethren. With helmets
off, the leaders listened to the avords of cheer and praise, and
promised to hold out yet longer.
IMiile the lull or truce was in force, the Chinese were, accord-
ing to OgaAvuchi, plotting to entrap the Japanese leaders. This
they learned from one Okoinoto, a natiA-e of Japan, Avho had liA’ed
long in China, and was a diA-ision commander of eight thousand
men in the Chinese army. He it was Avho first brought the otfers
of accommodation from the Ming side. The Chinese proposed to
get the Japanese leaders to come out of their citadel, leave their
horses and Aveapons at a certain place, and go to the altar to
SAvear before HeaA-en to keep the peace. Then the Chinese were
to surround and make jArisoners of the Japanese. Okomoto’s soul
recoiled at the perfidy. Going by night to the side of the castle
near the hills, he Avas admitted in the citadel, and exposing the
plot, gave Avaming of the danger. A profoimd impression AA'as
j)roduced on the grateful leaders, Avho immediately made a jjlan to
show their gratitude to Okomoto. They swore by all the gods to
reAvard also his sons and daughters who were stdl liA'ing in Japan.
When this fact Avas made knoAvn to him, he burst into tears and
said he had never forgotten his Avife or children ; though he saw
them often in his dreams, yet “ the winds brought him no news.”
On the following morning a Chinese Officer, coming to the foot
of the wall, made signs AA'ith his standai-d, and offered the same
142
COREA.
terms in detail wliich Okomoto liad exposed. The Japanese lead-
ers excused themselves on the plea of sickness, and the parley
came to nothing.
Yet the sufferings of the Japanese were growing hourly se-
verer. To half rations and hunger had succeeded famine, and
with famine came actual death from starvation. Unfortunately
there was no weU in the castle, so the Japanese had at first sallied
out, under cover of the night, and earned water from the moimtain
brooks. The Chinese, discovering this, posted archers in front of
every accessible stream, and thus cut off aU approach by night or
day. To hunger was added the torture of thirst. The soldiers
who fought by day stole out at night and licked the wounds of
theu' slain enemies and even secretly chewed the raw flesh sliced
from the corpses of the Chinese. Within the castle, ingenuity was
taxed to the utmost to proride sustenance from the most improm-
ising substances. The famished soldiers chewed paper, trapped
mice and ate them, kiUed horses and devoured every' part of them.
Braring the arrows of the Chinese pickets, they wandered at night
wherever their dead enemies lay, and searched their clothes for
stray grains of parched rice. On one occasion the Chinese, lying
in wait, succeeded in captming one hundi'ed of the garrison, that
were pi’owling like ghouls around the coi’pses of the slain. After
this the commanders forbade any soldier, on pain of death, to
leave the castle. Yet famine held revel within, and scores of
starved and frozen multiplied into hundreds, until room for the
coi-pses was needed.
Tidings of the straits of the dwindling garrison at Uru-san hav-
ing reached the other Japanese commanders, Nabeshima and Ku-
roda, they marched to the relief of their compatriots. One of the
Chinese generals, Eijobai, learing camp, set out to attack them.
The foiled Chinese commander-in-chief, angiy at the refusal of
the Japanese to come to his camp, ordered a fresh attack on the cas-
tle. This time fi-esh detachments took the places of others when
wearied. The day seemed shut out by the dust of horses, the smoke
of guns, the clouds of aiTOws, and the masses of flags. Again the
scaling ladders were brought, but made useless by the vigilant de-
fendeis in armor iced with frozen sweat, and chafing to the bone.
Their constant labor made “ three houi*s seem like three years.”
The attack was kept up tmceasingly imtil Februaiy 12th, when
the exhausted gamson noticed the Chinese retreating. The van
of the reinforcements fi'om Fusan had attacked the allies in the
THE SIEGE OF URU-SAN CASTLE.
143
rear, and a bloody combat was raging. At about tbe same time
the fleet, laden with provisions, was on its way and near the staiw-
ing ganison.
Next morning the keen eyes of their commander noticed flocks
of wild birds descending on the Chinese camp. The carefiil scni-
tiny of the actions of wild fowl formed a part of the military edu-
cation of all Japanese, and they inferred at once that the camp was
empty and the birds, attracted by the refuse food, were feeding
without fear. Orders were immediately given to a detachment to
leave the castle and mai'ch in pursuit. Passing thi’ough the de-
serted jVIing camp, they came up with the forces of Kuroda and
Nabeshima, who had gained a gi'eat victoiy over the allies. In
this battle of the river plain of Gisen, February 9, 1598, the Jap-
anese had eighteen thousand men engaged. Them ^dctoiy Avas
complete, thirteen thousand two hundred and thirty-eight heads
of Coreans and Chinese being collected after the retreat of the
allies. The noses and ears were, as usual, cut off and packed for
shipment to Kioto.
The sufferings of the valiant defenders were now over. Help
had come at the eleventh hour. For foui’teen days they had
tasted neither rice nor water, except that melted from snow or ice.
The abundant food from the relief ships was cautiously dealt out
to the famished, lest sudden plenty should cause sudden deatli.
The fleet men not only congratulated the garrison on their brave
defence, but decorated the battered walls with innumerable flags
and streamers, Avhile they rerictualed the magazines. On the ninth,
the garrison Avent on the ships to go to Sezukai, another part of
the coast, to recruit their shattered energies. With a feeling as if
raised from the dead, the Avarriors took off their annor. The re-
action of the fearful strain coming at once upon them, they found
themselves lame and unable to stand or sit. EA^en in their dreams,
they grappled Aslth the Ming, and, laying their hand on their
sword, fought again their battles in the land of dreams. For three
years aftenvard they did not cease these night A-isions of war.
According to orders given, the number of the dead lying on
the fr'ozen ground, within tAVO or three furlongs of the castle, was
counted, and found to be fifteen thousand seven himdred and
fifty-four. Of the Japanese, Avho had staiwed or frozen to death,
eight himdred and ninety-seven Avere reported.
In the camp of the allies, crimination and recrimination were
going on, the Coreans angry at being foiled before Uni-san, and the
144
COREA.
Chinese mortified that one fortress, with its garrison, could not
have been taken. They made their plans to go back and try' the siege
anew, when the explosion of their powder magazine, which killed
many of their men, changed their plans. For his failure the Chi-
nese commander-in-chief was cashiered in disgrace.
On May 10th the soldiers of the gaiTison, now relieved, left for
their homes in Japan.
Thus ended the siege of Uru-san, after lasting an entire year.
After this nothing of much importance happened during the
war. The invaders had suffered severely from the cold and the
climate, and from hunger in the desolated land. Numerous skir-
mishes were fought, and a continual guerilla war kept up, but,
with the exception of another naval battle between the Japanese
and Chinese, in which artillery was freely used, there Avas nothing
to infiuence the fortunes of either side. In this state of inaction,
Hidcyoshi fell sick and died, September 9, 1598, at the age of
sixty-thi'ee. Almost his last words were, “ Recall all my troops
fiom Cho-sen.” The governors appointed by him to carry out his
policy at once issued orders for the return of the army. The
orders to embark for home were everywhere gladly heard in the
Japanese camps by the soldiers whose sufferings were now to end.
Before lea\ing, howeA'er, many of the Japanese improved every
opportunity to have a farewell bnish wfith their enemies.
It is said, by a trastwcrthy' Avilter, that 214,752 human bodies
were decapitated to fm’nish the ghastly material for the “ eai--
tomb ” mound in Kioto. OgaAvuchi reckons the number of Co-
rean heads gathered for mutilation at 185,738, and of Chinese
at 29,014 ; aU of which were despoiled of ears or noses. It is
probable tliat 50,000 Japanese, Aictims of wormds or disease,
left their bones in Corea.
Thus ended one of the most needless, unproA’oked, cruel, and
desolating wars that ever cursed Corea, and fr-om which it has
taken her over two centmles to recoA'er.
CHAPTER XX.
CHANGES AFTER THE INVASION.
The war over, and peace again in the land, the fugitives re-
turned to their homes and the farmers to their fields. The whole
country was desolate, the scars of war were everywhere visible,
and the curse of poverty was universaL From the king and court,
in the roj’al cit}', of which fire had left Little but ashes, and of
which war and famine had spared few inhabitants, to the peasant,
who lived on bemes and roots until his scanty seed rose above
the gi-ound and slowly ripened, all now suffered the woful want
which the war had bred. Kind nature, however, ceased not her
bountiful stores, and from the ever-ready and ever-fuU treasuries
of the ocean, fed the stricken land.
The war was a fniitful cause of national changes in Corean cus-
toms and institutions. The first was the more thorough organiza-
tion of the military-, the rebuilding and strengthening of old cas-
lles, and the erection of new ones ; though, like most measures of
the government, the proposed refonns were never properly carried
out. The coasts were guarded with fresh vigilance. Upon one
of the Corean commandei-s, who had been many times successful
against the Japanese, a new title and office was created, and the
coast defence of the three southern pro^'inces was committed to him.
This title was subsequently conferred upon three officials whose
headquarters were at points in Kiimg-sang. Among the literary
fruits of the leisure now afforded was the narrative, in Chinese, of
the events leading to the war -srith the Japanese, written by a high
dignitary- of the court, and covering the period from about 1586 to
1598. This is, perhaps, the only book reprinted in Japan, which gives
the Corean side of the war. In his preface the excessively modest
author states that he writes the book “because men ought to look
at the present in the miiTor of the past.” The Chinese style of
this writer is difficult for an ordinary' Japanese to read. The book
(Chohitsuroku) contains a curious map of the eight provinces.
10
146
COREA.
In Japan the energies of the returned warriors were fuUy em-
ployed at home after their withdrawal from Corea. The adher-
ents of TaikO and those of lyeyasu, the rising man, came to blows,
and at the great battle of Sekigahara, in October, 1600, lyeyasii
crushed his foes. Many of the heroes of the peninsular campaign
fell on the field ; or, as beaten men, disembowelled themselves,
according to the Japanese code of honor.
Konishi, being a Christian, and unable, from conscientious
scruples, to commit suicide by hara kiri, was decapitated. The
humbled spiiit and turbulent wrath of Satsuma were appeased,
and given a valve of escape in the permission accorded them to
make definite conquest of Riu Kiu. This was done by a well-
planned and vigorously executed expedition in 1609, by which the
little archipelago was made an integral part of the Japanese em-
pire. When retiring from Cho-sen, in 1597, the daimio and gen-
eral Nabeshima requited himself for the possible loss of further
miUtaiy glor}% by bringing over and settling in Satsuma a colony
of Corean potters. He builded better than he knew, for in fo\md-
ing these industries in his own domain, he became the prime
author of that delight of the aesthetic world, “old Satsuma faience.”
Other daimios, in whose domains were potteries, likewise trans-
ported skilled workers in clay, who aftei'ward brought fame and
money to their masters. On the other hand, lyeyasu sent back the
Corean prisoners in Japan to their own homes.
The spoil brought back fi’om the peninsiilar campaign — wea-
pons, flags, brocades, porcelains, carvings, pictiu-es, and manu-
scripts was duly deposited, with certifying documents, in temples
and storehouses, or garnished the home of the veterans for the
benefit of posterity. Some, with a Hteraiy tm-n, employed their
leisure in win ting out their notes and journals, several of which
have survived the wreck of time. Some, under an artistic impulse,
had made valuable sketches of cities, scenery, battle-fields, and
castles, which they now finished. A few of the victors shore ofl
their queues and hafr, and became monks. Others, with perhaps
equal piety, hung up the arrow-pierced helmet, or corslet slashed
by Chinese sabre, as ex-voto at the local shrines. The writer can
bear personal witness to the interest which many of these authen-
tic relics inspfred in him while engaged in thefr study. In 1878,
a large collection of various relics of the Corean war of 1592-
1597 came into the possession of the mikado’s government in
Tokio, from the heirs or descendants of the vetei-ans of Taiko. In
CHANGES AFTER THE INVASION.
147
Kioto, besides the Ear-monument, the Hall of the Founder, in one
of the great Buddhist temples, rebuilt by the widow of Taiko,
was ceiled with the choice wood of the wai* junk built for the
hero.
Though the peninsula was not open to trade or Chi'istianity, it
was not for lack of thought or attention on the part of merchant
or missionary'.
In England, a project was formed to establish a trading-sta-
tion in Japan, and, if there was a possibility, in Corea also, or, at
least, to see what could be done in “the island” — as Cox'ea then,
and for a long time afterward, was beheved to be. Thi’ough the
Dutch, the Jesuits, and their countryunan, Will Adams, in Japan,
they had heard of the Japanese war, and of Corea. Captain Saris
arrived oflf Hirado Island about the middle of June, 1613, -vrith a
cargo of pepper, broadcloth, gunpowder, and Enghsh goods. In
a galley, carrying twenty'-five oars and manned by sixty men fur-
nished by the daimio. Saris and his company of seventeen Eng-
hshmen set out to A"isit the lyeyasii at Yedo, by way of Sumga
(now Shidzuoka). After two day’^s’ rowing along the coast, they
stopped for dinner in the large and handsome city of Hakata (or
Fukuoka), the city being, in reality, double. As the Englishmen
walked about to see the sights, the boys, children, and worse sort
of idle people would gather about them, crying out, “ Core, Core,
Cocore Ware ” (Oh you Coreans, Coreans, you Kokorai men), taxmt-
ing them by these words as Coreans with false hearts, whooping,
holloaing, and making such a noise that the English coidd hardly
hear each other speak. In some places, the people threw stones
at these “Corean ” Englishmen. Hakata was one of the towns at
which the embassy from Seotd stopped while on its way’ to Yedo,
and the incident shows clearly that the Japanese urchins and
common people had not forgotten the reputed pei-tidy of the Co-
reans, while they also supposed that any foreigner, not a Portu-
guese, with whom they were familiar, must be a Corean. In the
same manner, at Nankin, for a long while all foreigners, even
Americans, were called “Japanese.”
Nothing was done by Saris, so far as is known, to explore or
open Corea to Western commerce, although the last one of the eight
clauses of the articles of license to trade, given him by ly’eyasu,
was, “And that further, without passport, they may and shall set
out upon the discovery’ of Yeadzo (Yezo), or any other part in and
about our empire.” By the last clause any Japanese would im-
148
COREA.
derstand Corea and Eiu Kiu as being land belonging to, but out-
side of “ civilized ” Nijipon.
After lea\'iug Nagasaki, and calling at Bantam, Saris took in a
load of pepper, and sailed for England, reaching Ph-mouth Sep-
tember 27, 1614.
An attempt was also made by the Dominican order of friars to
estabhsh a mission in Corea. Vincent (Caun), the ward of Ko-
nishi, who had been educated and sent over by the Jesuits to plant
Chi'istianity among his countrj-men, reached Peking and there
waited fom- years to accomphsh his purposes, but could not,
o-ning to the presence of the hostile Manchius in Liao Tung. But
just as he was returning to Japan, in 1618, another attempt was
made by the Dominican friars to penetrate the sealed land Juan
de Saint Dominique, a Castilian Spaniard, who had labored as a
missionary in the Philippine Islands since 1601, was the chosen
man. Ha\’ing secured rapid mastery of the languages of the
Malay archipelago, he was selected as one well fitted to acquire
Corean. With two others of the same fraternity he embarked for
the shores of Morning Calm. For some reason, not kno'vs'n, they
could not land in Corea, and so passed over to Japan, where the
next year, March 19th, having met persecution, Dominique died
in prison. The ashes of his body, taken from the cremation fur-
nace, were cast in the sea ; but his followers, having been able to
save from the tire a hand and a foot, kept the ghastly remnants as
holy relics. ®
The exact relations of “the conquering and the vassal state,”
as the Japanese would say, that is, of Nihon and Chu-sen, were not
definitely fixed, nor the menace of war withdrawn, until the last
of the hne of Taiko died, and the family became extinct by the
death of Hideyori, the son of Taiko, in 1612.
There is not a particle of evidence that the conquerors ever ex-
acted an annual tribute of “ thirtj human hides,” as stated by a
recent French wi-iter. MTiile lyeyasii had his hands full in Japan,
he jDaid little attention to the countrj’ which Taiko had used as a
cockpit for the Chiistians. lyeyasii dealt with the Jesuit, the
Clu’istian. and the foreigner, in a manner different from, and for
obrious reasons with success greater than, that of Taiko. He uni-
fied Japan, re-estabhshed the dual system of mikado and sho-gun,
^\ith two capitals and two centres of authority, Kioto and Tedo.
He cleared the ground for his grandson lyemitsu, who at once
summoned the Coreans to renew tiibutaiy relations and pay horn-
CHANGES AFTER THE INVASION.
149
age to liim at Yedo. Magnifying his authority, he sent, in 1623,
a letter to the King of Corea, in which he styles himself Tai-kun
(“Tycoon ”), or Great Prince. This is the equivalent in Chinese
pronunciation of the pure Japanese 0-gimi, an ancient title applied
only to the mikado. No assumption or presumption of pomp and
power was, however, scrupled at by the successors of lyeyasii.
The title “Tycoon,” too, was intended to overawe the Coreans,
as being even higher than the title Koku, 0 (king of a [tributary]
country’), which their sovereign and the Ashikaga line of rulers
held by patents from the Emperor of China, and which Taiko had
scornfully refused.
The coui't at Seoul responded to the call, and, in 1624, sent an
embassy -with congratulations and costly presents. The envoys
landed in Hizen, and made their journey overland, taking the
same route so often traversed by the Hollanders at Dcshima, and
described by Kaempfer, Thunberg, and others. A sketch by a Yedo
artist has depicted the gorgeous scene in the castle of the “ Ty-
coon.” Seated on silken cushions, on a raised dais, behind the
bamboo curtains, with sword-bearer in his rear, in presence of his
lords, aU in imitation of the imperial throne room in Kioto, the
haughty lailer received from the Corean envoy the symbol of vas-
salage— a gohei or wand on which strips of v/hite paper are hung.
Then followed the official banquet.
Since the invasion, Fusan, as before, had been held and garri-
soned by the retainers of the daimio of Tsushima. At this port
aU the commerce betw’een the tw’o nations took place. The inter-
change of commodities was established on an amicable basis. Jap-
anese swords, militaiy equipments, works of art, and raw prod-
ucts were exchanged for Corean merchandise. Hawng felt tho
power of the eastern sword-blades, and imable to perfect their
own clumsy iron hangers, either in temper, edge, or material, they
gladly bought of the Japanese, keeping their sword-makers busy.
Kaempfer, who Avas at Nagasaki from September 24, 1690, to No-
vember, 1692, tells us that the Japanese imported from Fusan
scarce medicinal plants, especially ginseng, w'alnuts, and fruits ;
the best pickled fish, and some few manufactures ; among which
was “a certain sort of earthen pots made in Japij and Ninke,
two Tartarian proAnnces.” These ceramic oddities were “much
esteemed by the Japanese, and bought very dear.”
From an American or British point of view, there was little
trade done between the two countries, but on the strength of even
150
COREA.
this small amount, Earl Eussell, in 1862, tried to get Great Britain
included as a co-trader between Japan and Corea. He was not suc-
cessful Provision was also made for those w’ho might be cast, by
the perils of the sea, upon the shore of either country. At the ex-
pense of the Yedo government a Chosen Yashiki (Corean House),
was built at Nagasaki. From whatever part of the Japanese shores
the waifs were picked up, they were sent to Nagasaki, fed and
sheltered vmtil a junk could be despatched to Fusan. These un-
fortunates were mostly fishermen, who, in some cases, had their
wives and children with them. It was from such that Siebold ob-
tained the materials for his notes, vocabulary, and sketches in the
Corean department of his great Archie.
The possession of Fusan by the Japanese was, until 1876, a
peqaetual witness of the humiliating defeat of the Coreans in the
war of 1592-1597, and a constant mutation to their national pride.
Their popular historians, passing over the facts of the case, substi-
tute pleasing fiction to gratify the popidar taste. The subjoined
note of explanation, given by DaUet, attached to a map of Corea
of home manufactui'e, thus accoimts for the presence of the
foreigners. The substance of the note is as follows : Dui-ing the
sixteenth centui-y many of the barbarous inhabitants of Tsushima
left that island, and, coming over to Corea, established themselves
on the coast of Corea, in three little ports, called Fusan, Turn, and
Chisi, and rapidly increased in numbers. About five years after
Chung-chong ascended the thi-one, the barbarians of Fusan and
Y’mn made trouble. They destroyed the walls of the city of Fusan,
and killed also the city goveiuior, named Ni TJtsa. Being subdued
by the royal troops, they could no longer live in these ports, but
were driven into the interior. A short time afterward, having
asked pardon for their crimes, they obtained it and came and es-
tablished themselves again at the ports. This was only for a short
time, for a few years afterward, a little before the year 1592, they aU
returned to their country, Tsushima. In the year 1599 the king,
Syen-cho, held commimication with the Tsushima barbarians. It
happened that he imited them to the places which they had
quitted on the coast of Corea, built houses for them, treated them
with great kindness, established for their benefit a market dming
five days in each month, beginning on the thii’d day of the month,
and when they had a great quantity of merchandise on hand to
dispose of he even permitted them to hold it still oftener.
This is a good specimen of Corean varnish-work carried into
CHANGES AFTER THE INVASION.
151
liistoiy. Tlie rough facts are smoothed over by that well-applied
native lacquer, which is said to resemble gold to the eye. The
official gloss has been smeared over more modem events with
equal success, and even defeat is turned into golden victory.
Yet, with aU the miseries inflicted upon her, the humble nation
learned rich lessons and gained many an advantage even from her
enemy. The embassies, which were yearly despatched to yield
homage to their late invaders, were at the expense of the latter.
The Japanese pride purchased, at a dear rate, the empty bubble
of homage, by paying aU the biUs. We may even suspect that a
grim joke was practised upon the victors by the vanquished.
Year by year they swelled the pomp and numbers of their train
until, finally, it reached the absiird number of four hundred per-
sons. With imperturbable effrontery they devastated the treasury
of their “Tycoon.” To receive an appointment on the embassy to
Yedo was reckoned a rich sinecure. It enabled the possessor to
enjoy an expensive picnic of three months, two of which were at
the cost of the entertainers. Landing in Chikuzen, or Hizen,
they slowly journeyed overland to Yedo, and, after their merrj'-
making in the capital, leisui’ely made their jaunt back again. For
nearly a centurj" the Yedo government appeared to rehsh the sen-
sation of having a crowd of people from across the sea come to
pay homage and bear witness to the greatness of the Tokugawa
family. In 1710 a special gateway was erected in the castle at
Yedo to impress the embassy from Seoul, who were to arrive next
year, with the serene glory of the shu-gun lyenobu. From a pa-
vilion near by the embassy’s quarters, the Tycoon himself was a
spectator of the feats of archery, on horseback, in which the Co-
reans excelled. The intolerable expense at last compelled the
Yedo iTilers to dispense with such costly vassalage, and to spoil
what was, to their guests, a pleasant game. Ordering them to
come only as far as Tsushima, they were entertained by the So
family of daimios, who were allowed by the “ Tycoon ” a stipend
in gold kobans for this purpose.
A great social custom, that has become a national habit, was
introduced by the Japanese when they brought over the tobacco
plant and taught its properties, culture, and use. The copious
testimony of all rtsitors, and the rich vocabulary of terms relating
to the culture, curing, and preparation of tobacco show that the
crop that is yearly raised from the soil merely for purposes of
waste in smoke is very large. In the personal equipment of every
152
COREA.
male Corean, and often in that of women and children, a tobacco
pouch and materials for firing forms an indispensable part. The
smoker does not feel “ dressed ” without his well-filled bag. Into the
forms of hospitality, the requisites of threshold gossip and social
enjoyment, and for aU other purposes, real or imaginary, which
nicotine can aid or abet, tobacco has entered not merely as a lux-
ury or ornament, but as a necessity.
Another great change for the better, in the improvement of the
national garb, dates from the sixteenth century, and very probably
from the Japanese invasion. This was the introduction of the cot-
ton plant. Hitherto, silk for the very rich, and hemp and sea
grass for the middle and poorer classes, had been the rule. In
the north, furs were worn to a large extent, while plaited straw
for various parts of the limbs sei-ved for clothing, as well as pro-
tection against storm and rain. The vegetable fibres were bleached
to give whiteness. Cotton now began to be generally cultivated
and woven.
It is true that authorities do not agree as to the date of the
first use of this plant. DaUet reports that cotton was formerly
unknown in Corea, but was grown in China, and that the Chinese,
in order to preserve a market for their textile fabrics within the
peninsula, rigorously guarded, with aU possible precautions, against
the exportation of a single one of the precious seeds.
One of the members of the annual embassy to Peking, with
great tact, succeeded in procuring a few grains of cotton seed,
which he concealed in the quUl of his hat feather. Thus, in a
manner similar to the traditional account of the bifinging of silk-
worms’ eggs inside a staff to Constantinople from China, the pre-
cious shrub reached Corea about five hundred years ago. It is
now cultivated successfiUly in the peninsula in latitude far above
that of the cotton belt in America, and even in Manchuria, the
most northern hmit of its growth.
It is evident that a country which contains cotton, crocodiles,
and tigers, cannot have a very bleak cHmate. It seems more
probable that though the fii'st seeds may have been brought from
China, the cultivation of this vegetable wool was not pursued upon
a large scale untU after the Japanese invasion. Our reasons for ques-
tioning the accuracy of the date given in the common tradition is,
that it is certain that cotton was not known in Northern China five
hundred years ago. It was introduced into Central China from
Tui’kestan in the fourteenth century, though known in the extreme
CHA^fGES AFTER THE INVASION. l,o3
south before that time. The Chinese pay di-s-ine honors to one
Hwang Tao Po, the reputed instructress in the art ox spinning and
weaving the “tree-wooL” She is said to have come fi’om Hainan
Island.
Though cotton was first brought to Japan by a Hindoo, in the
year 799, yet the art of its culture seems to have been lost duiing
the long civil wars of the middle ages. The fact that it had
become extinct is shown in a verse of poetry composed by a couid
noble in 1248. “ The cotton-seed, that was planted by the foreigner
and not by the natives, has died away.” In another Japanese book,
written about 1570, it is stated that cotton had again been intro-
duced and planted in the southern provinces.
The Portuguese, trading at Nagasaki, made cotton wool a fa-
miliar object to the Japanese soldiers. TMiile the army w'as in
Corea a European ship, driven far out of her course and much
damaged by the storm, anchored off Yokohama. Being kindly
treated while refitting, the captain, among other gifts to the
daimio of the province, gave him a bag of cotton seeds, which
were distributed. The yam selling at a high price, the culture of
the shrub spread rapidly through the pro\inces of Eastern and
Northern Japan, being already common in the south provinces.
Even if the culture of cotton was not introduced into Corea by
the Japanese army, it is certain that it has been largely exported
from Japan during the last two centuries. The increase of gen-
eral comfort by this one article of wear and use can hardly be es-
timated. Not only as wool and fibre, but in the oil from its seeds,
the nation added largely to the sum of its blessings.
Paper, from sUk and hemp, rice stalk fibres, mulberry bark,
and other such raw material, had long been made by the Chinese,
but it is probable that the Coreans, first of the nations of Chinese
Asia, made paper from cotton wool For this manufacture they
to-day are famed. Their paper is highly prized in Peking and
Japan for its extreme thickness and toughness. It forms part of
the annual tribute which the embassies carrj' to Peking. It is
often thick enough to be split into several layers, and is much
used by the tailors of the Chinese metropolis as a hning for the
coats of mandarins and gentlemen. It also serves for the covering
of window-frames, and a sewed wad of from ten to fifteen thick-
nesses of it make a kind of armor which the troops wear. It wiU
resist a musket-ball, but not a rifle-bullet.
CHAPTER XXL
THE ISSACHAR OF EASTERN ASIA.
The Shan-yan Alin, or Ever- White Mountains, stand like a wall
along the northern boundary of the Corean peninsula. Irregular
mountain masses and out jutting ranges of hills fonn its buttresses,
while, at intervals, lofty peaks rise as towers. These are all over-
topped by the central spire Paik-tu, or MTiitehead, which may be
over ten thousand feet high. From its bases flow out the Yalu,
Tumen, and Hm-ka Eivei’s.
From primeval times the dwellers at the foot of this mountain,
who saw its ever hoaiy head lost in the clouds, or glistening with
fresh-fallen snow, conceived of a spirit dwelling on its heights in
the form of a rirgin in white. Her servants were animals in white
fur and bii’ds in white plumage.
MTien Buddhism entered the peninsula, as in China and Japan,
so, in Corea, it absorbed the local deities, and hailed them under
new names, as previous incarnations of Buddha before his avatar
in India, or the true advent of the precious faith through his mis-
sionaries. They were thenceforth adopted into the Buddhist pan-
theon, and numbered among the worshipped Buddhas. The spirit
of the Ever- White Mountains, the \irgin in ever-white robes,
named Manchusri, whose home lay among the rmmelting snows,
was one of these. Perhaps it was from this deity that the Man-
chius, the ancestors of the ruling djTiasty of China, the wearers of
the world-famous hair tails, took their name.
According to Manchiu legend, as given by Professor Douglas,
it is said that “ in remote ages, three heaven-bom virgins dwelt
beneath the shadow of the Great White Mountains, and that, while
they were bathing in a lake which reflected in its bosom the
snowy clad peaks which towered above it, a magpie dropped a
blood red fmit on the clothes of the youngest. This the maiden
instinctively devoured, and forthwith conceived and bore a son,
whose name they called Ai-sin Ghioro, which being interpreted is
,THE ISSACHAR OP EASTERN ASIA.
155
Home of the Manchius, and Their Migrationa.
156
COREA.
the ‘ Golden Family Stem,’ and which is the family name of the em-
perors of China. When his mother had entered the icy cave of
the dead, her son embarked on a little boat, and floated down the
river Kurka, until he reached a district occupied by three families
who were at war with each other. The personal appearance of
the supernatural youth so impressed these warlike chiefs that they
forgot their enmities, and hailed him as their ruler. The town of
0-to-le [Odoli] was chosen as his capital, and from that day his
people waxed fat and kicked against their oppressors, the Chinese.”
The home of the Manchius w’as, as this legend shows, on the
north side of the Ever-WTiite Mountains, in the vaUey of the
Hurka. From beyond these mormtains was to roll upon China and
Corea another avalanche of invasion. Beginning to be restless in the
fourteenth century, they had, in the sixteenth, consolidated so many
tribes, and were so strong in men and horses, that they openly de-
fled the Chinese. The formidable expeditions of Li-j-u-sun, prerious
to the Japanese invasion of Corea, kept them at bay for a time, but
the immense expenditure of life and treasure required to fight the
Japanese, drained the resources of the ISIing emperoi's, while their
attention being drawn away from the north, the Manchiu hordes
massed their forces and grew daily in wealth, numbers, discipline,
and courage. The invasion of Cho-sen by the Japanese vetei-ans was
one of the causes of the weakness and fall of the IMing dynasty.
To repress the rising power in the north, and to smother the
life of the young nation, the Peking government resorted to bar-
barous cruelties and stem coercion, in which bloodshed was con-
tinual. Unable to protect the eastern border of Liao Tung, the entire
popidation of three hundi’ed thousand soiils, dwelling in four
cities and many villages, were removed westward and resettled on
new lands. Fortresses were planned, but not finished, in the de-
serted land, to keep back the restless cavalry raidei-s from the north.
Thus the formdation of the neutral strip of fifty miles was uncon-
sciously laid, and ten thousand square miles of fair and fertile
land, west of the Talu, was abandoned to the wolf and tiger.
MTiat it soon became, it has remained imtil yesterday — a howling
wilderness. (See map on page 155.)
Unable to meet these cotton-annored raiders in the field, the
Ming emperor ordered, and in 1615 consmnmated, the assassina-
tion of their king. This exasperated all the Manchiu tribes to
vengeance, and hostilities on a large scale at once began by a
southwest movement into Liao Tung.
THE ISSACHAR OF EASTERN ASIAl.
157
China had now again to face an invasion greater than the Jap-
anese, for this time a whole nation was behind it. Calling on
her vassal, the Eastern Kingdom, to send an army of twenty thou-
sand men, she ordered them to join the imperial army at Hing-
king. This city, now called Yen-den, lies about seventy miles
west of the Yalu River, near the 42d parallel, just beyond what was
“ the neutral strip,” and inside the palisades erected later. In
the battle, which ensued, the Coreans first faced the Manchius.
Tlie imperial legions were beaten, and the Coreans, seeing which
way the rictorj- would finally turn, deserted from the Chinese side
to that of their enemy. This was in 1619.
The llanchiu general sent back some of the ninaway Coreans
to their king, intimating that, though the Coreans were acting
gi-atefully in assisting the Chinese, who had formerly helped the
Coreans against the Japanese, yet it might hereafter be better to
remain neutral. So far from taking any notice of this letter, the
government at Seoul allowed the king’s subjects to cross the Y'alu
and assist the people of Liao Tung against the Manchius, who
were making Hing-king their capital. At the same time the Chi-
nese commander was permitted to enter Corea, and thence to
make expeditions against the Manchius, by which they inflicted
gi’eat damage upon the enemy. This continued until the winter
of 1827, when the Manchius, haring lost all patience with Corea,
jjrepared to invade the peninsula. Compelling two refugees to
act as their guides, they crossed the frozen Yalu in foui- divisions,
in February’, and at once attacked the Chinese army, which was
defeated, and retreated into Liao Tung. They then began the
march to Seoul. Ai-chiu was the first town taken, and then, after
crossing the Ching-chong River, followed in succession the cities
lining the high road to Ping-an. Thence, over the Tatong River,
they pressed on to Seoul, the Coreans everywhere flying before them.
Thousands of dwellings and magazines of provisions were given to
the flames, and their trail was one of blood and ashes. Among the
slain were two Hollanders, who were captives in the country.
Heretofore a line of strong palisades had separated Corea from
Manchuria, on the north, but large portions of it were destroyed
at this time in the constant forays along the border. Those parts
which stood yet intact were often seen by travellers along the
^lanchurian side as late as toward the end of the last centiu-y.
Since then this wooden wall, a pigmy imitation of China’s colossal
embargo in masonry, has gradually fallen into decay.
158
COREA.
The Manchius invested Seoul and began its siege in earnest.
The queen and ladies of the court had already been sent to
Kang-wa Island. The king, to avoid further shedding of blood,
sent tribute offerings to the invaders, and concluded a treaty of
peace by which Cho-sen again exchanged masters, the king not
only acknowledging from the Manchiu sovereign the right of in-
vestiture, hut also direct authority over his person, that is, the
relation of master and subject.
The Coreans now waited to see whether events were hkely to
modify their new relations, so reluctantly entered into, for the Chi-
nese were far from beaten as yet. "WTien free from the presence
of the invading army the courage of the ministers rose, and by
their advice the king, by gradual encroachments and neglect, an-
nulled the treaty.
No sooner were the Manchius able to spare their forces for the
purpose, than, turning from China, they marched into Corea, one
hundred thousand strong, weU supplied with provisions and bag-
gage-wagons. Entering the peninsula, both at Ai-chiu and by the
northern pass, they reached Seoul, and, after severe fighting, en-
tered it. Being now provided with cannon and boats, they took
Kang-wa, into which all the royal, and many of the noble, ladies
had fled for safety.
The king now came to terms, and made a treaty in Februar}',
1637, in which he utterly renounced his allegiance to the !Ming
emperor, agreed to give his two sons as hostages, promised to
send an annual embassy, with tribute, to the Manchiu coui*t, and
to establish a market at the Border Gate, in Liao Tung. These
covenants were ratified by the solemn ceremonial of the king, his
sons and his ministers confessing their crimes and making “ kow-
tow ” (bo^ving nine times to the earth). Tartar and Corean wor-
shipped together before Heaven, and the altar erected to Heaven’s
honor. A memorial stone, erected near this sacred place, com-
memorates the clemency of the Manchiu conqueror.
In obedience to the orders of their new mastei’s, the Coreans
despatched ships, loaded with grain, to feed the armies operating
against Peking, and sent a small force beyond the Tumen to chas-
tise a tribe that had rebelled against their conquerors. A picked
body of their matchlock men was also admitted into the ^lanchiu
service.
After the evacuation of Corea, the victors marched into China,
where bloody, civil war was afready raging. The imperial army
THE ISSACHAR OF EASTERN ASIA.
159
was badly beaten by the rebels headed by the usurper Li-tse-
ching. The Manchius joined their forces with the Imperialists,
and defeated the rebels, and then demanded the price of their
\ictoiy. Entering Peking, they proclaimed the downfall of the
house of Ming. The Tatar (vassal) was now a “Tartar.” The
son of their late king was set upon the dragon-throne and pro-
claimed the Whang Ti, the Son of Heaven, and the Lord of the
Middle Kingdom and all her vassals. The following tribute was
fixed for ChO-sen to pay annually :
100 ounces of gold, 1,000 oimces of silver, 10,000 bags of rice,
2.000 pieces of silk, 300 pieces of linen, 10,000 pieces of cotton
cloth, 400 pieces of hemp cloth, 100 pieces of fine hemp cloth,
10.000 rolls (fifty sheets each) of lai’ge paper, 1,000 rolls small
sized paper, 2,000 knives (good quality), 1,000 ox-horns, 40 de-
corated mats, 200 pounds of dye-wood, 10 boxes of pepper, 100
tiger skins, 100 deer skins, 400 beaver skins, 200 skins of blue
(musk ?) rats.
WTien, as it happened the verj" next year, the sho-gun of Japan
demanded an increase of tribute to be paid in Yedo, the com’t of
Seoiil plead in excuse their wasted resources consequent upon the
war with the Manchius, and their heavy burdens newly laid upon
them. Their excuse was accepted.
Twice, within a single generation, had the little peninsula been
devastated by two mighty invasions that ate up the land. Between
the mountaineers of the north, and “ the brigands ” from over the
sea, Corea was left the Lssachar among nations. The once strong
ass couched down between two bui'dens. “And he saw that the
rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant, and bowed his
shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.”
The Manchius, being of different stock and blood from the
Chinese, yet imposed their dress and method of w’earing the hair
upon the millions of Chinese people, but here their tjuanny
seemed to stop. Hitherto, the Chinese and Corean method of
rolling the hair in a knot or ball, on the top of the head, had been
the fashion for ages. Ajs a sign of loyalty to the new nilers, all
people in the Middle Kingdom were compelled to shave the fore-
front of the head and allow their hair to grow in a queue, or pig-
tail, behind on their back. At first they resisted, and much blood
was shed before all submitted ; but, at length, the once odious
mark of savagery and foreign conquest became the national fash-
ion, and the Chinaman’s pride at home and abroad. Even in
160
COREA.
foreign lands, they cling to this mark of their loyalty as to life
and country. The object of the recent queue-cutting plots, fo-
mented by the jiolitical, secret societies of China, is to insult the
imperial family at Peking by robbing the Chjnese of their loyal
appendage, and the special sign of the Tartar dominion.
As a special favor to the Coreans who first submitted to the
new masters of Kathay, they were spared the infliction of the
queue, and allowed to dress their hair in the ancient style.
The Corean king hastened to send congratulations to the em-
peror, Shun Chi, which ingratiated him stiU more in favor at
Peking. In 1C50 a captive Corean maid, taken prisoner in their
first invasion, became sixth lady in rank in the imperial house-
hold. Through her influence her father, the ambassador, obtained
a considerable diminution of the annual tribute, fixed upon in the
terms of capitulation in 1G37. In 1C43, one-third of this tribute
had been remitted, so that, by this last reduction, in 1650, the tax
upon Corean loyalty was indeed \ery slight. Indeed it has long
been considered by the Peking government that the Coreans get
about as much as they give, and the embassy is one of ceremony
rather than of tribute-bringing. Their offering is rather a per-
centage paid for license to trade, than a sjunbol of vassalage.
Nevertheless, the Coreans of the seventeenth and eighteenth cen-
turies found out, to their cost, that any lack of due deference
was an expensive item of freedom. Every jot and tittle, or tithe
of the mint or anise of etiquette, was exacted by the proud Idau-
chius. In 1695, the king of Cho-sen was fined ten thousand ounces
of silver for the omission of some punctilio of vassalage. At the
investitru’e of each sovereign in Seoul, two grandees were sent
from Peking to confer the patent of royalty. The little bill for
this costly favor was about ten thousand taels, or dollars, in silver.
The Coreans also erected, near- one of the gates of Seoul, a temple,
which still stands, in honor of the Manchius general commanding
the invasion, and to whom, to this day, they pay semi-divine hon-
ors. Yet to encourage patriotism it was permitted, by royal de-
cree, to the descendants of the minister who refused, at the Yalu
River, to allow the Manchius to cross, and who thereby lost hiL
life, to erect to his memory a monumental gate, a mark of high
honor only rarely gi’anted.
The Jesuits at Peking succeeded in ingi-atiating themselves
with the conquerors, and Shun-chi, the emperor, was a pupil of
Adam Schall, a German Jesuit, who became President of the Board
THE ISSACHAR OF EASTERN ASLA
161
11
Styles of Hair-diessing in Cotei.
162
COREA.
of Mathematicians. Nevertheless, in the troubles preceding the
peace, many upright men lost their lives, and himdreds of schol-
ars who hated the Tatar conquerors of their beloved China — as
the Christians of Constantinople hated the Turks — fled to Corea
and Japan, confen’ing great literary influence and benefit. In
both countries their presence greatly stimulated the critical study
of Chinese literature. With the I\Iito and Yedo scholars in Japan,
they assisted to promote the revival of learning, so long neglected
dm-ing the civil wars. At Nagasaki, a Chinese colony of merchants,
and trade between the two countries, were established, after the
last hope of restoring the Mings had been extinguished in Koku-
senya (Coxinga), who also di-ove the Dutch from Fonnosa. This
exodus of scholars was somewhat like the dispersion of the Greek
scholars through Evu’ope after the fall of the Byzantine empire.
To the Jesuits in Peking, who were mostly Frenchmen, belongs
the credit of beginning that whole system of modem culture, by
which modem science and Christianity are yet to transform the
Chinese mind, and recast the ideas of this mighty people con-
cerning natmre and Deity. They now began to make known in
Europe much valuable information about China and her outlying
tributary states. They sent home a map of Corea — the first seen
in Europe. Imperfect, though it was, it made the hemiit land
more than a mere name. In “ China Ulustrata,” written by the
Jesuit Martini, and published in 1649, in Amsterdam — the city of
printing presses and the Leipsic of that day — there is a map of
Corea. The same industrious scholar "WTote, in Latin, a book, en-
titled “ De Bello inter Tartaros et Seniensis ” (On the War between
the Manchius and the Chinese), which was issued at Antwei’p in
1654, and in Amsterdam in 1661. It was also translated into
English, French, and Spanish, the editions being issued at Lon-
don, Donay, and Madrid. The English title is “ Bellum Tartari-
cum ; or, the Conquest of the Great and Most Renowned Empire
of China by the Invasion of the [Manchiu] Tartars,” London, 1654,
octavo.
The Dutch had long tried to get a hand in the trade of China,
and, in 1604, 1622, and 1653, had sent fleets of trading vessels to
Chinese ports, but were in eveiy instance refused. The Russians,
however, were first allowed to trade on the northern frontier of
China before the same pri\ileges were granted to other Europeans.
The Cossacks, when they first crossed the Ural Mountains, in 1579,
with their faces set toward the Pacific, never ceased their advance
THE ISSACHAR OF EASTERN ASIA.
163
till they had added to the Czar’s domain a portion of the earth’s
sui*face as large as the United States, and half of Europe. Once on
the steppes, there began that long duel between Cossack and Tar-
tar, which never ended imtil the boundaries of Russia touched
those of Corea, Japan, and British America. Cossacks discovered,
explored, conquered, and settled this triple-zoned region of frozen
moss, forest land and fertile soil, bringing over six million square
miles of territory imder the wings of the double-headed eagle.
They brought reports of Corea to Russia, and it was from Russian
sources that Sir John Campbell obtained the substance of his
“Commercial Historj' of Chorea and Japan” in his voyages and
travels, printed in London, 1771.
In 1645, a party of Japanese traversed Cho-sen from Ai-chiu to
Fusan, the Dan and Beersheba of the peninsula. Retm-ning fiom
theii’ travels, one of them ■wrote a book called the “ Romance of
Corea” (Cho-sen Monogatari). Takeuchi Tosacmon and his son,
Tozo, and shipmaster Kunida HisosaCmon, on April 26, 1645, left
the port of Mikuni in the province of Echizen — the same place to
which the first native of Corea is said to have reached Japan in
the legendary period. With three large junks, whose crews num-
bered fifty-eight men, they set sail for the north on a trading voy-
age. Oft' the island of Sado a fearful stonn broke upon them,
which, after fifteen days, drove them on the moimtain coast of
Tartarj’, where they landed. May 12th, to refit and get fresh water.
At first the people treated them peacefull}', trading oflf their gin-
seng for the mke, or rice-beer, of the Japanese. Later on, the
Japanese were attacked by the natives, and twenty -five of their
number slain. The remainder were taken to Peking, where they
remained until the winter of 1646. Honorably acqmtted of all
blame, they were sent homew'ard, into the Eastern Kingdom, under
safe conduct of the Chinese emperor Shim-chi. They began the
journey December 18th, and, crossing the snow-covered mountains
and frozen rivers of Liao Timg, reached Seoul, after twenty-eight
days travel, February 3, 1647.
The Japanese were enteriaiued in magnificent style in one of the
royal houses with banquets, numerous serv-ants, presents, and the at-
tendance of an officer, named Kau-shun, who took them around the
city and show'ed them the sights. The paintings on the palace walls,
the tiger-skin rugs, the libraries of handsomely bound books, the
festivities of New Year’s day, the evergreen trees and fine scenery,
were aU novel and pleasing to the Japanese, but still they longed
164
COREA.
to reach home. Leaving Seoul, February 12th, they passed through
a large city, where, at sunset and sunrise, they heard the trum-
peters caU the laborers to begin and cease work. They noticed
that the official class inscribed on their walls the names and dates
of reign and death of the royal line from the founder of the
d;^Tiasty to the father of the ruling sovereign. This seiwed as an ob-
ject lesson in histoiy for the young. The merchants kept in their
houses a pictui’e of the famous Tao-jo-kung, who, by skill in trade,
accumulated fortunes only to spend them among his friends. On
February 21st, they passed through Shang-shen (or Shang-chiu ?),
where the Japanese gained a great -sictoiy.
In passing along the Nak-tong River, they witnessed the an-
nual trial of archeiy for the military examinations. The tai'gets
were straw mannikins, set up on boats, in the middle of the river.
On March 6th they reached Fusan. The Japanese settlement,
called Nippon-machi, or Japan Street, was outside the gates of
the town, a guard-house being kept up to keep the Japanese
away. Only twice a year, on August 15th and 16th, were they
allowed to leave their quarters to visit a temjjle in the town. The
Coreans, however, were free to enter the Japanese concession to
^’isit or trade. The waifs were taken into the house of the daimio
of Tsushima, and glad, indeed, were they to talk with a fellow
countrj’man. Sailing to Tsushima, they Avere able there to get
Japanese clothes, and, on July 19th, they reached Ozaka, and
finally their homes in Echizen. One of their nvunber wrote out
an account of his adventui-es.
Among other interesting facts, he states that he saw, hanging
in the palace at Peking, a portrait of Yoshitsune, the Japanese
hero, who, as some of his countrymen believe, fled the country
and, landing in Manchmia, became the mighty wanior Genghis
Khan. Whether mistaken or not, the note of the Japanese is in-
teresting.
]\L*. Leon Pages, in his “ Histoire de la Religion Chretienne
au Japon,” says that these men referred to above foimd estab-
lished in the capital a Japanese commercial factoiy, but with the
very severe restrictions similar to those imposed upon the Hollan-
ders at Deshima. This is evidently a mistake. There was no trad-
ing mart in the capital, but there was, and had been, one at
Fusan, which stiU exists in most flourishing condition.
The Manchius, from the first, showed themselves “ the most
improvable race in Asia.” In 1707, under the patronage of the
THE ISSACHAR OP EASTERN ASIA.
165
renowned emperor Kang Hi, the Jesuits in Peking began their
great geographical enterprise — the survey of the Chinese Empii-e,
including the outhdng vassal kingdoms. From the king’s palace,
at Seoul,. Kang Hi’s envoy obtained a map of Corea, which was re-
duced, drawn, and sent to Europe to be engi'aved and piinted.
From this original, most of the maps and supposed Corean names
in books, published since that time, have been copied. Having
no Corean interpreter at hand, the Jesuit cartographers gave the
Chinese sounds of the characters which represent the local names.
Hence the discrepancies between this map and the reports of the
Dutch, Japanese, French, and American ti’aveUers, who give the
vernacular pronunciation. To French genius and labor, from first
to last, we owe most of what is known in Europe concerning the
secluded nation. The Jesuits’ map is accurate as regards the lati-
tude and longitude of many places, but lacking in true coast lines.
"MTiile making their surveys, the party of missionaries, whose
assignment of the work was to Eastern Manchuria, caught some-
thing like a Pisgah glimpse of the coxmtry which, before a century
elapsed, was to become a land of promise to French Christianity. In
1709, as they looked across the Ttunen River, they wrote : “ It was a
new sight to us after we had crossed so many forests, and coasted
so many frightful moimtains to find ourselves on the banks of the
166
COREA,
river Tmnen-ula, with nothing but woods and wild beasts on one
side, while the other presented to our view all that art and labor
could produce in the best cultivated kingdoms. We there saw
walled cities, and placing our instruments on the neighboring
heights, geometrically determined the location of four of them,
which bounded Korea on the north.” The four towns seen by
the Jesuit surveyors were Kion-wen, On-son, and possibly Kion-
fun and Chon-shon.
The Coreans could not imderstand the Tartar or Chinese com-
panions of the Frenchmen, but, at Him-chun, they found interpre-
ters, who told them the names of the Corean towns. The French
priests were exceedingly eager and anxious to cross the river, and
enter the land that seemed like the enchanted castle of Thomrose,
but, being forbidden by the emperor’s orders, they reluctantly
turned their backs upon the smiling cities.
This was the picture of the northern border in 1707, before it
was desolated, as it aftei"ward was, so that the Russians might not
be tempted to cross over. At Him-chun, on the !Manchiu, and
Kion-wen, on the Corean side of the river, once a year, alternately,
that is, once in two years, at each place, a fair was held up to
1860, where the Coreans and Chinese merchants exchanged goods.
The lively traffic lasted only half a day, when the nationals of
either countiy were ordered over the border, and laggards were
hastened at the spear’s point. Any foreigner, INlanchiu, Chinese,
or even Corean suspected of being an alien, was, if found on the
south side of the Tumen, at once put to death without shrift or
pity. Thus the only gate of parley wth the outside world on Co-
rea’s northern frontier resembled an embrasure or a muzzle.
When at last the Cossack lance flashed, and the Russian school-
house rose, and the church spire glittered with steady radiance
beyond the Tumen, this gateway became the terminus of that
‘‘underground railroad,” through which the Corean slave reached
his Canada beyond, or the Corean Chidstian sought freedom from
torture and dungeons and death.
CHAPTER XXII.
THE DUTCHMEN IN EXILE.
The old saw which tells us that “truth is stranger than fic-
tion ” receives many a new and unexpected confirmation when-
ever a traveller into strange countries comes back to tell his tale.
Marco Polo was denominated “ Signor Milliano ” (Lord Millions)
by his incredulous hearers, because, in sj^eaking of China, he very
properly used this lofty numeral so frequently in his narratives.
Mendez Pinto, though speaking truthfully of Japan’s wonders,
was dubbed by a pun on his Christian name, the “Mendacious,”
because he told what were thought to be very unchristian stories.
In our own day, when Paul Du Chaillu came back from the
African wilds and told of the gorilla which walked upright like a
man, and could dent a gun-barrel with his teeth, most people be-
heved, as a college professor of belles lettres, dropping elegant
words for the nonce, once stated, that “he lied hke the mischief.”
"SMien lo ! the once mythic gorillas have come as live guests at
Berlin and Philadelphia, while their skeletons are commonplaces
in our museums. Even Stanley’s African discoveries were, at first,
discredited.
The first European travellers in Corea, who lived to teU their
tale at home, met the same fate as Polo, Pinto, Du Chaillu, and
Stanley. The narratives were long doubted, and by some set down
as pure fiction. Like the Indian braves that hsten to Red Cloud
and Spotted Tail, who, in the lodges of the plains, recount the
wonders of "Washington and civilization, the hearers are sure that
they have taken “bad medicine.” Later reports or personal ex-
perience, however, corroborate the first accounts, and by the very
commonplaceness of simple truth the first reports are robbed ahke
of novelty and suspicion.
The first known entrance of any number of Europeans into
Corea was that of Hollanders, belonging to the crew of the Dutch
ship HoUandra, which was driven ashore in 1627. In those days
168
COREA.
the Dutch were pushing their adventurous progress in the east-
ern seas as well as on the American waters. They had forts,
trading settlements, or prosperous cities in Java, Sumatra, the
Spice Islands, Formosa, and the ports of Southern Japan. The
shores of these archipelagoes and continents being then little
kno\\m, and slightly suiweyed, shipwrecks were very frequent.
The profits of a prosperous voyage usually repaid all losses of
ships, though it is estimated that three out of five were lost. The
passage between China and Japan and up the seas south of Corea,
has, from ancient times, been difficult, even to a Chinese proverb.
A big, blue-eyed, red-bearded, robust Dutchman, named John
WetteiTee, whose native town was Rip, in North Holland, volun-
teered on board the Dutch ship HoUandra in 1626, in order to
get to Japan. In that Avonderful country, during the previous
seventeen years, his feUow-coimtrj’men had been trading and
making rich fortvmes, occasionally fighting on the seas with the
Portuguese and other buccaneers of the period.
The good shijj, after a long voyage aroimd the Cape of Good
Hoj^e, and through the Indian and Chinese Seas, was almost in
sight of Japan. Coasting along the Corean shores, John
Wetterree and some companions went ashore to get water, and
there were captured by the natives. The Coreans were evidently
quite Avilling to have such a man at hand, for use rather than orna-
ment. After the Japanese inA'asions a spasm of enterprise in the
way of fortification, ai'chitectm-e, and dcA'elopment of their mili-
tary' resources possessed them, and to have a big-nosed and red-
bearded foreigner, a genuine “Nam-ban,” or barbarian of the
south, was a jjrize. To both Coreans and Japanese, the Europeans,
as coming in ships from the southward, were called “ Southern-
ers,” or “Southern savages.” Later on, after learning new les-
sons in geography, they called them “Westerners,” or “Bar-
barians from the West.”
Like the black potentates of Africa, who like to possess a white
man, believing him to be a “spirit,” or a New Zealand chief, who
values the presence of a “ paheka Maori” (Englishman), the Co-
reans of that day considered their western “ devil ” a piece of j>rop-
erty w'orth many tiger skins. It may be remembered — and the
Coreans may have borrowed the idea thence — that the Japanese,
then beginning their hermit policy, had also a white foreigner in
durance for their benefit. This was the Englishman Will Adams,
who had been a pilot on a Dutch ship that sailed from the same
THE DUTCHMEN IN EXILE.
169
Texel River. Perhaps the boy Wetterree had seen and talked
vrith the doughty Briton on the wharves of the Dutch port.
Adams served the Japanese as interpreter, state adviser, ship ar-
chitect, mathematician, and in various useful ways, but was never
allowed to leave Japan. It is highly probable that the ambassadors
from Seoul, while in Yedo, saw Will Adams, since he spent much
of his time in public among the officials and people, living there
until May, 1620.
The magnates of Seoul probably desired to have a like facto-
tum, and this explains why Wetterree was treated with kindness
and comparative honor, though kept as a prisoner. When the
Manchius invaded Corea, in 1635, his two companions were killed
in the wars, and WetteiTee was left alone. Having no one with
whom he could converse, he had almost forgotten his native
speech, when after twenty-seven years of exile, in the fifty-ninth
year of his age, he met some of his feUow-HoUanders and acted as
interpreter to the Coreans, imder the following circumstances :
In January’, 1653, the Dutch ship Spar\s’ehr (Sparrowhawk)
left Texel Island, bound for Nagasaki. Among the crew was
Hencbik Hamel, the supercargo, who afterward became the his-
torian of their adventures. After nearly five months’ voyage, they
reached Bata^'ia, Jime 1st, and Formosa July 16th. From this
island they steered for Japan, fortimately meeting no “ ■\\’ild Chi-
nese ” or pirates on their course. Off Quelpart Island, a dreadful
storm arose, and, being close on a lee shore with death staring
all in the face, the cajitain ordered them “ to cut down the mast
and go to their prayers. ” The sliip went to pieces, but thirty-six
out of the sixty-four men composing the crew reached the shore
alive. The local magistrate, an elder of some seventy years of age,
who knew a httle Dutch, met them with his retainers, and learned
their plight, who they were, and whence they came. The Hollanders
were first refreshed M-ith rice-water. The Coreans then collected
the pieces of the broken ship, and all they could get from the
hulk, and burned them for the sake of the metak One of the iron
articles happened to be a loaded cannon, which went off during
the firing. The liquor casks were speedily emptied into the gullets
of the wreckers, and the result was a very noisy set of heathen.
The old leader, however, evidently determined to draw the line
between virtue and vice somewhere. He had several of the thieves
seized and spanked on the spot, while others were bambooed on
the soles of their feet, one so severely that his toes dropped off.
170
COREA.
On October 29th the survivors were brought by the officials
to be examined by the interpreter Wetterree. The huge noses,
the red beards and white faces were at once recognized by the
lone exile as belonging to his owm coimtrjTnen. Wetterree was
very “ rusty ” in his native language, after twenty-seven years’
nearly complete disuse, but in company with the new arrivals he
regained it aU in a month.
Of course, the first and last idea of the captives was how to
escape. The native fishing-smacks were frequently driven off to
Japan, which they knew must be almost in sight. One night they
made an attempt to reach the sea-shore. They at first thought
they were secui'e, when the dogs betrayed them by barking and
alarming the guards.
It is evident that the European body has an odor entirely dis-
tinct from a Mongolian. The Abbe Hue states that even when
travelling through Thibet and China, in disguise, the dogs con-
tinually barked at him and almost betrayed him, even at night. In
travelling, and especially when lining in the Japanese city of Fu-
kui, the winter had the same experience. In walking through the
city streets at night, even when many hundred yards off, the Jap-
anese dogs would start up barking and run toward him. This
occurred repeatedly, when scores of native pedestrians were not
noticed by the beasts. The French missionaries in Corea, even in
disguise, report the same facts.
The baffled Hollanders were caught and officially punished
after the fashion of the nursery, but so severely that some had to
keep their beds for a month, in order to heal their battered flanks.
Finally they were ordered to proceed to the capital, which the
Dutchmen caU Sior (Seoiil).
Hamel gives a few names of the places through which he
passed. These are in the pronunciation of the local dialect, and
written down in Dutch spelling. Most of them are recognizable
on the map, though the real sound is nearly lost in a quagmire of
Dutch letters, in which Hamel has attempted to note the quavers
and semi-demi-quavers of Corean enunciation. He writes Coerce
for Corea, and Tyocen-kocck for Cho-sen kokii, and is probably the
first European to mention Quelpai*t Island, on which the ship was
wrecked.
The first city on the mainland to which they came was Heynam
(Hai-nam), in the extreme southwest of ChuUa. This was about the
last of May. Thence they marched to Jeham, spending the night
THE DUTCHMEN IN EXILE.
171
at Na-diou (Nai-chiu). The gunner of the ship died at Je-ham, or
Je-ban. They passed through San-siang (Chan-shon), and came
to Tong-ap (Chon-wup ?), after crossing a high mountain, on the
top of which was the spacious fortress of H-pam San-siang. The
term “ San-siang,” used twice here, means a fortified stronghold
in the mountains, to which, in time of war, the neighboring villa-
gers may fly for refuge. Teyn (Tai-in), was the next place arrived
at, after w'hich, “having baited at the httle town of Kuniga”
(Kumku), they reached Khin-tyo (Chon-chiu), where the governor
of Chillado (Chulla do) resided. This city, though a himdred miles
from the sea, was veiy famous, and was a seat of great traffic.
After this, they came to the last town of the province, Jesan, and,
passing through Gimun and Jensan, reached Konsio (Kong-chiu),
the capital of Chung-chong pro-sdnce. They reached the border of
Kiung-kei by a rapid march, and, after crossing a wide river (the
Han), they traversed a league, and entered Sior (Seoul). They
computed the length of the journey at seventy-five leagues. This,
by a rough reckoning, is about the distance from Hainam to Seoul,
as may be seen from the map.
In the capital, as they had been along the road, the Dutchmen
were like wfild beasts on show. Crowds flocked to see the white-
faced and red-bearded foreigners. They must have appeared to
the natives as Punch looks to English children. The women were
even more anxious than the men to get a good look. Every one
was especially curious to see the Dutchmen drink, for it was gen-
erally beUeved that they tucked their noses up over their ears
when they drank. The size and prominence of the nasal organ of
a Caucasian first strikes a Turanian with awe and fear. Thou-
sands of people no doubt learned, for the first time, that the west-
ern “ de\'il8 ” were men after all, and ate decent food and not
earthworms and toads. Some of the women, so Hamel flattered
himself, even went so far as to admire the fair complexions and
ruddy cheeks of the Dutchmen. At the palace, the king (To-
chong, who reigned from 1G48 to 1658) improved the opportunity
for a little fun. It was too good a show not to see how the ani-
mals could perform. The Dutchmen laughed, sang, danced, leaped,
and went through miscellaneous performances for His Majesty’s
benefit. For this they were rewarded with choice drink and
refreshments. They were then assigned to the body-guard of
the king as petty officers, and an allowance of rice was set apart
for their maintenance. Chinese and Dutchmen drilled and com-
172
COREA.
manded the palace troops, who were evidently the flower of the
army. During their residence at the capital the Hollanders
learned many things about the country and people, and began to
be able to talk in the “ Coresian ” language.
The ignorance and naiTOwness of the Coreans were almost in-
credible. They could not believe what the captives told them of
the size of the earth. “ How could it be possible,” said they, in
sneering incredulity, “ that the sun can shine on aU the many
countries you tell us of at once?” Thinking the foreigners told
exaggerated lies, they fancied that the “ countries ” were only
counties and the “ cities ” -sdUages. To them Corea was very near
the centre of the earth, which was China.
The cold was very severe. In November the river was frozen
over, and thi'ee hundred loaded horses passed over it on the ice.
After they had been in Seoul thi’ee years, the “Tartar” (!Han-
chiu) ambassador \isited Seoul, but before his arrival the captives
were sent away to a fort, distant six or seven leagues, to be kept
until the ambassador left, which he did in March. This fort stood
on a mountain, called Numma, which required three hours to
ascend. In time of war the king sought shelter within it, and it
was kept provisioned for tkree years. Hamel does not state why
he and his companions were sent away, but it was probably to con-
ceal the fact that foreigners were drilling the royal troops. The
susjiicions of the new i-ulers at Peking were easily roused.
When the Manchiu envoy was about to leave Seoul, some of
the prisoners determined to put in execution a plan of escape.
They put on Dutch clothes, under their Corean dress, and awaited
theii’ opportimity. As the envoy was on the road about to depart,
some of them seized the bridle of his horse, and displaying their
Dutch clothing, begged him to take them to Peking. The plan
ended in failure. The Dutchmen were seized and thrown into
prison. Nothing more was ever heard of them, and it was believed
by theii’ companions that they had been put to death. This was
in March.
In June there was another shipwreck off" Quelpart Island, and
Wetterree being now too old to make the joui’ney, three of the
Hollanders were sent to act as intei’preters. Hamel does not give
us the result of their mission.
The Manchiu ambassador came again to Seoul in August.
The nobles m’ged the king to put the Hollanders to death, and
have no more trouble with them. His Majesty refused, but sent
THE DUTCHMEN IN EXILE.
173
them back into ChiiUa, allomag them each fifty povmds of rice a
month for their support.
They set out from Seoul in March, 1657, on horseback, passing
thi'ough the same towns as on their former journey. Reaching
the castle-city of “ Diu-siong,” they were joined by their thi*ee
comrades sent to investigate the ■WTeck at Quelpart, which made
their number thirty-three. Their chief occupation was that of
keeping the castle and official residence in order — an easy and
congenial duty for the neat and order-loving Dutchmen.
Hamel learned many of the ideas of the natives. They repre-
sented their country as in the form of a long square, “ in shape like
a pLaying-card ” — perhaps the Dutchmen had a pack with them to
beguile the tedium of their exUe. Certain it is that they still kept
the arms and flag of Orange, to be used again.
The exiles were not treated harshly, though in one case, after
a change of masters, the new magistrate “ afflicted them with
fresh crosses.” This “rotation in office ” was e\’idently on account
of the change on the throne. Yo-chong ceased to reign in 1658,
and “ a new king arose who knew not Joseph.” Yen-chong suc-
ceeded his father, reigning from 1658 to 1676.
Two large comets appearing in the sky with their tails toward
each other, frightened the Coreans, and created intense alarm.
The army was ordered out, the guards were doubled, and no fires
were allowed to be kindled along the coast, lest they might attract
or guide invaders or a hostile force. In the last few decades,
comets had appeared, said the Coreans, and in each case they had
presaged war. In the first, the Japanese invasions from the east,
and, in the second, the Manchius from the west. They anxiously
asked the Dutchmen how comets were regarded in Holland, and
probably received some new ideas in astronomy. No war, how-
ever, followed, and the innocent comets gradually shi-iveUed up
out of sight, without shaking out of their fiery hair either pesti-
lence or war.
The Dutchmen saw many whales blowing off the coast, and in
December shoals of herring rushed by, keeping up an increasing
stream of life imtil Januarj', when it slackened, and in ^larch
ceased. The whales made sad havoc in these shoals, gorging
themselves on the small fry. These are the herring which arrive
off the coast of MTiang-hai, and feed on the banks and shoals dur-
ing the season. The catching of them affords lucrative employ-
ment to hundreds of junks from North China.
174
COREA.
From their observations, the Dutchmen argued — one hundred
and twenty years before La Perouse demonstrated the fact — that
there must be a strait north of Corea, connecting with the Arctic
Ocean, like that of Waigats (now called the Strait of Kara), be-
tween Nova Zemla and the island lying off the northw’estem end
of Kussia. They thus conjectured the existence of the Straits of
Tartar^", west of Saghalin, before they appeared on any European
map. Waigats w^as discovered by the Englishman, Stephen Bur-
roughs, who had been sent out by the Muscovy company to find a
northwest passage to China. Their mention of it shows that thej'
w'ere familiar with the jjrogress of polar research, since it was dis-
covered in 1556, only seven years before they left Holland. It
had even at that time, how'ever, become a famous himting-place
for whalers and hen-ing fishers.
These marine studies of the captives, coupled with the fact that
they had before attempted to escape, may have aroused the suspi-
cions of the government. In February, 1663, by ordeis from Seoul,
they W'ere separated and put in three different tow'ns. Twelve
w'ent to “ Saysiano,” five to Siun-schien, and five to Namman, their
numbers being now reduced to twenty-tw'o. Two of these places
are easily found on the Japanese majj. During aU the yeai's of
their captivity, they seem not to have known anrthing of the Jap-
anese at Fusan, nor the latter of them.
Though thus scattered, the men w'ere occasionally allowed to
visit each other, which they did, enjoying each other’s society,
sweetened with j3ipes and tobacco, and Hamel devouth' adds that
“ it was a gi’eat mercy of God that they enjoyed good health.” A
new’ governor having been appointed over them, evidently was pos-
sessed with the idea of testing the skill of the beai'ded foreigners,
with a rtew of improving the art productions of the country. He
set the Dutchmen to work at moulding clay — perhaps to have some
pottery and tiles after Dutch patterns, and the Delft system of
illustrating the Bible at the fireplace. This was so manifestly
against the national policy of making no improvements on any-
thing, that the poor governor lost his place and suffered punish-
ment. The spies informed on him to the king. An explosion of
power took place, the ex-govemor received ninety strokes on his
shin-bones, and was disgraced from rank and office. The quon-
dam improvers of the ceramic art of Corea were again set to work
at pulling up grass and other menial duties about the official resi-
dence.
THE DUTCHMEN IN EXILE.
175
As the years passed on, the poor exiles were in pitiful straits.
Their clothing had been worn to tatters, and they were reduced
even to beggary. They were accustomed to go off in companies
to seek alms of the people, for two or thi-ee weeks at a time.
Those left at home, dui-ing these trips, worked at various odd jobs
to earn a pittance, especially at making aiTows. The next year,
1664, was somewhat easier for them, their overseer being kind
and gentle ; but, in 1665, the homesick fellows tried hard to
escape. In 1666, they lost their benefactor, the good governor.
Now came the time for flight.
All possible preparations were made, in the way of hoarding
provisions, getting fresh water ready, and studying well the place
of exit. They waited for the sickness or absence of their overseer,
to slacken the vigilance of their guards.
Li the latter part of August, or early in September, 1667, as the
fourteenth year of their captivity was lU’awing to a close, the gov-
ernor fell sick. The Dutchmen, taking time by the forelock, im-
mediately, as soon as dai’k, on the night of September 4th, climbed
the city wall, and reaching the seaside succeeded, after some par-
leying, in getting a boat. “A Corean, bhnded by the offer of
double the value of it,” sold them his fishing craft. They returned
again to the city. At night they crept along the city wall, and
this time the dogs were asleep, absent, or to windward, though
the Dutchmen’s hearts were in their mouths all the time. They
earned pots of rice and water, and that darling of a Dutchman —
the frying-pan. Noiselessly they slipped the wood and stone
anchor, and glided out past the junks and boats in the harbor,
none of the crews waking from their mats.
They steered directly southeast, and on the 6th foimd them-
selves in a current off the Goto Islands. They succeeded in land-
ing, and cooked some food. Not long after, some aimed natives
(probably from the lingering influence of the comet) approached
them cautiously, as the Japanese feared they were Coreans, and
foreiminers of an invading band.
Hamel at once pulled out their flag, having the arms and colors
of the Prince of Orange. SuiTendering themselves, they stated their
history, and condition, and their desire of getting home. The
Japanese were kind, “ but made no return for the gifts ” of the
Dutchmen. They finally got to Nagasaki in Japanese junks, and
met their countrymen at Deshima. The annual ship from Batavia
was then just about to retuim, and in the nick of time the waifs
176
COREA.
got on board, reached Bata-vda November 20th, sailed for Holland
December 28th, and on July 20, 1668, stepped ashore at home.
Hamel, the supercargo of the ship, wrote a book on his return,
recounting his adventures in a simple and straightforward style.
It was written in Dutch and shortly after translated into French,
German, and Enghsh. Foiu- editions in Dutch are known. The
English version may be found in full in the Astley, and in the
Pinkeidon, Collections of Voyages and Travels.
The French translator indulges in skepticism concerning
Hamel’s naiTative, questioning especially his geographical state-
ments. Before a map of Corea, with the native sounds even but
approximated, it will be seen that Hamel’s story is a piece ot
dowm-ight unembroidered truth. It is indeed to be regretted that
this actual obseiwer of Corean life, people, and customs gave us so
little information concerning them.
The fate of the other sm-^-ivors of the Sj^arrowhawk crew was
never known. Perhaps it never will be learned, as it is not likely
that the Coreans would take any pains to mark the site of their
graves. Yet as the tomb of Will Adams was found in Japan, by a
reader of Hildi-eth’s book, so perhaps some inquii-ing foreigner in
Corea may discover the site of the gi-aves of these exiles, and mark
their resting-places.
Tliere is no improbability in supposing that other missing
vessels, previous to the second half of the nineteenth century,
shared the fate of the Sparrowhawk. The wrecks, burned for the
sake of the iron, would leave no trace ; while perhaps many ship-
wr-ecked men have pined in captivity, and dying lonely in a
strange land have been put in unmai’ked graves.
At this point, we bring to an end our sketch of the ancient
and mediaeval history of Corea. Until the introduction of Chris-
tianity into the peninsula, the hermit nation was uninfluenced by
any ideas which the best modem life claims as its own. As writh
the whole world, so with its tiny fraction Corea, the door of ancient
history shut, and the gate of modern history opened, when the
rehgion of Jesus moved the hearts and minds of men. We now
glance at the geography, pohtics, social life, and rehgion of the
Coreans ; after which we shall narrate the story of their national
life from the implanting of Christianity until their rivulet of his-
tory flowed into the stream of the world’s history.
II.
POLITICAL AND
SOCIAL
COREA.
POLITICAL AOT) SOCIAL COEEA.
CHAPTER XXIII.
THE EIGHT PROVINCES.
PING-AN, OR THE PACIFIC.
This province bears the not altogether appropriate name of
Peaceful Quiet. It is the border land of the kingdom, containing
what was for centui-ies the only acknowledged gate of entrance
and outlet to the one neighbor which Corea willingly acknowl-
edged as her superior. It contains, probably, the largest area of
any pro\Tnce, unless it be Ham-kiung. Its northern, and a great
part of its western, frontier is made by the Yalu River, called also
the Ap-nok, the former name refening to its sinuous course, mean-
ing “ dragon’s -windings,” and the latter after its deep green color.
The Yalu is the longest river in Corea. Its source is foimd
near the 40th parallel Flowing northwardly, for about eighty
miles, the stream forms the boundary between Ping-an and Ham-
kiung. Then, turning to the westward, it receives on the Manchu-
rian side twelve tributaries, which run down the gorges of the
Ever- White Mountains. Each of these streams is named, begin-
ning westwardly, after the numerals of arithmetic. The waters of
so many valleys on the west, as well as on the north and east,
emptying into the Yalu, make it, in spring and fall, a turbulent
stream, which sinuates hke the writhing of a dragon ; whence its
name. In the summer, its waters are beautifully clear, and blue
or green — the Coreans having no word to distinguish between
these two colors. It empties by thi’ee mouths into the Yellow
Sea, its deltas, or islands, being comjiletely submerged during the
melting of the snows. It is easily navigable for junks to the to-wn
of Chan-son, a noted trading place, sixty miles from the sea. The
180
COREA.
valley of the Yalu is extremely fertile, and well wooded, and the
scenery is superb. Its navigation was long interdicted to the Chi-
nese, but steamers and gmiboats have entered it, and access to the
fertile valley and the trade of the region will be gained by other
nations. The Tong-kia River drains the neutral strip.
The town nearest the frontier, and the gateway of the king-
dom, is Ai-chiu. It is situated on a hill overlooking the river, and
suiTOunded by a wall of light-colored stone. The annual embassy
always departed for its overland jomTiey to China through its
gates. Here also are the custom-house and ^'igilant guards, whose
chief business it was to scrutinize all persons entering or leaving
Corea by the high road, which traverses the town. A line of pa-
trols and guard-houses picketed the river along a length of over a
hundred miles.
Nevertheless, most of the French missionaries have entered
the mysterious peninsula through this loophole, disguising them-
selves as wood-cutters, crossing the Yalu River on the ice, creeping
through the water-drains in the gi'anite wall, and passing through
this town. Or they have been met by friends at appointed places
along the border, and thence have travelled to the capital
Thi'ough this exit also, Corea sent to Peking or Mukden the
waifs and sailors cast on her shores. A number of shipwrecked
Americans, after kind treatment at the hands of the Coreans, have
thus reached their homes by way of Mukden. This prosperous city,
having a population of over two himdred thousand souls, and
noted for its manufactm-es, especially in metal, is the capital of
the Chinese province of Shing-king, formerly Liao Tong. It is
suiTounded by a long wall pierced with eight gates, one of which
— that to the northeast — is called “the Corean Gate.” Niu-
chwang has also a “Corean Gate.”
Fifty miles beyond the Corean frontier is the “Border Gate”
(Pien-mun), at which there was a fair held three or fom times a
year, the chief markets being at the exit and return of the Corean
embassy to China. The value of the products here sold annually
averaged over five hundred thousand dollars. In the central apai't-
ment of a building inhabited at either end by Chinese and Corean
mandarins respectively, the customs-officers sat to collect taxes on
the things bartered. The Corean merchants were obliged to pay
“ bonus ” or tribute of about four himdred dollars to the manda-
rin of Fung-wang Chang, the nearest Chinese to^vn, who came in
person to open the gates of the building for the spring fair. For
THE EIGHT PROVINCES.
181
the privilege of the two autumn fairs, the Coreans were mulcted
but half the sum, as the gates were then opened by an underling
Manchiu oflSciai The winter fair was but of slight importance.
For the various Chinese goods, and European cottons, the Coreans
182
COREA.
bartered their furs, hides, gold dust, ginseng, and the mulberry
paper used by Chinese tailors for hnings, and for windows.
Ping-an has the reputation of being very rich in mineral and
metallic wealth. Gold and silver by report abound, but the na-
tives are prohibited by the government from working the mines.
The neutrality of the strip of territory, sixty miles wide and about
three hundred miles long, and drained by the Tong-kia River,
between Cho-sen and Chin, was respected by the Chinese gov-
ernment until 1875, when Li Himg Chung, on complaint of the
king of Corea, made a descent on the Manchiu outlaws and squat-
ters settled on the strip. Haring despatched a force of troops,
with gimboats up the Yalu, to co-operate with them, he found the
region overspread with cidtivators. The eyes of the riceroy being
opened to the fertility of this land, and the navigability of the
river, he proposed, in a memorial to Peking, that the land be incor-
porated in the Chinese domain, but that a wall and ditch be built
to isolate Corea, and that all Chinese trespassers on Corean groimd
be handed over to the mandarins to be sent prisoners to Mukden,
and to be there beheaded, while Chinese resisting capture shoiild
be lawfully slain by Coreans. To this the Seoul government
agreed. By this clever diplomacy the Chinese gained back a
huge slice of valuable land, probably without the labor of digging
ditches or building palisades. The old wall of stakes still remains,
in an extremely dilapidated condition. Off the coast are a few
islands, and a number of shallow banks, aroimd which shell- and
scale-fish abound. Chinese junks come in fleets every year in the
fishing season, but their presence is permitted only on condition
of their never setting foot on shore. In reality much contraband
trade is done by the smugglers along the coast A group of isl-
ands near the mouth w'as long the nest of Chinese pirates, but
these have been broken up by Li Hung Chang’s gunboats. Next
to the Yalu, the most important river of the province is the Ta-
tong or Ping-an, which discharges a great volume of fresh water
annually into the sea. A number of large towns and cities are
situated on or near its banks, and the high road follows the course
of the river. It is the Rubicon of Cho-sen history, and at various
epochs in ancient times was the boundary river of China, or of
the rival states within the peninsula. About fifty miles from its
mouth is the city of Ping-an, the metropolis of the province, and
the royal seat of authority, from before the Christian era, to the
tenth century. Its situation renders it a natural stronghold. It
THE EIGHT PROVINCES.
183
has been many times besieged by Chinese and Japanese armies,
and near it many battles have been fought. “ The General Sher-
man affair, ” in 1866, in which the crew of the American schooner
were murdered — which occasioned the sending of the United
States naval expedition in 1871 — took place in front of the city of
Ping-an. Commander J. C. Febiger, in the U. S. S. Shenandoah,
visited the mouths of the river in 1869, and while vainly waiting
for the arrest of the murderers, surveyed the inlet, to which he
gave the name of “ Shenandoah.”
By official enumeration, Ping-an contains 293,400 houses, and
the muster-rolls give 174,538 as the number of men capable of
military duty. The governor resides at Ping-an.
There is considerable diversity of character between the in-
habitants of the eight pronnces. Those of the two most north-
ern, particularly of Ping-an, are more violent in temper than the
other provincials. Very few nobles or official dignitaries live
among them, hence veiy few of the refinements of the capital are
to be found there. They are not over loyal to the reigning dy-
nasty, and are believed to cherish enmity against it. The govern-
ment keeps vigilant watch over them, repressing the first show of
insubordination, lest an insurrection difficult to quell should once
gain headway. It is from these provinces that most of the refugees
into Kussian territory come. It was among these men that the
“ General Sherman affair ” took place, and it is highly probable
that even if the regent were really desirous of examining into the
outrage, he was afraid to do so, when the strong public sentiment
was wholly on the side of the murderers of the Sherman’s crew.
THE YELLOW-SE.\ PROATNCE.
All the eight circuits into which Cho-sen is divided are mari-
time provinces, but this is the only one which takes its name from
the body of water on which its borders lie, jutting out into the
Whang-hai, or Yellow Sea, its extreme point lies nearest to Shan-
tung promontory in China. Its coast hne exceeds its land fron-
tiers. In the period anterior to the Christian era, Whang-hai, was
occupied by the tribes called the jVIahan, and from the second to
the sixth century, by the kingdom of Hiaksai. It has been the
camping-ground of the armies of many nations. Here, besides
the border forays which engaged the troops of the rival kingdoms,
the Japanese, Chinese, Mongols, and Manchius, have contended
184
COREA.
for victory again and again. The ravages of war, added to a some-
what sterile sod, are the causes of Whang-hai being the least
populated province of the eight in the peninsiila. From very an-
cient times the Corean peninsula has been renowned for its pearls.
These are of superior lustre and great size. Even before the
Christian era, when the people lived in caves and mud huts, and
before they had horses or cattle, the barbaric inhabitants of this
region wore necklaces of pearls, and sewed them on their cloth-
ing, row upon row. They amazed the invading hordes of the
Han dynasty, with such incongruous mixture of wealth and sav-
agery ; as the Indians, careless of the yellow dust, surprised by
their indifference to it the gold-greedy warriors of Balboa. Later
on, the size and brilliancy of Corean pearls became famous all
over China. They were largely exported. The Chinese merchant
braved the perils of the sea, and of life among the rude Co-
reans, to win lustrous gems of great price, which he bartered
when at home for sums which made him quickly rich. In the
twelfth century the fame of these “Eastern pearls,” as they were
then called, and which outrivalled even those from the Tonquin
fisheries, became the cause of an attempted conquest of the penin-
sula, the visions of wealth acting as a lure to the would-be inva-
ders. It may even be that the Corean pearl fisheries were known by
fame to the story-tellers of the “Arabian Nights Entertainments.”
Much of the mystic philosophy of China concerning pearls is held
also by the Coreans. The Corean Elysium is a lake of pearls. In
bmying the dead, those who can afford it, fiU the mouth of the
coi'pse with three pearls, which, if large, will, it is believed, pre-
ser\'e the dead body from decay. This emblem of three flashing
pearls, is much in vogue in native art. The gems are foimd on
the banks lying off the coast of this proA-ince, as weU as in the
archipelago to the south, and at Quelpart. The industry is, at
present, utterly neglected. The pearls are kept, but no use seems
to be made of the brilliant nacre of the mussel-sheUs, which are
exported to Japan, to be used in inlaying.
More valuable to the modem people than the now almost aban-
doned pearl mussel-beds, are the herring fisheries, which, during
the season, attract fleets of junks and thousands of fishermen from
the northern coast provinces of China. Ojiposite, at a distance of
about eighty miles as the crow flies, measuring from land’s end to
land’s end, is the populous province of Shantung, or “ Country
east of the mountains.” On the edge of this promontory are the
THE EIGHT PROVINCES.
185
cities of Cliifu and Teng Chow, while further to the east is Tien-
tsin, the seaport of Peking. From the most ancient times, Chi-
nese armadas have saded, and invading armies have embarked for
Corea from these ports. Over and over again has the river Ta-
tong been crowded with fleets of junks, fluttering the dragon-ban-
ners at their peaks. From the Shantung headlands, also, Chinese
pirates have sailed over to the tempting coasts and green islands
of Corea, to ravage, bum, and kill. To guard against these inva-
ders, and to notify the arrival of foreigners, signal fires are Hghted
on the hill-tops, which form a cordon of flame and speed the alarm
from coast to capital in a few hours. These pyrographs or fire
signals are called “Pong-wa” At Mok-mie' san, a mountain south
of the capital, the fire-messages of the three southern prorinces
are received. By day, instead of the pillars of fire, are clouds of
smoke, made by heaping wet chopped straw or rice-husks on the
blaze. Instantly a dense white column rises in the air, which, to
the sentinels from peak to peak, is eloquent of danger. In more
peaceful times, Corean timber has been largely exported to Chifu,
and tribute-bearing ships have sailed over to Tientsin. The Chi-
nese fishermen usually appear off the coast of this province in the
third month, or April, remaining imtil June, when their white
sails, bent homeward, sink from the gaze of the rigilant sentinels
186
CORE.^
on the hills, who watch continually lest the Chinese set foot on
shore. This they are forbidden to do on pain of death. In spite
of the vigilance of the soldiers, however, a great deal of smuggling
is done at night, between the Coreans and Chinese boatmen, at
this time, and the French missionaries have repeatedly passed the
barriers of this forbidden land by disembarking from Chifu junks
off this coast. The island of Merin (Merin-to) has, on several
occasions, been trodden by the feet of priests who afterward
became marijTS. At one time, in June, 1865, four Frenchmen en-
tered “ the lion’s den ” from this rendez^-ous. There is a great
bank of sand and many islands off the coast, the most important
of the latter being the Sir James Hall group, which was visited,
in 1816, by Captains Maxwell and HaU, in the ships Lyra and Al-
ceste. These forest-clad and well-cultivated islands were named
after the president of the Edinburgh Geographical Society, the
father of the gallant sailor and lively author who drove the first
British keel through the unknown waters of the Yellow Sea. East-
ward from this island cluster is a large bay and inlet near the head
of which is the fortified city of Chan-yon.
In Januaiy, 1867, Commander R. W. Shufeldt, in the E. S. S.
"Wachusett, risited this inlet to obtain redress for the mm-der of
the crew of the American schooner General Sherman, and while
vainly waiting, smweyed portions of it, giving the name of Wachu-
sett Bay to the place of anchorage. Judging from native maps,
the scale of the chart made from this suiwey was on too large a
scale, though the recent map-makers of Tokio have followed it
The southei’n coast also is dotted with groups of islands, and made
dangerous by large shoals. One of the approaches to the national
capital and the commercial city of Sunto, or Kai-seng, is navi-
gable for jimks, thi’ough a tortuous channel which thi-eads the vast
sand-banks formed by the Han River. Hai-chiu, the capital is
near the southern central coast, and MTiang-chiu, an old baronial
waUed city, is in the north, on the Ta-tong River, now, as of old,
a famous boundary line.
Though Whang-hai is not reckoned rich, being only the sixth
in order of the eight circuits, yet there are several products of
importance. Rock, or fossil salt, is plentiful. Flints for fire-arms
and household use were obtained here chiefly, though the best
gun-flints came from China. Lucifer matches and percussion,
rifles have destroyed, or will soon destroy, this ancient industry.
One district produces exceUent ginseng, which finds a i*eady sale,
THE EIGHT PROVINCES.
187
and even from ancient times Wliang-hai’s pears have been cele-
brated. Splendid yelloTV varnish, almost equal to gilding, is also
made here. The native vamishers are expert and tasteful in its
use, though far behind the inimitable Japanese. Fine brushes
for pens, made of the hair of -wolves’ tails, are also in repute
among students and merchants.
The high road from the capital, after passing through Sunto,
■winds through the eastern central part, and crosses a range of
movmtains, the scenery from which is exceedingly fine. Smaller
roads thread the border of the pro-vdnce and the larger toAvns, but
a great portion of "Whang-hai along ^its central length, from east
to west, seems to be mountainous, and by no means densely
populated. There are, in all, twenty-eight cities -with magistrates.
TMiang-hai was never reckoned by the missionaries as among
their most promising fields, yet on their map we count fifteen
or more signs of the cross, betokening the presence of their con-
verts, and its soU, like that of the other provinces, has more than
once been reddened by the blood of men who preferred to die for
their conrictions, rather than hve the worthless life of the pagan
renegade. Most of the -victims suffered at Hai-chiu, the capital,
though Whang-chiu, in the north, shares the same sinister fame
in a lesser degree. The people of Whang-hai are said, by the
Seoul folks, to be narrow, stupid, and dull They bear an iU
name for avarice, bad faith, and a love of lying quite imusual even
among Coreans. The official enumeration of houses and men fit
for military duty, is 103,200 of the former and 87,170 of the
latter.
KIUXG-KEI, OR THE C.iPIT.U. PROVINCE.
Kiung-kei, the smallest of the eight circuits, is politically the
royal or court pro-rince, and physically the basin of the largest
river inside the peninsula The tremendous force of its cuirent,
and the volume of its waters bring do-wn immense masses of sUt
annually. Beginning at a point near the capital, -wide sand-banks
are formed, which are bare at low water, but are flooded in time
of rain, or at the melting of the spring snows. The tides rise to
the height of twenty or thirty feet, creating violent eddies and
currents, in which the management of ships is a matter of great
difficulty. The Han is navigable for foreign vessels, certainly as
far as the capital, as two French men-of-war proved in 1866, and
it may be ascended still farther in hght steamers. The causes
188
COREA.
of tte violence, coldness, and rapidity of the currents of Han
River (called Salt or Salee on our charts), which have baffled
French and American steamers, will be recognized by a study of
its sources. The head waters of this stream are foimd in the dis-
tant province of Kang-wen, nearly the whole breadth of the penin-
sula from the mouth. Almost the entire area of this province of
the river-sources, including the western watershed of the moun-
tain range that walls the eastern coast, is drained by the tributa-
ries which form the river, which also receives affluents from two
other provinces. Pouring their united volume past the capital,
shifting channels and ever new and unexpected bars and flats are
formed, rendering navigation, and especially warlike naval opera-
tions, very difficult. Its channel is very hard to find from the sea.
The French, in 1845, attempting its exploration, were foiled.
Like most rivers in Cho-sen, the Han has many local names.
The city of Han-Yang, or Seoid, is situated on the north side of
the river, about thirty-five miles from its mouth, measuring by a
straight line, or fifty miles if reckoned by the channel of the river.
It lies in 37° 30' north latitude, and 127° 4' longitude, east from
Greenwich. The name Han-yang, means “the fortress on the
Han River.” The common term applied to the royal city is Seoul,
which means “the capital,” just as the Japanese called the capital
of their country Miako, or Kio, instead of saying Kioto. Seoul is
THE EIGHT PROVINCES.
189
properly a common noun, but by popular use bas become a proper
name, 'wbicli, in English, may be correctly written with a capital
initial According to the locality whence they come, the natives
pronounce the name Say'-ool, Shay'-ool, or Say'-oor. The city is
often spoken of as “ the king’s residence,” and on foreign maps is
marked “King-ki Tao,” which is the name of the province. The
city proper lies distant nearly a league from the river bank, but
has suburbs, extending do'wn to the sand-flats. A pamphlet lately
published in the city gives it 30,723 houses, which, allowing five
in a house, would give a population of over 150,000 souls. The
natural advantages of Seoul are excellent. On the north a high
range of the Ho Mountain rises like a wall, to the east towers the
Eidge of Barriers, the mighty flood of the Han rolls to the south,
a bight of which washes the western suburb.
The scenery from the capital is magnificent, and those walking
along the city walls, as they rise over the hill-crests and bend into
the valleys, can feast their eyes on the luxuriant verdure and glori-
ous mountain views for which this country is noted. The walls of
the city are of crenellated masonry of varying height, averaging
about twenty feet, with arched stone bridges spanning the water-
courses, as seen in the reproduced photograph on page 79. The
streets are narrow and tortuous. The king’s castle is in the north-
ern part. The high roads to the eight points of the compass start
from the palace, through the city gates. Within sight from the
river are the 0-pong san, and the Sam-kak san or three-peaked
mountain, which the French have named Cock’s Comb. North of
the city is Cho-kei, or tide-vaUey, in which is a waterfall forty feet
high. This spot is a great resort for tourists and picnic parties
in the spring and summer. From almost any one of the hills near
the city charming riews of the island-dotted river may be ob-
tained, and the sight of the spring floods, or of the winter ice
breaking up and shooting the enormous blocks of ice -with terrific
force down the c\irrent, that piles them up into fantastic shapes
or strews the shores, is much enjoyed by the people. Inundations
are frequent and terrible in this province, but usually the water
subsides quickly. Not much harm is done, and the floods enrich
the soil, except where they deposit sand only. There are few
large bridges over the rivers, but in the cities and towns, stone
bridges, constructed wth an arch and of good masonry, are built.
The islands in the river near the capital are inhabited by fisher-
men, who pay their taxes in fish. Another large stream which
190
COREA.
joins its waters with the Han, within a few miles from its mouth
near Kang-wa Island, is the Rin-chin River, whose head waters are
among the mountains at the north of Kang-wen, within thirty
miles of the newly-opened port of Gen-san on the eastern coast.
Several important towns are situated on or near its banks, and it
is often mentioned in the histories which detail the movements of
the armies, which from China, Japan, and the teeming North, have
often crossed and recrossed it.
Naturally, we expect to find the military geography of this
province well studied by the authorities, and its strategic points
strongly defended. An inspection of the map shows us that we
are not mistaken. Four great fortresses guard the approaches
to the royal city. These are Suwen to the south, Kwang-chiu to
the southeast, Sunto or Kai-seng to the north, and Kang-wa to the
west. All these fortresses have been the scene of siege and
battle in time past. On the walls of the first three, the rival
banners of the hosts of Ming from China and of Taiko from
Japan were set in alternate succession by the victors who held
them diiring the Japanese occupation of the country, between the
years 1592 and 1597. The Manchiu standards in 1637, and the
French eagles in 1866, were planted on the ramparts of Kang-wa.
Besides these castled cities, there are forts and redoubts along the
THE EIGHT PROVINCES.
191
river banks, crowning most of the commanding headlands, or points
of vantage. Over these the stars and stripes floated for thi-ee
days, in 1871, when the American forces captured these strong-
holds. In most cases the walls of cities and forts are not over ten
feet high, though, in those of the first order, a height of twenty-
five feet is obtained. None of them would offer serious difficulty
to an attacking force possessing modem artillery,
Kai-seng, or Sunto, is one of the most important, if not the
chief, commercial city in the kingdom, and from 960 to 1392, it
was the national capital The chief staple of manufactm*e and
sale is the coarse cotton cloth, white and colored, which forms
the national dress. Kang-wa, on the island of the same name at
the mouth of the Han Eivei*, is the favorite fortress, to which the
royal family are sent for safety in time of war, or are banished in
case of deposition. Kang-wa means “ the river-flower.” During
the Manchiu invasion, the king fled here, and, for a while, made
it his capital Kwang-chiu was anciently the capital of the old
kingdom of Hiaksai, which included this pro-sdnce, and flourished
from the beginning of the Christian era until the Tang dj-nasty
of China destroyed it in the seventh century. Kwang-chiu has
suffered many sieges. Other important towms near the capital are
Tong-chin, opposite Kang-wa, Kum-po, and Pupion, all situated
on the high road. In-chiun, situated on Imperatrice Gulf, is the
port newly opened to foreign trade and residence. The Japanese
pronounce the characters with which the name is written, Nin-sen,
and the Chinese Jen-chuan. At this place the American and Chi-
nese treaties were signed in June, 1882 ; Commodore Shufeldt, in
the steam corvette Swatara, being the plenipotentiary of the
United States. Situated on the main road from the southern
provinces, and between the capital and the sea, the location is a
good one for trade, while the dangerous channel of the Han Kiver
is avoided.
Most of the islands lying off the coast are well wooded ; many
are inhabited, and on a number of them shrines are erected, and
hermits hve, who are regarded as sacred. Their defenceless posi-
tion oflfer tempting inducements to the Chinese pirates, who have
often ravaged them. Kiung-kei has been the scene of battles and
contending armies and nations and the roadway for migrations
from the pre-historic time to the present decade. The great high-
ways of the kingdom converge upon its chief city. In it also
Christianity has witnessed its grandest triumphs and bloodiest
192
COREA.
defeats. Over and over again the seed of the church has been
planted in the blood of its martyrs. Ka-pion, east of Seoul, is the
cradle of the faith, the home of its first convert
For political purposes, this “home province” is divided into
the left and right divisions, of which the former has twenty-two,
and the latter fourteen districts. The kam-sa, or governor, lives
at the cajiital, but outside of the walls, as he has bttle or no au-
thority in the city proper. His residence is near the west gate.
The enumeration of houses and people gives, exclusive of the
capital, 136,000 of the former, and 680,000 of the latter, of whom
106,573 are enrolled as soldiers. The inhabitants of the capital
province enjoy the reputation, among the other provincials, of
being light-headed, fickle, and much given to luxurj" and pleasure.
“ It is the officials of this province,” they say, “ who give the cue
to those thi’oughout the eight jjrovinces, of rapacity, prodigality,
and love of display.” Official grandees, nobles, literary men, and
professionals generally are most numerous in Edung-kei, and so,
it may be added, are singing and dancing girls and people who
live to amuse others. When fighting is to be done, iu time of
war, the government usually calls on the northern provinces to
furnish soldiers. From a bird’s-eye view of the history of this
pai-t of Corea, we see that the inhabitants most anciently known
to occupy it were the independent clans called the ^la-han, which
about the begumiug of the Christian era were united into the
kingdom of Hiaksai, which existed until its destmction by the
Tang dynasty of China, in the seventh century. From that time
until 930 A.D. it formed a part of the kingdom of Shinra, which in
tm-n made way for united Korai, which first gave political unity
to the peninsula, and lasted until 1392, when the present dy-
nasty with Cho-sen, or Corea, as we now know it, was established.
The capital cities in succession fi'om Hiaksai to Cho-sen were,
Kwang-chiu, Sunto, and Han-yang.
CHUNG-CHONG, OR SERENE LOT.VLTT.
The province of Serene Loyalty lies mostly between the thirty-
sixth and thii’ty-seventh parallel. Its principal rivei*s are the
Keum, flowing into Basil’s Bay, and another, which empties into
Prince Jerome Gulf. Its northeast corner, is made by the Han
River bending in a loop around the White Cloud (Park IJn) Movm-
tain. Fertile flats and valleys abound. The peninsula of Xai-po
THE EIGHT PROVINCES.
193
(within the waters), in the northwestern comer, is often called
the “ Granary of the Kingdom.” Most of the rice of the Nai-po,
and the province generally, is raised for export to the capital and
the north. In the other circuits the rice lands are irrigated by
leading the water from the streams through each field, which is di-
■vlded from the other by little walls or barriers of earth, while iu
this region, and in Chulla, the farmers more frequently make
great reservoirs or ponds, in which water is stored for use in dry
weather. The mountains are the great reservoirs of moistui’e, for
in all the peninsula there is not a lake of noticeable size. The
coast line is well indented with bays and harbors, and the run to
Shantung across the Yellow Sea is easily paade by junks, and even
in open boats. On this accoimt the native Clmstians and French
missionaries have often chosen this pro\"ince as their gate of entry
into the “land of martyrs.”
In the history of Corean Christianity this province will ever
be remembered as the nurseiy of the faith. Its soil has been
most richly soaked with the blood of the native believers. With
unimportant exceptions, every town along its northern border, and
especially in the Xai-po, has been sown with the seeds of the faith.
The fii’st converts and confessors, the most devoted adherents of
their French teachers, the most gifted and intelligent martjTS, were
from Nai-po, and it is nearly certain that the fires of Roman Chris-
tianity still smoulder here, and will again bui’st into flame at the
first fanning of favorable events. The tliree great highways from
Fusan to the capital cross this proAunce in the northeastern portion.
Over these roads the rival Japanese ai-mies of invasion, led by
Konishi and Kato, passed in jealous race in 1592, reaching the
capital, after fighting and reducing castles on the way, in eighteen
days after disembai'kation. Chion-Chiu, the fortress on whose
fate the capital depended, lies in the northeast, where two of the
roads converge. The western, or sea road, that comes up from
the south, hugs the shore through the entire length of the prov-
ince. Others, along which the Japanese armies marched in 1592,
and again in 1597, traverse the central pai*t. Along one of these
roads, the captive Hollanders, almost the first Europeans in Corea,
rode in 1GG3, and one of the cities of which Hamel speaks, Kon-
sio (Kong-Chiu), is the capital and residence of the provincial
governor.
The bays and islands, which have been visited by foreign navi-
gators, retain their names on European or Japanese charts. Some
13
194
COREA.
of these are not very complimentary, as Deception Bay, Ins\ilt
Island, and False River. At Basil’s Bay, named after Captain
Basil Hall, Gutzlaft’ also landed in 1832, planted potatoes, and left
seeds and books. The archipelago to the northwest was, in 1866,
named after the Prince Imperial, who met his death in Zululand
in 1878. Prince Jerome’s Gulf is well known as the scene of the
■visits of the Rover and the Emperor, with the author of “A For-
bidden Land” on board. Haimi, a town several times mentioned
by him, is at the head of Shoal Gulf, which runs up into the
Nai-po. Two other bays, named Carohne and Deception, indent
the Nai-po peninsula.
The large shoal off the coast is called Chasseriau. Other wide
and dangerous shoals line parts of the coast, making navigation
exceedingly difficult. Fogs ai-e frequent and very dense, shroud-
ing aU landmarks for hom-s. The tides and currents are very
strong, rising in some places even as high as sixty feet. The in-
ternational body-snatching expedition, undertaken by a French
priest, a German merchant, and an American interpreter, in 1867,
to obtain the bones or ancestral relics of the Regent, was planned
to take advantage of a certain “nick of time.” The river empty-
ing into the Prince Jerome Gulf, runs some thirty miles inland,
and can be ascended by a barge, or very light-draught steamer, only
within the period of thirty hours during spring tides, when the
THE EIGHT PROVINCES.
195
■water rises to a height of three feet at the -utmost, •while during
the rest of the month it dries up completely. On accormt of
delays, through grounding, miscalculated distances, and the bur-
glar-proof masomy of Corean tombs, the scheme failed. The nar-
rative of this remarkable expedition is given in a certain book on
Corea, and in the proceedings of the United States Consular Court
at Shanghae, China, for the year 18G7.
The flora is a brilliant featiu"e of the summer landscape.
Tiger-lilies and showy composita?, asters, cactus plants, craciferte,
labiatao, and many other European species abound side by side
■nith tropical varieties. The air is full of insects, and the number
and variety of the birds exceed those of Japan. Pigeons, butcher-
birds, fly-catchers, woodpeckers, thi'ushes, larks, blackbirds, king-
fishers, "nTens, spoonbills, quail, cuilew, titmouse, have been no-
ticed. The ever-present black crows contrast with the snowy
heron, -which often stand in rows along the -watercourses, while
on the reefs the cormorant, sea-gulls, and many kinds of ducks
and diving birds, many of them being of species differing from
those in Europe, show the abimdance of winged life. The archi-
pelago and the peninsula alike, are almost rirgin soil to the stu-
dent of natural histoiw' and the man of science -will yet, in this
secluded nook of creation, solve many an interesting problem con-
cerning the procession of life on the globe. So far as kno-wn, the
Coreans seem far behind the Japanese in the study and classifica-
tion of animate nature.
The Coreans are not a seafaring people. They do not sail out
from Land, except upon rare occasions. A steamer is yet, to most
Coreans, a -wonderful thing. The common folks point to one, and
call it “ a dirine ship.” Tlie reason of this is, that they think the
country of steamships so utterly at the ends of the earth, that to
pass over ten million leagues, and endure the -winds and -waves,
could not be done by human aid, and therefore such a ship must
have, in some way, the aid of the gods. The prow' and stem of
fishing-boats are much alike, and are neatly nailed together with
wooden nails. They use round stems of trees in their natural
state, for masts. The sails are made of straw, plaited together
with cross-bars of bamboo. The sail is at the stem of the boat.
They sail well -within tlu-ee points of the wind, and the fishermen
are very skilful in managing them. In their working-boats, they
do not use oars, but sculls, worked on a pivot in the gunwale or
an outrigger. The sculls have a veiw' long sweep, and are worked
196
COREA.
by two, three, and even ten men. For narrow rivers this method
is veiy convenient, and many boats can easily pass each other, or
move side by side, taking up veiy little room. For fishing among
the rocks, or for landing in the surf, rafts are extensively used all
along the coasts. These rafts have a platform, capable of holding
eight or ten persons. The boats or barges, which are used for
pleasure excursions and picnic parties, have high bows and orna-
mental sterns, carved or otherwise decorated. Over the centre a
canopy stretched on four poles, tufted with horsehair, shelters the
pleasm*e-seekers from the sun as they enjoy the river scenery. In
the cut we see thi-ee officials, or men of rank, enjoying themselves
at a table, on which may be tea, ginseng infusion, or rice spirit^
A Pleasure-party on the River.
with fmits in dishes. They sit on silken cushions, and seem to be
pledging each other in a friendly cup. Perhaps they will compose
and exchange a pedantic poem or two on the waj*. In the long, high
bow there is room for the two men to walk the deck, while avith
theii’ poles they propel the craft gently along the stream, while the
steersman handles the somewhat unwieldy rudder The common
people use a boat made of plain unpainted wood, neatly joined
together, without nails or metal, the fastenings being of wood, the
cushions of straw matting and the cordage of sea grass.
By official reckoning Chung-chong contains 244,080 houses,
•with 139,201 men enrolled for military seiwice, in fiity-four
districts. It contains ten walled cities, and hke eveiy other one
of the eight pro'V’inces is dirided into two depaidments. Bight and
Left.
THE EIGHT PROVINCES.
197
CHVLL-i, OR COMPLETE XETWORK.
This province, the most southern of the eight, is also the
warmest and most fertile. It is neai-est to Shang-hae, and to the
track of foreign commerce. Its island-fiinged shores have been
the scene of many shipwrecks, among Avhich were the French
frigates, whose names Glory and Yictoiy, were better than their
inglorious end, on a reef neai’ Kokuu Island.
Until the voyage of Captains Maxwell and Basil HaU, in the
Alceste and Lyra, in 181G, “ the Corean archipelago ” was abso-
lutely unknowTi in Em-ope, and was not even marked on Chinese
charts. In the map of the empire, prepared by the Jesuits at
Peking in the seventeenth century, the main land was made to
extend out over a space now known to be covered by hundreds of
islands, and a huge elephant — the conventional sign of ignorance
of the map-makers of that day — occupied the space. In these
virgin waters. Captain Hall sailed over imaginaiy forests and
cities, and straight through the body of the elephant, and for the
fii-st time explored an archipelago which he fovmd to be one of the
most beautiful on earth. A later risitor, and a natm-alist, states
that from a single island peak, one may count one hundi’ed and
thirty-five islets. Stretching far away to the north and to the
south, were groups of dark blue islets, rising mistily from the sm--
face of the water. Tlie sea was covered with lai'ge picturesque
boats, which, crowded with natives in their white fluttering robes,
were putting off from the adjacent -sdllages, and sculling across
the pellucid waters to visit the stranger ship.
On these islands, as .iVrthiu- Adams tells us, the seals sport, the
spoonbill, quail, cmdew, titmouse, wagtail, teal, cmne and innu-
merable birds thidve. The woody peaks are rich in game, and the
shores are happy hunting-grounds for the naturalist. Sponges
are very plentiful, and in some places may be gathered in any
quantity. There are a number of well-marked species. Some are
flat and spUt into numerous ribbon-hke branches, others are round
and finger-shaped, some cylindrical, and others like hollow tubes.
Though some have dense white foliations, hard or homy, others
ai’e loose and flexible, and await only the hand of the diver. The
Corean toilet requisites perhaps do not include these usefid arti-
cles, which lie waste in the sea. The coral-beds are also very
splendid in their bring tints of green, blue, riolet, and yellow.
193
COREA.
and appear, as you look do^vn upon them tlirough the clear trans-
l^arent water, to fonn beautiful flower-gardens of marine plants.
In these submarine parterres, amid the protean forms of the
branched corals, huge madrepores, brain-shaped, flat, or headed
like gigantic mushrooms, are interspersed with sponges of the
deepest red and huge star-flshes of the richest blue. Seals sport
and play unharmed on many of the islands, and the sea-beach is
at times blue with the bodies of lively crabs. An imfailing store-
house of marine food is found in this archijjelago.
The eight provinces take their names from their two chief cities,
as j\Ir. Carles has shown. Whang Hai Do, for instance, is formed
by uniting the initial syllables of the largest cities, Whang-chiu and
Hai-chiu. In the case of ChuUa-Do, the Chon and Nai in Chon-
chiu and Nai-chiu (or Chung-jiu and Na-jiu) become, by euphonv,
Chulla or Cholla. Hamel tells of the great cajunan or “ alligator,”
as inhabiting this region, asserting that it was “ eighteen or twenty
ells long,” with “ sixty joints in the back,” and able to swallow a
man.'
The soil of Chulla is rich and well cultivated, and large quan-
tities of rice and gi’ain are shij)j)ed to the capital The wide val-
leys afford juicy pasture for the herds of cattle that furnish the beef
diet which the Coreans crave more than the Japanese. The A'isit-
ing or shipwecked foreign risitors on the coast speak in terms of
highest praise of fat bullocks, and juicy steaks which they have
eaten. Considerable quantities of hides, bones, boms, leather,
and tallow now form a class of standard exports to Japan, whose
people now wear buttons and leather shoes. As a beef market,
Corea exceeds either China or Japan — a point of importance to
the lai-ge number of foreigner's bring at the poi-ts, who require a
flesh diet. Troops of horses graze on the pastui-e lands.
ChuUa is well fui'nished with poi'ts and harbors for the junks
that ply noi'thward. The town of Mopo, in latitude 34° 40 , has
been looked ujron by the Japanese as a favorable place for trade
and residence, and may yet be opened imder the provisions of
the treaty of 1876. This region does not lack sites of great
historic interest. The castle of Nanon, in the eastern part, was
' Jtr. Pierre L. Jouy, of the Smithsonian Institute, who in 1884 spent six
months in Corea in zoological collecting and research, says; “Xo monkeys or
alligators are found in Corea. I am at a loss to understand how the alligator
story originated.” Was the alleged animal the giant salamander, or the
Japanese art and legend refer often to alligators.
THE EIGHT PROVINCES.
199
the scene of a famous siege and battle between the allied Coreans
and Chinese and the Japanese besiegers, dming the second inva-
sion, in 1597. The investment lasted many weeks, and over five
thousand men were slaughtered. It was in this province also
that the crew of the Dutch ship Span’owhawk were kept prison-
200
COREA.
ers, some for thirteen years, some for life, of ■whom Hendrik
Hamel ■wrote so graphic a narrative. For two centuries his little
work afforded the only European knowledge of Corea accessible
to inquirers. Among other employments, the Dutch captives
were set to making potterj^ and this pro-iinee has many ^iUages
devoted to the fictile art. The work turned out consists, in the
main, of those huge earthem jars for holding water and grains,
common to Corean households, and large enough to hold one of
the forty thieves of Arabian Nights stoiy.
Through the labors of the French missionaries, Christianity
has penetrated into Chulla-do, and a large number of towns, espe-
cially in the north, stiU contain believers who are the descendants
or relatives of men and women who have exchanged their lives for
a good confession. The tragedy and romance of the Christian
mai'tyi’s, of this and other pro^vinces, have been told by Dallet.
Most of the executions have taken place at the cajoital city of
Chon-chiu. Many have been banished to Quelpai't, or some of
the many islands along the coast, where it is probable many yet
live and pine.
Three large, and several small rivers drain the valleys. Two
of these flow into the YeUow’ Sea and one into the sea of Japan.
The main highway of this pro\ince traverses the ■western portion
near the sea, the other roads being of inferior impoi-tance. Forti-
fied cities or castle to^ms are numerous in this part of Corea, for
this prorince was completely ovemm by the Japanese armies in
1592-1597, and its soil was the scene of many battles. By official
enumeration there are 290,550 houses, and 206,140 males enrolled
for seiwice in war. The distidcts ntunber fifty-six. The capital
is Chon-chiu, which was once considered the second largest city
in the kingdom.
If Corea is “the Italy of the East,” then Quelpart is its
Sicily. It lies about sixty miles south of the main land. It may
be said to be an oval, rock-bound island, covered with innumer-
able conical moimtaius, topped in many instances by extinct vol-
canic craters, and “ all bo^wing do^wn before one vast and toweling
giant, whose foot is planted in the centre of the island, and
whose head is lost in the clouds.” This peak, called Mount Auck-
land, or Han-ra san, by the people, is about 6,500 feet high. On
its top are three extinct cratei*s, within each of which is a lake of
pure water. Corean children ai’e taught to believe that the three
fii’st-created men of the world still dwell on these lofty heights.
THE EIGHT PROVINCES.
201
The whole surface of the island, including plains, valleys, and
mountain flanks, is carefully and beautifully cultivated. The fields
are neatly divided by walls of stone. It contains a number of
towns and thi’ee walled cities, but there are no good harbors. As
Quelpai-t has long been used as a place for the banishment of
convicts, the islanders ai'e rude and unpohshed. They raise excel-
lent crops of grain and fniit for the home pro'sdnces. The finely-
plaited straw hats, which form the staple manufactiu’e, are the
best in this land of big hats, in which the amphtude of the head-
coverings is the wonder of strangers. Immense droves of horses
and cattle are reared, and one of the outlying islands is called
Bullock Island. This island has been known from ancient times,
when it formed an independent kingdom, known as Tam-na.
About 100 A.D., it is recorded that the inhabitants sent tribute to
one of the states on the main land. The origin of the high cen-
tral peak, named Mount Auckland, is thus given by the islanders.
“ Clouds and fogs covei'ed the sea, and the earth trembled with a
noise of thunder for seven days and seven nights. Finally the
waves opened, and there emerged a mountain more than one
thousand feet high, and forty ?-i in circumference. It had neither
plants nor trees upon it, and clouds of smoke, widely sj^read out,
covered its summit, which appeared to be composed chiefly of
sulphur.” A learned Corean was sent to examine it in detail. He
did so, and on his retm-n to the main land published an account
of his voyage, wth a sketch of the mountain thus born out of the
sea. It is noticeable that this account coincides with the ideas of
navigators, who have studied the mountain, and speculated on its
origin.
KIUNG-SANO, OR RESPECTFUL COXGRATUL.\TIOX.
Kiung-sang do, or the Prorince of Respectful Congratulation,
is neai’est to Japan, and consists chiefly of the valleys drained by
the Nak-tong River and its bibutaries. It admmably illustrates
the piinciple of the division of the countrj' on the lines furnished
by the river basins. One of the warmest and richest of the eight
provinces, it is also the most populous, and the seat of many his-
torical associations with Japan, in ancient, mediaeval, and modem
times. Between the court of Kion-chiu, the capital of Shinra, and
that of Kioto, from the third to the tenth centuiw, the relations
of war and peace, letters, and religion were continuous and fruit-
ful "When the national capital was fixed at Sunto, and later at
202
COREA.
Seoul, this province was still the gateway of entrance and exit to
the Japanese. Many a time have they landed near the mouth of
the Nak-tong River, which opens as a natural pass in the moun-
tains which wall in the coast. Rapidly seizing the strategic points,
they have made themselves masters of the country. The influence
of their frequent visitations is shown in the language, manners,
' and local customs of southern ChO-sen. The dialect of Kiimg-
sang differs to a marked degree from that of Ping-an, and much
more closely resembles that of modern Japanese. Kiung-sang
seems to show upon its surface that it is one of the most ancient
seats of civilization in the peninsula. This is certainly so if roads
and facilities for travelling be considered. The highways and foot-
paths and the relays and horses kept for government service,
and for travellers, are more numerous than in any other province.
It also contains the greatest number of cities ha%-ing organized
immicipal governments, and is the most densely populated of the
eight pro\inces. It is also probable that in its natural resources it
leads aU the others. The province is divided into seventy-one dis-
tricts, each having a magistrate, in which are 421,500 houses, and
310,440 men capable of militai’y duty. Two ofilcials of high rank
assist the governor in his functions, and the admirals of the
“ Sam-nam,” or thi-ee southern pro\'inces, have them headquarters
in Kiung-sang. This title and office, one of the most honorable
in the military seivdce, was created after the Japanese war of
1592-1597, in honor of a Corean commander, who had success-
fully resisted the invaders in many battles. There are five cities
of importance, which are rmder the charge of governors. Petty
officials are also appointed for every island, who must report the
arrival or visit of aU foreigners at once to their superiors. They
were always in most favor at court who succeeded in prevail-
ing upon aU foreign callers to leave as soon as possible. Fusan
has been held by the Japanese from veiy ancient times. Until
1868 it was a part of the fief of the daimio of Tsushima. It lies
in latitude 35° G' north, and longitude 129° 1' east fr’om Green-
wich, and is distant from the nearest point on the Japan coast, by
a straight line, about one hundi-ed and fifty miles. It was opened
to the Japanese by the treaty of 1876, and is now a bustHng mart
of trade. The name means, not “Gold Hill,” but Pot or Skillet
Mmmtain.
The ajjproach to the port up the bay is through very fine scen-
ery, the background of the main land being mountainous and the
THE EIGHT PROVINCES.
203
bay studded with green islands. The large island in front of the
settlement, to the southward, called Tetsuye, or the Isle of En-
chanting View, has hills eight hundred feet high. Hundreds of
horses were formerly reared here, hence it is often called Maki, or
island of green pastures. The fortifications of Fusan, on . the
northern side, are on a hill, and front the sea. The soU around
Fusan is of a dark mddy color, and fine fir trees are numerous.
The fort is distant aoout a league from the settlement, and Tong-
nai city and castle, in which the Corean governor resides, are
about two leagues farther. Tai-ku, the capital, lies in the centre
of the province. Shang-chiu, in the northw'estern part, is one of
the fortified cities guarding the approach to the capital from the
southeast. It was captured by Konishi dm-ing his brilliant march,
in eighteen days, to the capital in 1592. In recent years, much
Christian blood has been shed in Shang-chiu, though the city which
justly claims the bad eminence in slaughtering Chi’istians is Tai-ku,
the capital of the province. Um-san, a few miles south, is a site
rich in classic memories to all Japanese, for here, in 1597, the Chi-
nese and Corean hosts besieged the intrepid Kato and the brave,
but not over-modest, Ogawuchi for a whole year, dming w'hich the
gan-ison were reduced, by straits of famine, to eat human flesh.
Vhen the Chinese retreated, and a battle was fought near by, be-
tween them and the reliertng forces, ten thousand men w'ere slain.
Foreign navigators have sprinkled them names along the shore.
Caj)e Clonard and Unkoffsky Bay are near the thii'ty-sixth parallel.
Cho-san harbor was named by Cajitain Broughton, who on asking
the name of the place in 1797, received the reply “Cho-san,”
which is the name of the kingdom instead of the harbor. Other
names of limited recognition are found on charts made in Eui'ope.
Many inhabited islands lie off the coast, some of wfrich are used
as j)laces of exile to Chi’istians and other offenders against the law.
Christianity in this jirovince seems to have flourished chiefly in
the towns along the southern sea border. Nearly the whole of the
coast consists of the slopes of the two mountain ranges which
front the sea, and is less densely inhabited than the interior, hav-
ing few or no rivers or important harbors. The one exception is
at the mouth of the Nak-tong River, opposite Tsushima. This is
the gateway into the province, and the point most vulnerable from
Japan. The river after draining the whole of Kiung-sang, widens
into a bay, around which are populous cities and towns, the port
of Fusan and the two great roads to Seoul. Tsushima (the Twin
204
COREA.
Islands) lies like a stepping-stone between Corea and Japan, and
was fonnerly claimed by the Coreans, wbo call it Tu-ma. Its port
of Wani-ura is thirty miles distant from Fusan, and often shelters
Map of the Province nearest Japan.
THE EIGHT PROVINCES.
205
the becalmed or storm-stayed junks which, with fair wind and
weather, can make the run between the two countries in a single
day.
From a strategic military point of view, the Twin Islands are
invaluable to the mikado’s empire, guarding, as they do, the sea
of Japan like a sentinel. The Russians who now own the long
island at the upper end of the sea, attempted, in 1859, to obtain
a footing on Tsushima. They built baiTacks and planted seed,
with eveiy indication of making a permanent occupation. The
timely appearance on the scene of a fleet of British ships, under
Sir James Hope, put an end to Russian designs on Tsushima.
A Japanese 'wi'iter reports that the Kiung-sang people are
rather more simple in their habits, less corrupted in their man-
ners, and their ancient customs are more faithfully preseiwed than
in some of the other provinces. There is httle of luxury and less
of expensive folly, so that the small estates or properly are faith-
fully transmitted from father to son, for many generations, in the
same families. Studious habits •prevail, and hteratur-e floru’ishes.
Often the young men, after toiling during the day, give the even-
ing to reading and conversation, for which admirable practice the
native language has a special word. Here ladies of rank are not
so closely shut up in-doors as in other pro^'inces, but often walk
abroad, accompanied by their servants, without fear of insult. In
this province also Buddhism has the largest number of adherents.
Kion-chiu, the old capital of Shinra, was the centre of the scholas-
tic and missionary influences of the Buddha doctrine in Corea,
and, though burned by the Japanese in 1597, its influence still
sundves.
The people are strongly attached to their superstitions, and
difficult to change, but to whatever faith they are once converted
they are steadfast and loyal. The numerous nobles who dwell in
this province, belong chiefly to the Nam In pai*ty.
K.\XG-WEN, THE EIVER-ME.VDOW PROVIXCE.
Kang-wen fronts Japan from the middle of the eastern coast,
and lies between Ham-kiung and Kiung-sang. Its name means
River Meadow. "Within its area are found the sources of “ the
river” of the realm. Though perhaps the most mountainous of aU
the provinces, it contains several fertile plains, which are watered
by streams flowing mainly to the west, forming the Han River,
COREA,
206
which crosses the entire peninsula, and empties into the Yellow
Sea. The main mountain chain of the country’, called here the
Makira, runs near the coast, leaving the greater area of the prov-
ince to the westward. The larger part of the population, the
most important high roads, and the capital city Wen-chiu, are in
the western division, w’hich contains twenty-six districts, the east-
ern di^'ision having seventeen. The official census gives the num-
ber of houses at 93,000, and of men capable of bearing arms^
44,000.
Some of the names of mountains in this province give one a
general idea of the geographical nomenclature of the kingdom,
reflecting, as it does, the ideas and beliefs of the people. One
peak is named Yellow Dragon, another the Flying Phoenix, and
another the Hidden Dragon (not yet risen up from the earth on
his passage to the clouds or to heaven). Hard Metal, Oxhead,
Mountain facing the Sun, Cool Valley, Wild Swamp, White Cloud,
and Peacock, are other less heathenish, and perhaps less poetical
names. One range is said to have twelve hundi’ed peaks, and from
another, rivers faU down hke snow for several huncfred feet. These
“ snowy rivers ” are cataracts. Deer are very plentiful, and the
best hartshorn for the pharmacy of China comes from these parts.
Out in the sea, about a degree and a half from the coast, lies an
island, called by the Japanese Matsu-sliima, or Pine Island, by
the Coreans U-lon-to, and by Eui'opeans, Dagelet This island was
first discovered by the French na's’igator. La Perouse, in Jime,
1787. In honor of an astronomer, it was named Dagelet Island.
“It is veiy steep, but covered with fine trees from the sea-shore
to the summit. A rampart of bare rock, nearly as perpendicular
as a wall, completely svuTotmds it, except seven sandy httle coves at
which it is possible to land.”' The gi-and central peak towers foirr
thousand feet into the clouds. Firs, sycamores, and juniper trees
abound. Sea-bears and seals live in the water, and the few poor
Coreans who inhabit the island diy the flesh of the seals and
large quantities of petrels and hahotis, or sea-ears, for the markets
or the main land. The island is occasionally visited by Japanese
junks and foreign whaling ships, as whales are plentiful in the sur-
roimding waters. The Japanese obtained the timber for the pub-
lic and other buildings at their new settlement at Gensan from
this island.
The Land of Morning Cahn is, by all accounts of travellers, a
land of beauty, and the customs and hterature of the people
THE EIGHT PKOTIHCES.
207
prove that the superb and inspii’ing scenery of their peninsula is
fully appreciated by themselves. Not only are picnics and jileas-
m’e gatherings, within the gi’oves, common to the humbler classes,
but the wealthy travel great distances simply to enjoy the beauty
of marine or moimtain views. Scholars assemble at chosen seats,
having fair landscapes before them, poets seek inspiration under
waterfalls, and the bonzes, understanding the awe-comj)elling in-
fluence of the contemplation of natui-e’s grandem*, plant their'
monasteries and build their temples on lofty momitain heights.
These favorite haunts of the lovers of natm-al beauty are as weU
known to the Coreans as Niagaiu and Yo Semite are to Ameri-
cans, or Chamouni to all Europe. The places in which the glory
of the Creator’s works may be best beheld are the theme of
ardent discussion and competing praise with the people of each
pro\ince. The local guide-books, itineraries, and gazetteers, de-
scant upon the merits of the sceneiy, for which each of the eight
divisions is renowned. In the Eiver-meadow prorince, the eight
most lovely “ sceneries ” ai-e aU located along the coast. Begin-
ning at the south, and taking them in order toward the norih,
they are the following :
1. The house on Uni-chin, a town below the thirty-seventh
parallel of latitude. The inn is called “ The House of the Emer-
ging Sun,” because here the sim seems to rise right out of the
waters of the ocean. In front of the coast lies an island, set hke
a gem in the sea. The riew of the rising sun, the tints of sky,
river, waves, land, and mountains foiTn a vision of gorgeous mag-
nificence.
2. Hion-hai (Tranquil Sea). Out in the sea, in front of this
village, are many small islands. When the moon rises, they seem
to be floating in a sea of molten silver. The finest effect is en-
joyed just before the orb is fully above the horizon. Li many of
the dweUings of the men of rank and wealth, there is a special
room set apart for the enjoyment of the scenery, upon which the
apartment looks. Especially is this the case, with the houses of
public entertainment. At Hion-hai, one of the inns from which
the best view may be obtained is called the “ House Fronting the
Moon.” In it are several “looking-rooms.”
3. One of the finest effects in nature is the combination of
fresh fallen snow on evergreens. The pm-e white on the deep
green is peculiarly pleasing to the eye of the Japanese, who use
it as a popular element in their decorative art, in silver and bronze,
208
COREA.
in embroidery, painting, and lacquer. The Coreans are equally
happy in gazing upon the snow, as it rests on the deep shadows
of the pine, or the delicate hue of the giant grass called bamboo.
Near the large town of San-cho is a tower or house, built within
■view of a stream of water, which flows in winding course over the
rocks, sparkling beneath the foliage. It has a scene-Aiewing room
to which people resort to enjoy the “ chikusetsu,” or snow and
bamboo effect.
4 From an elevation near the to'wn of Kan-nun, or Bay HiH,
one may obtain a pretty view of the groves and shrubbery grow-
ing upon the rocks. During the spring showers, when the rain
falls in a fine mist, and the fresh vegetation appears in a new rich
robe of green, the sight is very charming.
5. Beneath the mound at An-an the river flows tranquilly,
tinted by the setting sun. The sunsets at this place are of ex-
quisite beauty.
6. At the old castle to'wn of Kan-nun, there is a room named
THE EIGHT PROVINCES.
209
“ The Chamber between the Strong Forti’ess and the Tender Ver-
dm’e.” Here the valley is steep, and in the bosom of the stream
of water lie “ floating islands” — so called because they seem to
swim on the suidace of the water.
7. Near Ko-sion, or High Fortress, is “ Three Days Bay,” to
which lovers of the pictui’esque resort on summer mornings, to
see the sun rise, and on autumnal evenings, to watch the moon-
light effects. The fishers’ boats gliding to and fro over the gleam-
ing waters delight the eye.
8. At Tsu-sen is the “ Bock-loving Chamber.” Here, among
some steep rocks, grow trees of fantastic form. The combination
of rock-scenery and foliage make the chann of this place, to
which scholars, artists, and travellers resort. In spring and au-
tumn, hterarj’ parties visit the chamber dedicated to those who
love the rocks. There, abandoning themselves to literaiy revels,
they compose poems, hold scholaily reunions, or ramble about in
search of health or pleasure.
The people of Kang-wen are industrious and intelligent, with
less energy of body than the southern pro^incials, but hke their
northern countrymen, they have the reputation of being bold,
obstinate, and quarrelsome. In time of bad harv'ests or lax gov-
ernment, “ tramps ” form bands of thii’ty or fifty,- and roam the
country’, stealing food or valuables from the \’iUages. Local thieves
are sufficiently abundant. Diudng the heavy snows of ■ndnter,
people travel the movmtain paths on snow-shoes, and in excep-
tional places, cut tunnels under the snow for communication from
house to house. Soldiers test their strength by pulling strong
bows, and laborers by carrjdng heavy burdens on their shoulders.
Strong men shoulder six hundred pounds of copper, or two bales
of white rice (2G0 pounds each.) The women of this prorince are
said to be the most beautiful in Corea. Even from ancient times,
lovely damsels from tliis part of the peninsula, sent to the harem
of the Chinese emperor, were greatly admired. Christianity has
made httle progress in Kang-wen, only a few towns in the south-
ern part being marked with a cross on the French missionary map.
In the most ancient times the Chinhan tribes occupied this por-
tion of Corea. From the Christian era, until the tenth century,
it was alternately held by Kokorai, or Korai, and by Shinra.
14
210
COREA.
HAM-KITING, OE COMPLETE VIEW.
Ham-kiung is that part of Corean territory which touches the
boundary of Russia. Only a few years ago aU the neighbors along
the land frontiers of Cho-sen were Chinese subjects. Isow she
has the European within lifle-shot of her shores. Only the Tu-
men River separates the Muscovites from the once hermits of the
peninsula. The southern boundaiy of Russia in Asia, which had
been thrown farther south after every European war with China,
touched Corea in 1858. What was before an elastic line, has in
each instance become the Czar’s “ scientific frontier.” By the
supplementary treaty of Aigun, March 28, 1858, Count Mouravieff
“ rectified ” the far eastern line of the Czar’s domain, by demand-
ing and obtaining that vast and fertile territory lying south of the
Amur River, and between the Gulf of Tartary and the river Esuri,
having a breadth of one hundred and fifty miles. This remote,
but very desirable, shce of Asia, is rich in gold and silk, coal and
cotton, rice and tobacco. With energy and entei’prise, the Rus-
sian government at once encouraged emigration, placed steamers
built in New York on the Usuri River and Lake Hanka, laid out
THE EIGHT PROVINCES,
211
Corean Village in Russian Territory.
212
COREA.
the ports of Vladivostok, and Possiet, constructed a telegraph
from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean, and enforced order
among the semi-civilized and savage tribes. The name of the
new Eussian territoiy between the Amur Kiver and the Sea of
Okhotsk, is Primoi-skaTa, ^ith Vladivostok for the capital, which
is finely situated on Peter the Great or Victoria Bay. Immense
fortifications have been planned, and the place is to be made the
Sebastopol of the Czar’s Pacific possessions. This gigantic work
was begim under the charge of the late Admiral Popofl^ whose
name has been given to the iron-tiuTeted war vessels of which he
was the inventor, and to a moimtain in Central Corea. Possiet is
within twenty-five miles of the Corean frontier. It is connected
with Nagasaki by electric cable. In the event of a war between
China and Eussia, or even of Amglo-Eussian hostilities, the Czar
would most probably make Corea the basis of operations against
China ; for Corea is to China as Canada is to the United States, or,
as the people say, “ the lijDs of China’s teeth.”
Eussia needs a coast line in the Pacific -with seaports that are
not frozen up in >\lnter, and her ambition is to be a naval power.
While England checks her designs in the VIediteiTanean, and in
Eui’ope, her desire is great and her need is greater to have this
defenceless peninsula on her eastern borders. The Coreans know
too well that the possession of their coxmtry by “ Eussia the rav-
enous ” is considered a necessity of the absorption policy of
Peter the Great’s successoi-s. The Tumen Eiver, which rises at
the foot of the Ever-VMiite VIountains and separates Corea from
Eussia, is about two himdred miles in length. It drains a moun-
tainous and rainy country. Ordinarily it is shallow and quiet ;
but in sjjring, or after heavy rains, and swollen by a great number
of tributaries, its current becomes very tvu'bulent and powerful
In winter it is fr’ozen over during several months, and hence is
easily crossed. Thousands of Coreans fleeing from famine, or
from the oppression of government officials, Christians perse-
cuted for theu* faith, ciiminals seeking to escape the clutches of
the law, emigi-ants desirous of bettering their condition, have
crossed this river and settled in Primorskaia, rmtil they now
number, in all, about eight thousand. The majority of them are
peasants fr’om Ham-kiung, and know little of the southern parts
of their countr}’. There is, however, an “ undergroimd railroad ”
by which persecuted Christians can fly for refuge to Eussian pro-
tection. Their houses are biult of stout timbers, wattled with
THE EIGHT PROVINCES.
213
cane, plastered witli mud, and surrounded -witli a neat fencing
of interlaced boughs. They cover their houses with strips of
bamboo, well fastened down by thatching. The chimney is de-
tached from the house, and consists of a hollow tree. Under the
warmed floor is the usual system of flues, by which the house is
kept comfortable in winter, and eveiy atom of fuel utilized. Their
food is millet, com, venison, and beef. They pare and diy melon-
hke fruits, cutting them up in strips for winter use. They di’ess
in the national color, white, using quilted cotton clothes. They
make good use of bullock-carts, and smoke tobacco habitually.
The national product — thick strong paper — is put to a great va-
riety of uses, and a few sheets dressed with oil, serve as windows.
Some of the Russian merchants have married Corean women,
who seem to make good -^vives. Their offspring are carefully brought
up in the Christian faith. Some of these Corean cliddren have
been sent to the American Home at Yokohama, where the ladies
of the "Woman’s Union Missionary- Society of America have given
them an educatioij in English. Thi’ough the Russian possessions,
the Corean liberal. Kin Rinshio, made his escape. From this
man the Japanese officials learned so much of the present state of
the peninsula, and by his aid those in the War- Dejiartment at
Tokio were enabled to construct and publish so valuable a map
of Corea, the accuracy of which astonishes his fellow-country-
men. The Russians have taken the pains to educate the people in
schools, and, judging fi-om the faces and neat costumes, as seen in
photographs taken on the spot, they enjoy being taught. The
object of instmction is not only to cirilize them as loyal subjects
of the Czar, but also to convert them to the Russian foi-m of Chris-
tianity. In this work the priests and schoolmasters have had con-
siderable success. There are but few Coreans north of the Tumen
who cannot read and -\\Tite, and the yormg men employed as
clerks are good linguists. A number of them are fishei-men, liv-
ing near the coast. Most of the com-erts to the Greek church
are gathered at Vladivostok.
So great has been the fear and jealousy felt by Corea toward
Russia, that during the last two generations the land along the
boundary- river has been Laid desolate. The banks were picketed
with sentinels, and death was the penalty of crossing from shore
to shore. Many interesting relics of the ancient greatness of
Corea stiU abound in Manchui-ia and on Russian soil. Travellers
have visited these ruins, now overgrown mth large forest trees.
214
COREA.
and have given descriptions and measurements of them. One for-
tification was found to cover six acres, with walls over thirty feet
in height, protected by a moat and two outer ditches, with gate-
ways gmarded by curtains. In the ruins were elaborately caiwed
fragments of columns, stone idols or statues, with bits of armor
and weapons. Some of these now silent mins have sustained
famous sieges, and once blazed with watch-fires and echoed to
battle-shouts. They are situated on spiu's or ends of mountain
chains, commanding plains and valleys, testifying to the knowl-
edge of strategic skill possessed by their ancient buildei*s.
The Shan-yan Alin, range on range, risible from the Corean side
of the river, are between eight thousand and twelve thousand feet
high, and are snow-covered dmang most of the year. The name
means Long-white, or Ever-TMiite ^Mountains, the Chinese Shang-
hai, meaning the same thing. Two of the peaks are named after
Chinese emperors. Paik-tu, or "SMiite Head, is a sacred moimtain
famous throughout the countrj', and is the theme of enthusiastic
description by Chinese, Japanese, and Corean writers, the former
comparing it to a vase of white porcelain, with a scolloped rim.
Its flora is mostly white, and its fauna are reputed to be white-
haired, never injm-ing or injured by man. It is the holy abode of
a w'hite-robed goddess, who presides over the mountain. She is
represented as a woman holding a child in her arms, after a le-
gendaiy character, known in Corean lore and Chinese historical
novels. Formerly a temjfle dedicated to her spiifit was built, and
for a long time was presided over by a priestess. The Corean
Buddhists assign to this mountain, the home of Manchusri, one of
their local deities, or incarnations of Buddha. Lying in the main
gi’oup of the range, twenty-five hundi’ed feet above the sea, is a
vast lake smToimded by naked rocks, probably an extinct crater.
Large portions of the mountain consist of white hmestone, which,
with its snow, from which it is free only dm-ing two months of the
year, gives it its name.
Another imposing range of mountains follows the contour of
the coast, and thus presents that lofty and magnificent front of
forest-clad highland which strikes the admii'ation of navigators.
Other conspicuous peaks are named by the natives. Continuous
Virtue, The Peak of the Thousand Buddhas, Cloud-toucher, Sword
Mountain, Lasting Peace, Heaven-reaching.
Twenty-foru’ rivers water and di’ain this mountainous province.
The coast of Ham-kiung down to the fortieth pai’aUel is devoid
THE EIGHT PROVINCES.
215
of any important harbors. A glance at a foreign chart shows that
numerous French, Russian, and Enghsh navigators have visited it,
and gained precarious renown by sprinkling foreign names upon
its capes and headlands. At the south, Yung-hing, or Brough-
ton’s Bay, so named by the gallant British captain in 1797, is
well known for its fine harbors and its high tides. It contains
a small archipelago, while the country aroimd it is the most popu-
lous and fertile portion of the province. Port Lazareff, east of
Yon-fim, near the mouth of the Dungan River, and west of
Virginie Bay, is weU known. A large Japanese army imder Kato
occupied this territory during the year 1592.
By the recent treaty with Japan, the port of Gensan, front-
ing on the south of Broughton’s Bay, was opened for trade and
commerce, from May 1, 1880. Gensan lies near the thirty-ninth
parallel of latitude. Near the shore is the island of Chotoku, and
within the twenty-five mile circuit allowed to Japanese merchants
216
COREA.
for general travel, or free roovement, is the old castle-town of To-
kugen. The tomb of the founder of the reigning dj-nash’ of Cho-
sen is situated near the bay and is a highly venerated spot. As the
dragon is in native ideas the tj-pe of all that is strong, mighty,
and renowned, the place is named the “Eise of the Dragon.” One
of the high roads of the kingdom traverses the strip of land skirt-
ing the sea from north to south throughout the province, touch-
ing the water at certain places. The gi’eater part of the people
dwelling in the pro-sdnce live along this road. The inteiior, being
a mass of moimtains, is thinly inhabited, and the primeval for-
ests are populated chiefly by tigers and other beasts of prey.
In the cuiTent scouring the coast of Ham-kiimg swim unnum-
bered shoals of heiTing, ribbon fish, and other species inhabiting
the open seas. After these follow in close pursuit schools of
whales,’ which fatten on them as prey. Thousands of natives from
the interior and the shore villages come do^\*n in the season and
fish. They often stand knee-deep in the water, looking like long
rows t)f the snowy heron of a rice-swamp, in their white clothes.
They use a kind of catamaran or raft for fishing and for sui-f
narigation, which is very sers'iceable. They sometimes himt the
whales at sea, or captvue them in shoal water, driving them in
shore tiU stranded. Sticking in the bodies of these huge crea-
tures have been found darts and harpoons of European whalers.
This chase of the herring by the whales was noticed, even in the
extreme south of Corea, by Hamel, and by shipwTekced Dutch-
men. Since the present year, Japanese whale-huntei-s have been
engaged by Coreans to improve their methods of catching this
huge sea-mammal.
The capital city of this largest of the provinces, and the
residence of the governor, is Ham-hung, situated near the fortieth
parallel of north latitude. According to a native geography this
province contains 103,200 houses, which gives a population varying
fr'om 309,600 to 516,000 souls. There ai’e em’oUed and capable of
mihtary service (on paper) 87,170 men. For administrative pur-
poses the province is divided into divisions, the norihem and the
southern. There are fifteen walled cities.
Formerly, and until the Russians occupied the Primorskaia
territoiy, an annual or bi-annual fair was held at the Corean city of
Kion-wen, which lies close to the border. The Manchiu and Chi-
nese merchants bartered tea, rice, pipes, gold, and furs for the
Corean ginseng, hides, and household implements. Furs of a
THE EIGHT PROVINCES.
217
thousand sorts, cotton stuff, silks, artificial flowers, and choice
woods, changed hands rapidly, the traffic lasting but two or three
days, and sometimes only one day, from noon until sunset. Such
was the bustle and confusion that these fairs often terminated in
a free fight, which reminds one of the famous Donnybrook. One
of the articles most profitable to the Coreans was their cast-off
hail’. Immense quantities cut from the heads of young persons,
and especially by those about to be man-ied, were and are still
sold by the Chinese to lengthen out their “pig-tails” — that mark
of subjection to their Manchiu conquerors. During the time of
trade no Chinese or Manchiu was allowed to enter a Corean house,
aU the streets and doorways being guarded by soldiers, who at the
end of the fair drove out any lingering Chinese, who, if not soon
across the border, were forced to go at the point of the spear.
Any foreigner found inside the border at other seasons might be,
and often was, ruthlessly mm-dered.
The nearest to^vn beyond the frontier, at which the Chinese
merchants Avere wont to assemble, is Hun-chun. ‘ This loophole of
entrance into Corea, corresponded to Ai-chiu at the Yalu River in
the Avest As at the latter place, foreigners and Christian natiA'es
have attempted to penetrate the forbidden countiy at Kion-Aven,
but have been unsuccessful.
An outhne of the political historj' of the part of the peninsula
noAv called Ham-kiung shows that many masters have in turn
been its possessors. "When the old kingdom of Cho-sen, which
comprehended . Liao Tung and that pari of the peninsula betw’een
the Ta-tong and the Tumen Rivers, Avas broken up toward the end
of the first centurj’, the norihem half of A\hat is noAv Ham-kiung Avas
called Oju or AYoju, the southern portion forming pari of the httle
state of Wei, or MTii. These Avere both conquered by Kokorai,
which held dominion untd the seventh centurA’, when it Avas
crushed by the Chinese emperors of the Han djmasty, and the
land feU xmder the SAvay of Shinra, whose borders extended in
the ninth and tenth centuries, from Eastern Sea to the Tumen
River. After Shinra, arose Korai and Cho-sen, the founders of
both states being sprung from this region and of the hardy race
inhabiting it. From very ancient times, the boundaries of this
proA-ince, being almost entirely natural and consisting of mountain,
river, and sea, have remained unchanged.
. ' Hun-chun is in Chinese Manchuria. The Russian possessions south of Vic-
toria Bay extend hut a few miles from the mouth of the Tumen.
CHAPTER XXIY.
THE KING AND ROYAL PALACE
The title of majesty in Cho-sen is Hap-mun. In full robes of
state the sovereign wears a silken garment, the gift of his suzerain,
the Emperor of China. It is embroidered with dragons, the em-
blems of regal power. His throne has riong or dragons sculptured
around it. The steps leading to it are called “ the staircase of
jade.” The cord which is used to tie criminals has a dragon’s
head at the ends, to signify that the officers act in obedience to
the royal command. Chief of the regalia of Corean sovereignty
is the Great Seal, the possession of which makes the holder the
actual sovereign of Cho-sen. This seal, of which we shall hear
again, seems to have been captured by the French in 1866. In
time of war or public danger, the royal hbrary, archives and re-
galia are sent to Kang-wa Island for safety. Eidel wrote in 1866 ;
“ In another case, they foimd a marble tortoise, sculptured in
perfect art, upon the pedestal of which was the great seal of state.
This royal cartouche was to the simple Corean folk neither visible
nor approachable, the possession of which has sufficed many times
to transfer the royal authority and to terminate revolutions. It was
the regaha of Corean sovereignty. The one which he saw was new
and appeai'ed never to have been used.”
The sovereign, in speaking of himself, uses the term “Hap-
mun,” which is the equivalent of the imperial “We” of Asiatic
state documents. The word is somewhat similar to that employed
by, or for, other rulers — Pharaoh, Subhme Porte, ^likado, aU of
which mean the Grand, Chief, or First, Gate of aU the gates in the
counti*j'. The first character in Hap-mim is, however, different
from that in Mikado, or Honorable Gate, but the hap is honorific.
No other person in the land, official or private, is allowed to use
this compound word in speech or writing as applying to anyone
except the king. Even in transcribing the term hap, a stroke
must be omitted out of respect to the august personage to whom
THE KING AND ROYAL PALACE.
219
alone it is applied. At his death, three cups of rice are set out in
the households in memoriam. This ceremony must not be imi-
tated for any other person. So also, if the character with which
the name of the niling emperor of China is written he found in that
of a public person, a gateway, a palace or edifice in Seoul, the
graphic sign must be temporarily changed, though the pronuncia-
tion remains the same. This same system of graduated honors,
of which, in Corea, the king is the culmination, slopes down to
the common people, and is duly protected by law.
The sovereign’s person is hedged round with a di\dnity that has
an antipathy to ii’on. This metal must ne'^er touch his august body,
and rather than have an abscess lanced, the king Cheng-jong, in
1800, died from the effects of the disease. No ordinaiy mortal
must touch him, and if by accident this is done, the indi^'idual
must ever afterward wear a red silk cord. Notwithstanding such
regulated veneration for the Hap-mun’s person, the royal harem
numbers several hundred inmates, duly presided over by evmuchs.
None but the king can drink out of a cup made of gold, and a
heavy penalty is visited upon all who presume to do so. When out-
side the palace, the three signs of the sovereign’s power of life and
death over his subjects, are the axe, sabre, and trident. The huge
violet fan and red umbrella are likewise borae before him. The
Chinese envoy is always escorted by soldiers bearing the three em-
blems, and by a band of musicians. ’^Wien the Hap-mun, or king, is
in his minority, the queen, who is regent, sits behind a curtain in the
coimcil of ministers, and takes part in the discussions. When she
is pregnant, the slaughter of beeves is prohibited during the space
of three months. This is done in order “ to honor heaven by
ab-stinence,” and may also be ordered to procure rain. Once every
year, the queen entertains at her palace some worthy woman in
humble life, who has reached the advanced age of eighty years. The
king likewise shows favor to old men in the lower walks of life.
TMienever an auspicious event happens, or good fortime befalls
the kingdom, all the officials over seventy, and the common peojile
over eighty years of age, are feasted at the expense of the gov-
ernment. "NMien the first male child is born to the king, criminals
are pardoned, and general festivity is observ’ed. The birthdays of
the royal pair are celebrated every year. The royal princes are
supposed to have nothing whatever to do with politics, and any
activity in matters of government on their part is jealously resented
by the nobles, who form the political parties.
220
COREA.
The Koyal Castle contains over three acres (15,202 square yards),
surrounded by a wall twenty feet high, and a moat the width of
which varies from fifty feet to somewhat less. It is crossed by
stone bridges in several places. This castled palace is called the
“Place of Government,” and is dmded into two parts called the
“East and West ” palace. The East, or Lower Palace, is the resi-
dence of the king and is so called because situated on level land.
The Western palace is used for the reception of the Chinese am-
bassadors. The gates of the outer city proper, and inner city, or
palace, are named in high-sounding phrase, such as “ Beneficent
Recejjtion,” “Exalted Politeness,” “Perfect Change,” “Entrance
of Virtue,” and the throne-room is styled “ The HaU of the Throne
of the Humane Government.” The Chinese ambassador of 1866
spent the night in that part of the royal residence called “ The
Palace Eeseiwed for the South,” — “the south” here evidently re-
ferring to the imperial favor, or the good graces, of the emperor.
A marked difference conceming “the freedom of the city” is
noticed in the relative treatment of the two embassies. While the
entire body of Coreans, dignitaries, seiwants, merchants, and cart-
men enter Peking, and aU cii'culate freely in the streets among the
people, the Chinese envoy to Seoul, must leave his suite at the
frontier, and proceed to the capital with but a few seiwants, and
while there dwell in seclusion. After the long and rough journey
through Shin-king and Corea, the Chinese envoy in 1866 stayed less
than three days in Seoul, and most of the time in-doors. The Jap-
anese who, in 1616, were feasted in some part of the Eastern jialace,
describe it as being handsomely furnished, with the walls gilded
and painted with landscapes, beasts, bii’ds, and flowers, with artis-
tic eff’ects in gold-dust and leaf. The royal family live each in
separate buildings, those above the ninth degi’ee of relationship
reside inside the enclosui'e, aU others live beyond the wall in the
city. Vlien the wife of the king has a child, she dwells apart in
a separate building. The queen is selected from among the old
and most loyal families of the nobility. The palace pages, who
attend the king day and night, number thirty. There are also
three hundred comd ladies, and eunuchs are among the regularly-
appointed officers of the com*t. The royal ai-chives and library
form an interesting portion of the royal residence. Paid of this
library, when removed to Kang-wa in 1866, was captured by the
French. Bishop Eidel wi’ote of it, “ The library is very rich,
consisting of two or three thousand books planted in Chinese,
THE KING AND ROYAL PALACE.
221
with numerous illustrations upon beautiful paper, all well labeled,
for the most part in manj" volumes hooped together -with copper
bands, the covers being of green or crimson silk. I notice among
other things the ancient histoiy of Corea in sixty volumes. 'WTiat
was most cuidous of aU was a book formed of tablets of marble,
with characters in gold encmsted in the mai'ble, folding upon one
another like the leaves of a screen, upon hinges of gilded copper,
and each tablet protected by a cushion of scarlet silk, the whole
placed in a handsome casket made of copper, which was in its
turn enclosed in a box of wood painted red, with chased orna-
ments in gilt copper. These square tablets fonned a volume of a
dozen pages. They contain, as some say, the moral laws of the
coimtry, but according to (others, whose opinion is more probable,
the honoi’s accorded the kings of Corea by the Emperor of China.
The Coreans set great store by it.”
A custom, similar to the old “ cui-few ” of England prevails in
the capital. A beU in the castle is stnick at simset, after which
male citizens are not allowed to go out of their houses even to
risit their neighbors. If such noctuimal prowlers arc caught, they
lam the risk of receiring the bastinado on theii’ legs. At eight
o’clock another thi'ee strokes are given on the beU. At the hours
of midnight, and at two and four a.m. the di-um is struck, and the
brass cymbals sounded. At these signals the watchmen or guards
of the palace are relieved. The night-watch consists of ten reliefs
of eighteen each. Twenty stand guard at midnight, thii-ty at two
A.M., twenty at four a.m., and ten at six A.sr. There are also extra
rehefs with them officers ready. The sentinels change after giving
the pass-word. The military garrison of the city is dirided into
five portions, or four in addition to the household or palace
troops. This is the modem fonn of the old dirision of Kokorai,
into five tribes or clans.
There are several noted holidays, on which the curfew law is
suspended, and the people are allowed to be out freely at night.
Tliese are the first and the last day of the year, the foux’teenth and
fifteenth day of the first month, and the fifteenth of August.
Even rmder a despotism there are means by which the people
win and enjoy a certain measure of liberty. The monarch hears
the complaints of his .subjects. Close communication between the
palace and populace is kept up by means of the pages employed
at the coui't, or through officers, who are sent out as the king’s
spies all over the couuh’y. An E-sa, or commissioner, who is to
222
COREA-
be sent to a distant province to ascertain the popular feeling, or
to report the conduct of certain officers, is also called “ The Mes-
senger on the Dark Path.” He receives sealed orders from the
king, which he must not open till beyond the city walls. Then,
without even going to his own house, he must set out for his des-
tination, the government providing his expenses. He bears the
seal of his commission, a silver plate having the figure of a horse
engraved on it. In some cases he has the power of hfe and death
in his hands. Yet, even the Messenger of the Dark Path is not
free fr'om espionage, for after him forthwith follows his “double”
— the yashi or Night Messenger, who reports on the conduct of
the royal inspector and also on the affairs of each province
through which he passes. The whereabouts of these emissaries
are rarely discoverable by the people, as they travel in strict dis-
guise, and unknown. This system corresponds almost exactly to
that of the ometsuke (eye-appliers), for many centuries in use in
Japan, but abolished by the mikado’s government at the revolu-
tion of 1868. It was by means of these J5-sa or spies that many
of the Coi'ean Chiistians of rank were mai'ked for destruction.
The system, though abominable in free countries, is yet an excel-
lent medium between the throne and the subject, and serves as a
wholesome check on official rapine and cnielty.
The king rarely leaves the palace to go abroad in the city or
country. MTien he does, it is a gi*eat occasion which is previously
announced ta the public. The ^oads are swept clean and guarded
to prevent traffic or passage wBUe the royal cortege is moving.
All doors must be shut and the owner of each house is obliged to
kneel before his threshold with a broom and dust-pan in his liand
as emblems of obeisance. All windows, especially the upper ones,
must be sealed with slips of paper, lest some one should look
down upon his majesty. Those who think they have received
unjust punishment enjoy the right of appeal to the sovereign.
They stand by the roadside tapping a small flat drum of hide
stretched on a hoop like a battledore. The king as he passes
heai’S the prayer or receives the written petition held in a spht
bamboo. Often he investigates the grievance. If the complaint
is groundless the petitioner is apt to lose his head. The proces-
sion for pleasure or a journey, as it leaves the palace, is one of the
grandest spectacles the natives ever witness. His body-guard and
train amount to many thousand persons. There are two sedan
chaii’S made exactly alike, and in which of them the king is riding
THE KING AND ROYAL PALACE.
223
no one knows except the highest ministers. They must never be
tm-ned roimd, but have a door to open at both ends. The music
used on such occasions is — to a Corean ear — of a quiet kind, and
orders are given along the line by signals made with pennons. In
case of sudden emergencies, when it is neccessary to convey an
order from the rear to the front or far foi-ward of the line, the
message is sent by means of an aiTOw, which, with the ■wTiting at-
tached, is shot fi'om one end of the line to the other.
Five caparisoned horses with embroidered saddles precede the
royal sedan. The great dragon-flag, which is about foui’teen feet
square, movmted in a socket and strapped on the back of a strong
fresh horse — with four guy ropes held by footmen, like banner-
string boys in a parade — foi*ms the most conspicuous object in the
procession. Succession to the throne is at the pleasiu’e of the
sovereign, who may nominate his legitimate son, or any one of his
natm-al male offspi-ing, or his cousin, or uncle, as he pleases. A
son of the queen takes precedence 'lOver other sons, but the-*i?lle
child of a concubine becomes king when the queen is childless,
which, in Corean eyes, is \'ii’tually the case when she has daugh-
ters only. Since the founding of the present djmasty in 1392,
there have been twenty-nine successors to the foimder, among
whom we find nephews, cousins, or yoimger sons, in several
instances. Fom* were Jcun, princes, or king’s son only, and not
successors in th& royal line. They are not styled loang, or
kings, but only kun, or princes, in the official light. One of
these foim kun, degraded from the throne, was banished after
eleven years, and another was seiwed in like manner after
fourteen years, reign. The heir to the throne holds the rank
of ivang (Japanese O), king, while the younger sons are kun,
princes. From 1392 to 1882, the average reign of the^twenty
sovereigns of Corea who^received investitiu’e is very neaady six-
teen and a half years.
CHAPTER XXV.
POLITICAL PARTIES.
During the past thi’ee centuries the nobles have been steadily
f^aining political power, or rather we might say have been regain-
ing their ancient prestige at com’t. They have compelled the
royal princes to take the position of absolute political neutrality,
and the policy of the central government is dictated exclusively
by them. Those who hold no office are often the most powerful
in influence with their own party.
The origin of the political parties, which have played such an
influential part in the history of modern Corea, is referred to about
the time of the discoveiy of America. During the reign of Sien-
chong (1469-1494), the eleventh sovereign of the house of Ni, a
disjDute broke out between tw'O of the most powerful of the nobles.
The com-t had bestowed upon one of them a high dignity, to which
his rival laid equal claim. As usual in feudalism eveiywhere, the
families, relatives, retainers, and even seiwauts, of either leader
took part in the quairel. The king prudently kept himself neutral
between the contending factions, which soon formed themselves
into organized parties imder the names of “ Eastern ” and “ West-
ern.” Later on, fi-om a cause equally trivial to an alien eye, two
other parties formed themselves under the names “ Southern ”
and “ Northern.” Soon the Easterners joined themselves to the
Southerners, and the Northerners, who were very numerous, split
into two dirisions, called the Great North and the Little North.
In one of those unsuccessful palace intrigues, called conspii’acies,
the Great North party was mixed up with the plot, and most of its
members were condemned to death. The sm*vivoi*s hastened to
range themselves imder the banner of the Little North. The
next reaction which arranged the pai’ties on new lines, occurred
dm’ing the reign of Suk-chong (1676-1720), and well illustrates
that fanaticism of pedantiy to which the literaiy classes in time
of peace formerly devoted their energies. The father of a young
POLITICAL PARTIES.
225
noble named Tun, who belonged to the Western party, having
died, the young man composed an epitaph. His tutor, an influen-
tial man of letters, not liking the production of his pupil, pro-
posed another. Unable to agree upon the proper text, a lively con-
troversy arose, and out of a hterary acorn sprang up a mighty oak
of pohtics. The Western party sj^lit into the Sho-ron, and No-ron,
in which were found the adherents of the pupil and master. A
free translation of the coiTelative terms sho and no, would be
“ Old Corea ” and “ Young Corea,” or Conseiwative and Progres-
sive, or radical. There were now form political parties.
The Shi-seik, or “the four parties,” are still in existence, and
receive illustration better from French than from British politics.
Every noble in the realm is attached to one or the other of the
four parties, though “ trimmers ” are not unknown. These Tuhil-
poti, or “right and left men,” are ever on the alert for the main
chance, and on the tuim of the political vane promptly desert to
the winning side.
However trr\-ial the causes w’hich led to their fonnation, as
Western eyes sec, the objects kept in riew by the partisans are
much the same as those of i:>arties in Eiu’opean countries and in
the United States. Nominally the prime pui-jiose of each faction
is to advance the interests of the countiy. Actual and veiw power-
ful motives have reference to the spoils of office. Each i^arty en-
deavors to gain for its adherents as many of the high appointments
and dignities as jmssible. Their rallying-point is around the heirs
apparent, or possible, to the throne. When a strong and healthy
king holds the reins of power, political actirity may be cool.
When the sovereign dies and the succession is imcertain, when a
queen or ro^'al concubine is to be chosen, when high ministers of
state die or resign, the Corean political furnace is at full blast.
When king Suk-chong was reigning in 1720, having no son to
succeed him, the four parties coalesced into two, the Opposition
and the Court or royal party. The former supported in this case
one who proved the successful candidate, a brother of the king ;
the latter party lu’ged the claims of an expected heir to the reign-
ing king, which, however, was not bom, as the king died childless.
To secure the throne to their nominee, the brother of the childless
king, the opposition secretly despatched a cornier to Peking to
obtain the imperial investiture. The other party sent assassins to
waylay or overtake the courier, who was murdered before he had
crossed the frontier.
15
226
COREA.
Yeng-chong, the nominee of the Opposition, mounted the
throne after the death of his brother, and reigned from 1724 to
1776, He was an able ruler, and signalized his reign by abohsh-
ing many of the legal tortimes imtil then practised, especially the
branding of criminals. Yet personally he was cruel and unscrupu-
lous. Pubhc iTimor credited him with having found a road to
power by means of a double crime. By the use of various drugs
he made it impossible for his brother to have an heir, after which
he poisoned him.
Stung by these reports, he began, as soon as he was made sov-
ereign, to send to the block nvunbers of the opposite party whom
he knew to be his enemies. Some years after, his eldest sop hav-
ing died, he nominated his second son, Sato, to be his heir, and
associated him with himself in the government of the kingdom.
This young and accomplished prince endeavored to make his
father forget his bitter hatred against the Si-pai party, to pro-
claim general amnesty, and to foUow out a frank policy of recon-
ciUation. The king, iiTitated by his son’s reproaches, and hounded
on by his partisans, resolved to put the prince out of the way. By
the royal command a huge chest of wood was made, into which
the young piince was ordered to sleep while living. The ponder-
ous lid was put on during one of his slumbers and sealed with
the royal seal. They then covered this sarcophagus with leaves
and boughs, so that in a short time the young pidnce was smoth-
ered. This horrible crime served only to exasperate the party of
the prince, and they demanded that his name should be enrolled
in the hst of sovereigns. Their opponents refused, and this ques-
tion is still a burning one. The king’s defenders, to this day de-
cline to rehabilitate the character of the smothered piince. The
others demand that historic justice be done. Though other ques-
tions have since arisen, of more immediate moment, this particu-
lar moot point makes its distinct hue in the opposing colors of
Corean politics. This, however, does not take on the features of
an hereditaiy feud, for oftentimes in the same family, father and
son, or brothers may hold varying views on this historical dispute,
nor does it affect marriage between holders of diverse views. The
Corean Borneo and Juliet may woo and wed without let or dan-
ger. In general, it may be said that the Piek-pai are radical and
fiery, the Si-pai are conseiwative and conciliatory.
Cheng-chong, who ruled from 1776 to 1800, a wise, moderate,
and prudent piince, and a friend of learning, favored the men of
POLITICAL PARTIES.
227
merit among the Southern Si-pai, and is also noted for having
revised the code of laws.
Among the more radical of the partisans, the object in view is
not only to gain for their adherents the public offices, but also to
smite their rivals hip and thigh, and prevent theii’ getting appoint-
ments. Hence the continual quai-rels and the plots, which often
result in the death of one or other of the leaders. Assassination
and murderous attacks are among the means employed, while
to supplant their enemies the king is besought to order them to
death or exile. Concessions are made by the dominant party to
the other only to avoid xdolent outbreaks, and to keep the peace.
With such a rich soil for feuds, it is not wonderful that Corea is
cursed with elements of permanent disturbance like those in
mediaeval Scotland or Italy. As each of the noble famihes have
many retainers, and as the feuds are hereditary, the passions of
human nature have full sway. All manner of envj' and mahce,
with all uncharitableness flourish, as in a thicket of interlacing
thorns. The Southern and No-ron parties have always been the
most numerous, powerful, and obstinate. Between them mar-
riages do not take place, and the noble wlio in an intrigue with
one of his enemies loses caste, his honors, or his life, hands down
to his son or his nearest relative his demand for vengeance. Often
this sacred duty is associated with an exterior and risible pledge.
He may give to his son, for instance, a coat which he is never to
take oft' until revenge is had. The kinsman, thus clad with ven-
geance as with a garment, must wear it, it may be until he dies,
and then put it upon his child with the same vow. It is not rare
to see noblemen clad in rags and tatters during two or three gen-
erations. Night and day these clothes call aloud to the w'earer,
reminding him of the debt of blood which he must pay to appease
the spirits of his ancestors.
In Corea, not to avenge one’s father is to be disowned, to
prove that one is illegitimate and has no right to bear the family
name, it is to riohvte, in its fundamental point, the national reli-
gion, which is the worship of ancestoi*s. If the father has been
put to death under the forms of law, it behooves that his enemy
or his enemy’s son should die the same death. If the father has
been exiled, his enemy’s exile must be secured. If the parent has
been assassinated, in like manner must his enemy fab. In these
cases, public sentiment applauds the avenger, as fulfilling the holy
dictates of piety and rehgion.
228
COREA.
The pretext of accusation most often employed by the rival
factions is that of conspiracy against the hfe of the king. Peti-
tions and false eridence are multiplied and briber}' of the court
ministers is attempted. If, as is often the case, the first petition-
ers are thi’own in jail, beaten, or condemned to mulct or exile,
the paiiisans assess the fine among themselves and pay it, or
manage by new methods, by the favor or venality of the court
ministers, or the weakness of the king, at last to compass their ends,
when those of the vanquished party are ousted from office, while
the victoi-s use and abuse their positions to enrich themselves and
ruin their enemies, until they in their turn are supplanted.
It is no wonder that a Corean liberal •s'isiting in TOkio, in
1882, declared to a Jajjanese officer his conriction that Corea’s
dfficidties in the way of national progress were greater than those
of which Japan had rid herself, mighty as these had been. By
the revolutions of 1868, and later, the ripened fi'uits of a century
of agitation and the presence of foreignei's, Japan had purged
from her body pohtic feudalism and caste, emancipating herself
at once from the tin-all of the priest and the soldier ; but Corea,
with her feudalism, her court intrigues, her Confucian bigotry,
and the effete products of ages of seclusion and superstition has
even a more hopeless task to attempt The bearing of these
phases of home pohtics will be further displayed when the new
distm'bing force of Chi-istianity enters to furnish a h.-ver to am-
bition and revenge, as weU as to affection and philanthropy.
A native caiicature, which was pubhshed about a generation
ago, gives even a foreigner a fair idea of the relative position of
each party at that epoch. At a table gorgeously fm-nished, a No-
ron is seated at his ease, disposing of the bountifrd fare. A Sho-
ron seated beside him, yet in the rear, graciously performs the
office of servant, recehing pai-t of the food as reward for his at-
tendance. The Little North, seeing that the viands ai-e not for
him, is also seated, but with a more sedate and serious visage.
Last of all the Southern, covered with rags, keeps far in the rear,
behind the No-ron, who does not notice him, while he, in vexation,
grinds his teeth and shakes his fist like a man who means to take
bm-ning vengeance. Such was the political situation before 1850,
as some native ■«’it pictm-ed it for the amusement of the Seoulians.
It requii-es a i-uler of real ability to be equal to the pressure
brought upon him by the diverse and hostile political parties.
Nominally sovereign of the coimtry, he is held in check by pow-
POLITICAL PARTIES.
229
erftil nobles intrencbed in pi’i\'ileges boaiy Avitb age, and backed
by all the reactionary influences of feudalism. The nobles are the
powerful middle term in the problem of Corean politics, who con-
trol both king and commons. The nobles have the preponderance
of the government patronage, and fill the official positions with
their liegemen to an extent far beyond w'hait the theory of the
law, as illustrated in the literary examinations, allows them. A
native caricatm-e thus depicts the situation. Cho-sen is repre-
sented as a human being, of whom the king is the head, the
nobles the body, and the people the legs and feet. The breast
and belly ai’e fidl, w’hile both head and lower limbs are gaunt and
shranken. The nobles not only drain the hfe-blood of the peo-
ple by theii’ rapacity, but they curtail the royal prerogative. The
nation is sufteiing from a congestion, verging upon a di’opsical
condition of ovei’-officialism.
The disease of Corea’s near neighbor, old Japan, was like-
wise a surplus of government and an excess of official patronage,
but the body pofitic was purged by revolution. The obstructions
between the thi-one and the people were cleared away by the re-
moval of the sho-gunate and the feudal system. Before the
advent of foreigners, national unity was not the absolute necessity
which it became the instant that aliens fixed their dwelling on the
soil. Now, the empire of the mikado rejoices in time pohtical
imity, and has subjects in a strong and not over-meddlesome gov-
emment. The people are being educated in the rudiments of
mutual obhgations — their rights as well as their duties. The
mikado himself took the oath of 18G8, and his own hand shaped
the august decree of 1881, which will keep his throne unshaken,
not because it was w'on by the bows and an-ows of his di\ine an-
cestors, but because it will rest broad-based upon the peoples’
wiU. So in Cho-sen the w'ork of the future for intelligent patriots
is the closer union of king and people, the curtailment of the
jiower of the nobles, and the excision cf feudalism. Ah-eady, to ac-
complish this end, there are Coreans w'ho are ready to die. Dming
the last decade, the jiressure from Japan, the jealousy of China,
the danger from Bussia, the necessity, at first shnink from and
then yielded to, of making treaties with foreign nations, has altered
the motives and objects of Corean politics. Old questions have
fallen out of sight, and two great parties. Progressionists and Ob-
structionists, or Radical and Couseiwative, have formed for the solu-
tion of the i^roblems thnist upon them by the nineteenth century.
CHAPTER XXVI.
ORGANIZATION AND METHODS OF GOVERNMENT.
Next in authority to the king are the three chong or high min-
isters. The chief of these (Chen-kun) is the greatest dignitary in
the kingdom, and in time of the minority, inability, or imbeciUty
of the king, wdelds royal authority in fact if not in name. Another
tenn apphed to him when the king is unable to govern, is “Foim-
dation-stone Alinister,” upon whom the king leans and the state
rests as a house upon its foundation-stone. The title of Tai-wen-
kun, which suggests that of the “Tycoon” of Japan, seems to
have been a special one intended for the emergency. It was given
to the Regent who is the father of the present King, and who
ruled with neai'ly absolute power from 1863 to 1874, when the
king reached his majority. In the troubles in Seoul in July, 1882,
his title, MTitten in Jajianese as Tai-in kim, became familiar to
western newspapers.
After the king, and the three prime ministers, come the six
ministries or boai’ds of government, the heads of which rank
next to the thi-ee chong or ministers forming the Supreme Council.
In the six departments, the heads ai'e called pan-cho, and these are
assisted by two other associates, the cham-pan, or substitutes, and
the cham-e, or counsellor. These fom- gi-ades and twenty-one
dignitaries constitute the royal coimcil of dai-jin (great ministers),
though the actual authority is in the supreme coimcil of the three
chong. The six boards, or dejiartments of the government, are :
1, Office and Public Employ; 2, Finance ; 3, Ceremonies; 4, TVar ;
5, Justice; 6, Public Works. The heads of these tribunals make
a daily report of all affairs within their province, but refer all
matters of importance to the Supreme Council. There are also
tlu'ee chamberlains, each having his assistants, who record ever}’
day the acts and words of the king. A daily government gazette,
called the Cho-po, is issued for information on official matters.
The general cast and method of procedm*e in the com-t and gov-
ernment is copied after the gi’eat model in Peking.
ORGANIZATION AND METHODS OP GOVERNMENT. 231
Each of the eight provinces is under the direction of a kam-sa,
or governor. The cities are divided into six classes (yin, mu,fu,
id, ling, and hilu), and are governed by officers of corresponding
rank. The towns are given in charge of the petty magistrates,
there being twelve ranks or dignities in the official class. In
theoiy any male Corean able to pass the government examinations
is eligible to office, but the greater number of the best positions
are secured by nobles and their friends.
From the sovereign to the beggar, the gate, both figura-
tively and actually, is very prominent in the pubhc economy and
in family relationships. A great deal of etiquette is visible in the
gates. At the entrance to the royal palace are, or were fonnerly,
two huge effigies, in wood, of horses, painted red. Only high
officials can pass these mute guardians. All persons riding past
the palace must dismount and walk. To the houses of men of
rank there are usually two, sometimes tluee, gates. The magis-
trate himself enters by the largest, his parents and nearer fiiends
by the eastern, and serv’ants by the west or smaUesi T\Tien a
risitor of equal gi-ade calls upon an officer or noble, the host must
come all the way to the great or outer gate to receive him, and do
likewise on dismissing him. If he be of one degree lower rank,
the host comes only to the outside of the middle gate. If of third
or fom-th rank, the caller is accompanied only to the space inside
the middle gate. The man of fifth and sixth rank finds that eti-
quette has so tapered off that the lord of the mansion walks only
to the piazza. Li front of a magistrate’s office, at the gateway, are
ranged the symbols of authority, such as spears and tridents.
The gates are daily opened amid the loud cries of the imderlings,
and their ojjening and closing with a vocal or instrumental
Ijlast is a national custom, illustrated as well at the city as at the
office. The porters who close them at sunset and open them at
dawn execute a salvo on their trumpets, often lasting a quarter
of an hour. This acoustic devastation, so distressing to foreign
ears, is considez'ed good music to the native tympanum.
In sitting, the same iron tongue upon the buckle of custom
holds each man to his right hole in the social strap. People of
equal rank sit so that the guest faces to the east and the host to
the west. Li ordinarj' easy style, the risitor’ s nose is to the south,
as he sits eastward of his host. A commoner faces north. In
social entertainments, after the yup, or bows with the head
and hands bent together, have been made, wine is sipped or
232
COREA.
drunk three or five times, and then follows what the Coreans call
music.
The sumptuary laws of the kingdom are pecuhar, at many points
amusing to occidentals. To commit pem-ram is to "iiolate these
curious regulations. AVhat may be worn, or sat upon, is solemnly
dictated by law. Nobles sit on the kan-kio, or better kind of
chairs. Below the third rank, officers rest upon a bench made of
ropes. Chairs, however, are not common articles of use, nor in-
tended to be such. At entertainments for the aged, in time of
rich har\’ests, local feasts, archeiy tournaments, and on public occa-
sions, these luxm-ies are oftener used. In short, the chair seems
to be an article of ceremony, rather than a constant means of use
or comfort.
Only men above the third rank are allowed to put on silk.
Petty officials must wear cotton. Merchants and fai-mei-s may not
imitate official robes, but don tighter or more economical coats
and trowsers. A common term for officials is “ blue clouds,” in
reference to their blue-tinted gaiments. To their assistants, the
people apply the nickname, not sarcastic, but honorable, of “crooked
backs,” because they always bend low in talking to their employers.
The magistrates lay gi’eat stress on the trifles of etiquette, and
keep up an immense amount of fuss and pomji to sustain their
dignity, in order to awe the common folks. AATienever they move
abroad, their seiwants cry out “ chii-wa,” “ chii-wa,” “ get do'mi
off your horse,” “get doANTi off yom- hoi-se,” to ridei*s in sight
The H-san, or large banner or standard in the form of an um-
brella, is borne at the head of the line. To attempt to cross one
of theu' processions is to be seized and jjimished, and anyone re-
fusing to dismoimt, or who is slow about shjjping off his horse, is
at once arrested, to be beaten or mulcted. MTien permission is
given to kill an ox, the head, hide, and feet usually become the
perquisites of the magistrate or his minions. The exuberant vocab-
ulary in Corean, for the various taxes, fines, mulcts, and squeezes
of the undei-strappers of the magistrate, in gross and in detail,
chief and supplementary, testify to the rigors and expenses of
being governed in Cho-sen.
Oven’eaching magistrates, through whose injustice the people
are goaded into rebellion, are sometimes punished. It seems that
one of the penalties in ancient times was that the culpable official
should be boiled in oU. Now, however, the condemned man is
exiled, and only rai'ely put to death, while a commutation of justice
0RGA2JIZATI0N AffD METHODS OF GOVERNMENT. 233
— eqiiivaleut to being burned in effigy — is made by a pretended
boiling in oil Good and upright magistrates are often remem-
bered by mok-pi, or inscribed columns of wood, erected on the
pubhc road by the grateful people. In many instances, this testi-
monial takes the foim of sculptui-ed stone. A number of the pub-
lic highways are thus adorned. These, with the tol-pi, or monu-
mental bourne, which marks distances or points out the paths to
places of resort, are interesting features of travel in the peninusla,
and more pleasant to the horseman than the posts near temples
and offices on which one may read “Dismount.” At the funeral
of great dignitaries of the realm, a life-sized figure of a horse,
made of bamboo, dragged before the coffin, is burned along with
the clothes of the deceased, and the ashes laid beside his remains.
As the magistrates are hterarj' men, them official residences
often receive poetic or suggestive names, which, in most cases, re-
flect the natural scenery' siurounding them. “ Little Floweiy
House,” “Rising Cloud,” “Sun-greeting,” “Sheet of Resplen-
dent Water,” “ Water-that-shdes-as-straight-as-a-sword Dwelling,”
“Gate of Lapis-lazuli,” “Mansion near the MTiirlpool,” ai'e some
of these names, while, into the composition of others, the Morn-
ing-star, the Heaven-touching, the Cave-spirit, and the Changing-
cloud Mountain, or the Falling-snow Cataract may enter. Passion-
atelv fond of natm-e, the Coreau gentleman will erect a tablet in
praise of the scenery that chanus his eye. One such reads, “The
beauty of its i-ivers, and of its movmtains, make this district the
first in the country-.”
If, as the French say, “Paris is France,” then Seoul is Corea.
An apparently disproportionate interest centres in the capital, if
one may judge from the vast and varied vocabulary relating to
Seoirl, its people and things, which differentiate aU else outside its
walk Three thousand official dignitaries are said to reside in the
capital, and only eight hundred in aU the other cities and prov-
inces. Seoul is “the city,” and all the rest of the peninsula is “the
country.” A provincial having crrltivated manners is called “ a
man of the capital” “ Capital and province ” means the realm.
The rule of the local authorities is very minute in all its rami-
fications. The system of making ever^' five houses a social unit
is universal Wlien a crime is committed, it is easy to locate the
group in which the offender dwells, and responsibility is fixed at
once. Every subject of the sovereign excejrt nobles of rank, must
possess a passport or ticket testifying to his personality, and all
234
COREA.
must “ show their tickets” on demand. For the people, this cer-
tificate of identity is a piece of branded or inscribed wood, for the
soldiers of horn, for the literary class and government officials of
bone. Often, the tablet is in halves, the indmdual ha^•ing one-
half, and the government keeping its tally. The people who can-
not read or wiite have their labels carefully tied to their clothing.
When called upon to sign important documents, or bear witness
on trial, they make a blood-signature, by rudely tracing the signs
set befoi’e them in then,’ own blood. The name, residence of the
holder, and the number of the group of houses in which he lives,
are branded or inscribed on the ho^pai, or passport.
The actual workings of Corean justice will bo better imder-
stood when treating of Christianity — an element of social life
which gave the pagan tribunals plenty of work. Civil matters are
decided by the ordinai-y chil magistrate, who is judge and jury at
once ; criminal cases are tried by the military commandant. Very
important cases are referred to the governor of the province. The
highest com't of appeal is in the capital Cases of treason and re-
bellion, and charges against high dignitaries, are tried in the
capital before a special tribunal instituted by the king.
The two classes of assistants to the magistrate, who are called
respectively hai-seilc and a-cJien, act as constables or sheriffs,
police messengers, and jailers. French ^vriters term them “ pre-
torians” and “satellites.” These men have practically the admin-
istration of justice, and the details and spirit of local authority are
in their power. The hai-seik, or constables, form a distinct class
in the community, rarely intermarrwiug with the people, and
handing down their’ offices, implements, and arts from father to
son. The a-chen, who are the inferior police, jaders, and tortrrrers,
are from the very lowest classes, and usually of brnrtal life and
temper.
The vocabulary of torture is sufficiently copious to stamp Cho-
sen fls still a semi-ci%ilized nation. The inventory of the court and
jrrison comprises iron chains, bamboos for beating the back, a
paddle-shaped implement for inflicting blows ujron the buttocks,
switches for whipping the calves till the flesh is ravelled, ropes
for sawing the flesh and bodily organs, manacles, stocks, and
boards to strike against the knees and shin-bones. Other pvmish-
ments ai’e suspension by the arms, tying the hands in front of the
knees, between which and the elbows is inserted a stick, while the
hirman ball is rolled about. An ancient but now obsolete mode
ORGANIZATION AND METHODS OP GOVERNMENT. 235
of torture ^as to tie the four limbs of a man to the horns of as
many oxen, and then to madden the beasts by fire, so that they
tore the victim to fragments. The punishment of beating with
paddles often leaves scars for life, and causes ulcers not easily
healed. One hundred strokes cause death in most cases, and
many die under forty or fifty blows. For some crimes the knees
and shin-bones are battered. A woman is allowed to have on one
gaiment, which is wetted to make it chng to the skin and in-
crease the pain. The chief of the hctors, or pubhc spanker, is
called siu-kiO. With the long, flexible handle swung over his
head, he phes the resounding blows, planting them on the bare
skin just above the knee-joint, the victini being held down by four
gaolers. The method of correction is quite characteristic of pa-
ternal government, and is often inflicted upon the people openly
and in pubhc, at the whim of the magistrate. The bastinado
was formerly, like hundreds of other customs common to both
countries, in vogue in Japan. As in many other instances, this has
survived in the less ci^•ilized nation.
When an offender in the mihtarj’ or hteraiw class is sentenced
to death, decapitation is the rather honorable method employed.
The executioner uses either a sort of native u-on hatchet-sword or
cleaver, or one of the imported Japanese steel-edged blades,
which have an excellent reputation in the peninsula
Undoubtedly the severity of the Corean code has been miti-
gated since Hamel’s time. According to his observations, husbands
usually killed their ^vives who had committed adulteiy. A wife
murdeiing her hu-sband was buried to the shoulders in the earth
at the road side, and all might strike or mutilate her with axe or
sword. A serf who mui-dered his master was tortured, and a
thief might be trampled to death. The acme of cnielty was pro-
duced, as in old Japan, by pouring -rinegar do'wn the criminal’s
throat, and then beating him tiU he bm*st The ci-iminal code
now in force is, in the main, that revi.sed and pubhshed by the
king in 1785, which greatly mitigated the one formerly used. One
di.sgraceful, but not very severe, mode of correction is to tie a
drum to the back of the ofiender and publicly proclaim his trans-
gression, while the diaun is beaten as he walks through the streets.
Amid many improvements on the old barbarous system of aggra-
vating the misery of the condemned, there still survives a dis-
gracefiil foi-m of capital punishment, in which the cruelty takes on
the air of savage refinement. The cho-reni-to-ta appears only in
236
COREA.
extreme cases. Tlie criminal’s face is smeared ■with chalk, his
hands are tied behind him, a gong is tied on his back, and an
aiTow is thrust thi-ough either ear. The executioner makes the
victim march round before the spectators, while he strikes the
gong, ci-jdng out, “ This fellow has committed [adultery, murder,
treason, etc.]. Avoid his crime.” The French missionaries exe-
cuted near Seoid were aU put to death in this barbarous manner.
Officials often receive furloughs to retmai home and visit their
parents, for filial piety is the supreme -virtue in Chinese Asia.
The richest rewards on earth and brightest heaven hereafter await
the filial child. Ciu'ses and disgrace in this life and the hottest
heU in the world hereafter are the penalties of the disobedient or
neglectful child. The man who stiikes his father is beheaded-
The pamcide is bm-ned to death. Not to momm long and faith-
fully, by retiring from office for months, is an incredible iniquity.
Coreans, like Japanese, argue that, if the law punishes crime,
it ought also to reward \ii’tue. Hence the system which prevails
in the mikado’s empii’e and in Cho-sen of pubHcly awai'ding prizes
to signal exemplars of filial piety. These in Japan may be in the
form of money, silver cups, rolls of sUk, or gewgaws. In Corea,
they are sho\vn in monumental columns, or dedicatory temples,
or by public honors and promotion to office. Less often are the
rewarded instances of devotion to the mother than to the father.
Official hie has its sunshine and shadows in this land as else-
whei'e, but perhaps one of the hai-dest tasks before the Corean
niling classes of this and the next generation is the duty of ddi-
gently eating them words. Accustomed for centuries to decry
and behttle the foreigner from Christendom, they must now, as
the people discern the superiority of westerners, “ rise to explain ”
in a manner highly embarTassing. In intellect, goverarment, science,
social customs, manual skill, refinement, and possession of the arts
and comforts of life, the foreigner -will soon be discovered to be
superior. At the same time the inteUigent native -will behold
■with how httle -wisdom, and how much needless cnrelty, Cho-sen
is governed. The Japanese official world has passed thr-ough such
an experience. If we may argue from a common ancestry and
hereditary race traits, we may forecast the probability that to
Corea, as to Japan, may come the same nraiweUoirs revolution in
ideas and customs.
CHAPTER XXYII.
FEUDALISM, SERFDOM, AND SOCIETY.
It is remarked by PaUadius that the Fujni race, the ancestors
of the modem Coreans, was the first to emerge from the desert
under feudal forms of organization. The various migi-ations of
new nations rising out of northern and eastern Asia were west-
Avard, and were held together under monarchical systems of govern-
ment. The Fuyu tribes Avho, by tmning theii’ face to the rising,
instead of the setting sun, were anomalous in the direction of
their migration, were unique also in their political genius. Those
emigrants who, descending from the same ancestral seats in Man-
chmia, and through the peninsula, crossed toward Nippon, or
Sunrise, and settled Japan, maintained their feudalism until,
through ambitious desire to rival great China, they boiTOwed the
centralized system of court and monarchy from the Tang djmasty,
in the seventh centur}’. The mikado, by means of boards or
ministries like the Chinese, ruled his subjects imtil the twelfth
centurj'. Then, through the pride and ambition of the militai’y
clans, which had subdued all the tribes to his sway, feudalism,
which had spread its roots, lifted its head. By rapid growths,
under succeeding military’ regents, it grew to be the tree OA'er-
spreading the empire. It was finally uprooted and destroyed only
by the revolution of 18G8, and the later rictories of united Japan’s
imperial armies, at an awful sacrifice of life and treasure.
That branch of the Fuati migi'ation which remained in the
Corean peninsula likewise preserA’ed the institution of feudalism
which had been inherited from their ancestors. In their early
historj’, lands were held on the tenure of military service, and in
war time, or on the accession of a new dynasty, rewards were
made by parcelling out the soil to the followers of the victor.
ProA*ision for a constant state of servitude among one class of the
pohtical body was made by the custom of making serfs of crimi-
nals or their kindred. A nucleus of slavei'y being once formed.
238
COREA.
debt, famine, capture in war, voluntary 8un*ender, would serve to
increase those whose persons and labor were wholly or partly
owned by another. To social jirosperity, rehgion, and the increase
of general inteUigence, we may look as elements for the amehora-
tion of serfdom and the elevation of certain classes of bondsmen
into free people. The forms of Corean society, to this day, are
derived from feudal ranks and dirisions, and the powers, status,
divisions, and practical politics of the nobles have their roots in
the ancient feudalism which existed even “ before the conquest.”
Its fruit and legacy are seen in the serfdom or slavery- which is
Corea’s “domestic” or “peculiar” institution.
Speaking in general terms, the ladder of society has four mngs,
the king, nobles, and the three classes of society, in the last of
which are “ the seven low callings.” In detail, the grades may be
counted by the tens and scores. In the lowest grade of the foui’th
class are “the seven rile callings,” riz. : the merchant, boatman,
jailor, postal or mail slave, monk, butcher, and sorcerei'.
The “foim classes of society” include the literarj' men or
officials, the farmers, the artisans, and the traders. Among the
nobdity are various ranks, indicated by titles, high offices at court,
or nearness of relationship to the king. He is “ neither ox nor
horse ” is the native slang for one who is neither noble nor com-
moner. The nobles are usually the serf-proprietoi's or slave-hold-
ers, many of them having in their households large numbers
whom they have inherited along with their ancestral chattels.
The master has a right to sell or otherwise dispose of the chUdi'en
of his slaves if he so choose. The male slave is called chong-nom.
A free man may marry a female slave, in which case he is termed
a pi-pu. The male children by this mari’iage are free, but the
female offspring belong to the master of the mother, and may be
sold. A liberated slave is called pal-sin, and he speaks of his
former master as ku-siang. The native vocabulai-y for the slave
in his various relations is sufficiently copious. “ Fugitive ” slaves,
“ slave-h\mters,” and “slave-drivers,” are as common to the Co-
rean ear, as to the American in the long-ago days of “before the
war.” A pan-no is a bondsman trying to escape, and to attempt
chiu-ro is to hunt the fugitive and bi’ing him back. The in-chang
is the public slave of the \allage. Yet such a thing as the bonds-
man’s servile love of place, rising into swollen and oppressive
pride that looks down on the poor freeman, is a common thing,
and cruel and overbearing freatment of the peasantry by the min-
V
FEUDALISM, SERFDOM, AND SOCIETY. 239
ions of a noble is too frequently witnessed in Corea. “ Tek-pun-
ai” (“By your favor,” equivalent to “Let me live, I pray you”)
is a cry, more than once heard by French missionaries, from a
man beaten by the swaggeiing serfs of some nobleman. It is
not exactly the feeling of the sleek and well-bred black slave of
old-time Virginia for “the poor white trash,” since in Corea
slavery has no color-line ; yet, in essentials of cii’cumstance, it is
the same. Such a phase of character is more likely to be devel-
oped among the serfs of the old barons or landed proj^rietors who
have longest occupied their hereditary possessions, and who keep
up a petty court within their castles or semi-foi-tified mansions.
Slavery or serfdom in Corea is in a continuous state of dechne,
and the number of slaves constantly diminishing. In the remote
provinces it is practically at an end. The greater number of serfs
are to be foimd attached to the estates of the great noble families
of the central prorinces. The slaves are those who are bom in a
state of seiwitude, those who seU themselves as slaves, or those
who are sold to be such by their parents in time of famine or for
debt. Infants exposed or abandoned that are picked up and
educated become slaves, but their offspring are born free. The
serfdom is really very mild. Only the active young men are held
to field labor, the young women being kept as domestics. "When
old enough to maiTj’, the males are let free by an annual payment
of a sum of money for a term of years. Often the slaves marry,
are assigned a house apart, and bound only to a fixed amount of
labor. Although the master has the power of life and death over
his slaves, the right is rarely exercised unjustly, and the mission-
aries report that there were few cases of excessive cruelty prac-
tised. An unjust master could be cited before the tribunals, and
the case inquired into. Often the actual condition of the serfs is
superior to that of the poor riUagers, and instances are common
in which the poor, to escape the rapacity and cruelty of the nobles,
have placed themselves under the protection of a master known to
be a kind man, and thus have purchased ease and comfort at the
sacrifice of hberty.
Outside of private ownership of slaves, there is a species of
government slavery, which illustrates the persistency of one feature
of ancient Kokorai perpetuated through twenty centuries. It is the
law that in case of the condemnation of a great criminal, the ban
of Ui-ro-ui-pi shall fall upon his wife and children, who at once
become the slaves of the judge. These unfortunates do not have
240
COREA.
the privilege of honorably serving the magistrate, but usually pass
their existence in waiting on the menials in the various depart-
ments and magistracies. Only a few of the government slaves
are such by birth, most of them having become so through judicial
condemnation in criminal cases ; but this latter class fare far worse
than the ordinary slaves. They are chiefly females, and are treated
very little better than beasts. They are at the mercy not only of
the officers but even of their satellites, servants, and grooms, or
to whomever they are sold for an hoiir. Nothing can equal the
contempt in which they are held, and for an honest or an innocent
woman, such a fate is worse than many deaths. In the earliest
vTitten account of the Kokorai people, the ancestors of the mod-
ern Coreans, we find this same feat\ire of ancient feudalism by
which a class of serfs may be continually provided. To Christian
eyes it is a horrible relic of barbarism.
The penal settlements on the sea-coast, and notably Quelpart
Island, are worked by colonies of these male government slaves or
conrfcts. The females are not usually sent away from the place
of their parents or their own crime.
In ancient times of Kokorai and Korai there were only two
classes of people, the nobles and their free retainers, and the
serfs or slaves. The nobles were lords of cities and castles, like
the daimios of Japan, and were very numerous. The whole coun-
tiy was owned by them, or at least held in the king’s name under
tenure of military service — a lien which length of time only
strengthened. In the long centuries of peace, many of these old
families — weakly descendants of vigorous founders — have died out,
and the land reverting to the sovereign, or possessed by the peo-
ple, is now owned by a more numerous and complex class, while
nearly aU the cities and towns are governed by officers sent out
by the central authority at Seoul. The ancient class of serfs has,
by industiy and intelligence and accumulation of rights vested
in their special occupations, developed into the various middle
classes. The nobles are now in a minority, though at present
then’ power is on the incx'ease, and their ancestral landholds com-
prise but a small portion of the soU.
As in mediieval Europe, so in Corea, where feudalism, which
rests on personal loyalty to a reigning sovereign, or a particular
royal line, prevails, a more or less complete revolution of titles and
possessions takes place upon a change of dj-nasty. On the acces-
sion of the present roy^ house in 1392, the old Korai nobility
FEUDALISM, SERFDOM, AND SOCIETY.
241
Tvere impoverished and the partisans of the foiinder of the Ni, and
all who had aided him to the throne, became at once the nobility
of the kingdom, and were rewarded by gifts of land. To the
victors belonged the spoils. The honors, riches, and the exclu-
sive right to fill many of the most desirable public ofiices were
awarded in pei*petuity to the aristocracy. The mass of the people
were placed or voluntarily put themselves under the authority of
the nobles. The agricultural class attached to the sod simply
changed masters and landlords, while the cities and towns people
and sea-coast dwellers became, only in a nominal sense, the ten-
anby of the nobles. Gradually, however, those who had ability
and address obtained their full liberty, so that they were in no
way bound to jiay tithe or tax to the nobles, but only to the cen-
tral government Under peace, wdth wealth, intelligence, combi-
nation, trade-imions, and guilds, and especially by means of the
literary examinations, the various classes of the people emerged
into independent existence, lea\-ing but a few of the lowest of the
population in the condition of serfs or slaves. Between the ac-
counts of Hamel in 1653, and of the French missionaries in the
last decade, there are many indications of progress. Laborers,
artisans, merchants, soldiers, etc., now have a right to their own
labor and earnings, and the general di^'ision of the common-
wealth is into three classes — nobles, common i^eople, and serfs or
slaves.
Speaking generally, the peculiar institution of Cho-sen is serf-
dom rather than slavery, and is the inheritence of feudalism ; yet,
as Russia has had her Alexander, America her Lincoln, and Japan
her Mutsilhito, we may hope to see some great hberator yet arise
in the “Land of Morning Calm.”
Under absolute despotisms, as most Asiatic governments are,
it is a wonder to republicans how the people enjoy any liberty
at all. If they have any, it is interesting to study how they have
attained it, and how they hold it. Politically, they have absolutely
no freedom. They know nothing of goverament, except to pay
taxes and obey. Their political influence is nothing. In Cho-sen,
according to law, any person of the common people may compete
at the public examinations for civil or military' emplojunent, but,
in point of fact, his degree is often worthless, for he is not likely
to receive office by it. In a country where might and wealth
make right, and human beings are politically naught, being but
beasts of burden or ciphers without a unit, how do the people
16
242
COREA.
protect themselves and gain any liberty ? How does it come to
pass that serfs may win their way to social freedom ?
It is by union and organization. The spirit of association, so
natural and necessary, is spread among the Coreans of all classes,
from the highest families to the meanest slaves. AU those who
have any kind of w’ork or interest in common form guilds, cor-
porations, or societies, which have a common fund, contributed to
by all for aid in time of need. Very powerful trade-unions exist
among the mechanics and laborers, such as porters, ostlers, and
pack-horse leaders, hat-weavers, coffin-makers, carpenters, and
masons. These societies enable each class to possess a monopoly
of their trade, which even a noble vainly tries to break. Some-
times, they hold this right by writ purchased or obtained from
government, though usually it is by prescription. Most of the
guilds are taxed by the government for their monopoly enjoyed.
They have their chief or head man, who possesses almost despotic
power, and even, in some guilds, of life and death. New mem-
bers or apprentices may be admitted by paying their rate and
submitting to the rules of the guild. In the higher grades of so-
ciety we see the same spirit of association. The temple attend-
ants, the servants of the nobles, the gardeners, messengers, and
domestics of the palace, the supernumeraries and government
employes, all have their “rings,” which an outsider may not
break. Even among the noble families the same idea exists in
due form. The villages form each a little republic, and possess
among themselves a common fund to which everj’ family con-
tributes. Out of this money, hid in the earth or lent out on
interest, are paid the public taxes, expenses of marriage and
burial, and whatever else, by custom and local opinion, is held to
be a public matter. Foreigners, accustomed to the free competi-
tion of English-speaking countries, will find in Cho-sen, as they
found in Japan, and even more so, the existence of this spirit of
protective association and monopoly illustrated in a himdred
forms which are in turn amusing, vexatious, or ati'ocious. A man
who in injustice, or for mere caprice, or in a fit of temper, dis-
charges his ostler, house-servant, or carpenter, will find that he
cannot obtain another good one very easily, even at higher wages,
or, if so, that his new one is soon frightened off the premises. To
get along comfortably in Chinese Asia, one must, willy-nilly, pay
respect to the visible or in^-isible spirit of trade-unionism that
pervades all society in those old coimtries.
FEUDALISM, SERFDOM, AND SOCIETY.
243
One of the most powerful and best organized guilds is that of
the porters. The interior commerce of the country being almost
entirely on the backs of men and pack-horses, these people have
the monopoly of it. They number about ten thousand, and are
divided by provinces and districts under the orders of chiefs,
sub-chiefs, censors, inspectors, etc. A large number of these por-
ters are women, often poor widows, or those unable to marry.
Many of them are of muscular frame, and their life in the open
air tends to develop robust forms, with the strength of men.
They speak a conventional language, easily understood among
themselves, and are very profuse in their salutations to each other.
They have very severe rules for the government of their guild,
and crimes among them are punished with death, at the order of
their chief. They are so powerful that they pretend that even the
government dare not interfere with them. They are outside the
power of the local magistrate, just as a German University student
is responsible to the Facvdty, but not to the police. They ax*e
honest and faithful in their business, delivering packages with
certainty to the most remote places in the kingdom. They are
rather independent of the people, and even bully the officers.
When they have received an insult or injustice, or too low wages,
they “strike” in a body and retire from the district. This puts
a stop to aU travel and business, until these grievances are settled
or sujxmission to their own terms is made.
Owing to the fact that the country at large is so lacking in the
shops and stores so common in other countries, and that, instead,
fairs on set days are so numerous in the towns and villages, the
guild of pedlers and hucksters is very large and influential. The
class includes probably 200,000 able-bodied adult persons, who in
the various provinces move freely among the people, and are thus
useful to the government as spies, detectives, messengers, and, in
time of need, soldiers. It was from this class that the Corean bat-
talions which figured prominently in the affair of December 4-6,
1887, were recruited.
CHAPTER XXYIII.
SOCIAL LIFE — WOMAN AND THE FAMILY.
According to the opinions of the French missionaries, who were
familiar with the social hfe of the people, a Corean woman has no
moral existence. She is an instrument of pleasure or of labor ; but
never man’s companion or equal. She has no name. In child-
hood she receives indeed a surname by which she is known in the
family, and by near friends, but at the age of puberty, none but
her father and mother employ this appellative. To all others she
is “ the sister ” of such a one, or “ the daughter ” of so-and-so.
After her marriage her name is buried. She is absolutely name-
less. Her own parents allude to her by employing the name of
the district or ward in which she has married. Her parents-in-
law speak of her by the name of the place in which she lived
before marriage, as women rarely marry in the same village with
their husbands. T\Tien she bears children, she is “ the mother ”
of so-and-so. Wlien a woman appears for trial before a magis-
trate, in order to save time and trouble, she receives a special
name for the time being. The women below the middle class
work very hard. Farm labor is done chiefly by them. Manure
is applied by the women, rarely by the men. The women carry
lunch to the laborers in the field, eating what is left for their
share. In going to mai'ket, the women carry the heavier load. In
their toilet, the women use rouge, white powders, and hair oiL
They shave the eyebrows to a narrow line — that is, to a perfectly
clean arch, with nothing straggling. They have luxuriant hair,
and, in addition, use immense switches to fill out large coiffures.
In the higher classes of society, etiquette demands that the
chUdi-en of the two sexes be separated after the age of eight or
ten years. After that time the boys dwell entirely in the men’s
apartments, to study and even to eat and drink. The girls remain
secluded in the women’s quarters. The boys are taught that it is
a shameful thing even to set foot in the female part of the house.
SOCIAL LIFE.— WOMAN AND THE FAMILY.
245
The gii'ls are told that it is disgraceful even to be seen by males,
so that gi-aduaUy they seek to hide themselves -whenever any of
the male sex appeal'. These customs, continued from childhood
to old age, result in destroying the family hfe. A Coi’ean of good
taste only occasionally holds conversation with his -wife, whom he
regards as being far beneath him. He rarely consults her on
anything serious, and though Uving under the same roof, one may
say that husband and -wife are widely separated. The female
apartments among the higher classes resemble, in most respects,
the zenanas of India. The men chat, smoke, and enjoy them-
selves in the outer rooms, and the women receive their parents
and fi'iends in the interior apartments. The same custom, based
upon the same prejudice, hinders the common people in their mo-
ments of leisure from remaining in their own houses. The men
seek the society of their male neighbors, and the women, on their
part, unite together for local gossip. Li the higher classes, when a
young woman has arrived at marriageable age, none even of her
own relatives, except those nearest of kin, is allowed to see or
speak to her. Those who ai-e excepted from this rule must ad-
dress her with the most ceremonious reserve. After then.' mar-
riage, the women are inaccessible. They are nearly always con-
fined to theii' apartments, nor can they even look out in the streets
without permission of their lords. !So strict is this I'ule that
fathers have on occasions killed their daughters, husbands their
wives, and wives have committed suicide when strangers have
touched them even with their fingers. The common romances
or novels of the counti'y expatiate on the mei'its of many a Corean
Lucretia. In some cases, however, this exaggerated modesty pro-
duces the verj- results it is intended to avoid. If a bold -villain
or too eager paramour should succeed in penetrating secretly
the apartments of a noble lady, she dare not utter a cry, nor
oppose the least resistance which might attract attention ; for then,
whether guilty or not, she would be dishonored forever by the
simple fact that a man had entered her chamber. Every Corean
husband is a Cicsar in this respect. If, however, the affair remains
a secret, her reputation is saved.
There is, however, another side. Though counting for noth-
ing in society, and nearly so in their family, they are surrounded
by a certain sort of exterior respect. They are alwaj's addressed
in the formulas of honorific language. The men always step aside
in the street to allow a woman to pass, even though she be of the
246
COREA.
poorer classes. The apartments of females are inviolable even to
. the minions of the law. A noble who takes refuge in his wife’s
room may not be seized. Only in cases of rebeUion is he dragged
forth, for in that case his family are reckoned as accomplices in
his guilt. In other crimes the accused must in some w'ay be en-
ticed outside, where he may be legally arrested. 'VMien a pedler
visits the house to show his wares, he waits until the doors of the
women’s apartments are shut. This done, his goods are examined
in the outer apartments, which are open to alL TNTien a man
wishes to mend, or go up on his roof, he first notifies his neigh-
bors, in order that they may shut their doors and windows, lest
he risk the horrible suspicion of peeping at the women. As the
Coreans do not see a “man in the moon,” but only a rabbit
pounding drugs, or a lady banished there for a certain fault,
according as they are most familiar wdth Sanskrit or the Chinese
story, the females are not afraid of this luminarj’^, nor are the men
jealous of her, the moon being female in their ideas of gender.
Marriage in Cho-sen is a thing with which a woman has little
or nothing to do. The father of the young man communicates,
either by call or letter, with the father of the girl whom he wishes
his son to marry. This is often done without consulting the tastes
or chai’acter of either, and usually through a middle-man or go-
between. The fathers settle the time of the wedding after due
discussion of the contract. A favorable day is appointed by the
astrologers, and the aiTangements are perfected. Under this aspect
man-iage seems an affair of small importance, but in reality it is
marriage only that gives one any civil rank or influence in so-
ciety. Every unmairied pereon is treated as a child. He may
commit aU sorts of foolishness without being held to accormt.
His capers are not noticed, for he is not supposed to think or act
seriously. Even the unmarried young men of twenty-five or thirty
years of age can take no part in social reunions, or speak on affair's
of importance, but must hold their tongues, be seen but not heard.
Marriage is emancipation. Even if mated at twelve or thirteen
years of age, the married are adults. The bride takes her place
among the matrons, and the young man has a right to speak
among the men and to wear a hat. The badge of single or of
married life is the hair. Before marriage, the youth, who goes
bareheaded, wears a simple tress, hanging down his back. The
nuptial tie is, in reality, a knot of hair, for in wedlock the hair is
bound up on the top of the head and is cultivated on all pai*ts of
SOCIAL LIFE.— WOMAN AND THE FAMILY.
247
the scalp. According to old traditions, men ought never to clip
a single hair ; but in the capital the young gallants, in order to
add to their personal attractions — with a dash of fashionable defi-
ance— trim their locks so that their coiffure will not increase in
size more than a hen’s egg. The women, on the contrary, not
only preserve aU their own hair, but procure false switches and
braids to swell their coiffures to fashionable bulk. They make up
two large tresses, which are rolled to the back and top of the
head, and secured by a long pin of silver or copper. The common
people roll their plaits around their heads, like a turban, and
shave the front of the scalp. Young persons who insist on re-
maining single, or bachelors andved at a certain or uncertain age,
and who have not yet found a wife, secretly cut off their haii’, or
get it done by fraud, in order to pass for married folks and avoid
being treated as children. Such a custom, however, is a gToss
\dolation of morals and etiquette. (See illustration, page 161.)
On the evening before the wedding, the young lady who is to
be manded invites one of her friends to change her virginal coif-
fm-e to that of a married woman.
The bridegroom-to-be also in\dtes one of his acquaintance to
“do up’’ his hair in manly style. The persons appointed to per-
foim this service are chosen with great care, and as changing the
hair marks the turning-point in life, the hair-dresser of this
occasion is called the “ hand of honor,” and answers to the brides-
maid and groomsman of other countries.
On the marriage-day, in the house of the groom, a platform is
set up and richly adorned wdth decorative woven stuffs. Parents,
friends, and acquaintances assemble in a crowd. The couple to
be married — who may never have seen or spoken to each other —
are brought in and take their places on the platform, face to face.
There they remain for a few minutes. They salute each other
with profound obeisance, but utter not a w’ord. This constitutes
the ceremony of marriage. Each then retires, on either side ; the
bride to the female, the groom to the male apartments, where
feasting and amusement, after fashions in vogue in Cho-sen, take
place. The expense of a wedding is considerable, and the bride-
groom must be unstinting in his hospitality. Any failm-e in this
particular may subject him to unpleasant practical jokes.
On her w’edding-day, the young bride must preserve absolute
silence, both on the manfiage platform and in the nuptial cham-
ber. Etiquette requires this at least among the nobility. Though
248
COREA.
ovemhelmed with questions and compliments, silence is her duty.
She must rest mute and impassive as a statue. She seats herself
in a comer clothed in aU the robes she can bear upon her person.
Her husband may disrobe her if he wishes, but she must take no
part or hinder him. If s^e utters a word or makes a gesture, she
is made the butt of the jokes and gossip of her husband’s house
or neighborhood. The female servants of the house place them-
selves in a peeping position to listen or look thi’ough the win-
dows, and are sure to publish what they see and hear amiss. Or
this may be done to discover whether the husband is pleased with
his wife, or how he behaves to her, as is the case in Japan. A bit
of gossip — evidently a stock storj’ — is the following from Dallet :
A newly married Corean groom spent a whole day among his
male friends, in order to catch some words from his wife at their
first interview, after their hours of separation. His spouse was
informed of this, and perhaps resolved to be obstinate. Her hus-
band, having vainly tried to make her speak, at last told her that
on consulting the astrologers they had said that his wife was
mute from birth. He now saw that such was the case, and was
resolved not to keep for his wife a dumb woman. Kow in a Co-
rean wedding, it is quite possible that such an event may take
place. One of the contracting parties may be deaf, mute, blind,
or impotent. It matters not. The marriage exists. But the
wife, stung by her husband’s words, broke out in an angry voice,
“Alas, the horoscope drawn for my partner is stiU more true.
The diviner announced that I should many the son of a rat.”
This, to a Corean, is a gi’eat insult, as it attaints father and son,
and hence the husband and his father. The shouts of laughter
from the eavesdropping female seiwants added to the discomfiture
of the young husband, w'ho had gained his point of making his
bride use her tongue at a heavy expense, for long did his fiiends
jeer at him for his bx*avado, and chaff him at catching a Tartar.
From the language, and from Japanese sources, we obtain
some side-lights on the nuptial ceremony and married life. In
Corean phi’ase hon-sang (the wedding and the funeral) are the
two great events of hfe. Many are the tenns relating to mar-
riage, and the synonyms for conjugal union. “To take the hat,”
“to clip the hair,” “to don the tuft,” “to sit on the mat,” are aU
in use among the gentlemen of the peninsula to denote the act
or state of man-iage. The hat and the hair play an important
part in the ti’ansition from single to double blessedness. AU who
SOCIAL LIFE.— WOMAN AND THE FAMILY.
249
■wear their locks ta-rai, or in a tress behind, are youths and
maidens. Those -with the tuft or top-knot are married. At his
■wedding and during the first year, the bridegi’oom 'W'ears a cap,
made of a yellow herb, -which is supposed to grow only near
Sunto. Other honeymoon caps are melon-shaped, and made of
sable skin. Ater the chung-mai, or middle-man, has an-anged the
match, and the day is appointed for the han-sa, or wedding, the
bride chooses two or three maiden friends as “ bridesmaids.” If
rich, the bride goes to her future husband’s house in a palanquin ;
if poor, she rides on horseback. Even the humblest maid uses a
sort of cap or veil, -with ornaments on the breast, back, and at the
girdle. ^\Tien she cannot buy, she borrows. The prominent sjun-
bohc figure at the wedding is a goose, which, in Corean eyes, is
the emblem of conjugal fidehty. Sometimes this moh-an is of
glided wood, sometimes it is made out of a fish for eating, again
it is a hve bii'd brought in a cloth with the head visible. If in
the house, as is usual, the couple ascend the piled mats or dais
and the reciprocal prostrations, or acts of mutual consent, form
the sacramental part of the ceremony, and constitute maniage.
The bride bows fom- times to her father-in-law and twice to the
groom. The groom then bows fom- times to the bride. Other
symbolic emblems are the fantastic shapes of straw (otsuka) pre-
sented to bride and groom alike. Dried pheasant is also brought
in and cut. A gourd-bottle of rice--v\ine, decorated or tied with
red and blue tliread, is handed by the bride to the gx’oom. The
bridesmaids standing beside the couple pour the liquid and pass
for exchange the one httle “ cup of the wine of mutual joy,” sev-
eral times filled and emptied.
Then begins the -wedding-feast, when the guests drink and
make merrj'. The important document certifying the fact of wed-
lock is called the hon-se-chi, and is signed by both parties. "When
the woman is unable to write, she makes “ her mark ” (siu-pon)
by spreading out her hand and tracing -with a pencil the exact
profile of palm, wrist, and fingers. Sometimes the groom, in ad-
dition to his four prostrations, which are significant of fidelity to
the bride, gives to his father-in-law a written oath of constancy to
his daughter. Faithfulness is, however, a tjq)ical feminine, rather
than masculine, virtue in th^ hermit nation. The pong-kang, a
kind of wild canary bird, is held up to the wife as her model of
conjugal fidelity. Another large bird, some-what exceeding a duck
in size, and called the ching-kiong, is said never to remate after
250
COREA.
the death of its consort. Corean widows are expected to imitate
this virtuous fowl. In some places may be seen the vermilion
arch or monumental gateway erected to some widow of faithful
memory who wedded but once. Married women wear two rings
on the ring finger. Sixty years, or a cycle, completes the ideal
length of marital life, and “a golden wedding” is then celebrated.
Among the most peculiar of women’s rights in Cho-sen is the
cm-ious custom forbidding any males in Seoul from being out
after eight o’clock in the evening. When this Corean curfew
sounds, all men must hie in-doors, while women are free to ramble
abroad until one a.m. To transgress this law of pem-ya brings
severe penalty upon the offender. In-doors, the violation of the
privacy of the woman’s quarters is punishable by exile or severe
flagellation.
The following story, from Dallet, further illustrates some
phases of their marriage customs, and shows that, while polygamy
is not allowed, concubinage is a recognized institution :
A noble wished to marry his own daughter and that of his
deceased brother to eligible young men. Both maidens were of
the same age. He wished to wed both well, but especially his
own child. With this idea in rtew he had akeady refused some
good offers. Finally he made a proposal to a family noted alike for
pedigree and riches. After hesitating some time which of the
maidens he should dispose of first, he finallj' decided upon his own
child. Without having seen his future son-in-law, he pledged his
word and agreed upon the night. Thi-ee days before the ceremony
he leai'ued from the diviners that the yoimg man chosen was silly,
exceedingly ugly, and veiy ignorant. What should he do ? He
could not retreat. He had given his word, and in such a case the
law is inflexible. In his despair he resolved upon a plan to render
abortive what he could not avert. On the day of the marriage,
he appeared in the women’s apartments, and gave orders in the
most imperative manner that his niece, and not his daughter,
should don the marriage coiffure and the wedding-di-ess, and
mount the nu2^tial platform. His stupefied daughter could not
but acquiesce. The two cousins being of about the same height,
the substitution was easy, and the ceremony proceeded according
to the usual forms. The new bridegroom passed the afternoon in
the men’s apartments, where he met his supposed father-in-law.
What was the amazement of the old noble to find that far from
being stupid and ugly, as depicted by the diviners, the yoimg man
SOCIAL LIFE.— WOMAN AJID THE FAMILY.
251
was good-looking, well-formed, intelligent, liighly educated, and
amiable in manners. Bitterly regretting the loss of so accom-
plished a son-in-law, he determined to repair the evil. He secretly
ordered that, instead of his niece, his daughter should be intro-
duced as the bride. He knew well that the young man would
suspect nothing, for during the salutations the brides are always
so muffled up wdth dresses and loaded with ornaments that it is
impossible to distinguish their cotmtenances.
All happened as the old man desired. During the tw'o or
tlu-ee days which he passed with the new family, he congratulated
himself upon obtaining so excellent a son-in-law. The latter, on
his part, showed himself more and more charming, and so gained
the heart of his supposed father-in-law that, in a burst of confi-
dence, the latter revealed to him aU that had happened. He told
of the diviners’ reports concerning him, and the successive substi-
tutions of niece for daughter and daughter for niece.
The young man was at first speechless, then, recovering his
composm’e, said : “ All right, and that is a very smart trick on
your part. But it is clear that both the two young persons belong
to me, and I claim them. Your niece is my la^vful wife, since she
has made to me the legal salute, and your daughter — introduced
by yourself into my marriage-chamber — has become of right and
law my concubine.” The crafty old man, caught in his own net,
had nothing to answei’. The two young women w^ere conducted
to the house of the new husband and master, and the old noble
was jeered at both for his lack of address and his bad faith.
It is the reciprocal salutation before mtnesses on the wedding-
dais that constitutes legitimate marriage. From that moment a
husband may claim the woman as his wife. If he repudiates or
divorces her, he may not maiTy another woman while his former
wife is living, but he is free to take as many concubines as he can
8upj)ort. It is sufficient that a man is able to prove that he has
had intimate relations with a maiden or a widow ; she then be-
comes his legal property. No person, not even her parents, can
claim her if the man persists in keeping her. If she escape, he
may use force to bring her back to his house. Conjugal fidehty —
obligatorj’ on the woman — is not required of the husband, and a
wife is little more than a slave of superior rank. Among the
nobles, the young bridegroom spends three or four days with his
bride, and then absents himself from her for a considerable time, to
prove that he does not esteem her too highly. Etiquette dooms
252
COREA.
her to a species of widowhood, while he spends his hours of relax-
ation in the society of his concubines. To act othei^vise would be
considered in veiy bad taste, and highly unfashionable. Instances
are known of nobles who, having dropped a few tears at the death
of their wives, have had to absent themselves from the saloons of
their companions to avoid the torrent of ribaldry and jeers at such
weakness. Such eccentricity of conduct makes a man the butt of
long-continued railery.
Habituated from infancy to such a yoke, and regarding them-
selves as of an inferior race, most women submit to their lot with
exemplary resignation. Having no idea of progress, or of an in-
fraction of estabhshed usage, they bear all things. They become
devoted and obedient "wives, jealous of the reputation and well-
being of theii’ husbands. They even submit calmly to the tyranny
and unreason of their mothei-s-in-law. Often, however, there is
genuine rebellion in the household. Adding to her other faults of
character, violence and insubordination, a Corean wife quarrels
with her mother-in-law, makes hfe to her husband a burden, and in-
cessantly provokes scenes of choler and scandal Among the lower
classes, in such cases, a few strokes of a stick or blows of the fist
bring the wife to teians. In the higher classes it is not projDer
to strike a woman, and the husband has no other course than that
of divorce. If it is not easy for him to marry again, he submits.
If his wife, not content with tormenting him, is unfaithful to him,
or, deseiding his bed, goes back to her own house, he can lead her
before the magistrate, who after administering a beating with the
paddles, gives her as a concubine to one of his underlings.
Women of tact and energy" make themselves respected and con-
quer theii' legitimate position, as the foUo'wing example shows. It
is taken by Dallet from a Corean treatise on morals for the youth
of both sexes :
Towai'd the end of the last century a noble of the capital, of
high rank, lost his wife, by whom he had had several children.
His advanced age rendered a second marriage difficult. Never-
theless, the middle-men (or marriage-brokers employed in such
cases) decided that a match could be made Avith the daughter of a
poor noble in the province of Kiimg-sang. On the appointed day
he appeared at the mansion of his future father-in-law, and the
couple moimted the stage to make the salute according to custom.
Our- grandee, casting his eyes upon his new wife, stopped for the
moment thunderstnick. She was verj" fat, ugly, hump-backed,
SOCIAL LIFE — WOMAN AND THE FAMILY.
253
and appeared to be as slightly favored with gifts of mind as of
body.
But he could not withdraw, and he played his part firmly. He
resolved neither to take her to his house nor to have anjdhing to
do with her. The two or three days which it was proper to pass
in his father-in-law’s house being spent, he departed for the capital
and paid no further attention to his new relatives.
The deserted wife, who was a person of a great deal of intelli-
gence, resigned herself to her isolation and remained in her
father’s house, keeping herself informed, from time to time, of
what happened to her husband. She learned, after two or three
years, that he had become minister of the second rank, and that
he had succeeded in marrnng his two sons very honorably. Some
years later, she heard that he proposed to celebrate, with all
proper pomp, the festi^•ities of his sixtieth birthday. Immediately,
■without hesitation and in spite of the remonstrances and opposition
of her parents, she took the road to the capital There hiring a
palanquin, she was taken to the house of the minister and an-
nounced herself as his ■wife. She alighted, entered the vestibule,
and presented herself \\-ith an air of assurance and a ghince of
tranquiUity at the women of the united families. Seating herself at
the place of honor, she ordered some fire brought, and mth the
greatest calmness lighted her pipe before the amazed domestics.
The news was carried to the outer apartments of the gentlemen,
but, according to etiquette, no one appeared surprised.
Finally the lady called together the household slaves and said
to them, in a severe tone, “"UTiat house is this? I am j’our mis-
tress, and yet no one comes to receive me. "\Miere have you been
brought up ? I ought to punish you severely, but I shall pardon
you this time.” They hastened to conduct her into the midst of
all the female guests. “Where are my sons-in-law?” she de-
manded. “ How is it that they do not come to salute me ? They
forget that I am without any doubt, by my mai-riage, the mother
of their ■wives, and that I have a right, on them part, to all the
honors due to their own mothers.”
Forthwith the two daughters-in-law presented themselves with
a shamed air, and made their excuses as well as they were able.
She rebuked them gently, and exhorted them to show themselves
more scrupulous in the accomplishment of their duties. She then
gave different orders in her quality as mistress of the house.
Some hours after, seeing that neither of the men appeared, she
254
COREA.
called a slave to her, and said to him : “ !My two sons are surelj’
not absent on such a day as this. See if they are in the men’s
apartments, and bid them come here.” The sons presented them-
selves before her, much embarrassed, and blundered out some ex-
cuses. “ How ? ” said she, “ you have heard of my arrival for
several hours and have not come to salute me? With such bad
bringing up, and an equal ignorance of principles of action, how
will you make your way in the world? I have pardoned my
slaves and my daughters-in-law for their want of politeness, but
for you who are men I cannot let this fault pass unpunished.”
With this she called a slave and bade him give them some strokes
on the legs with a rod. Then she added, “ For your father, the
minister, I am his servant, and I have not had orders to yield to
him ; but, as for you, henceforth do you act so as not to forget
proprieties.” Finally the minister himself, thoroughly astonished
at all that had passed, was obliged to come to terms and to salute
his wife. Three days after, the festivities being ended, he re-
tmmed to the palace. The king asked familiarly if all had passed
off happily. The minister narrated in detail the histoi-y of his
maniage, the unexpected arrival of his wife, and how she had con-
ducted herself. The king, who was a man of sense, replied : “You
have acted unjustly toward yo\ir ■wife. She appears to me to be a
woman of spirit and extraordinary' tact. Her beha'vior is admira-
ble, and I don’t know how to praise her enough. I hope you -will
repair the -wTongs you have done her.” The minister promised,
and some days later solemnly conferred upon his wife one of the
highest dignities of the court.
The woman who is legally espoused, whether widow or slave,
enters into and shares the entii'e social estate of her husband.
Even if she be not noble by birth she becomes so by marrying a
noble, and her children are so likewise. If two brothers, for ex-
ample, espouse an aimt and a niece, and the niece falls to the lot
of the elder, she becomes thereby the elder sister, and the aunt
w ill be treated as a younger sister. This relation of elder and
younger sisters makes an immense difference in life, position, and
treatment, in all Chinese Asia.
It is not proper for a -widow to remarry. In the higher classes
a widow is expected to weep for her deceased husband, and to wear
mourning all her hfe. It woiild be infamy for her, however young,
to marry a second time. The king who reigned 1469-1494 excluded
children of remarried -widow's from competition at the public exami-
SOCIAL LIFE.— WOMAN AND THE FAMILY.
255
nations, and from admittance to any official employment. Even
to the present day such children are looked upon as illegitimate.
Among a people so passionate as Coreans, grave social disor-
ders result from such a custom. The young noble widows who
cannot remarry become, in most cases, secretly or openly the con-
cubines of those who wish to support them. The others who
strive to live chastely are rudely exposed to the inroads of pas-
sion. Sometimes they are made intoxicated by narcotics which are
put in their drink, and they wake to find themselves dishonoi’ed.
Sometimes they are abducted by force, during the night, by the
aid of hii'ed bandits. When they become victims of riolence,
there is no remedy possible. It often happens that young widows
commit suicide, after the death of their husbands, in order to
prove their fidehty and to secure them honor and reputation
beyond the taint of suspicion. Such women are esteemed models
of chastity, and there is no end to their praises among the nobles.
Through their influence, the king often decrees a memorial gate-
way, column, or temple, intended to be a monument of their hero-
ism and virtue. Thus it has often happened that Christian
widows begged of the missionary fathers permission to commit
suicide, if attempts were made to violate their houses or their per-
sons ; and it was with difficulty that they could be made to com-
prehend the Chidstian doctrine concerning suicide.
The usual method of self-destniction is ja-mun, or cutting the
throat, or opening the abdomen with a sword. Li this the Coreans
are like the Japanese, neck-cutting or jjiercing being the feminine,
and hara-kiri (belly-cutting) the masculine, method of ending hfe
at one’s own hands.
Among the common people, second marriages are forbidden
neither by law nor custom, but wealthy famiUes endeavor to imi-
tate the nobles in this custom as in others. Among the poor,
necessity knows no law. The men must have their food pre-
pared for them, and women cannot, and do not willingly die of
famine when a husband offers himself. Hence second marriages
among the lowly are quite frequent.
Most of the facts stated in this chapter are drawn from Dal-
let’s “History of the [Roman Catholic] Church in Corea.’’ Mak-
ing due allowance for the statements of cehbate priests, who are
aliens in religion, nationality, and cirilization, the picture of the
social life of Cho-sen is that of abominable heathenism.
CHAPTER XXIX.
CHILD LIFE.
Judging from a collection of the toys of Corean children, and
from their many terms of affection and words relating to games
and sports, festivals and recreation, nursery stories, etc., the life
of the little Kim or Ni must be a pleasant one. For the blessings
of offspring the parents offer rice to the god of the household
{sam-sin-hang), whose tiny shrine holds a place of honor in some
ornamental niche in the best room. A^Tien the baby begins to
grow, cradles being unknoivn, the mother puts the infant to sleep
by to-tak, to-tak — patting it lightly on the stomach. "When it is
able to take its first step across the floor — the tiger-skin rug being
ready to ease its possible fall — this important household event,
spoken of with joy as i\ie ja-pak, ja-pak, is described to the neigh-
bors. As the child grows up and is able to walk and run about,
the hair is mostly shaved off, so that only a “button of jade” is
left on the top of the head. This infantile tuft takes its name from
the badge or togle worn on the top of the men’s caps in winter.
A child, “three feet high,” very beautiful and well formed, docile
and strong, if a son, is spoken of “ as a thousand-mile horse ” — one
who promises to make an alert and enduring man. A child noted
for filial piety wiU even cheerftdly commit tan-ji — cutting his fin-
ger to furaish his blood as a remedy for the sickness of father or
mother. Should the child die, a stone effigy or statue of itself is
set up before his grave.
In the capital and among the higher classes, the children’s
toys are veiy handsome, ranking as real works of art, while in
every class the playthings of th^ tiny Corean humanity form but
a miniature copy of the hfe of their elders. Among the living pets,
the monkey is the favorite. These monkeys are fitted with jack-
ets, and when plump and not too mischievous make capital pets
for the boys. Puppies share the affections of the nui'sery with the
tiger on wheels. Made of paper pulp and painted, this harmless
effigy of the king of beasts is pulled about with a string. A
CHILD LIFE.
257
jumping-jack is but a coi^y of the little boy who pulls it. A jerk
of the string di'aws in the pasteboard tongue, and sends the trum-
pet to his mouth. Official hfe is miiTored in the tasselled um-
brella, the fringed hats, and the toy-chariot with fancy wheels.
Other toys, such as rattles, flags, and drums, exactly imitate the
larger models with which the grown-up men and women amuse
themselves. All these are named, fashioned, and decorated in a
style peculiarly Corean. Among the most common of the chil-
di-en’s plays are the foUo\\dng : A ring is hidden in a heap of sand,
and the urchins poke sticks into and thi’ough the pile to find it.
Whoever transfixes the circlet wins the game, suggesting our girls’
game of grace-hoop, though often taking a longer time. Ro-
settes or pinwheels of paper are made and fastened on the end
of sticks. Running before the breeze, the miniatm-e windmills
afford hilarious dehght.
The children’s way of bringing rain is to move the lips up and
do^\m, distending the cheeks and pressing the breath through the
Ups. Plajung “ dinner ” with tiny cuj^s and dishes, and imitating
the ponderous etiquette of their elders, is a favorite amusement.
See-saw is rougher and more exhilarating. Games of response
are often played with hands, head, or feet, in which one watches
the motions of his rival, opens or shuts his hands, and pays a for-
feit or loses the game when a false move is made. For the coast-
dweUers, the sea-shore, with the rocks which are the refuge of
the shell-fish, is the inexhaustible pLaygi-ound of the childi*en.
Looking dowr in the clear deep water of the archipelago they see
the coral reefs, the bright flower-gardens of marine plants, and
shoals of striped, banded, crimson-tailed, and gi'een-finned fish,
which, in the eastern seas, glitter with tints of gold and silver.
The children, half naked, catch the crabs and lobsters, learning
how to hold theii' prizes after many a nab and pinch, which bring
infantile tears and squalls. One of the common playthings of
Corean childi'en, the “baby’s rattle,” is the dried leathery egg of
the skate, which with a few pebbles inside makes the infant, if not
its parents, happy with the din.
Besides a game of patting and dabbling in the water — chal-pak,
chal-pak — boys amuse themselves by fishing with hook and line or
net. One method is to catch fish by means of the yek-kui. This
is a plant of peppery* taste, which poisons or stupefies the fish that
bite the tempting tip, making them easy prey. More serious in-
door games played by women and children ai'e pa-tok, or back-
17
258
COREA.
gammon ; sang-pi-yen, dominoes ; siu-tu-chen, game of eighty
cards ; and chang-keui, or chess. All these pastimes are quite
different from ours of the same name, yet enough like them to be
recognized as belonging to the species named. The festivals
most intensely enjoyed by the childi-en are those of “Treading the
Bridges,” “ The Meeting of the Star Lovers,” and the “Mouse Fire.”
There is one evening in the year in which men and children, as
well as women, are allowed to be out in the streets of the capital
The people spend the greater part of the night in passing and re-
passing upon the little bridges of stone. It is a general “ night out ”
for aU the people. Comedians, singers, harlequins, and merry-
makers of all kinds are abroad, and it being moonlight, all have a
good time in “ treading the bridges.” On the seventh day of the
seventh month, the festival honored in China, Corea, and Japan
takes place, for which children wait, in expectation, many days in
advance. Sweetmeats are prepared, and bamboos strung with strips
of colored paper are the symbols of rejoicing. On this night the
two stars Capricomus and Alpha Lyra (or the Herd-boy and Spin-
ning Maiden) are in conjunction in the milky way * (or the Kiver of
Heaven), and wishes made at this time are supposed to come true.
Chu-pul, or the Mouse Fire, occurs in the twelfth month, on the
day of the Mouse (or rat). Children light brands or torches of dry
reeds or sti*aw, and set fire to the dry herbage, stubble, and shrub-
bery on the borders of the roads, in order to singe the hair of tho
various field or groimd-burrowing animals, or bum them out, so
as to obtain a plentiful crop of cotton.
At school, the pupils study according to the method aU over
Asia, that is, out loud, and noisily. This kangsiong, or deafening
buzz, is supposed to be necessary to sound knowledge. Besides
learning the Chinese characters and the vernacular alphabet, with
tongue, ear, eye, and pen, the children master the ku-ku (“nine
times nine ”), or the multiplication table, and leam to work the
four simple lailes of arithmetic, and even fractions, involution, and
evolution on the chon-pan, or sliding numeral frame. A “ red
mai’k ” is a vermilion token of a good lesson, made by the exam-
iner ; and for a good examination passed rewards are given in the
form of a fii'st-rate dinner, or one or all of “ the four friends of
the study table” — pens, ink, paper, and inkstand, or bmshes,
sticks of “India” ink, rolls of unsized paper, and an inkstone
’ See “ The Meeting of the Star Lovers,” in Japanese Fairy World.
CHILD LIFE.
259
or water-dropper. Writing a good autograph signature — “ one’s
own pen” — is highly commended. Sometimes money is given for
encouragement, which the promising lad saves up in an earthen
savings-bank. Not a few of the youth of the humbler classes,
who work in the fields by day and study the characters by night,
rise to be able officers wffio fill high stations.
The French missionaries assure us that the noi-mal Corean is
fond of children, especially of sons, who in his eyes are worth ten
times as much as daughters. Such a thing as exposure of children
is almost unkno^\Ti. In times of severe famine this may happen
after failure to give away or sell for a season, that they may be
bought back. Parents rarely find their family too numerous.
The first thing incrdcated in a child’s mind is respect for his
father. All insubordination is immediately and sternly repressed.
Far different is it with the mother. She yields to her boy’s
caprices and laughs at his faults and vices without rebuke. The
child soon learns that a mother’s authority is next to nothing. In
speaking of his father a lad often adds the words “ severe,”
“terrible,” implying the awe and profound respect in which he
holds his father. (Something of the same feeling prevails as in
Japan, where the four dreadful things which a lad most fears, and
which are expressed in a rhjming proverb, are : “Earthquake,
wind, fire, and father,” or “daddy.”) On the contrary, in speak-
ing of his mother, he adds the words “good,” “indulgent,” “I’m
not afraid of hex-,” etc. A sou must not play nor smoke in his
father’s presence, nor assume fi-ee or easy postui-e before him. For
loxmging, thei-e is a special room, like a nurseiy. The son waits
on his father at meals and gets his bed ready. If he is old or sick-
ly, the son sleeps near him and does not quit his side night or day.
If he is in prison the son takes up his abode in the vicinity, to
communicate with his parent and fui-nish him with luxmies. In
case of imprisonment for treason, the son at the portal, on bended
knees day and night, awaits the sentence that will reduce himself
to slavery. If the accused is condemned to exile, the son must
at least accompany his father to the end of the jom-ney, and, in
some cases, share banishment with him. Meeting his father in
the street, the son must make pi-ofoxmd salute on his knees, in
the dust, or in the ditch. In wiiting to him, he must make free
xise of the most exaggerated honoi-ifics which the Corean knows.
The practice of adoption is common, as it is abnormally so
in aU coxmtries where ancestral worship is prevalent and xinderlies
260
COREA.
all religions. The preservation of the family line is the supreme
end and aim of life. In effect all those persons are descendants
of particular ancestors who will keep up the ancestral sacrifices,
guard the tablets and obseiwe the numerous funeral and mourning
ceremonies which make life such a burden in Eastern Asia. Daugh-
ters are not adopted, because they cannot accomplish the pre-
scribed ntes. "When parents have only a daughter, they marry
her to an adopted son, who becomes head of the family so adopted
into. Even the consent of the adopted, or of his parent.s, is not
always requisite, for as it is a social, as well as a religious neces-
sity, the government may be appealed to, and, in case of need,
forces acceptance of the duty. In this manner, as in the patri-
archal age of biblical history, a man may be coerced into “ rais-
ing up seed ” to defunct ancestors.
Properly, an adoption, to be legal, ought to be registered at
the office of the Board of Rites, but this practice has fallen into
disuse, and it is sufficient to give public notice of the fact among
the two families concerned. Am adoption once made cannot be
void except by a decree from the Tribunal of Rites, which is diffi-
cult to obtain. In practice, the system of adoption results in
many scandals, quarrels, jealousies, and all the train of evils which
one famihar with men and women, as they are, might argue a
priori without the facts at hand. The iron fetters of Asiatic in-
stitutions cannot suppress human nature.
Primogeniture is the rigid rule. Younger sons, at the time of
their marriage, or at other important periods of hfe, receive pater-
nal gifts, now more, now less, according to usage, rank, the family
fortune, etc., but the bulk of the property belongs to the oldest
son, on whom the younger sons look as them father. He is the
head of the family, and regards his father’s children as his own. In
aU Eastern Asia the bonds of family are much closer than among
Caucasian people of the present time. All the kindred, even to
the fifteenth or twentieth degree, whatever their social position,
rich or poor, educated or illiterate, officials or beggars — form a
clan, a tribe, or more exactly one single family, aU of whose mem-
bers have mutual interests to sustain. The house of one is the
house of the other, and each udll assist to his utmost another of
the clan to get money, office, or advantage. The law recognizes
this system by levring on the clan the imposts and debts which
individuals of it cannot pay, holding the sodality responsible for
the indivdual. To this they submit without complaint or protest
CHILD LIFE.
261
Instead of the family being a unit, as in the west, it is only
the fragment of a clan, a segment in the -great circle of kindred.
The number of terms expressing relationship is vastly greater and
much more complex than in English. One is amazed at the ex-
uberance of the national vocabulai-y in this respect. The Coreans
are fully as clannish as the Chinese, and much more so than the
Ii’ish ; and in this, as in the IMiddle Kingdom, lies one great
obstacle to Christianity or to any kind of individual refonn. Mar-
riage cannot take place between two persons having the same
family cognomen. There are in the kingdom only one hundi’ed
and forty or fifty family, or rather clan names. Yet many of these
names are widespread through the realm. All ai-e formed of a
single Chinese letter, except six or seven, which ai'e composed of
two characters. To distinguish the different families who bear the
same patronymic, they add the name which they call the or
Gentile name, to indicate the place whence the family originally
came. In the case of two persons "dishing to many, if this pu is
the same, they are in the eyes of the law relatives, and manaage
is forbidden. If the pu of each is different, they may wed. The
most common names, such as Kim and Ni — answering to our Smith
and Jones — h.ave more than a score of pu, which aiase fr’om more
than twenty families, the place of whose origin is in each case
different. The family name is never used alone. It is always fol-
lowed by a surname ; or only the word so-pang, jrmior, sang-wen,
senior, lord, sir, etc.
Male adults usually have tlu-ee pex’soual names, that given in
childhood, the common proper name, and the common legal name,
while to this last is often added the title. Besides these, various
aliases, nicknames, fanciful and jxunning appellatives, play their
paid, to the pleasure or vexation of their object. This custom is
the source of endless confusion in documents and common life.
It was formerly in vogue in Japan, but was abolished by the mi-
kado’s government in 1872, and now spares as much trouble to
tongue, tpyes, and pens, as a reform in our alphabet and spelhng
would save the English-speaking world. As in Nippon, a Corean
female has but one name from the cradle to the gi-ave. The titles
“Madame,” or “Madame widow,” are added in mature life. As
in old Japan, the common people do not, as a rule, have distin-
guishing indi\ddual names, and among them nicknames are very
common. Corean etiquette forbids that the name of father, mother,
or uncle be used in conversation, or even pronounced aloud.
CHAPTER XXX.
HOUSEKEEPING, DIET, AND COSTUME.
CoREAN architecture is in a very pi'imitive condition. The cas-
tles, fortifications, temples, monasteries and public buildings can-
not approach in magnificence those of Japan or China. The
country, though boasting hoarj^ antiquity, has few ruins in stone.
The dwellings are tiled or thatched houses, almost invariably one
stoiy high. In the smaller to\vns these are not arranged in regu-
lar streets, but scattered here and there. Even in the cities and
capital the streets are nan’ow and toriuous.
In the nu’al parts, the houses of the wealthy are embosomed in
beautiful groves, with gardens suiroimded by channing hedges or
fences of mshes or split-bamboo. The cities show a greater display
of red-tiled roofs, as only the oflScials and nobles are allowed this
sumptuary honor. Shingles are not much used. The thatching
is of rice or barley straw, cut close, vrith ample eaves, and often
finished with great neatnesss.
A low wall of uncemented stone, five or six feet high, sur-
rounds the dwelling, and when kept in repair gives an air of neat-
ness and imposing solidity to the estate. Often a pretty rampart
of flat bamboo or rushes, plaited in the herring-bone pattern, sur-
movmts the wall, which may be of pebbles or stratified rock and
mortared. Sometimes the rampart is of wattle, covered with
smooth white plaster, which, with the gateway, is also surmovmted
by an arched roofing of tUes. Instead of regidar slanting lines of
gables, one meets with the curved and pagoda-hke roofs seen in
China, with a heavy central ridge and projecting ornaments of
fire-hardened clay, like the “stirrup” or “devil” tiles of Japan.
These ciuwes greatly add to the beauty of a Corean house, because
they break the monotony of the lines of Corean architecture.
Doors, windows, and lintels are usually rectangular, and are
set in regularly, instead of being made odd to relieve the eye, as
in Japan. Bamboo is a common material for window-frames.
HOUSEKEEPING, DIET, AND COSTUME. 263
The foundations are laid on stone set in the earth, and the
floor of the humble is part of the naked planet. People one
grade above the poorest cover the hard ground with sheets of
oiled paper, which serve as rugs or a carpet. For the better class
a floor of wood is raised a foot or so above the earth, but in the
sleeping- and sitting-room of the average family, the “kang”
forms a vaulted floor, bed, and stove.
The kang is characteristic of the hmnan dwelling in north-
eastern Asia. It is a kind of tubular oven, in which human
beings, instead of potatoes, are baked. It is as though we should
make a bedstead of bricks, and put foot-stoves tmder it. The floor
is bricked ovei’, or built of stone over flues, which nm fi-om the
fireplace, at one end of the house, to the chimney at the other.
The fire which bods the pot or roasts the meat is thus utilized to
warm those sitting or sleeping in the room beyond. The difiiculty
is to keep up a regidar heat without being alternately chilled or
smothered. With wood fuel this is almost impossible, but by
dint of tact and regulated draught may be accomplished. As in
the Swedish porcelain stove, a pail of live coals keeps up a good
warmth all night. The kangs surs'ive in the kotalali of Japan.
The “fire” in sentiment and fact is the centre of the Corean
home, and the native phrase, “he has put out his fire,” is the dire
sjTionj'm denoting that a man is not only cold and fasting, but in
want of the necessities of life.
Bed-clothes are of silk, wadded cotton, thick paper, and tiger,
wolf, or dog skins, the latter often sewn in large sheets like a car-
pet. Comfort, cleanliness, and luxmy make the bed of the noble
on the warm brick in winter, or cool matting in summer; but
with the poor, the cold of winter, and insects of summer, with the
dirt and rags, make sleeping in a Corean hut a hardship. Cush-
ions or bags of rice-chatf form the pillows of the rich. The poor
man uses a smooth log of wood or slightly raised portion of the
floor to rest his head ujjon. “ Weariness can snore upon the flint
when resty sloth finds the down pillow hard.”
Three rooms are the rule in an average house. These are for
cooking, eating, and sleeping. In the kitchen the most noticeable
articles are the ang-pak, or large earthen jars, for holding rice,
barley, or water. Each of them is big enough to hold a man
easily. The second room, containing the kang, is the sleeping
apartment, and the next is the best room or parlor. Little fiuni-
ture is the rale. Coreans, like the Japanese, sit, not cross-legged,
264
COREA.
but on their heels. Among the well-to-do, dog-skins, or kat-tei,
cover the floor for a carpet, or splendid tiger-skins serve as rugs.
Matting is common, the best being in the south.
As in Japan, the meals are served on the floor on low sang, or
little tables, one for each guest, sometimes one for a couple. The
best table service is of porcelain, and the ordinary sort of earthen-
ware with white metal or copper utensils. The table-cloths are of
fine glazed paper and resemble oded silk. No knives or forks are
used ; instead, chopsticks, laid in paper cases, and, what is more
common than in China or Japan, spoons are used at every meaL
Table Spread for Festal Occasions,
The climax of aesthetic taste occurs when a set of historic porce-
lain and faience of old Corean maniifacture and decoration, with
the taU and long-spouted teapot, are placed on the pearl-inlaid
table and fiUed with native delicacies.
The walls range in quality of decoration from plain mud to col-
ored plaster and paper. The Corean waU-paper is of all grades,
sometimes as soft as silk, or as thick as canvas. Sa-peik is a favor-
ite reddish earth or mortar which serves to rough-cast in rich
color tones the walls of a room.
Pictiires are not common ; the artistic sense being satisfied
HOUSEKEEPING, DIET, AND COSTUMR
265
with scrolls of handsome Chinese characters containing moral
and literary gems from the classics, or the caligraphic triumph of
some king, dignitary, or hterary friend. To possess a sign-manual
or autograph scrap of Yung, Hong, or O, the three most renowned
men of Cho-sen, is reckoned more than a golden manuscript on
azure paper.
The windows are square and latticed without or within, and
covered with tough paper, either oiled or unsized, and moving in
gi’ooves — the originals of the Japanese shding-doors and win-
dows. In every part of a Corean house, paper plays an important
and useful part.
Very fine Venetian blinds are made of threads split from the
ever-useful bamboo, which seciires considerable variety in window
decoration. The doors are of wood, paper, or plaited bamboo.
Glass was, till recently, a nearly unkno^vn luxury in Corea among
the common people. Even with the nobles, it is rather a curiosity.
The ^vindows being made of oiled or thin paper, glass is not a ne-
cessity. This fact will explain the eageraess of the people to pos-
sess specimens of this.transparent novelty. Even old porter and
ale bottles, which sailors have thrown away, are eagerly picked up,
begged, bought, or stolen. An old medicine-vial, among the Co-
reans, used to fetch the price of a crystal goblet among us. The
possessor of such a prize as a Bass’ ale bottle will exhibit it to his
neighbor as a rare ciuio from the Western barbarians, just as an
American ■sirtuoso shows off his last new Satsuma vase or box of
Soochow lacquer. "WTien English ship captains, visiting the coast,
gave the Coreans a bottle of Avine, the bottle, after being emptied,
was always caref\illy returned with extreme politeness as an article
of great value. The first Corean visitor to the American expedi-
tion of 1871, went into ecstacies, and his face budded into smiles
hitherto thought impossible to the grim Corean risage, because
the cook gave him an arm-load of empty ale-bottles. The height
of domestic felicity is reached when a Corean householder can
get a morsel of glass to fasten into his window or sliding-door,
and thus gaze on the outer world through this “ loophole of re-
treat.” This not only saves him from the disagreeable necessity
of punching a finger-hole through the paper to satisfy his curi-
osity, but gives him the advantage of not being seen, and of keep-
ing out the draft. VTaen a whole pane has been secured, it is
hard to state whether hajjpiness or pride reigns uppeimost in the
owner’s bosom.
2u6
COREA.
Candlesticks are either tall and upright, resting on the floor
in the Japanese style, or dish-lamps of common oil are usecL
Fhnt and steel are used to ignite matches made of chips of
T.'ood dipped in sulphur, by which a “ fire-flower ” is made to
blossom, or in more prosaic Enghsh, a flame is kindled. Phos-
phorus matches, imported from Japan, ai'e called by a word signi-
fying “fire-sprite,” “will-of-the-wisp,” or ignis-fatuus.
Usually in a gentlemen’s house there is an ante-room or vesti-
bule, in which neighbors and visitors sit and talk, smoke or drink.
In this place much freedom is allowed and formahties are laid
aside. Here are the facilities and the atmosphere which in "West-
ern lands are found in clubs, coffee- and ale-houses, or obtained
from newspapers. One such, of which the picture is before us,
has in it seats, and looks out on a garden or courtyard. On a
ledge or window-seat are vases of blossoms and cut flowers; a
smaller vase holds fans, and another is presumably full of to-
bacco or some other luxtuy. Short eave-curtains and longer dro-
llery at the side, give an air of inviting comfort to these free
and easy quarters, where news and gossip are exchanged. These
oi-tiang, or outer apartments, are for strangers and men only,
and women are never expected or allowed to be present.
The Ching-ja is a small house or room on the bank of a river,
or overlooking some bit of natural scenery, to which picnic par-
ties resort, the Coreans most heartily enjoj-ing out-door festivity,
in places which sky, w ater, and foliage make beautifiil to tne eye.
There are often inscribed on the portals, in large Chinese
characters, moral mottoes or poetical sentiments, such as “ Enter
happiness, like breezes bring the spring, and depart evd spirit as
snow melts in water.” Before a new house is finished, a sheet of
piu’e white paper, in which are enclosed some nip, or “cash,” with
grains of rice which have been steeped in wine, is nailed or
fastened on the wall, over the door, and becomes the good spirit
or genius of the house, sacrifices being duly offered to it. In
more senses than one, the spirit that presides over too many Co-
rean households is the alcohol spirit.
The Corean liquor, by preference, is brewed or distdled from
rice, miUet, or barley. These alcoholic drinks are of various
strength, color, and smeU, ranging from beer to brandy. In gen-
eral their beverages are sufficiently smoky, oUy, and alcoholic to
Western tastes, as the fusel-oil usually remains even in the best
products of their stills. No trait of the Coreans has more im-
HOUSEKEEPING, DIET, AND COSTUME.
267
pressed their numerous visitors, from Hamel to the Americans,
than their love of all kinds of strong drink, from ale to whiskey.
The common verdict is, “ They are greatly addicted to the wor-
ship of Bacchus.” The Corean vocabulary bears ample witness to
the thorough acquaintance of the people with the liquor made
from grain by their rude processes. The inhabitants of the
peninsula were hard drinkers even in the days of Fuyu and Koko-
rai. No sooner were the ports of modern ChO-sen open to com-
merce than the Chinese established liquor-stores, while European
■wines, brandies, whiskeys, and gins have entered to vary the Co-
rean’s liquid diet and increase the national di’unkenness.
Strange as it may seem, the peasant, though living between the
two great tea-producing countries of the world — Japan and China —
and in the latitude of tea-plantations, scarcely knows the taste ol
tea, and the fragrant herb is as httle used as is coffee in Japan.
The most common drink, after what the clouds directly furnish, is
the water in which rice has been boded. Infusions of dried gin-
seng, orange-peel, or ginger seiwe for festal purposes, and honey
when these fail ; but the word “ tea,” or cha, serves the Corean, as
it does the typical Irishman, for a variety of infusions and decoc-
tions. "With elastic charity the word covers a midtitude of sins,
chiefly of omission ; aU that custom or euphony requires is to
prefix the name of the substance used to “ cha ” and the drink is
tea — of some kind.
The staple diet has in it much more of meat and fat than that
of the Japanese. The latter acknowledge that the average Corean
can eat twice as much as himself. Beef, pork, fowls, venison, fish,
and game are consumed •without much waste in rejected material
Nearly everything edible about an animal is a tidbit, and a curi-
ous piece of cookery, symbolical of a generous feast, is often found
at the board of a hberal host. This tang-talk (which often be-
comes the “town-talk”) is a chicken baked and served -with its
feathers, head, claws, and inwards intact. “ To treat to an entire
fowl ” is said of a liberal host, and is equivalent to “ killing the
fatted calf.”
Fish are often eaten raw from tail to head, especially if small,
with only a little seasoning. Ho-hoi, or fish-bone salad, is a deli-
cacy. Dog-flesh is on sale among the common butchers’ meats,
and the Coreans enjoy it as our Indians do. In the first month of
the year, however, owing to rehgious scnrples, no dog-meat is
eaten, or dishes of canine origin permitted.
268
COREA.
The state dinner, given to the Japanese after the treaty, con-
sisted of this bill of fare : two-inch squares of pastry', made of
flour, sugar, and oil ; heaps of boiled eggs ; pudding made of
flour, sesame, and honey ; dried persimmons ; “ pine-seeds,” honey-
like food covered with roasted rice colored red and white ; macca-
roni soup with fowl ; boiled legs of pork, and wine, rice or millet
spirit with everything. It is customary to decorate the tables on
grand occasions with artificial flowers, and often the first course
is intended more for show than for actual eating. For instance,
when the Japanese party, feasted at Seoul in 1G46, first sat down
to the table, one of them began to help himself to fish, of which
he was very fond. The dish seemed to contain a genuine cooked
carp basted with sauce, but, to the embarrassment of the hrmgry
guest, the fish would not move. He was relieved by the servant, who
told him that it was put on the table only for show. The courses
brought on later contained more substantial nourishment, such as
fish, flesh, fowl, vegetables, soups, cakes, puddings and tea. Judg-
ing from certain w'ords in the language, these show-dishes form a
regular featiu’e at the opening of banquets. The women cook rice
beautifully, making it thoroughly soft by steaming, while yet re-
taining the perfect shape of each gi'ain by itself. Other well-
known dishes are baidey, millet, beans, taro (potato cooked in a
variety of ways), Hly-bulbs, sea-weeds, acorns, dai-kon (radishes),
turnips, and potatoes. Maccaroni and vermicelli are used for soups
and refreshing lunches. Apples, peai's, plums, graj^es, persimmons,
and various kinds of bemes help to furnish the table, though the
flavor of these is inferior to the same fruits grown in our gardens.
All kinds of condiments, mustard, ^inegar, pepper, and a va-
riety of home-made sauces, are much rehshed. Itinerant food-
sellers are not so common as in China, but butcher-shops and
vermicelli stands are numerous. Two sohd meals, with a light
breakfast, is the rule. Opart, or midday rice, is the dinner. Tai-
sik is a regular meal. The appearance of the evening star is the
signal for a hearty supper, and the planet a synonym for the last
meal of the day. At wakes or funeral feasts, and on festal days,
the amount of victuals consiuned is enormous, while a very palata-
ble way of remembering the dead is by the yum-pok, or di’inking
of sacrificial wine. The Coreans understand the preservative vir-
tues of ice, and in winter large quantities of this substance are
cut and stored away for use in the summer, in keeping fresh meat
and fish. Their ice-houses are made by excavating the ground
HOUSEKEEPING, DIET, AND COSTUME.
269
and covering over the store with earth and sod, from which in hot
weather they use as may be necessary. These ice stores are often
under the direction of the government, especially when large
quantities of fish are being preserved for rations of the army in
time of war. Those who oversee the work are called “ Officers of
the Refrigerator.”
One striking fault of the Coreans at the table is their
voracity, and to this trait of their character Japanese, French,
Dutch, and Chinese bear witness. It might be supposed that a
Frenchman, who eats lightly, might make a criticism where an
Englishman would be silent ; but not so. All reports concerning
them seem to agree. In this respect there is not the least differ-
ence between the rich and poor, noble or plebeian. To eat much
is an honor, and the merit of a feast consists not in the quality
but in the quantity of the food served. Little talking is done
while eating, for each sentence might lose a mouthfid. Hence,
since a capacious stomach is a high accomplishment, it is the aim
from infancy to develop a belly haring all possible elasticity.
Often the mothers take their babies upon their knees, and after
stufiing them with rice, hke a wad in a gun, will tap them from
time to time with the paddle of a ladle on the stomach, to see
that it is fully spread out or rammed home, and only cease gorg-
ing when it is physically impossible for the child to swell up
more. A Corean is always ready to eat ; he attacks whatever he
meets with, and rarely says, “ Enough.” Even between meals, he
wdU help himself to any edible that is offered. The ordinary
portion of a laborer is about a quart of rice, which when cooked
makes a good bulk. This, however, is no serious hindrance to his
devouring double or treble the quantity when he can get it. Eat-
ing matches are common. When an ox is slaughtered, and the
beef is served up, a heaping bowl of the steaming mess does not
alarm any guest. Dog-meat is a common article of food, and the
canine sirloins served up in great trenchers are laid before the
guests, each one haring his own small table to himseK. When
fruits, such as peaches or small melons, are served, they are
devoured without peeling. Twenty or thirty peaches is considered
an ordinary allowance, which rapidly disappears. Such a prodi-
gality in victuals is, however, not common, and for one feast there
are many fastings. Beef is not an article of daily food with the
peasantry. Its use is regiilated by law, the butcher being a sort
of government official ; and only imder extraordinary circum-
270
COREA.
stances, as -wlien a grand festival is to be held, does the king allo-sv
an ox to be killed in each village. The Coreans are neither fas-
tidious in their eating nor painstaking in their cooking. Nothing
goes to waste. All is grist that comes to the mill in their mouths.
They equal Japanese in devoiuing raw fish, and uncooked
iood of aU kinds is swallowed vdthout a wry face. Even the
intestines pass among them for dehcate viands. Among the
poorer classes, a cooked fish is rarely seen on the table ; for no
sooner is it caught than it is immediately opened and devoured.
The raw viands are usually eaten with a strong seasoning of pep-
per or mustard, but they are often swallowed without condiment
of any sort. Often in passing along the banks of a river, one may
see men fishing wth rod and line. Of these some are nobles who
are not able, or who never wish to work for a living, yet they will
fish for food and sport. Instead of a bag or basket to contain the
game, or a needle to string it upon, each fisher has at his side
a jar of diluted pepper, or a kind of soy. No sooner is a fish
hooked, than he is drawn out, seized between the two fingers,
dipped into the sauce, and eaten without ceremony. Bones do not
scare them. These they eat, as they do the small bones of fowls.
Nationally, and individually, the Coreans are very deficient in
conveniences for the toilet Bath-tubs are rare, and except in the
wanner days of summer, when the river and sea sei-ve for immer-
sion, the natives are not usually foimd under water. The Japa-
nese in the treaty expedition in 1876 had to send bath-tubs on
shore from their ships. Morning ablutions are made in a copper
basin. The sponges which grow on the west coast seem to find
no market at home. This neglect of more intimate acquaintance
with water often makes the lowest classes “look like mulattos,”
as Hamel said. Gutzlaff, Adams, and others, especially the Japa-
nese, have noted this personal defect, and have suggested the
need of soap and hot Avater. It may be that the contrast between
costume and cuticle tempts to exaggeration. People who dress
in white clothing have special need of personal cleanliness. Per-
haps soap factories Avill come in the future.
The men are very proud of their beards, and the elders very
jAariicular in keeping them white and clean. The lords of crea-
tion honor their beard as the distinctive glory and mark of their
sex. A man is in misery if he has only just enough beard to
distinguish him from a woman. A full crop of hair on cheek and
chin insm’es to its possessor unlimited admiration, while in Co-
HOUSEKEEPING, DIET, AND COSTUME.
271
rean billingsgate there are numerous terms of opprobrium for a
short beard. Europeans are contemptuously termed “short-
hairs” — with no suspicion of the use of the word in New York
local pohtics. Old gentlemen keep a little bag in which they
assiduously collect the combings of their hair, the strokings of
their beard and parings of their nails, in order that all that be-
longs to them may be duly placed in their coffin at death.
The human hair crop is an important item in trade with
China, to which country it is imported and sold to piece out the
haii’-tails which the Chinese, in obedience to their Manchiu con-
querors, persist in wearing. Some of this hair comes from poor
women, but the staple product is from the heads of boys who
wear their hair parted in the middle, and plaited in a long braid,
which hangs down their backs. At marriage, they cut this off,
and bind what remains in a tight, round knot on the top of the
scalp, using pins or not as they please.
Tlie court pages and pretty boys who attend the magnates,
usually rosy-cheeked, well fed, and effeminate looking youths, do
not give any certain indication of their sex, and foreigners are
often puzzled to know whether they are male or female. Their
beardless faces and long hair are set down as belonging to women.
Most navigators have made this mistake in gender, and when the
first embassy from Seoul landed in Yokohama, the controversy,
and perhaps the betting, as to the sex of these nondescripts was
very lively. Captain Broughton declared that the whole duty of
these pages seemed to be to smooth out the silk dresses of the
grandees. Officials and nobles cover their top-knots with neat
black nets of horse-hair or glazed thread. Often coiintry and
to^NTi people wear a fiUet or white band of bark or leaves across
the forehead to keep the loose hair in order, as the ancient Japa-
nese used to do. Women coil their glossy black tresses into
massive knots, and fasten them with pins or golden, silver, and
brass rings. The heads of the pins are generally shaped Hke a
dragon. They oil their hair, using a sort of vegetable pomatum.
Among the court ladies and female musicians the styles of
coiffure are various ; some being very pretty, with loops, bands,
waves, and “bangs,” as the illustration on page IGl shows.
Corea is decidedly the land of big hats. From their amplitude
these head-coverings might well be called “roofs,” or, at least,
“umbrellas.” Their diameter is so great that the human head
encased in one of them seems but as a hub in a cart-wheeL They
272
COREA.
would probably serre admirably as parachutes in leaping from a
high place. Under his wide-spreading official hat a magistrate
can shelter his wife and family. It serves as a numeral, since a
company is counted by hats, instead of heads or noses. How the
Corean dignitary can weather a gale remains a mystery, and, per-
haps, the feat is impossible and rarely attempted. A slim man is
evidently at a disadvantage in a “Japanese wind” or typhoon.
The personal avoirdupois, which is so much admired in the penin-
sula, becomes very useful as ballast to the head-saiL Corean
magnates, cast away at sea, woiild not lack material for ship’s can-
vas. In shape, the gentleman’s hat resembles a flower-pot set on
a round table, or a tumbler on a Chinese gong. Two feet is a
common diameter, thus making a periphery of six feet The top
or cone, which rises nine inches higher, is only three inches
wide. This chimney-like superstructure serves as ornament and
ventOator. Its puqsose is not to encase the head, for underneath
the brim is a tight-fitting skull-cap, which rests on the head and
is held on by padded ties tmder the ears. The average rim for
ordinary people, however, is about six inches in radius. The
huge umbi'ella-hat of bleached bamboo is worn by gentlemen in
mourning. After death it is solemnly placed on the bier, and
forms a conspicuous object at the fvmeraL The native name for
hat is kat or kat-si.
The usual material is bamboo, split to the fineness of a thread,
and woven so as to resemble horse-hair. The fabric is then var-
nished or lacquered, and becomes perfectly weather-proof, resisting
sun and rain, but not wind. The prevalence of cotton clothing,
easily soaked and rendered uncomfortable, requires the ample pro-
tection for the back and shoulders, which these umbreUa-like
hats furnish. In heavy rain, the kat-no is worn, that is, a cone
of oiled paper, fixed on the hat in the shape of a frmneL Indeed,
the umbrella in Corea is rather for a symbol of state and dignity
than for vulgar use, and is often adorned with knobs and strips.
Quelpart Island is the home of the hatters, whose fashionable
wares supply the dandies and dignitaries of the capital and of the
peninsula. The highest officers of the government have the cone
truncated or rounded at the vertex, and surmormted by a httle
figm’e of a crane in polished silver, very handsome and durable.
This long-legged bird is a sjnnbol of civil office. “ To confer the
hat,” means as much to an officer high in favor at the court of
Seoul as to a cardinal in the Vatican, only the color is black, not
HOUSEKEEPING, DIET, AND COSTUME.
273
red. It is Corean etiquette to keep the hat on, and in this respect,
as well as in their broad brims, the hermits resemble the Quakers.
Manaage and momming are denoted also by the hat.
A variety of materials is employed by other classes. Soldiers '
wear large black or brown felt hats, resembling Mexican som-
breros, which are adorned with I’ed horse-hair or a peacock’s
feather, swung on a swivel button.
Suspended from the sides, over the ears and around the neck,
are strings of roimd balls of blue porcelain, comehan, amber, or
what resembles kauri gum. Sometimes these ornaments ai’e tubu-
lar, reminding one of the millinery of a caa'dinal’s hat.
For the common people, plaited straw or rushes of varied
shapes seiwe for summer, while in winter shaggy caps of lynx,
wolf, bear, or deer-skin are common, made into Havelock, Astrac-
han, Japanese, and other shapes, some resembling wash-bowls,
some being fluted or fan-like, winged, sock-shaped, or made like
a nightcap. Variety seems to be the fashion.
The head-dress of the com-t nobles differs from that of the
^'ulgar as much as the Pope’s tiara differs from a cardinal’s
rubrian. It is a crown or helmet, which, eschewing brim, rises in
altitude to the proportions of a mitre. Without earstrings or
necklaces of beads, it is yet highly ornamental. One of these
consists of a caj), with a sort of gable at the top. Another has six
lofty cm-ring folds or volutes set in it. On another are designs
from the pa-kwa, or sixty-four mystic diagrams, which are sup-
posed to be sacred symbols of the Confucian philosophy, and of
which fortune-tellers make great use.
The wardrobe of the gentry consists of the ceremonial and the
house dress. The foi-mer, as a nde, is of flne silk, and the latter
of coai’ser silk or cotton. These “ gorgeous Corean dresses ” are
of pink, blue, and other rich colors. The official robe is a long
garment like a wrapper, with loose, baggy sleeves. This is em-
broidered with the stork or phoenix for cridl, and with the ku*in,
lion, or tiger for military officers. Buttons are unknown and
form no part of a Corean’s attire, male or female, thus greatly re-
ducing the labor of the wives and mothers who ply the needle,
which in Corea has an “ear” instead of an “eye.” Strings and
girdles, and the shifting of the main weight of the clothing to the
shoulders, take the place of these convenient, but fugitive, ad-
juncts to the Western costume. There are few tailors’ shops, the
women of each household making the family outfit.
18
274
COREA.
Soldiers in full dress wear a sleeveless, open surcoat for dis-
play. The under dress of both sexes is a short jacket with tight
sleeves, which for men reaches to the thighs, and for women only
• to the waist, and a pair of drawers reaching from waist to ankle,
a little loose all the way down for the men, and tied at the ankles,
but for the women made tight and not tied. The females wear a
petticoat over this garment, so that the Coreans say they dress like
Western women, and foreign-made hosiery and under-garments
are in demand. Although they have a variety of articles of ap-
parel easily distinguishable to the native eye, yet their general
style of costume is that of the wrapper, stiff, wide, and inflated
with abundant starch in summer, but clinging and baggy in win-
ter. The rule is tightness and economy for the working, ampli-
tude and richness of material for the affluent, classes. The women
having no pockets in their di-esses, wear a httle bag susjiended
from their girdle. This is worn on the right side, attached by
cords. These contain their bits of jew'ehy, scissors, knife, a tiger’s
claw for luck, perfume-bottle or ^achet, a tiny chess-board in gold
or silver, etc. Besides the rings on their fingers the ladies wear
haii’-pins of gold ornamented with bulbs or figures of birds. Many
of them dust pun, or white powder, on their faces, and employ
various other cosmetics, w’hich are kept in their kiong-tai, or mir-
ror toilet-stands ; in which also may be their so-hak, or book con-
taining rules of politeness.
The general tj-pe of costume is that of China under the Ming
dynasty. To a Chinaman a Corean looks antiquated, a curiosity
in old clothes ; a Japanese at a little distance, in the twilight, is
reminded of ghosts, or the snowy heron of the rice-fields, while
to the American the Corean sw’eU seems compounded chiefly of
bed-clothes, and in his most elaborate costume to be still in his
under-garments.
Plenty of starch in summer, and no stint of cotton in winter,
are the needs of the Corean. His white dress makes his com-
plexion look darker than it really is. The monotonous dazzle of
bleached garments is reheved by the violet robes of the magis-
trate, the dark blue for the soldiers, and Hghter shades of that
color in the garb of the middle class ; the blue strip which edges
the coat of the hterary graduates, and the pink and azure clothes
of the children. Less agreeable is the nearness which dispels
illusion. The costume, which seemed snowy at a distance, is seen
to be dingy and dirty, OAving to an entire ignorance of soap.
HOUSEKEEPING, DIET, AND COSTUME.
275
The Corean dress, though simpler than the Chinese, is not
entirely devoid of oniament. The sashes are often of handsome
blue silk or brocaded stuff. The official girdles, or flat belts a few
inches wide, have clasps of gold, silver, or rhinoceros horn, and
are decorated with pohshed ornaments of gold or silver. For
magistrates of the three higher ranks these belts are set Tvith blue
stones ; for those of the foiudh and flfth grade with white stones,
and for those below the fifth with a substance resembhng horn.
Common girdles are of cotton, hemj) cloth, or rope.
Fans are also a mark of rank, being made of various materials.
Gentlemen’s Garments and Dress Patterns.
especially silk or cloth, stretched on a frame. The fan is an in-
strument of etiquette. To hide the face with one is an act of
politeness. The man in mourning must have no other kind than
that in which the pin or rivet is of cow’s horn. Oiled paper fans
sen-e a variety of purposes. In another kind, the ribs of the
frame are bent back double. The finer sort for the nobility are
gorgeously inhiid with pearl or nacre.
A kind of flat wand or tablet, seen in the hands of nobles,
ostensibly to set down orders of the sovereign, is made of ivory
for officers above, and of wood for those below the fourth grade.
276
COREA.
Another, badge of office is the httle wand, half way between a
toy whip and a Mercmy’s caduceus, of black lacquered wood, with
cords of gi’een silk. This is carried by civil officers, and may be
the original of the Japanese baton of command, made of lacquered
wood with pendant strips of paper.
Canes are earned by men of the literary or official class when
in momming. These tall staves, which, from the decks of Em-o-
pean vessels sailing along the coast, have often looked like spears,
are the sang-chang, or smooth bamboo staves, expressive of cere-
monial giief, and nothing more.
As the Coreans have no pockets, they make bags, girdles, and
their sleeves serve instead. The women wear a sort of reticule
himg at the belt, and the men a smoking outfit, consisting of an
oval bag to hold his flint and steel, some fine-cut tobacco, and a
long, naiTOw case for his pipe.
Foot-gear is either of native or of Chinese make. The laborer
contents himself •with sandals woven from rice-straw, which usu-
ally last but a few days. A better sort is of hempen twine or rope,
with many strands woven over the top of the foot. A man in
momming can wear but fom' cords on the upper part. Socks are
too expensive for the poor, except in the -winter. Shoes made of
cotton ai’e often seen in the cities, having hempen or t-wine soles.
The low shoes of cloth, or velvet, and cowhide, upturned at the
toe, worn by officials, ai'e impoided from China. Small feet do
not seem to be considered a beauty, and the foot-binding of the
Chinese is mikno^ra in Cho-sen, as in Japan.
CHAPTER XXXI.
MOURNING AND BURIAL.
The fashion of mourning, the proper place and time to shed
tears and express grief according to regulations, are rigidly pre-
scribed in an official treatise or “ Guide to Mourners,” published
by the government. The corpse must be placed in a coffin of
very thick wood, and preseired during many months in a special
room prepared and omamented for this pui’pose. It is proper to
weep only in this death -chamber, but this must be done three or
four times daily. Before entering it, the mourner must don a
special weed, which consists of a gray cotton frock coat, tom,
patched, and as much soiled as possible. The girdle must be of
twisted straw and silk, made into a rope of the thickness of the
^\Tist. Another cord, the thickness of the thvimb, is wound
round the head, which is covered with dirty linen, each of the
rope’s ends falling upon the cheek. A special kind of sandals
is worn, and a big knotty stick completes the costume of woe.
In the prescribed weeds the mourner enters the death-chamber
in the morning on rising, and before each meal He Cannes a httle
table fiUed with food, which he places upon a tray at the side of
the coffin. The person who is master of the moumei-s presides
at the ceremonies. Prostrate, and struck by the stick, he utters
dolorous groans, sounding “ai-ko ” if for a parent. For other rela-
tives he groans out “ oi, oi.” According to the noise and length
of the groans and weeping, so will the good opinion of the public
be. The lamentations over, the mourner retires, doffs the mourn-
ing robes, and eats his food. At the new and the full moon, all
the relatives are inrited and expected to assist at the ceremonies.
These practices continue more or less even after burial, and at
inten-als duiing several years. Often a noble will go out to weep
and kneel at the tomb, passing a day, and even a night, in this
position. In some instances, mourners have built a httle house
278
COREA,
before the grave, and watched there for years, thus "winning a
high reputation for filial piety.
Among the poor, who have not the means to provide a death-
chamber and expensive mourning, the coffin is kept outside their
houses covered with mats until the time of sepulture.
Though cremation, or “burpng in the fire,” is known in
Cho-sen, the most usual form of disposing of the dead is by
inhumation. Children are "wrapped up in the clothes and bed-
ding in which they die, and are thus buried. As unmarried per-
sons are reckoned as children, their shroud and burial are the
same. "U’ith the married and adult, the process is more costly,
and the ceremonial more detailed and prolonged. This, which is
described veiy fully in Eoss’ “Corea,” and "with which Hamel’s
curt notes agree, consists of minute ceremonial and mourning
among the living and the washing, combing, nail-paring, robing,
and laying out in state of the dead, with calling of the spirits,
and with screens, lights, and offerings, according to Confucian
ritual. In many interesting featui-es, the most ancient rites of
China have suiwived in the peninsula after they have become
obsolete in the fonner countiy. The veiy old tombs opened,
and the painted coffins, coated with many layers of silicious
paint, dug uj) near Shanghai recently, are much like those of the
Coreans.
The coffin, which fits the body, is made air-tight "udth wax,
resin, or varnish, and is borne on a bier to the grave by men who
make this their regular business. Often there are two coffins, one
inside the other. Sons follow the body of theii* father on foot,
relatives ride in palanquins or on horseback. Prominent at the
head of the procession is the red standai'd containing the titles
and honors of the deceased. This banner, or sa-jen, has two points
on it to frighten away the spirits, and at the funeral of a high
officer, a man wears a hideous mask for the same pmqDOse. ^Vhen
there are no titles, only the name of the deceased is inscribed
upon the banner.
The selection of a proper site for a tomb is a matter of pro-
found solicitude, time, and money ; for the geomancers must be
consulted with a fee. The pung-sui superstition requires for the
comfort of both living and dead that the right site should be
chosen. Judging from the number of times the word “moun-
tain ” enters into terms relating to bmial, most interments are
on the hillsides. If these are not done properly, trouble will
MOURNING AND BURIAL.
279
arise, and the bones must then be dug up, collected, and re-
buried, often at heavy expense. Thousands of professional cheats
and self-duped people live by working upon the feelings of the
bereaved through this superstition.
The tombs of the poor consist only of the grave and a low
mound of earth. These mounds, subjected to the forces of na-
ture, and often trampled upon by cattle, disappear after the lapse
of a few years, and oblivion settles over the spot.
"With the richer class monuments are of stone, sometimes
neat or even imposing, sometimes grotesque. Some, as the pi-
popi, are shaped hke a house or miniature temple ; or, two stones,
cut in the form of a ram and a horse respectively, are placed
before the sepulchre. The man-tu, “gazing headstone,” consists
of two monoliths or columns of masonry, flanking the tomb
on cither side, so that the soul of the dead, changed into a bird,
may repose peacefully. In the graveyards are many tombs paved
with granite slabs aroimd the temple model, but for the most
part a Corean cemeteiy is filled with little obelisks, or tall, square
columns, either pointed at the top or surmounted with the
effigy of a human head, or a rudely sculptured stone image,
which strangely reminds a foreigner of “ patience on a monu-
ment, smiling at gi-ief.” This apparition of a human head
rising above the tall grass of the burial-ground may be the
original of Japanese pictures of the ghosts and spirits which seem
to rise dai'k and windblown out of the wet grass. Often the
caning in Corean grave-j'ards is so rude as to be almost indis-
tinguishable.
Mourning is of many degrees and lengths, and is betokened
by dress, abstinence from food and business, visits to the tomb,
offerings, tablets, and many visible indications, detailed even to
absurdity. Pure, or nearly pime white is the mourning color, as
a contrast to red, the color of rejoicing. Even the rivets of the
fan, the strings on the shoes, and the carrying of a staff in addi-
tion to the mouming-hat, betoken the uniform of woe.
Mlien noblemen don the peaked hat, which covers the face as
well as the head, they are as dead to the world — not to be spoken
to, molested, or even arrested if charged with crime. This Corean
momming hat proved “ the helmet of salvation” to Christians, and
explains the safety of the French missionaries who lived so long
in disguise, unharmed in the cormtry where the police were as
hnixes and hounds ever on their tva-ok. The Jesuits were not
280
COREA.
slow to see the wonderful shelter promised for them, and availed
themselves of it at once and always.
The royal sepulchres within the peninsula have attracted more
than one unlawful descent upon the shores of Cho-sen. The
various dynasties of sovereigns dm-ing the epoch of the Three
Kingdoms in the old capitals of these states, the royal lines of
Kokorai at Ping-an, of Korai at Sunto, and of the ruling house at
Seoul, have made Corea dui-ing her two thousand years of historv
rich in royal tombs. These ai-e in various parts of the country’,
and those which are kno^vn are under the care of the government
Ai-e these mausoleums fiUed -^-ith gold or jewels? Foreign
grave-robbers have beheved so, and shown theii- faith by their
works, as we shall see. French priests in the countiy have said
so. The ancient Chinese narratives descriptive of the customs of
the Fujti people, confirm the general impression. Without haring
the facts at hand to demonstrate what eager foreignei-s have
beheved, we know that vast treasures have been spent upon
the decoration of the royal sepulchi'es, and the erection of me-
morial buddings over them, and that the fear of theii- violation
by foreign or native outlaws has been for centui-ies ever be-
fore the Corean people. That these fears have too often been
justified, we shall find when we read of that memorable year,
A.D. 18G6. The profuse vocabulary of teims relating to bm-ial,
mourning, and memorial tablets in Corea show their intense
loyalty to the Confucian doctrines, the iiower of sujiei-stition,
and the shocking waste of the resoui'ces of the bring upon the
dead.
The voluble Corean envoys when in Tokio, risited the Naval
College, and on leai-ning that in certain emergencies the students
from distant provinces were not allowed to go home to attend the
funeral of their parents, nor to absent themselves from duty on
account of moiu-ning, were amazed beyond measm-e, and for a
few moments bterally speechless from sm-prise. It is hard for a
Corean to understand the sayings of Jesus to the disciple who
asked, “Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father,” and
“ Let the dead bm-y them dead.”
From the view-point of pobtical economy, this lavish expense
of time, energy, money, and intebect upon coi-pses and super-
stition is beneficial. Without knowing of Malthus or his theories,
the Cho-senese have hit upon a capital method of limiting popu-
lation, and keeping the country in a state of chronic poverty.
MOURNING AND BURIAL.
281
The question has been asked the ^vriter, “ How can a people, pent
in a httle mountainous peninsula like Corea, exist for centm-ies
without overpopulating their ten’itorj"?”
Wars, famine, jDestilence, ordinarj’ poverty answer the question
in part. The absuixl and rigorous lailes of mourning, requiring
frightful expense, postponement of man-iage to young people —
who even when betrothed must momai three years for parents and
grandparents, actual and expected, the impoverishing of the jiso-
ple, and the frequent hindrances to mairiage at the proper season,
seiwe to keep doA\Ti population. This fact is an often chosen sub-
ject for native anecdotes and romances. The vexations and delays
often caused by the long periods of idle mourning required by
etiquette, are weU illustrated by the following story, from the
“ Grammaire Coroene,” which is intended to show the symi^athy
of the king Cheng-chong (177G to 1800) with his subjects. It is
entitled “A Trait of Royal Solicitude.”
It was about New Year’s that Cheng-chong walked about here
and there within the palace enclosui-e. Having come to the place
reseiwed for the candidates at the literaiy examinations, he looked
through a crack in the gate. The competitors had nearly all gone
away to spend the New Year holidays at home, and there re-
mained only two of them, who were talking together.
“ Well, all the others have gone off to spend New Year’s at
home ; isn’t it deplorable that we two, haring no place to go to,
must be nailed here?”
“Yes, tndy,” said the other; “yoxi have no longer either wife,
children, or house. How is this ? ”
“Listen to my story,” said the first man. “My parents,
thinking of my marriage, had arranged my betrothal, but some
time before the preparations were concluded, my future grand-
father died, and it became necessary to wait three years. Hardly
had I put off mourning, when I was called on to lament the death
of my poor father. I was now compelled to wait still three years.
These three years finished, behold my mother-in-law who Avas to
be died, and tlrrce years passed away. Finally, I had the misfor-
time to lose my poor mother, which required me to wait again
three yeai-s. And so, three times four — a dozen years — have
elapsed, during which we have waited the one for the other. By
this time she, Avho was to be my wife, fell ill. As she was upon
the point of death, I went to make her a visit. l\Iy intended
brother-in-laAv came to see me, found me, and said, ‘ Although
282
COREA.
tlie ceremonies of mamage have not been made, they may cer-
tainly consider you as married, therefore come and see her.’
UjDon his in\'itation I entered her house, but we had hardly blown
a j)uff of smoke, one before the other, than she died.
“Seeing this, I have no more wished even to dream at night.
Thatched House near Seoul. (From a photograph, 1876.)
I am not yet married. You may understand, then, why I have
neither wife, children, nor home.”
In his tm-n the other thus spoke ; “ My house was extremely
poor. Our diet looked like fasting. Me had no means of freeing
om’selves from embarrassment. MTien the day of the examination
came I presented myself. Dui'ing my absence my "ndfe contrived
MOURNING AND BURIAL.
283
in such a manner, that putting in the brazier a farthing’s worth
of charcoal, she set a handful of rice to cook in a skillet, and set-
tled herself to wait for me. She served this to me eveiy time I
came back. But I never obtained a degree. The day on which
I was at last received as a bachelor of arts, on returning after
examination, I found that she had as before lighted the charcoal,
put to boil a dish of soup, and seating herself before the fii’e, she
waited. In this position she was dead.
“ At sight of this my grief was without bounds. Having no
desu'e to contract a new union, I have never re-married.”
Healing these naiTatives, Cheng-chong was touched with pity.
Entering the palace, seating himself upon the throne, and having
had the two scholars brought in, he said to them :
“ All the other scholars have gone to their homes to spend
New Year’s. Why have not you two gone also?” They an-
swered, “ Your seiwauts having no house to go to, remained
here.”
“"Uliat does that mean?” said Cheng-chong. “The fowls
and the dogs, oxen and horses have shelter. The birds have also
a hole to buUd their nests in. Can it be that men have no dwell-
ing ? There should be a reason for this. Speak plainly.” One
of the scholars answered : “ Y^our servant’s affairs are so-and-so.
I have come even till now without re-marriage. It is because I
have neither wife, child, nor family.”
The storj' being exactly like that which he had heard before,
the king cried out, “ Too bad ! ”
Tlien addressing the other, he put this question : “.f\nd you,
how is it that you are reduced to this condition ?” He answered :
“My stoiw is almost the same.”
“ What do you wish ? Sjieak ! ” replied the king.
“ Tlie cu'cumstances being such and such, I am at this mo-
ment -without wife and without food. That is my condition.”
As there was in all this nothing different from the preceding,
the king, struck with compassion, bestowed upon them imme-
diately lucrative offices.
If he had not examined for himself, how could he have been
able to know such unfortunate men, and procure for them so
happy a position in the world? In truth, the goodness of his
Majesty Cheng-chong ‘has become celebrated.
CHAPTER XXXII.
OUT-DOOR LIFE.— CHARACTERS AXD EMPLOYMENTS.
Six public roads oi the first class traverse the peninsula and
centre at the cajiital. They are from twenty to thirty feet in
width, with ditches at the side for drainage. One of these begins
near the ocean, in ChuUa Do, and in general follows the shores of
the Yellow Sea thi’ough thi’ee provinces to Tong-chin opposite
Kang-wa Island, and enters the capital by branch roads. Another
highway passes through the interior of the thi-ee provinces bor-
dering the YeUow Sea, and entei-s Seoul by the southern gate.
Hamel and his feUow-captives journeyed by this road. The road
by which the annual embassy reaches Peking, after lea-^ing the
capital, passes thi'ough Sunto and Ping -an and Ai-chiu, crosses the
Neutral Strip, and enters Manchuria for Peking by way of !Muk-
den. This was the beaten track of the French missionaries, and
the shipwrecked men from the United States and Japan, and is
the military road from China. It is well described, with a good
map, in Koei -Ling’s “Journal of a IMission into Corea,” which
jVL. F. Scherzer has translated for us.
From Fusan and Tong-nai, in the southeast, Seoul is reached
by no less than thi-ee roads. One stiikes westward through
Chung-chong, and joins the main road coming up from the south.
Another following the Nak-tong Eiver basin, crosses the moun-
tains to ChuUa, and enters Seoul by the south gate. Eight river
crossings must be made by this road, over which Konishi marched
in 1593. The third route takes a more northerly trend, foUows the
sea-coast to Urusan, and passing tkrough Kion-chiu, enters the
capital by the east gate.
The fifth great road issuing fr'om the north gate of the capital
passes into Kang-w’en, and thence upward to Gensan, and to the
frontiers at the Tumen River.
The roads of the second class are eight or nine feet wide, and
without side ditches. They ramify through aU the pi'ovinces, but
OUT-DOOR LIFE.— CHARACTERS AND EMPLOYMENTS. 285
are especially numerous in the five southern. The three northern
circuits, owing to their mountainous character, are hut poorly
fmaiished with highways, and these usually follow the rivers.
The thii’d class roads, which are nothing more than bridle-
paths, or trails, connect the villages.
The hilly natm-e of the country, together with the Asiatic
apathy to bestowing much care on the pubhc highways, makes
travelling difficult. Intmdations are frequent, though the -water
subsides quickly. Hence in summer the road-beds are dust, and
in -winter a slough of mud. Macadamized, or paved roads, are
hardly kno-svn, except for short lengths. Few of the -wide rivers
are bridged, -which necessitates frequent fordings and fen-iages.
Stone bridges, built -srith arches, are sometimes seen over streams
not u.sually immdated, but few of the wooden bridges are over
one hundred and eighty feet long.
In one respect the roads are well attended to. The distances
are well marked. At everj' ri is a small, and at every three ri a
large mound, sm-moimted -with an inscribed post or “ mile-stone,”
called chang-sung. They are two, six, and even ten feet in length.
In ancient times, it is said, there was a man named Chang-
sung, who killed his servant and -ndfe. Mlien punished, his head
-was placed on a small mound. Legend even declares that it was
successively exposed on all the distance mounds in the kingdom.
This is said to be the origin of the boiumes or distance-mounds,
which suggests, as ^Ir. Adams has shoum, the termini of the
Romans. "Wlien of stone, they are called pio-sek, but they are
often of wood, mdely caiwed or hacked out of a whole tree by an
axe into the exaggerated fonu of a man, and are of a ludicrous
or absm-d appearance. The face is meant to be that of the miu--
derer Chang-sung. The author of “ X Forbidden Land” mistook
these for “ %-illage idols,” and was sm-prised to find the boys in
some cases sacrilegiously kicking about some that had rotted
down or fallen. The “gods of the roads” may, however, have
their offiges, which are worshipped or profaned.
iVU distances in evera' direction are measured from the front
gate of the magistrates’ offices, the standaixl of aU being the palace
at Seoul. Not the least interesting sights to the tr.aveller are the
memorial stones set up and inscribed -with a view to commemo-
rate local or national woidhies, or the events of w\ar, famine, or
plidanthropy. The Coreans are “idolaters of letters,” and the
erection of memorial tablets or columns occasionally becomes a
286
COREA.
passion. Sometimes the inscriptions are the means of stirring up
jjatriotism, as the following inscription shows. It was graven on
a stone in front of a castle erected after the French and American
expeditions, and was copied by a Japanese coiTespondent.
“It is nothing else than selling the kingdom into slavery, in
order to avoid war, to make peace without fighting when any
Western nation comes to attack it ; such should never be done
even by om- descendants thousands of years hence.”
In this country, in which sumptuary laws prevent the humbler
classes from traveUing on horseback, and Avhere wagons and
steam-roads are unknown, the roads are hvely Avith nximerous
foot-passengers. Palanquins are used by the better classes and
the wealthy. The rambhng Life of many of the people, the goodly
numbers of that character not unknoAvn in Christendom — the
tramjA — the necessities of trade, literaiw examinations, government
serAUce, and holy pilgrimages, prevent too many weeds from grow-
ing in the highways. In travelling over the high roads one meets
a variety of charactei’s that woiild satisfr' a Corean Dickens, or
the Japanese author Avho Avrote the Tokaido Hizakurige (Leg-hair,
i.e., “ Shanks’ mare,” on the East Sea Eoad). Bands of students
on their way to the capital or proA'incial literarv* examinations,
some roysteiing youths in the full floAv of spurts, are hastening
on, others, gray-headed and solemn, are wending their way to fail
for the twentieth time. Pompous functionaries iu lunbrella-hats,
on horseback, before whom ordinai-y folks dismount or kneel
or boAv, brush past A\-ith noisy attendants. Pdgi-ims in pious garb
are on their way to some holy mountain or famous shrine, men to
pray for success in business, women to beseech the gods for off-
spring. Here hobbles along the lame or rheumatic, or the pale-
faced inA'alid is home to the hot sjAiings. Here is a party of
pic-nickers, or poets intent on the joys of drink, verse, and scenery.
Here a troop of strolling players or knot of masqueraders ai'e in
peripatetic quest of a liA'eliliood, toiling fearfAiUy hard in order to
escape settled industiy. Nobles in mouming pass Avith their
faces invisible. Postal slaves, women doing the work of express
agents in forwarding parcels, pass the merchant with his loaded
pack-horses retm’ning from Sunto, or going to Gensan. There a
packman is doing horse’s work in transportation. Here an ox
laden Avith bmshwood is led by a woman. Beggars, corpses,
kang-si, or men dead of hunger in times of famine, make the
hghts and shadows of life on the road.
OUT-DOOR LIFR— CHARACTERS AND EMPLOYMENTS. 287
There are other methods of travel besides those of horseback,
on foot, and sedan chair, for oxen are often straddled by the
men, and poor women travel on an ox, in a sort of improvised
palanquin having foui- poles recurved to centre and covered with
robe or cloak. In winter, among the mountains not only in the
north, but even in ChuUa, the people go on racquettes or snow-
shoes. These are in shape like a battledore, and ai’e several feet
long. At regular distances are yek, or relays or offices, at which
sit clerks or managers under government auspices, with hered-
itaiy slaves or serfs, porters, guides, mail-coui’iers, and pack-
horses. These await the seiwice of the traveller, especially of
official comiers, the finer beasts being reserved for jouineying
dignitaries.
All these thi-oughout a certain district, of which there are sev-
eral in each prorfnce, are under the direction of the Tsal-peng, or
Director of Posts. Kiung-sang, the pro-since having the gi-eatest
number of .roads, has also the best equipment in the way of post-
officers, relays, and horses. The following table from Dallet shows
the equipment of the eight provinces :
Tost Superin-
tendents.
Belays.
Horses.
Kiung-Kei
6
47
449
Chung-chong
5
62
761
Chulla
6
53
506
Kiung-sang
11
115
1,700
Kang-wen
4
78
447
"Wang hei
3
28
396
Ham-kiung
3
58
792
Ping-an
2
30
311
40
471
5,362
Yet wth this provision for locomotion, the country is vei-y
deficient in houses for public accommodation. Inns are to be
found only along the great highways, and but rarely along the
smaller or sequestered roads. This want arises, perhaps, not so
much from the poverty of the people, as from the fact that their
proverbial hospitality does away with the necessity of numerous
inns. The Coreans have been so often represented, or rather mis-
288
COREA.
represented, as inhospitable, fierce, and rude by foreigners, that
to give an inside view of them as seen through information gath-
ered from the French missionaries in Corea is a pleasant task.
From them we may learn how much the white-coated peninsulars
are like their cousins, the Japanese, and that human nature in
good average quantity and quahty dwells under the big hats of
the Coreans. The traveller usually takes his pro^•isions along with
him, but he need not eat it out-doors. As he sits along the way-
side, he will be invited into some house to warm his food. "When
obliged to go some distance among the mountains to cut wood or
make charcoal, a man is sm-e to find a hut in which he can lodge.
He has only to bring his rice. The riUagers will cook it for him,
after adding the necessary pickles or sauces. Even the oxen,
except during the busy season, are easily obtained on loan.
The great virtue of the Coreans is their innate respect for and
daily practice of the laws of human brotherhood. ^lutual assist-
ance and generous hospitahty among themselves are distinctive
national traits. In all the important events of life, such as mar-
riages and funerals, each one makes it his duty to aid the family
most directly interested. One will charge himself with the duty
of making pm’chases ; others ■«'ith arranging the ceremonies. The
poor, who can give nothing, caiTy messages to friends and rela-
tives in the near or remote \'illages, passing day and night on foot
and giring thefr labors gi*atuitously. To them, the event is not a
mere personal matter, but an affair of pubhc interest.
TMien fire, flood, or other accident destroys the house of one
of their number, neighbors make it a duty to lend a hand to re-
build. One brings stone, another wood, another straw. Each, in
addition to his gifts in material, devotes two or three days’ work
gratuitously. A stranger, coming into a ■sallage, is always assisted
to build a dwelling.
Hospitahty is considered as one of the most sacred duties. It
would be a grave and shamefrd thing to refuse a portion of one’s
meal with any person, known or unknown, who presents himself
at eating-time. Even the poor laborers, who take thefr noon-meal
at the side of the roads, ai-e often seen sharing their frugal noui’-
ishment with the passer-by. Esually at a feast, the neighbors
consider themselves inrited by right and custom. The poor man
whose duty calls him to make a jornmey to a distant place does
not need to make elaborate preparatons. His stick, his pipe,
some clothes in a packet himg from his shoulder, some cash in
OUT-DOOR LIFK— CHARACTERS AND EMPLOYMENTS. 289
liis pm-se, if he has one, and his outfit is complete. At night,
instead of going to a hotel with its attendant expense, he enters
some house, whose exterior room is open to any comer. There he
is sure to find food and lodging for the night. Rice will be shared
with the stranger, and, at bed-time, a comer of the floor-mat will
seiwe for a bed, while he may rest his head on a foot-length of the
long log of wood against the w'all, which seiwes as a pillow. Even
should he delay his journey for a day or two, little or nothing to
his discredit will be harbored by his hosts. In Corea, the old
proverb concerning fish and company after three days does not
seem to hold good.
As may be imagined, such a system is prolific in breeding beg-
gars, tramps, blackmailers, and lazy louts, wdio “sponge” upon
the benevolently disposed. Rich families are often bored by these
self-in^fited parasites, who eat with unblushing cheek at their
tables for weeks at a time. They do not even disdain — nay, they
often clamor for — clothing as well. To refuse would only result
in bringing down calumny and injurs'. Peddlers, strolling play-
ex's, astrologei's, etc., hkewse avail themselves of the opportu-
nities, and act as plundering hai-pies. Often whole bands go
I'ound quartering themselves on the villages, and sometimes the
govei'nment is called upon to inteiqxose its authoi’ity and protect
the people.
Corea is full of !Micawber.s, men who ai-e as prodigal as avari-
cious, who when they have plenty of money, scatter it quickly.
"When flush they care only to live in stj'le, to treat their fiiends, to
satisfy them caprices. When poverty comes, they take it without
complaint, and wait tiU the Avheel of foi'tune tui'ns again to give
them better days. When by any process they have made some
gain by finding a root of ginseng, a bit of gold ore, a vein of
ci-j'stal, what matters it ? Let the futui’e take care of itself. Hence
it happens that the roads are full of men seeking some sti’oke of
luck, hoping to discover at a distance what they could not find at
home, to light upon some treasime not yet dug up or to invent
some new means of making money. People forever waiting for
something to tmni up emigrate from one ^illage to another, stop a
year or two, and then tramp on, seeking better luck, but usually
finding worse.
Strolling companies of moxmtebanks, players and musicians, in
numbers of five, six, or more, aboimd in Cho-sen. They wander
up and down thi-ough the eight cu’cuits, and, in spi*ing and sum-
10
290
COREA.
mer, earn a precarious and vagabond livelihood. Their reputation
among the villagers is none of the best, being about on a par with
that of the gj'psies, or certain gangs of radi'oad sun’eyors of our
own country. They often levy a sort of blackmail upon the peo-
ide. They are jugglers, acrobats, magicians, marionette players,
and performers on musical instruments. Some of them display
an astonishing amount of cleverness and sleight of hand in their
feats. In the villages crowds of gaping ui'chius are their chief
spectators, but in the large cities they are invited to private
houses to give exhibitions and are paid for it. AATien about to
begin a pei-formance, they secure attention by whisthng on the
nail of theii’ little finger. On the occasion of the anniversary of
some happy event, a public fete day, a marriage or a social com-
pany, the lack of what we caU society — that is, social relations
between gentlemen and ladies — is made up, and amusement is
fm-nished by these players, engaged for an evening or two. The
guests fully apj^reciate the “ hired music,” and “ best talent ”
thus secui’ed for a variety entertainment. The company of one
class of these “men of society,” or j^ang-tang, a kind of “profes-
sional diner-out,” is so desirable that several are taken along by
the ambassadors to China to amuse them on their long and tedi-
ous journey, especially at nights. The chang-pii ai'e character-
comedians, who serenade the baccalaureates that have passed suc-
cessfully the government examinations. They play the flute and
other instniments of music, forming the escort which accompanies
the graduate on his visits to relatives and officials. A band of
performers is always attached to the suite of ambassadors to
China and Japan, or when rtsiting a foreign vessel.
A chai-acter common to Corea and Japan is the singing-girl,
who-is also a gi’eat aid in making life endui-able to the better
class of Coreans, whose chief business it is to kill time. The
singing-gu’l is the one poem and picture in the street life of the
humbler classes, whose poverty can rai'ely, if ever, allow them to
purchase her society or enjoy her charms and accomplishments.
Socially, her rank is low, very low. She is herself the child of
poverty and toil. Her parents are poor people, who gladly give
up their daughter, if of pretty face and form, to a life of doubtful
morals, in order that she maj" thereby earn her o^ n support and
assist her parents. She herself gladly leaves the dmdgery of the
kitchen, aild the abject meanness of the hovel, to shine in the
palace and the mansion. Her dress is of finest fabric, her luxu-
OUT-DOOR LIFE.— CHARACTERS AND EMPLOYMENTS. 291
riant black hair is bound with skill and grace, her skin is whit-
ened by artificial cosmetics as far as possible, and with powder,
paint, and pomatum, she spends much of her life before the look-
ing-glass, studying in youth to increase, and in womanhood to
retain, her charms. At home, she practises her music, occasionally
enlivening a party of her humble neighbors. As she passes along
the street, fresh, clean, bright, and pretty, she may dispense smiles
for popularity’s sake, but her eiTand is to the houses of the
wealthy, and especially to the official, who, for his own amusement
as he dines alone, or for his friends in social gathering, may employ
from two to twenty geishas (as the Japanese call them). Most Co-
rean cities have these geishas, who form themselves into a sort of
guild for fixed prices, etc. Often they organize complete bands or
choirs, by which music may be had in mass and volume. At a feast
they ser\’e the wine, fill and pass the dishes, and preside generally
at the table. Mlien eating has fau’ly begun, they sing (chant), play
the guitar, recite in pantomine or A'ocaUy, and fmaiish general
amusement. The dancing is usually not of an immoral character.
Such a hfe, however, amid feast and revel, ■wine and flattery,
makes sad wreck of many of them, morally and physically. A
large proportion of the most beautiful gilds become concubines to
wealthy men or officials, or act as ladies of the chamber (brevet
wives) to young men and widowers. Not a few join the business
of prostitutes with that of musicians. Nevertheless, it is Cjuite
possible for a respectable family to enjoy a jileasant and hannless
evening by the aid of the lively geishas. Of course, Seoul is the
chief headquarters of the fairest and most accomplished geishas,
who are, as a class, the best educated of their sex in Corea.
The theatre, proper, does not seem to exist in Corea. The
substitute and nearest approach to it is recitation in monologue of
certain events or extracts from the standard or popular histories,
a single indiridual representing the successive roles. The his-
trionic artist j)itches his tabernacle of foui' posts in some popular
street or comer. He spreads mats for a roof or shade from the
sun in front, and for a background in the rear. A platform, and
a box to squat on, with a small reading-desk, and a cup of gin-
gery water to refresh his palate, complete his outfit.
A few rough benches or mats constitute aU the accommodation
for the audience. A gaping crowd soon collects around him, his
auditors pull out their pipes, and refreshment venders improve
the occasion for the chance sale of their viands. With his voice
292
COREA.
trained to various tones and to polite and vulgar forms of speech,
he viU hold dialogues and conversations, and mimic the attitude
and gestm-es of various characters. The trial of a criminal before
a magistrate, the bastinado, a quarrel between husband and wife,
scenes from high life and low hfe wiU be in turn rendered. He
■niU imitate the grave tones and visage of the magistrate, the pit-
eous appeals, the cries and groans and contortions of the rtctim
vmder tortm’e, the angry or gmmbhng voice of the husband, the
shi'ill falsetto of the scolding shrew or the shower of tears and the
piteous appeals of the wife. Smiles, frowns, surprise, sorrow, and
all the emotions are simulated, and the accompaniment of voice
is kept up with jokes, prms, bon-mots, irony, or well-expressed
pathos. In short, the reciter is a theatrical stock company, and a
band of minstrels, rolled into one person. For the use of begin-
ners, and the mediocrity of the profession, there are a number of
“jest-books,” collections of jokes and anecdotes, more or less
thi'eadbare, and of varying moral quahty, from which speakers
may pidme for the occasion. With the advanced of the profession,
however, most of the smart sayings are original and oft’-hand.
The habitues of the booths have their “ star ” favorite, as theatre-
goers ■with us go into raptui’es over thefr actors. Able men make
a good bring at the business, as they “ pass round the hat ” to
take up a collection in the audience. This usually comes at the
most teUing point of the nan-ative, when the interest of the
heai-ers is roused to the highest pitch (or when it is to be “ con-
tinued in oru- next,” as the flash newspapei-s say). Sometimes the
speaker wbl not go on tUl the collection is deemed by the tyrant
a sufficient appreciation of his talents. In addition to their public
street income, the best of them are often invited to perform in
private houses, at family reunions, social pai'ties, and as a nile, in
visits to dignitaries by candidates who have won degrees.
The Corean gamut, differing from the scale used in Eui*opean
countries, makes a fearful and wonderful difl'erence in eftect upon
oui' eai-s. Some of thefr melodies upon the flute ai-e plaintive
and SAveet, but most of their music is distressing to the ear and
desolating to the afr. One hearer describes thefr choicest pieces
as “ the most discordant sounds that ever were emitted under the
name of music from brass tubes.” Some of the flute music, how-
ever, is veiy sweet. As most of the ancient music of Japan is of
Corean origin, one can get a fair idea of the uatui’e of the soimds
that debght a Corean ear from the music of the imperial band of
OUT-DOOR LIFE.— CHARACTERS AND EMPLOYMENTS. 293
TokiO, -whicli plays tlie classical scores. Yet it is evident that the
modem tunes of Seoul are not melodious to Japanese auditory
nerves. One wovdd think that, as the mikado’s subjects “hear
themselves as others hear them ” when Corean musicians play,
they would be delighted. On the contrary, Corean music seems
to hon-ify and afflict the Japanese ear. Evidently, in the coui’se
of centuries the musical scales of the two countries, originally
identical, have altered in tone and inteiwal. Wan-ka is the father
of Corean music — though the mere fact that he belonged to an-
tiquity would secure his renown. The various stringed musical
instruments known are the kemunko, a kind of large guitar ; the
kanyakko, mandohn ; the ko-siul, or guitar of twenty-five strings ;
and the five-stringed haiq) or Afiolin. The wind instruments comprise
a whole battery of flutes, long and short tmmpets, while cymbals,
drams, and other objects of percussion are numerous. Ambas-
sadors and other high officers at home, and when on duty to
foreign countries, are accompanied by a band of musicians. La-
borers on government works are summoned to begin and end
work by music, but the full effect of a musical salvo is attained at
the opening and closing of the city gates. Then the sound is
most distressing — or most captivating, according as the ears are
to the manner bora, or receive their first experience of what
tortiu-es the air may be made to vibrate.
The chief out-door manly sport in Corea is, by excellence, that
of archer}’. It is encouraged by the government for the national
safety in war, and nobles stimulate their retainers to excellence
by rewards. Most gentlemen have targets and aiTOw-walks for
practice in their gardens. At regular times in the year contests
of skill are held, at which archers of reputation compete, the
expense and prizes being paid for out of the public pm’se. Hamel
says the great men’s retainers have nothing to do but to learn to
shoot. The gi’andees rival each other in keeping the most famous
archers, as an Englishman might his fox-hoimds or as the daimios
of Japan formerly ried with each other in patronizing the fattest
and most skilful wTestlers. Other manly sporis are those of
boxing and fist-fights. Y’oung men practice the “manly art” in
play Tvith each other, and at times champions are chosen by rival
>’iUages and a set-to betw’een the bruisers is the result, with more
or less of broken heads and pulpy faces. In large cities the
contestants may come from different wards of the same city. In
Seoul, usually in the first month, there are some lively tussles
294
COREA.
between picked cbampions, betting and cheering of the
backers of either party. Often these trials of skill degenerate into
a free fight, in which clubs and stones are used freely ; cracked
skulls and loss of life are common. The magistrates do not
usually interfere, but allow the froHc to spend itself.
Another class of men worthy of notice, and identified with
out-door life, are the sportsmen. The bird-himters never shoot
on the wing. They disguise themselves in skins, feathers, straw,
etc., and Im-k in some coigne of vantage to bring down the game
that comes within their range. The skilled fowler understands
perfectly how to imitate the cries of the various birds, particularly
that of the pheasant calling his mate. By this* means most of the
female pheasants are captured. The call used is an iron whistle,
shajjed hke the apricot-stone, and simliar to that used by the
Japanese hunters. The method of himting the deer is as follows :
Dining the months of June and July deer -horn commands a very
high price, for it is at this season that the deer-homs are develop-
ing, and the “spike-bucks ” are special prizes. A party of three
or fom- hunters is foimed. They beat up the mountain sides
dming several days, and, at night, when obliged to cease for
awhile, they have a wonderful instinct for detecting the trail of
the game, except when the eai’th is too diy. Usually they come
up to then game on the third day, which they bring down with a
gunshot. The horn is §old to the native physicians or is exported
to China and Japan, where hartshorn and valuable medicines are
concocted from it. A successful deer-hunt usually enables a
hunter to live on his profits for a good part of the year, and in
some cases individuals make small fortunes. Those who hunt
bears wait for the occasion when the mother bear leads her cubs
to the seashore to feast them on the crabs. Then the hunters
bide theur time till they see the mother lifting up the heavy rocks
on edge, while the little cubs eat the crabs. The hunters usually
rush forward and assault the bear, which, frightened, lets fall the
rock, which crushes the cub. "When on the open field or shore
they do not fire at the she-bear, unless sure of killing her. For
the various pai-ts of the animal good prices await the hunter who
sells. In addition to the proceeds from hide, flesh, fat, and
sinews, the liver and gall of the brute, supposed to possess great
potency in medicine, are sold for their weight in silver. In
another chapter we have written of the tiger-hunters and their
noble game. - • •
OUT-DOOR LIFE— CHARACTERS AND EMPLOYMENTS. 295
Gambling and betting are fearfully common habits in Corea,
and kite-tljung gives abundant occasion for money to change
hands. The two months of the winter, duiing which the north
wind blows, is “ kite time.” The large and strong kites are flo^vn
with skill, requiring stout cords and to be held by young men.
A large crowd usually collects to witness the battle of the kites,
when the kites are put through various evolutions in the air, by
which one seeks to destroy, tear, or saw off the string of the other.
Resources for in-door amusement are chiefly in the form of
gossip, story-teUing, smoking, lounging, and games of hazard,
such as chess, checkers, and backgammon. The game of chess
is the same as that played in Japan and China. Card-playing,
though interdicted by law, is habitual among the common people.
The nobles look upon it as \'ulgar amusement beneath their dig-
nity. The peojile play secretly or at night, often gambling to a
iTiiuous extent. It is said that the soldiers, especially those on
guard, and at the frontiers, are freely allowed to play cards, as
that is the simest way to keep them awake and alert in the pres-
ence of enemies, and as safeguards against night attacks. They
shuffle and cut the cards as we do. Games with the hands and
fingers, similar to those in Japan, are also well kno^m.
In pagan lands, where a Sabbath, or anything like it, is utterly
uknown ahke to the weary laborer, the wealthy, and the men of
leisure, some compensation is< afforded by the national and relig-
ious hohdays. These in Corea consist chiefly of the festal occa-
sions obsers-ed in China, the feasts appropriate to the seasons,
planting, and haiwest, the Buddhist saints’ anniversaries, the
king’s birthda}', and the new year.
Among the poorer classes the families celebrate the birthday
of the head of the family only, but among the noble and wealthy,
each member of the family is honored with gifts and a festal gath-
eiing of friends. There are certain years of destiny noticed with
extra joy and congratulations, but the chief of aU is the sixty-first
year. With us, the days of man are three score years and ten, but
in the hermit kingdom the limit of life is three score years and
one, and the reason is this : The Coreans divide time according to
the Chinese cycle of sixty years, which is made up of two series of
ten and twelve each respectively. Every year has a name after the
zodiacal sign, or one of the five elements. The first birthday
occurring after the entire revolution of the cycle is a very solemn
event to a sexagenarian, and the festival commemorative of it is
296
COREA.
called Wan-kap. AU, rich and poor, noble and A-al^ar, obseire
this day, which definitely begins old age, when man, having passed
the acknowledged limit of life, must remember and repose. TVhen
it happens — a rare event — that the sixty-first anniversary of a
wedding finds both parties alive, there are extraordinary rejoic-
ings, and the event is celebrated like our “diamond weddings.”
For both these feasts children and friends must strain every
nerve, and spend all their cash to be equal to the occasion and to
spread the table for all comers ; for at such a time, not only the
neighbors, but often the whole country folk round are interested.
A silk robe for the honored aged, new clothes for themselves,
and no end of wine and good cheer for friends, acquaintances,
hangers-on, coimtry cousins, and strangei*s from afar, must be
provided without stint. Poems are recited, games and sports
enjoyed, minstrels sing and dance, and recitations are given. AU
come with compliments in their mouths — and a ravenous appetite.
AU must be fed and none trumed away, and the chUdren of the
honored one must be willing to spend their last coin and econo-
mize, or even staiwe, for a year afterward. It is often as dreadful
an undertaking as a funeral pageant in other lands. In the event
of the queen, royal mother, or king, reaching the sixty-first birth-
day the profusion and prodigality of expense and show reaches a
height of shameful extravagance. AU the prisons are opened by
general amnesty, and the jail-bii’ds fly free. An extraordinary
session of examiners is held to grant degrees. In the capital aU
the grandees present themselves before the king with gifts and
homage. In aU the nu’al districts, a large pictm-e of the king is
himg up in a noted place. The chief magistrate, preceded by
music and foUowed by his sateUites, and aU the people proceed to
the place and prostrate themselves before the eflfigy, offering their
congratulations. In the capital the soldiers receive gifts from the
court, and the day is a imiversal hoUday for the entire nation.
Almost as matter of com-se, the festivals are used as means of
extortion and oppression of the people by the officials, who grind
the masses mercilessly to provide the necessary resources for the
waste and luxury of the capital and the court. New Year’s day is
not only the greatest of aU Corean feasts in univei'sal observance,
but is also the only real Sabbath time of the year, when for days
together aU regular employments cease and rejoicing reigns su-
preme. AU debts must be paid and accounts squared up, absen-
tees must retui’n, and chUdieu away fr’om home must rejoin the
OUT-DOOR LIFE.— CHARACTERS AND EMPLOYMENTS. 297
family. The magistrates close the tribunals, no arrests are made,
and prisoners held to answer for sHght offences are given leave of
absence for several days, after which they report again as pris-
oners. All work, except that of festal preparation, ought to cease
during the last three days of the old year. It is etiquette to begin
by visits on New Year’s Eve, though this is not universal.
On New Year’s morning salutations or calls are made on
friends, acquaintances, and superiors. To this nde there must be
no exception, on pain of a rupture of friendly relations. The chief
ceremony of the day is the sacidfice at the tablets of ancestors.
Proceeding to the family tombs, if near the house, or to the special
room or shelf in the dwelling itself, the entire family make pros-
trations. Costly ceremonies, with incense-sticks, etc., regulated
according to the family pm*se, foUow. This is the most important
fihal and religious act of the year. In cases where the tombs are
distant, the visit must not be postponed later than during the first
month. After the ancestral sacrifices, comes the distribution of
presents, which are enclosed in New Year’s boxes. These consist
of new dresses, shoes, confectionery, jewelry for the boys and gu-ls,
and various gifts, chiefly cooked delicacies, for neighbors, friends,
and acquaintances. For five days the festivities are kept up by
visits, social parties, and entertainments of all sorts. The ordinary
labors of hfe are resumed on the sixth day of the new year, but
w'ith many, fun, rest, and frolic are prolonged during the month.
The tenth day of the second month is the great house-cleaning
day of the year, when mats are taken up and shaken, the pots,
kettles, and jars scoured, and the clothing renovated.
Tomb-cleaning day occurs in the third month. On this occa-
sion they make offerings of food to their ancestors, and cleanse
tombs and tablets. It is a bu.sy time in the graveyards, to which
women transfer their straw scrubbers, dippers, and buckets, when
monuments and idols are well soused and scoured. It is more
like a picnic, with fim and work in equal proportions.
The third day of the third month comes in spring, and is the
great !May-day and merrj-making. The people go out on the river
■\vith food and drink, and spend the day in feasting and frolic.
Others wander in the peach-orchards to riew the blossoms. Others
so inclined, enjoy themselves by composing stanzas of j^oetry.
On the eighth day of the fourth month the large cities are
illuminated with paper lanterns of many colors, and people go out
on hills and rivers to view the gay sights and natural scenery.
298
COREA.
The fifth day of the fifth month is a great festival day, on
■^vhich the king presents fans to his courtiers.
On the fifteenth day of the seventh month occurs the cere-
mony of distributing seed. The king gives to his officials one
hundred kinds of seed for the crops of the next year.
On the fifteenth day of the eighth month sacrifices are offered
at the graves of ancestors and broken tombs are repaired.
The chrysanthemum festival is one of much popular interest
Among the most biilliant flowers of the peninsiiLa are the chry-
santhemums, which are ciiltivated -with great pride and care by
gentlemen and nobles. The flower is brought to unusual perfec-
tion by allowing but a single flower to grow upon one stem.
They are often cultivated apai*t, under oiled paper frames. On
the ninth day of the ninth month the perfected blossoms are in
their glorj', and the owner of a crop of brilliant chrysanthemums
invites his friends to his house to feast and enjoy the sight of the
blooms. The florists exhibit their triumphs, and picnic parties
enjoy the scenery from the bridges and on the mountains.
The article chiefly used for pastry among oblique-eyed human-
ity is what the Japanese call mochi, a substance made by boiling
rice and pounding it into a tough mass resembling pie-crust. Like
oysters, it may be eaten “ in every style,” raw, warmed, baked,
toasted, boiled, or fried. It occupies an important place in cere-
monial offerings to the dead, in the temple, and in household
festal decoration. It is made in immense quantities, and eaten
especially at New Year’s time, and on the two equinoctial days of
the year. Another favorite mixed food for festive occasions is
“red rice” and beans. The Corean housewife takes as much
pains to color the rice properly as a German lavishes upon his
meerschaum, and if the color fails, or is poor, it is a sign of bad luck.
The fourteenth day of the first month a person who is en-
tering upon a critical year of his life makes an effigy of straw,
di’esses it up with his o^vn clothing at evening, and casts it out on
the road, and then feasts menily during the whole night. "What-
ever happens to the man of straw thus kicked out of the house, is
supposed to happen to the man’s fonner self, now gone into the
past ; and Fate is believed to look upon the individual in new
clothes as another man.
The fifth, fifteenth, and twenty-fifth of each month are called
“broken days,” on which they avoid beginning anything new.
These are the “Fridays” of Cho-sen. In the beginning of each
OUT-DOOR LIFE.— CHARACTERS AND EMPLOYMENTS. 299
of the foui- seasons of tlie year they post up on the doors of their
houses slips of paper, on which are mitten mottoes, such as “ Lon-
gevity is like the South Mountain,” “Wealth is like the Eastern
Sea,” etc. Certain years in each pei’son’s life are supposed to be
critical, and special care as to health, food, clothing, new ven-
tures, etc., must be taken dming these years, which are ended
with a feast, or, what is more economical, a sigh of rehef.
The fifteenth day of the first month is called “ Stepping on
the Bridge.” A man and woman go out together over the bridge
at the rising of the moon and riew the moonlit sceneiy, indulging
meanwhile in refreshments, both of the solid and liquid sort. It
is believed that if one crosses over seven bridges on this night, he
will be free from calamities dming the year.
Not the least interesting of the local or national festivals, are
those held in memoi-y of the soldiers slain in the sendee of their
comitrj' on famous battle-fields. Besides holding annual memorial
celebrations at these places, which fire the patriotism of the people,
there are temples erected to soothe the spirits of the slain. Espe-
cially noteworthy are these monumental edifices, on sites made
painful to the national memoi-y by the great Japanese invasion of
1592-97, which keep fresh the scars of war. A rerival of these
patriotic festivals has been stimulated by the fanatical haters of
Japan, since this neighbor country broke away from Asiatic tradi-
tions.
Though much has been written concerning the population of
Corea, Ave consider all conjectures of persons alike unfamiliar Arith
the interior and the true sources of information as Avorthless.
These random figures A’ary from 250,000 (!) to 0,000,000. DaUet
presumes a population of 10,000,000. A mde enumeration made
thirty years ago gives the number of houses at 1,700,000, and of
the people at 7,000,000. Oiu- own opinion, formed after a study
of the map and official lists of toAvns and cities, is that there are
at least 12,000,000 souls in Chd-sen. A Japanese correspondent
of the Tokio Hochi Shimlun, Aviiting from Seoul, states that a cen-
sus made last year (1881) shows that there are 3,480,911 houses,
and 16,227,885 persons in the kingdom.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
SHAMAXISM AND MYTHICAL ZOOLOGY.
Shamanism is the worship of a large number of primitive North
Asiatic tiibes, haAing no idols except a few fetishes and some nide
ancestral images or representations of the sjDirits of the earth and
air. It is a gross mixtui'e of sorcery and saciificial ceremonies
for the propitiation of eAul spirits. These malignant beings are
supposed to populate the earth, the clouds, and the air, and to be
the cause of most of the iUs suffered by man. Tliey take various
forms, chiefly those of animals whose structure and anatomy are
more or less imaginary, each imp or demon being a composite
creature, compiled from the various powers of locomotion, de-
stioiction, and defence possessed by the real creatm’es that inhabit
water, earth, and air. Some of them, however, are gentle and of
lovely form and mien. Their apparition on eai'th is welcomed
with delight as the harbinger of good things to come. Confucius,
the teacher, hailed by the Chinese as their hohest sage, and to
whom even divine honors are paid, believed finnly in these por-
tents and appearances. Chief among these mythic creatures are
the phoenix, the kiiiu, the dragon, besides a variety of demons of
Auidous sizes, colors, habits, and character. Much of the my-
thology of Cho-sen is that common to Chinese Asia. Instead of
a gallery of beautiful human, or partially human, presences like
that of Greece, the mythology’ of China deals largely with mythic
animals, though legendaiy heroes, sages, and supernatural beings in
human form are not lacking. The fom' chief ideal creatures are
the di’agon, phoenix, tortoise, and kiiin.
There is another animal which, though a living reality, the
Coreans have idealized and gifted with powers sujiernatui-al and
supra-animal, almost as many in number as those with which the
Japanese have endowed the white fox. This is the tiger. They
not only ascribe to him all the mighty forces and characteristics
of which he is actually possessed, but popular superstition attidb-
SHAMANISM AND MYTHICAL ZOOLOGY.
301
utes to him the powers of flying, of emitting fire and hurUng
hghtuing. He is the symbol of strength and ubiquity, the stand-
ard of comparison with all dangers and dreadful forces, and
the paragon of human courage. On the war-flags this animal is
painted or embroidered in eveiy posture, asleep, leaping, erect,
couchant, winged, and holding red fire in his fore-paw. On works
of art, cabinets, boxes, and weapons the tiger is most frequently
portrayed and is even associated as an equal with the foui- super-
natural beings. In ancient time he was worshipped.
The riong, or dragon, whose figure, as depicted in Corean art,
is perhaps nothing more than a highly idealized form of an ex-
tinct geological sjjecies of saurian, is one of the four supeniatm-al
or spiritually endowed creatm*es. He is an embodiment of aU
the forces of motion, change, and power for offence and defence
in animal life, fin, wing, tusk, horn, claw's, with the mysterious
attributes of the serpent. There are many varieties of the species
dragon, which is the chief of scaly monsters. It possesses the gift
of transformation and of rendering itself visible or invisible at
will. In the spring it ascends to the skies and in the autumn
buries itself in the wateiy depths.
It is this terrific manifestation of movement and power w'hich
the Corean ai’tist loves to depict — always in connection with
water, clouds, or the sacred jewel of which it is the guardian, and
for which it battles, causing commotion in heaven and earth. The
dragon is sjmonymous in Chinese philosophy with the third of the
four creative influences and indicative of the East and Springtime,
the blue dragon being the guardian of the East.
Another cycle of popular notions and artistic ideas is sug-
gested by its change of bulk, for this omnipotent monster “be-
comes at wiU reduced to the size of a silkw'orm or swollen till it
fills the space of heaven and earth. It desires to mount, and it
rises until it affronts the clouds ; to sink, and it descends imtil
hidden below' the fountains of the deep.” The dragon is the
embodiment of the waterv' principle of the atmosphere, and its
Protean shapes are but the varied ideal expression of the many
forms and forces of water. Moisture in its fertilizing or destnic-
tive aspects — from the silent dew to the roaring tempest, from the
trickhng of a riU to the tidal wave that engulphs cities — blessed,
tenable, gentle, irresistible, is symbolized by' the dragon. The
functions of the celestial dragon are to guard the mansions of the
gods in heaven, so that they do not fall ; of the spiritual, to cause
302
COREA.
the wind to blow and produce rain for the benefit of mankind ; of
the terrestrial, to mark out the coui’ses of rivers and streams, while
another watches over the hidden treasures concealed from mor-
tals. This last is the di’agon that presides over mines and gems,
and which mortals must propitiate or overcome in order to gain
the precious metals and minerals out of the earth. Intense beUef
in the dragon is one of the chief reasons why the mines in Cho-
sen are so little woi’ked, and the metals distirrbed. The dragon
pursuing the invaders of their sanctuaries or fighting each other
to gain possession of the jewel balls or sacred crj'stals is a favorite
subject in all art of Chinese parentage. Rarely is the whole figure
of the writhing creature exposed. Partly hidden in clouds or
water, he seems ever in motion. There are also four dragon-kings,
who have their palaces in the world under the sea, one ruling in
the northern, one in the eastern, one in the southern, and one in
the western sea. The ministers and messengers of these four
monai-chs are the temble dragons whose battles in the air and in
the deep are the causes of the commotion of the elements. There
is also a dragon without horns, and another that never ascends to
the skies. The yellow dragon is reckoned the most honorable of
his tribe. In common belief the dragon carries on his forehead a
pear-shaped pearl, supposed to possess wondrous virtues of heal-
ing and power. Whoever possesses these jewels ■will be invincible,
and the power of his descendants endure.
From its divine origin and character the di'agon is symbolical
of all that pertains to tire emperor of Great China. Hence it is
made use of not only by him, but by his vassal, the king of
Cho-sen, and by his rival the mikado of Japan. Hence the sig-
nificance of the trio of these sacred jewels on ornaments and
instruments belonging to the royal family, whether embroidered
on the robes of state worn by the king, sm’mounting the large
drum of his musicians, or glistening in golden embroidery on the
banners of his body-guard. The “di-agon robe ” and “dragon’s
bed,” “dragon standard,” refer to the mantle, throne, and flag of
the king. In the popular speech, whatever is most excellent is
compared to a di-agon. A “ di-agon-child ” is a paragon, a “ dragon
horse” is one of extraordinary speed. "\Mien “the fish has
been metamorphosed into the di-agon,” some happy change or
promotion has taken place — the student-competitor has received
his degree of doctorate, or the ofiice-holder has been told by
royal appointemnt to “ come up higher.”
SHAMANISM AND MYTHICAL ZOOLOGY.
303
The kirin (kilin or lin) is another of the four supernatiu'al
creatures of Chinese philosophy and mythology', believed in by
the Coreans, and depicted in Corean art especiallj’ as a sym-
bol of peace and joy, and on articles used on auspicious and
happy occasions. This beast, which to the Corean is a “living
creature,” has the body of a deer and the tail of an ox, usually
highly curled and twisted in a manner to suggest the work of a
hair-dresser. On its forehead is a single soft horn. It is said
never to tread on or injure any H^■ing being. It is the emblem of
perfect rectitude, and the incarnate essence of the five primordial
elements of all things, auz. : water, fire, wood, metal, earth. It
is considered the noblest form of the animal creation. Its appear-
ance on the earth is ever regarded as a happy omen, as the har-
binger of good government and the birth of good rulers. Hence
the wealth of association to the Oriental mind in the kirin. The
male beast is called ki and the female rin or lin. The two Avords
combined form the general tenn kirin.
The tortoise is the centre of a great circle of pleasing supersti-
tions, and hence is one of the set of symbols oftenest employed i;i
Corean art. The practice of divination is mostly associated with
tortoise-shell, the figuring of a tortoise’s back having a mystic sig-
nification. In Chinese legend a divine tortoise emerged from the
Yellow River, on the shell of which a sage discovered the system of
numerals, and thus obtained the foundation of mathematics and the
rudiments of philosophy. This torioise was said to be the embodi-
ment of the star in IJrsa M.rjor, and the progenitor of all the tortoise
tribe. It can transform itself into other forms of life and lives to the
age of ten thousand j’ears. Hence it is the symbol of long life. It is
said to conceive by thought alone. There are said to be ten kinds
of tortoises, one of them being half dragon, half tortoise, and with
a tail hke a fringe of silver. This is the attendant of the god of
waters, and hence is often used as the top of a well. The tortoise
is also the symbol of immortality and strength, hence is often
used over walls and places of entrance. Many Corean gatcAvays
are surmounted Avith huge tortoises sculptured in stone. The same
idea is expressed in making the representations of this creatm’c,
cut from a single rock, the base for monumental tablets set into
its back. The great seal of state, the regalia of soA’ereignty in
Cho-sen, has the form of a tortoise. The phoenix is also repre-
sented as standing upon a tox-toise. Closely connected Avith the
Hindoo idea of the world resting on an elephant Avhich stands on
304
COREA.
a tortoise, is the Chinese idea of “ supporting the earth with the
feet of a tortoise.” A common idea in ChG-sen, as in China, Ls
the huge tortoise which supports mountains on its hack, and
having a shell which is one thousand leagues in circumference.
The phoenix (fung-wang or howo), like the kiiin, appears on
the earth at or near the birth of a good niler, and hence is
the emblem of peace and good government. The male is called
fang, or ho, and the female wang, or wo, hence the generic name
fung-wang or hOwG. In its maiwellous plumage the sheen of the
five colors may be desciied, each of w'hich is tj'pical of the five
cardinal virtues. In figui’e it seems to be an ideal combination
of the peacock and the golden pheasant, but with feathers won-
drously cm’led and made into ringlets. It is not only a symbol of
ausjjicious government, but of inseparable fellowship, and many
stanzas of poetry refer to it as tj-jiical of coui'tship and conjugal
love. In its voice are many intonations, to each of which a name
is given. For this reason it is a favorite element in the decoration
of musical instniments.
Another symbol often used is the Chinese bon, with marvel-
lously curled hair and mane. Every tuft is a mass of fanciftil ring-
lets, and the beast is so pictured as to make a masterpiece of
ugliness and terror. The dog of the breed called vgao, so named
after the earth-supporting tortoise, is also liberally furnished with
tooth, nail, and hair. It usually cuts the figni’e of guardian on the
edge or lid of vessels in which are kept treasures which, because
they tempt the palate, tempt also the fingers that lift to the
mouth*. The marvellous creature called the Dog of Fo, or Bud-
dha, usually associated with Chinese-Buddhist art, is believed to
be of Corean origin. Jacquemart calls it the “ Dog of Corea.”
Other mjdhical creatures that have their existence in the Co-
rean imagination are in the form of fishes and seiqjents. The in-e
(fish-man or merman) is a sort of sii*en that is supposed to inhabit
the Sea of Japan and the Eastern Sea, but whether pai'tly fabulous
. or entirely real, we are unable to say. It is six or seven feet long,
and in its head and body resembles a human being, as its nose,
mouth, ears, and arms, or flippers, are covered with white skin
wthout scales. It has a long and slender tail, like that of a horse.
It suckles its young, and sheds tears when its offspring are cap-
tm’ed. It is probable that this creature, though called a fish-
man by the Coreans, is the animal of which we read, in several
instances, being presented to the Mauchiu emperoi-s in Peking.
SHAMANISM AND MYTHICAL ZOOLOGY.
305
One of them inquired whether such a creature was known in
Europe, and the Jesuit friar, producing a book, showed an engrav-
ing of one similar. Perhaps this “ fish-man ” is the same as a
reported “ dog-fish or shark,” Hving in the seas around Quelpart,
whose tears produce pearls.
The i-sium, a colossal marine creature, is purely imaginary,
like the “ earthquake-fish ” of the Japanese, which causes the con-
tinent to shake. The word is pure Corean, and may answer to our
symbol of vastness and uncertainty
— the sea-serpent. Mr. Fergusson
would doubtless find a new chapter
for his “Tree and Serpent Worship”
in Cho-sen, for, in the peninsula, not
only are trees reverenced as the abode
of spirits, but the sa, or snakes, are
rarely, if ever, harmed. The people
feed, venerate, and even worship them
as the guardian genii of their house-
holds. The epkuron-gi (a pure Cor-
ean word) is the name by which they
call the serpent which presides over
their family Edens. Instead of being
looked upon as the embodiment of
the principle of e\’il, as in Semitic lore,
their presence is hailed as an omen
of blessing. They are treated like
pets. In their heads they are be-
lieved to carry a precious jewel after
they have lived long. A serpent often
hves to be one thousand years old,
and then bears in his front a ghsten-
ing gem, called ya-kang-chiu, which
name the people also apply to any
guttering stone, especially the diamond. The guardian serpent
is represented as double- winged, with forked tongue, long and
darting, fljdng among the clouds and protecting its worshippers
by pursuing their enemies. The illustration here given is copied
from one of the war-flags earned by the Corean mountaineers from
their homes to the forts on the Han Kiver, in 1871. The staff is
tipped with pheasant-feathers and horse-hair.
Their fear of the serpent is the basis of their worship, and the
20
306
COREA.
average Corean does not fail to take due precaution to guard
against its sting. In addition to the ordinary osa or black snake,
there is the venomous viper, salmo, which “ kills its mother at
birth.” Its bite is considered exceedingly dangerous. The tai-
mang is a great serpent. The flower called Iduk-sa-wa (snake-
bane), or Eye of India, is believed by Coreans to keep away the
reptiles, and hence is highly valued.
Hamel and the French missionaries agree in picturing Corea
as a land well supplied with reptiles, serpents, and vermin of aU
sorts, and testify to the veneration of them by the people. In
the folk-lore of the country, the beasts play a conspicuous part.
Another creature to whom wings rightfully belong is the gin-sai.
This fabulous bird is capable of diffusing so venomous an influ-
ence that even its shadow poisons food.
Even the brief list of creatiues which we have enumerated
does not exhaust the list of the beings which are real and active
to the imagination of the people. Science and Christianity are
the remedies for this delirium tremens of paganism.
The ancient and still lingering belief in the powers of the air
and all the creatures therein, visible and invisible, is reflected on
their triangular and streamer-shaped war-banners. They believe
that all these creatures and all the forces of nature are under the
control of the spirits, who will give or withhold simshine or rain,
send blasting mildew and pestilence, or fertility, plenty and joy,
according as they are pleased or displeased.
It will be seen at once what a soil the demagogue has for sow-
ing dragons’ teeth, and what frightful popular commotion may be
stirred up by playing upon the fears of the populace. The most
recent illustration of this is seen in the frightful massacre of the
ministers and the Japanese, in July, 1882. The long drought
having ruined the rice crop, the leaders of the anti-foreign faction
persuaded the common people that the spirits were annoyed at the
introduction of foreigners, and therefore withheld the rain. In this
belief they were strengthened from the fact that it rained heavily
for many hours after the Japanese had been driven out of Seoul
CHAPTEE XXXiy.
LEGENDS AND FOLK-LORE.
It is not difficult to appreciate or understand the history of
people whose psychology is our own. We seem to look through
white light in gazing at their past as told in the words of a lan-
guage that grew in the same mental sunlight with oui’ own. In
eating fruit that grows on famihar intellectual soil, we may some-
times recognize a shghtly strange flavor, but the pulp is good food
which ovur mental stomach does not reject, but readily assimilates.
Truth, hke the moon, usually presents one side only, but the mass
of mankind do not think of this, even if they know it. They go
on bhssfully imagining they have seen aU sides, even the full orb.
With the history of the Arj'an nations we are familiar, and
think it is clear to us. We insist that we know we can understand
what they did and that their thoughts need no translation to us.
A visitor at the American Centennial, or any exposition of the
industry of aU nations, sees before him for comparative study the
art, symbols of rehgion, architecture, implements of domestic hfe,
and all the outward expressions of inward ideas. They are the
clothed or concrete soul of man under the varied civilizations of
this planet. Standing before the exhibits of India — the home of
the Aryan nations — the man of Western Christendom, as his
mind’s eye surveys the vastness of difference between him and the
Hindoo, is yet able to bridge the gulf. The researches into lan-
guage, art, myths, folk-lore, show him that the infancy of the two
races was the same, and that modem differences are impertinent
accidents. At bottom the Aryan and the Hindoo are brothers.
No such reconciliation of ideas is yet demonstrable between
the Mongolian and the Aryan. Before the art, symbols, ideas,
literature, language, and physical presence of the man of Cathay,
no bridging of the gulf seems yet possible. He appears to be a
man of another planet Language gives as yet little clue to a
common origin ; art and symbol seem at the other pole, and in
308
COREA.
psycliology the difference at present seems total and irrecon-
cilable.
Hence, to attempt to write the historj' of a Turanian people by
simj)ly narrating bald facts in an occidental language, seems to be
but putting another white skeleton in the museum of nations.
Even the attempt, by a purely destructive method of criticism, to
manufactui’e a body, or corpse, rather, of history, by hacking
away all legend and tradition to get out what the critic is pleased
to call “ hi.'itory,” seems at once unnatural and false. It is like
attempting to correlate the genius of Shakspeare with ounces of
beef and cheese, or to measure the market value of poetry by
avoirdupois. A history of an Asiatic people ought to be as much
a history of mind, of psychology, as of facts or dynasties. Hence,
in wTiting of a new and almost unknown people hke the Coreans,
we think it as important to tell what they believe to have hap-
pened, as to attempt to state what we think actually did hapj>en.
To imderstand a people we must know their thoughts, as weU as
theii- physical envu-onment.
According to Corean tradition, the origin of their country and
people is thus outUned :
Of old the land had neither prince nor chiefs. A Divine Being
descended from heaven and took up his abode at the foot of a
sandal-wood tree on the Ever- White Mountains. The people of
the land became his subjects, made him thefr sovereign and called
him Dan Kun (the Sandal Prince), and his realm Cho-sen (Morn-
ing Calm). This took place in the time of Tang Ti Tao (2353
B.C.). His ffrst residence was at Ping-an. Later he transferred it
to Pe-yo, where his descendants remained tiU the eighth year of
the emperor Wu Ting of the Chang dynasty (1317 rc.), when
they were established in Mount Asstak. His descendants reigned
in Cho-sen more than one thousand years, but nothing more is
known of them after the period covered by their reign. Then fol-
lowed the occupation of the counti-y by the Chinese noble Ki Tsze.
The mythical origin and founding of Shinra is thus told in the
local legends of the place. After the invasion of Cho-sen, by the
Chinese emperor, many of the original inhabitants fled and scat-
tered over the east coast. They made settlements on the moiin-
taius, in the valleys, and along the sea-shore, some of which in
time grew to be cities and large towns. One day the attention of
the head man of one of the villages was attracted by the neighing
of horses toward a mountain. He went in the direction of the
LEGENDS AND FOLK-LORE.
309
sounds, but instead of a horse he found an egg of extraordinary
size, shaped like a gotu’d. Carefully breaking it open, he discov-
ered a beautiful rosy boy-baby inside. The old man’s heart was
touched by the sight, and he took the child to his home and
adopted it as his own. The boy grew up beloved of all who saw
or knew him. When but thirteen years old, the elders of the six
piincipal towns gathered together and chose him as theii’ lord
and master. They gave him a name signifying “Coming Out of
the West,” and to. the coimtry a name meaning “Boim of the
Gourd-egg.” The new king took to -wife a fau* maiden who was
reputed to be the offspring of a weU-dragon. They reigned for
sixty years, when their daughter succeeded to the throne.
In the fifth year of her reign she married a youth who had
come from afar, whose origin was as wonderful as that of her O’wn
parents. His mother the queen had been delivered of an egg.
Her husband, not enjoying such a form of oflfspring, threw the egg
away, but the queen recovering it, caref\iUy \vrapped it in a silk
napkin, and ^\dth many other treasures put it in a box and set it
adrift on the sea. After many days the box was washed ashore on
a distant coast. The fishei-men who picked it up in their nets
thought nothing of it, and threw it into the sea again. It drifted
into one of the harbors of Shinra. An old woman finding it,
opened the lid and found a lovely boy with a smile on his face.
Carefully nourishing him, he grew up to be a man of strength,
nine feet high. He excelled all other youths in bodily vigor and
accomplishments. Wlien the old woman first picked up the waif,
there were a number of crows standing around the shore, and the
crone gave him a name referring to the presence of these birds —
“ Opened in Presence of the Crows.” Excelling in the knowl-
edge of geomancy, he found a good place for a residence and
built on it. Hearing of his reno^vn, the queen of Shinra married
him to her daughter.
One evening the newly made king heard a cock crow in the
woods toward the west. He sent his servants after it, who found
a small golden casket suspended from a tree. Under it a white
cock was crowing. The seiwant reported the matter to his master.
-Vnother serv'ant was despatched to the place. He returned Tvdth
the box, which, being opened, was found to contain a boy baby,
who was given the name signifying “ The Golden Boy from the
Grove in which the Cock crowed.” The baby boy grew up and
succeeded his father. In the reign of the twenty-second king of
310
COREA.
the line, the people of the country, then called Shin-han, changed
the name of their country to Shinra.
In the “ Grammaire Coruene ” there are a number of speci-
mens of folk-lore given in Corean and French, from which we
extract a few of the most characteristic. The first one is an illus-
tration of oui’ universal human nature.
TEUE THBEE WISHES.
There were once two old married folks who had not a single child, hoy or
girl. Extremely poor, they lived a pitiable life. One evening, when it was
very cold in winter, after having supped, they gazed into the fire in the bra-
zier, and sitting in their room face to face they warmed themselves a moment
in silence, when the good old man thus spoke :
“ For the rich the winter is an excellent season ; their food is prepared in.
advance. Having no toil they have only to take their ease. But for the poor,
it is a rough time when they have neither food for the mouth nor fuel. If
they go out over the mountain through the rain or the snow to seek wood, they
die of cold or frost.”
The good dame replied : “ They say that Heaven is just. Why then does
he permit this ? They say, besides, that when you pray to Heaven, it is easy
to obtain that which you need. If we ask to become rich — ” said she.
“ You are right, do so,” replied the husband.
And both prostrating themselves, prayed fervently to the Deity, when sud-
denly an angel appeared.
“In spite of your sin of murmuring. Heaven having pitied you, accords
j’ou three things, after which you can ask no more. Reflect well, choose, and
ask. ” Saying this he disappeared.
The old man made this proposition: “If we ask riches, freedom from
sickness, or long life — ”
“No,” said the old woman, “ we should not enjoy these things proj>erly if
we do not have a child. What pleasure will it be ? ”
“ Hold ! I have not asked. What shall I do ? If he had onlj’ said four
things at the good moment ! Why did he say only three? Since we wish to
have a child, must we forego freedom from sickness, must we renounce riches,
must we give up long life ? It is hard to decide. Think, then, seriously this
night, and decide to-morrow.”
Breaking off their conversation, both sat plunged in reverie. At the mo-
ment of b'ing down to sleep, the old woman, stirring up the fire with the
tongs, launched out with this reflection, “If we could have three or four feet
of pudding to set to toast on this brazier, that would be royally excellent.”
She spoke, and there was three feet of food placed by her side.
The husband, beside himself with rage, screamed out —
“ Oh ! what a woman ! By one stroke you have lost all our benefits. To
punish you I wish the pudding would hang itself on the point of your nose.”
Immediately the pudding made a leap and attached itself to the old dame’s
nose.
LEGENDS AND FOLK-LORE.
311
At this the husband cried out, “Hello! Angry as I am, I have also by
my fault lost a wish.” Seizing the sausage to detach it, they pulled, first one,
then the other, almost dislocating the nose, but the sausage held on.
“Alas! ” said the woman in tears, “if this is always to remain hanging
here, how can I live ? ”
The husband, on the contrary, without being at all disturbed, said, “If
even yet our wish of fortune is fulfilled, we could make a tube of gold to hide
this sausage, and then drawing it out at length, it will be only more beautiful
to see.”
The wife, still more miserable, cried out, “ Oh, wretched me, only to
think that fortune should wish to put it there. Well! whether you be rich
or live long, as for me, I should like to kill myself.”
Saying this she took a cord and went to strangle herself at the end of a
beam. The husband, struck with fear, and touched with compassion, hastened
to set her free.
“Stop,” said ho, “there remains one wish to us. Have your own way
about it.”
“If that is so, I wish that what hangs to my nose comes loose. Quick,
quick, that it may go swift away. That is my chief wish.”
She had hardly finished speaking when the sausage fell plump to the
ground, and out of the midst of the heaven an angry voice was heard :
“ You have obtained the three things which you wished for, and have you
gained a great advantage ? If you wish to enjoy true blessing in this world
be content to live with what Heaven gives, and do not form vain desires.”
The two old folks spitted the pudding, ate it, and from this night they
abstained from foolish' wishes.
On the morrow, agreeably to their supremo ambition, which was to have a
baby, they found a little fatherless and motherless orphan. Having adopted
it as their child, they gave him a good education and lived happily to extreme
old age.
The following iUustratea official shrewdness and rapacity :
THE HISTORY OF A NOSE,
In the chief city of Chulla, there was a politician who was in debt to the
government to the amount of ten thousand strings of cash. Unable to pay
the same, he was condemned to death. Cast into prison, he awaited only
the orders of the king to carry out the sentence. As he had thought hard with-
out discovering any means to get out of the affair, he bethought himself of a
stratagem. So, addressing the jailer, he said :
“ Helloa ! you there, you’ll do well to let me go free a little while.”
“ Helloa ! ” answered the jailer, “ what wretched talk ! After I have set free
a man who ought to be put to death to-morrow or day after to-morrow, what
shall / do ? ”
The prisoner replied, “ Are we not friends both of us ? If you do not let
me go, who can save my life? Think over it a little and see. My wife, my
children, my house, all I have, all my relations and friends being here, where
312
COREA-
shall I fly ? If you set me at liberty for some moments not only will I not ab-
scond but there will be found means for preserving my life safely. Do so.”
As he thus besought him eagerly, the jailer, struck with compassion,
could not do otherwise than let him go.
So at midnight he presented himself before the door of the room where
the governor slept, and thus addressed him.
“ Are you asleep ? Is your excellency sleeping ? ”
Hearing the sound and astonished at recognizing the voice of the officer who
had been cast into prison and was to be executed in a short time, the gov-
ernor asked.
“Who are you?”
“ Your servant,” answered the officer.
“ A scoundrel who is at the point of being executed, how is it you are here? ”
“If I may be allowed to enter to salute you,” said the officer, “I have
something particular to say to j'ou.”
“ Oh, well, come in and speak.”
The officer entering, approached, sat down, and said :
“I pray your excellency to reflect and consider m3- purpose. If 3’ou put
your servant to death this will be simply one man of means less in the world,
and the money I owe will be lost to the government. What advantage will
you thus derive? If, on the contrar\-, you preserve my life there will be one
man more in the world, and I shall repay the whole of m3- debt to the govern-
ment. Let me then live. ”
“ If it ought to be so I wish 3’ou well in the matter.”
“Your servant will come again, then, to-morrow, during the night, to see
you.”
“ Do as you will.”
The morrow during the night the officer presented himself anew and asked
to be introduced. Approaching he made the prostrations before the governor,
drew from his sleeve a packet which he undid and took out a sketch represent-
ing a human nose. He immediately besought the governor to please put his
seal upon the sketch.
Agreeing to the proposal the governor imposed his seal.
The officer now associated three companions who were in the plot, and they
all assembled upon the coast of the Eastern Sea, where they found a populous
village, in the midst of which rose a high and grand mansion. Taking their
drink of spirits at a hotel in the suburbs of the next village beyond, they pre-
pared to sup. Addressing their host they put this question :
“What is the name of the village which is just behind us? Whose is the
largest house? ”
The inn-keeper answered, “That is the house of a very rich noble. Last
3-ear he received the degree of the doctorate and is eligible to fill ver3- soon a
very high position under the government.”
The officer taking with him one of his comrades repaired to the mansion,
where, as he noticed, ever3-thing showed abundant means, and thus spoke to
the son.
“As we have a secret aSair to treat of, let us go into another room,” said
the officer.
LEGENDS AND FOLK-LORE.
313
They did so. ‘ ‘ See here, the king is very sick, and they have called all
the physicians from all the eight provinces for a consultation. They have de-
clared that the only means to obtain healing is to find the nose of a man just
like this, and to concoct a remedy from it. This is why we have been com-
manded by the Court, where they have said to us, putting in our hand this
sketch of the nose. ‘ Without distinction of place or person if you meet a nose
similar to this, strike it o3 and produce it before us in this place.’ Obeying
this severe order we have been out many times without being able to find a
nose conforming to the sketch, and thus far have made useless journeys, but
now, without peradventure, your honorable father’s nose exactly resembles
this. We demand to see him, and wherever he may be we shall not depart till
we have cut it off.”
The son cried out: “ Perhaps they do say such things ! ”
“Who dare oppose the government business? Hurry, hurry, strike it off
and we’ll go.”
The son fell into a study and reflected.
“It is an affair of state. This is a matter which we cannot prevent. Cut
it off, they say, but to cut off the nose of my old father, that is altogether im-
possible. The entire family, men, women, young and old, every one will be
plunged into woe. Tou can bear away the half of our fortune at least, if you
will go away without taking my father’s nose. ”
Tlie officer replied, “ We had proposed to ourselves to depart only after
having cut off the nose. However, as this is a matter of a son devoted to his
father, and that they may not repress filial piety in others, we shall not cut off
the nose. If you will give us a certain sum we will go elsewhere to procure a
nose which we shall present to the king.”
He accepted with thanks a sum equal to many times ten thousand strings
of cash, for which he gave a receipt, told the sender of the money such a day,
such a place, and on leaving offered this recommendation :
“Upon the whole, say nothing of this affair. If it should leak out, and
the government comes to know that having found a proper nose we have been
bribed not to cut it off, we shall be arrested and put to death, they will cer-
tainly cut off your father’s nose and take j-our money also. Pray then be care-
ful not to divulge this secret.” Upon this they took their leave.
Overjoyed at not having his parent’s nose amputated, but believing that the
king on being informed would send again on this business, the son dared let
no one know until the day of his father’s death. Then breaking the silence
he said, “ I have bought my father’s nose for thousand strings of cash.”
The ston’ here told explains itself. Cheng-chong was the Har-
oun al Easchid of Corea.
AN INSTANCE OF ROYAL SOLICITUDE.
There was in Cho-sen a king called His Majesty Cheng-chong, who was cel-
ebrated in all the kingdom for his goodness. One night, disguised as a coun-
tryman, and accompanied only by a single companion, he started out from the
midst of the capital to make a circuit in order to inform himself of the temper
of his subjects, and to become himself acquainted with the details of their life.
314
COREA.
Arrived at a certain point lie looked in the window. There was a miser-
able house, of which the outer dilapidation, extremely pitiable as it was, led
him to suspect in the interior a state of things difficult to imagine. Eagerly
wishing to know what it was, he punched a peep-hole in the paper door and
perceived an old man weeping, a man in mourning singing, and a nun or
widow dancing. Unable to divine the cause of this spectacle, he ordered his
companion to call the master of the house. The king’s servant doing so, said :
“ Is the proprietor of the house at home ? ”
Hearing this voice the man in mourning made his appearance. His Majesty
saluting him said :
“ We have never before met.”
“ True,” said the man in mourning, “ hut whence are you ? How is it that
you should come to find me at midnight ? To what familj- do you belong ? ”
Cheng-chong answered, “ I am Mr. Ni, living at Tong-ku-an. ^ I was
passing before your house, I was attracted by strange sounds. Then by a hole
which I made in the door, I saw an old man weeping, a nun who danced, and
a gentleman in mourning who sang. Why did the old man shed tears, the nun
dance, and the man in mourning sing ? Unable to fathom the motive I have
made my friend call the householder with the purpose of informing myself.”
The man in mourning rejoined, “ Have you any business to know other
people’s matters ? What is your reason for acting thus when it concerns you
so little ? The night is well gone. Get back as quickly as possible.”
“ No, not at all. I acknowledge that it is not becoming to pry into the af-
fairs of others, hut this is such an extraordinary case I beg of you give me
some light on the matter.”
“Alas!” said the man in mourning, “why is the gentleman so eager to
know other people’s matters ? ”
Cheng-chong replied, “ It is important that I should be somewhat informed.”
“ Since the gentleman wishes so much to know, I cannot do other than tell.
This is why. My family has always been poor. In my hut one could never
find sufficient grain for a meal and one flea would not have enough room upon
my land to squat upon. I have no victuals fqr my old father. This is why,
morning and evening, in default of all other resource, my wife has often cut
off a tress of her hair and gone and sold it to buy a cup of bean-soup, which
she graciously offers to my father. This evening she clipped and sold all of
her hair that remained, and by this she has become bare-headed like a nun.
My old father, seeing that for his sake his young daughter-m-law has become
a nun, broke out into mourning in these terms :
“ ‘ Why have I lived to this day ? Why am I not dead ? Why have I thus
degraded my daughter-in-law ? ’ And in saying this he shed tears. To con-
sole him, my wife said to him, ‘ Do not weep,’ and she danced. I, also, al-
though in mourning, joined in with my wife. One danced, the other sang.
This made my old father smile, and perhaps gave him solace. There ! that is
why we behaved so. Do not think it strange, and go away.”
Listening to this narrative the king was impressed with such a marked su- •
preme devotion on the part of the son and daughter-in-law, even in the time
of deepest misfortune, and he said, “This is the most extraordinary thing in
the world. How will it do to present you at the examination to-morrow ? ”
LEGENDS AND FOLK-LORE.
315
“What examination to-morrow ? ” asked the man.
“ Why, certainly,” said Cheng-chong, “ to-morrow there will he an examin-
ation. By all means don’t fail to be there.”
The man responded, “ But I have not heard it said that there is to be an
examination.”
“ Whether you have heard or not,” said the king, “prepare to compete,
and present yourself. As I shall also present myself to-morrow I shall give
you a stall in the enclosure. ”
Having thus spoken he took his leave, returned to the palace and awaited
the stroke of the great clock-bell.
No sooner did he hear the vibration of the mighty gong than he immedi-
ately gave the order to announce promptly the examination in the city, and
beyond the walls, to tlie utter astonishment of the literary men, who said,
“ Even until yesterday no one had heard of an examination, and behold it was
published during the night. What does this mean ? ”
The poor householder on his part made this reflection, “Although I knew
nothing about it, this man knows perfectly,” and he started out.
On the way he noticed a crowd of candidates. Without hesitation ho
entered the enclosure. Tlie subject of the examination was : “ The song of a
man in mourning, the dance of a nun, the tears of an old man.”
Of all the students not one could derive the sense of such a subject.
This man alone knew it perfectly well, because he had had experience of
those very things in his own house. He treated the theme clearly and sent in
his copy. The king having examined the essay and found it without a mis-
take, gave the degree of doctor and sent for him to come to him.
When they were in each other’s presence the king said :
“ Do you know me? It is I who yesterday recommended you to present
yourself at the examination. Lift up your head and look.”
Fixing his gaze attentively, the man recognized who he was — in effect the
same person — and manifested his feelings in appropriate actions of gratitude.
“ Go quickly,” said the king to him, “ go find your old father and wife.”
Forthwith, with high appointment to office joined to magnificent treat-
ment, the king recompensed the filial piety of the son and daughter-in-law.
The royal renown has been handed down from generation to generation.
In truth, beyond the goodness of the king, the reward bestowed upon the filial
devotion of these two married people is known to every one.
Evidently the following is a story told by metropolitans to show
np the bumpkins of the provinces :
THE PRODIGIOUS EFFECTS OF A LOOKING-GLASS.
A young noble of Kiung-sang province was going on a journey to Seoul.
Just as he was about to depart, his wife called him.
“He! say now, listen to me a little. I have heard the mother of Mr.
Kim speak of a very lovely thing which looks like glass and pretty metal.
Tliey say that if you look in it you will see a very curious thing. You must
316
COREA.
“ Is it dear or cheap? ” asked the husband.
“ It is not dear,” said she. “ It will be necessary to spend some money, hut
if you heed the matter at all, it will be easy to pay for it.” This is what the
husband heard as he set out for the capital.
Having finished his business at Seoul he was on the x)oint of returning,
having almost lost sight of his wife’s order. At last he recalled it, asked the
name of the object in question, and made the purchase of a mirror through one
of his friends. In his eagerness to get home he put his wife’s commission in
his wallet without even looking at it. When he arrived home, she hastened
to take out the mirror. At once she perceived in it a woman. Immediately
she began to weep and to berate her husband
“ Oh the villain! not only to play himself the vagabond and debauchee
but to bring along a concubine ! Is it possible? This woman, what is she? ”
The amazed husband looked in the mirror, and at the side of his wife per-
ceived a man. Unable to contain his wrath which made his face first dark
and then blue, he uttered piercing cries.
“ Is this the conduct for the wife of a noble. You have brought a libertine
here,” cried he.
He was about to murder his wife, when his old mother hearing the squabble
came in to know what it was. At sight of the old woman the quarrel ceased
on either side. Pointing at the mirror, the rivals spoke both at once. The
weeping daughter-in-law raved about a concubine, the son, even more angry,
talked of a paramour. As the couple had never quarrelled before, there was
no way of accounting for the mystery.
“ Do not be vexed,” said she, and looking in the mirror she saw a woman.
At once she broke out into a laugh.
“Is it because you see the old woman, your neighbor, that you dispute?
The widow Pak has come to get some fire,” said she, and she went out to
speak to her, but she was not there.
Astonished, she called her husband and said to him
“There is in the children’s room a very funny thing. You can see in it
all kinds of extraordinary things and they are bickering over it. Come and
see a little.”
The venerable gentleman having entered the room perceived in the mirror
an aged man.
“ Hello ! the puppy of the teacher Tsoi has come to collect his fees and I
have not a penny. That is not very nice.”
The people of the village, one by one, two by two, all without exception
looked at the mirror, hut unable to comprehend an^dhing, they made a tumult.
Curious to know what should result, they carried it to the magistrate. At sight
of the instrument, the man of authority more astonished than the others,
called the policemen and gave them this order :
“ A new officer has arrived, why have I lost my place? Get ready men
and horses for him.”
Really believing that he had been ciishiered he prepared to leave, when a
young policeman after a careful examination of the mirror, pointed out the
manner in which the visage of each individual was reflected.
CHAPTER XXXV.
PROVERBS AND PITHY SAYINGS.
Shut off, as they are, from the rest of the world, like fish in a
weU, the Coreans nevertheless have coined a fair share of homely
wisdom, which finds ready circulation in their daily speech. Their
proverbs not only bear the mint-mark of their origin, but reflect
tiTily the image and superscription of those who send them forth.
Many, indeed, of their cuiTent proverbs and pithy expressions are
of Japanese or Chinese origin, but those we have selected are
mainly of peninsular birth, and have the flavor of the soil.
Do the Coreans place the seat of wisdom as they do the point
of vaccination, in the nose ? They ask, “ VTio has a nose thi-ee
feet long?” which means, “ If one is embarrassed, how can he put
others at ease?” Evidently they have a wholesome regard for
that member. A “ nose of ii'on ” describes an opinionated man
and suggests unlimited “cheek.” A common expression of the
Christians, meaning to go to church and pray, is “to see the long
nose of the father ” — that feature of the French priest’s face
being looked upon with awe as the seat of wisdom.
Between the rivals, Japan and China, Corea probably sees her-
self in this proverb of the unhappy cur that wanders boneless
between two kitchens — the cook in each supposing it has been
fed by the other. “ The dog which between two monasteries gets
nothing.”
Corea’s isolation is “like a fish in a well,” or “like a hermit
in the market-place.” They say of a secluded villager, “He
knows nothing beyond the place which he inhabits.”
“ One stick to ten blind men,” is something very precious.
“The cock of the \dllage in a splendid city mansion,” is the
bumpkin in the capital.
“To have a cake in each hand,” is to know not which to eat
first — to be in a quandary.
“ A volcano under the snow,” is a man of amiable manners
who conceals a riolent temper.
318
COREA.
" The treasiire which always circulates without an obstacle,” is
“ cash,” or sapeks.
“An apricot-blossom in the snow,” is said when something
rare and marvellous happens.
“To blow away the hair to see if there is a scar,” is to look for
a mote in another man’s eye, and to hunt for defects.
“ As difficvdt as the roads of Thibet,” is evidently a reminis-
cence derived from the ancient Buddhist missionaries who came
from that region.
“ To put on a silk dress to travel at night,” is to do a good
action and not have it known.
Some pithy sayings show the local gauge of sense. “ He
does not know sUver from lead,” “He has round eyes,” “He
can’t teU cheese from wheat,” He is an idiot. “ Doesn’t know
lu from yu.” This last refers to two Corean letters, jot and
tittle.
“As opposed as fire and water.”
“ A buckskin man,” is a man of no will or backbone.
“ To have a big hand,” means to be liberaL
“A great blue sea,” refers to something very difficult, with no
end to it and no way out of it.
A man who is “ not known in aU the eight coasts,” is an utter
stranger.
A \erj sick person is “ a man who holds disease in his arms.”
“A bag of diseases,” is a chronic patient.
“ Who can tell in seeing a crow flying whether it be male or
female?” is a question referring to the impossible.
. The numeral 10,000 {man) plays a great part in proverbial
sayings as “10,000 times certain.” Corea is a “land of 10,000
peaks.” Certain success is “ 10,000 chances against one.” “To
die 10,000 times and not be regretted,” is to be “worthy of
10,000 deaths.” Ten thousand sorrows means great grief. A
moimtain is “10,000 heights of a man high.” “Ten thousand
strings of cash,” is a priceless amount. Man-nin are 10,000 peo-
ple— all the people in the universe.
“ To lose one’s hands,” is to make a fiasco.
A comet is an “arrow star.”
“ A hundred battles make a veteran.”
Almost as poetical as the Greek “ anarithma gelasma ” (unnum-
bered laughings) is this Corean description of the sea — “Ten
thousand flashings of blue waves.”
PROVERBS AND PITHY SAYINGS.
319
“ To lose both at a time,” is a proverb founded on a native
love-story,
“When a raven flies from a pear-tree, a pear falls” — appear-
ances are deceitful, don’t hazard a guess.
“ If one lifts a stone, the face reddens.” The Coreans are fond
of rival feats of hftmg. Heavy stones are kept for that pm’pose.
“Results are proportionate to eflbrt put forth.”
Mosquitoes are hvely and jubilantly hungry in Cho-sen, yet it
does not do to flght them vdth hea\’y weapons or “ seize a sabre
to kill a mosquito.”
A very poor man is thus described : “ He eats only nine times
in a month,” or “He eats only three times in ten days.” To say
he is iu the depths of poverty is to mention the pathetic fact that
“he has extinguished his Are for “he looks to the four winds
and finds no friend.”
“The right and left are different,” is said of a hj-pocrite who
does not speak as he thinks.
MTien a man is not veiy bright he “has mist before his
eyes ; ” or he “ carries his wits under his arms ; ” or has “ hid-
den his soul under his arm-pits,” or he “ goes to the east and
goes to the west when he is bothered.”
Like Beaconsfield’s dictum — “ Critics are men who have failed
in literature and art,” is this Corean echo, “ Good critic, bad
worker.”
“On entering a AlUage to know its usages,” is our “When in
Rome do as the Romans do.”
“To destroy jade- and gravel together,” refers to indisciimi-
nate destruction.
“ Without wind and without cloud,” describes a serene life.
“Go to sea,” is a provincial malediction heavier than a tinker’s,
and worse than “ Go to grass.”
“I am I, and another is another,” is a formula of selfish, and
Corean for “cyo et non ego,” “I and not I.”
“A poor horse has always a thick tad” — talent and capacity
are badly located.
The large number of morals pointed and tales adorned by the
tiger are referred to elsewhere.
CILVPTER XXXVI.
THE CO RE AN TIGER.
The one royal quadruped associated witli Corea, as the white
elephant is wdth Siam, the bison with the United States, or the
dromedary with Egypt, is the tiger. Unlike his relative in India
that roams in the hot jun-
gles and along the river
bottoms, the Corean “ king
of the mountains” is seen
oftenest in the snow and
forests of the north, rang-
ing as far as the fiftieth
parallel
Both actually and ideal-
ly the tiger is the symbol
of power and fierceness.
The flag of the tiger-hunt-
ers, from the northern
provinces of Ping-an or
Ham-kiung, who so bravely
faced the rifles of the
United States marines and
sailors in “ our little war
with the heathen,” in 1871,
Battle-flag Captured in the Han Torts, 1871. WaS a winged tiger rampant,
spitting fire, holding the
lightnings in his lifted fore-claws, and thus embodying the powers
of earth, air, and heaven. It reminds one of the winged leopard in
the vision of Daniel, “After this, I beheld, and lo another like a
leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl” It is
the tutelary genius of the descendants of the aboriginal worshippers
of the tiger, who even yet cling to the religion of the soil*
’ This flag was presented by its captors to Commodore Homer C. Blake, by
whose courtesy the writer bad the sketch made for the cut given above.
THE COKE AN TIGER.
321
The caps of the body-guard of the sovereign are decorated
with the cheek and whiskers of the tiger, in order to inspire
teiTor among beholders. The Corean beauty carries among the
jeweh-y and “ chai-ms” in the reticule at her waist, a claw of the
dreacjed pern or tiger, nor can the hardy moimtaineer put in the
hand of his bride a more eloquent proof of his valor than one of
these weapons of a man-eater. It means even more than the edel-
weiss of other mountain lands. On the floors of the better class
of houses the tiger-skin rug not only adorns the best room, but
makes the children’s play-ground, or the baby’s cushion in lieu of
cradles, which are unknown. The soft hair of these natm’al rugs is
often a finger long. Curious toys are made of the fur.
The most prized articles among the tribute oflferings (in these
days, rather a “bonus” or bribe, than a tax or humiliation) pre-
sented at the court of Peking, as of old at Kioto or Yedo, are
tliese gorgeous pelts. One of them, which the "WTiter saw recently,
the property of a Jap.anese merchant, measured twelve feet long,
exclusive cf the tail. The symbol of military rank in old Japan,
as indicative as our shoulder-straps, was a tiger-skin scabbard.
Especially was it honorable to wear it if captured with one’s o'nni
hands on “frontier ser^dce.” The hair of these animals seems to
have more of a woolly quaUty than those from India, while the
orange tint is far less predominant, white taking its place. The
black bars are, however, of equal magnificence with the tropical
product, and the tail seems to be rather longer. Some idea of the
great numbers and awful ravages of these huge felidce in the two
norihera provinces of the Peninsular Kingdom, may be gained
from the common s.aying of the Chinese that “ the Coreans himt
the tiger duiang one half the year and the tigers hunt the Coreans
during the other half.” The Coreans retort by the proverb bom
of the desolation that has so often followed the presence of a Chi-
nese army on their soil, whether as invaders or allies : “ After the
Chinese, the tigers.’” As a single man can create the gigantic
spectre of the Brocken, so in the national literature this one ani-
mal seems to have cast a measureless shadow of evil influence
upon this hermit nation. From the most ancient times it has
been an object of religious reverence. “ They also w’orshipped the
tiger, which they looked on as a god,” was written of the people
bring on the sea of Japan before the Christian era. “They had
also the many-spotted leopard.” A few of the national proverbs
wiU iUustrate the amount of attention which the subject receives
21
C22
COREA.
in daily life, in art, religion, and langiiage, and how often it serves
to point the morals and adorn the tales told around Corean
hearths. “ A wooden tiger,” is the ass in the lion’s skin.
“A broken-backed tiger ” describes impotent and raging malice.
“ To give wings to a tiger,” is to add shrewdness to foi(^
“If you don’t enter the tiger’s lair, you can’t get her cubs,” is
said to spur on the faint heart, “ to beard the tiger in his cave.”
“ A tiger’s repast,” describes excess in eating, or the gorging
which follows after fasting. “ To nourish a tiger, and have him
devour you,” probably states a common fact of history, as well as
it depicts ingratitude. “ If you tread on the tail of a tiger, you’ll
know it,” explains itself. “It is hard to let go the tail of a tiger,”
suggests our “fire” after the “frying-pan,” or the “other horn
of the dilemma while over-cautious people “ in avoiding a deer,
meet a tiger.” Men of irascible temper or violent disposition are
given the pet name of maing-ho, which means an imusuaUy fero-
cious tiger or “man-eater.”
Corean shrewdness utilizes the phenomena of local experience,
and equals the craft of the sellers of Joseph. So common is
the disappearance of a villager thiough visitations of the tiger,
that the standard method of escaping creditors or processes of
law is to leave bits of one’s tom clothes in the wb^ds, and then to
abscond. Obliging friends or relatives ‘quickly repoii, “ Devoured
by a tiger,” and too often it is believed that “Joseph is without
doubt rent in pieces.” This local substitute for our fonner G. T.
T., or the usual trip to Europe, is especially fashionable in places
where “tigers as big as a movmtain” are plentiful To drive
away the dreaded kal-pem, the people invoke the aid of the tu-e', a
fabulous monster, which is the enemy of the tiger, and which the
latter greatly fears. The cry of his name tu-e', tu-e', is believed to
act as a charm, and is often raised by villagers at night.
In art, though the native picture-maker may draw a lion in
such preposterous shape and with such impossible attributes as to
show at once that no living model was ever before his eyes, yet in
those pictures of the tiger drawn by Corean artists which we have
examined, accui’acy and vigor of ti'eatment predominate over
artistic grace.
The huntei’s who are familiar with evei*v habit, trait of charac-
ter, and physical detail of the species, carefully distinguish his
parts and varieties. Ho-rang-i is the generic name for the felis
tigris. Kal-pem is a mature fellow in full claw, scratchy and
THE COREAN TIGER.
323
ferocious. Maing-ho is a large one of unusual size and in the full
rampancy of his vigor. Mil-pal is an old brnte that can no longer
scratch, and is most probably mangy, and well gouged and scarred
from numerous household quarrels and frequent tussles with
rivals. Pi-ho is one agile in turning tail to escape, rather than in
showing teeth to fight — the term being sometimes apphed to the
leopard. San-tol is a huge feUow that makes annual visits to one
place, making his lightning strike more than .once in the same
spot. Siyo-ho is a little, and hal-pem is a female, tiger. A “ stone”
tigi’ess is sterile. Special tenns suggestive, and even poetical, for
the murders, calamities, or ravages of the beast, for traps or
ditches, for the skin, tail (used for banners and spear-sheaths),
beard, moustaches, and the noises of purring, growling, nocturnal
caterwauling, and even for lashing the tail, enrich and rivify the
Cho-sen vocabulary.
Tiger-shooting is not a favorite sport among the nobles or
young bloods. Hunting in general is considered a servile occu-
pation. Nobles, except those of a few poor families in the north-
ern pro\inces, never practise it as sport. Yet it is free to aU.
There are no game laws, no proscription of arms, no game pre-
serves, no seasons interdicted.
The only animal which it is forbidden to kill is the falcon,
whose life is protected by stringent laws. From the most ancient
times this bird of the golden wing has been held in high honor.
The hunting-grounds are almost entirely among the moimtains, as
the valleys are too densely occupied with rice and millet fields
and cultivated soil, to allow game to exist or be hunted. The
chief weapon used is the flint-lock, imported from Japan. "With
this a single hunter wiU attack the huge game, although the ani-
mal, when not immedately killed, leaps right upon his enemy and
easily makes him his prey. When a tiger has caused great rav-
ages in a district, the local magistrate calls together all the
professional hunters and organizes a hunt in the mountains. In
such cases, the chase is usually, and of intent, without results ; for
the skin is the property of the government, and the official always
looks out for himself, coming in first for the spoils. Hence it is
that a government hunt is usually a farce. Most of the tiger-
hunters prefer to meet the royal game alone, for then the prized
skin, which they seU secret^, is theirs. They eat the meat, and the
bones stripped and boiled make various medicines.
The number of human lives lost, and the value of property
324
COREA.
destroyed by their ravages, is so great as at times to depopulate
certain districts. A hungry tiger will often penetrate a village in
which the houses are well secured, and will prowl around a hovel
or ill-secui-ed dwelling, during several entire nights. If hunger
l^resses he wih not raise the siege until he leaps upon the thatched
roof. Through the hole thus made by tearing thi'ough, he bounds
uj)on the terrified household. In this case a hand-to-claw fight
ensues, in which the tiger is killed or comes off victorious after
glutting liimself ujron one or more human victims. Barely, how-
ever, need this king of Corean beasts resort to this expedient, for
such is the carelessness of the \illagers that in spite of the man-
eater’s presence in their neighborhood, they habitually sleep
during the summer with the doors of their houses T\ide open, and
oftentimes even in the sheds in the open fields without dreaming
of taking the precaution to light a fire.
This sense of seciu-ity is especially apt to follow after a grand
hunt successfully pm-sued. Then the prey is supposed to have
been aU killed off in the -s-icinity or di-iven to the distant moun-
tains. The Coreans are as careless of tigers as the Japanese are of
fii’es. Sometimes the tiger is caught in a snare, -without danger
and by very simple means. A deep pit is covered over with
branches, leaves, and earth. At the bottom a sharp stake is set
up. This, however, is only rarely used. During the winter the
snow is half frozen over and strong enough to bear the weight of
a man, but is broken through by the paws of the tiger. The
beast sinks to the belly, and not being able to move fast, or es-
cape, is as helpless as a fly in molasses. It is then apparently
quite easy to approach the creatme at bay, though woe be to the
hunter who is too sm-e of his prey. To be well-equipped for this
method of moimtain sport, the hunter must have a short sword,
lance, and snow-shoes. These sel-mai, or racquettes, are of slightly
cui-ved elastic board, weU fitted -^ith loops and thongs. With
dogs, trained to the work, the san-chang (lanceman) stai-ts the
game, and following up the trail usually finishes him with a thi-ust
of his spear ; or, in bravado, with a sword-stroke. This method
of sport was the favorite one pm-sued by the Japanese invadei-s.
Though occasionally a man-at-arms was chewed up, or clawed into
ribbons, scores of glossy skins were can-ied back to Kippon as
ti-ophies by the veterans. Indeed, it may be strid, to most Japa-
nese children, the nearest counti-j- west of them has no other asso-
ciation in their minds than as a land of tigei-s. At Gensan, the
THE COREAN TIGER.
32o
merchants from Tokio had their dreary homesickness, about the
time of their first New Year’s season in the strange land, rather
unpleasantly enhvened by the advent of several striped man-
eaters. These promenaded the settlement at night, and seemed
highly desirous of tasting a Japanese, after having already feasted
on several natives. The prospect of playing Little Red Riding
Hood to a whiskered man-eater was not a very pleasant expe-
rience, though a possible one at any time. A tiger ten feet long
can easily stow away two five-feet Japanese without grievous
sjTnptoms of indigestion. For an untrained hand, even when
armed with a Winchester breech-loader, to attempt hunting this
Corean emblem of power is not attractive sport. The tiger is
more apt to hunt the man, for elephants are not at hand to fur-
nish the shelter of their backs. The Japanese do not seem to
hanker after tiger-claws or skins while in the flesh, but prefer to
buy for cash over their o^m counters at Gensan. The “ crop ” of
these costly pelts averages five hundred a year at this one port.
Few experiences tend more to develop all the manly virtues
than facing a tiger on foot in his native wilds. The Coreans know
this, and in their lack of drilled troops capable of meeting the
soldiers of Europe — their “ army ” consisting almost entirely of
archers, spearmen, and jingal-firers — they summoned the tiger-
hunters from Ping-an to fight the Frenchmen of Admiral Roze’s
expedition of 18GG. Lnderrating their enemy, the Frenchmen, in
attempting to storm a fortified monastery garrisoned by the hunt-
ers, were completely defeated. When the marines and sailors of
the American naval expedition of 1871 assaulted “Fort McKee,”
after it had been swept by the shells of the fleet, they were
amazed at the stem courage of their dark-visaged enemies, who,
Mdth matchlock, spear, and sword, fought against the shells and
breech-loaders to the last. The Americans speak admiringly of
these brave fellows, so worthy of their lead and steel.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
RELIGION.
A CABEFUL study of the common names applied to the moim-
tains, rivers, valleys, caves, and other natural features of the soil
and landscape of any country will lay bare many of the primitive
or hidden beliefs of a people. No words are more ancient than the
aboriginal names given to the natural features of a country amid
which the childhood of a nation has been spent. With changing
customs, civilization, or rehgion, these names stiU hold their place,
reflecting the ancient, and often modified, or even vanished, faith.
Even a casual examination of the mountain, river, and other
local names of places in Corea will give one a tolerably clear out-
line of the beliefs once fully held by the ancient dwellers of this
peninsula. Against the tenets and influences of Buddhism these
doctrines have held their sway over the minds of the people and
ai’e still the most deeply-seated of their behefs. The statements
of ancient Chinese, and later of Japanese writers, of foreign cast-
aways, and of the French missionaries aU concur in showing us
that Shamanism is the basis of the Corean’s, and especially the
northern Corean’s, faith. In the first historic accounts of Fuyu,
Kokorai, and the Sam-han, we find the woi*ship of the spiiits of
heaven and earth, and of the invisible powers of the air, of na-
tm*e, the guardian genii of hills and rivers, of the soil and grain,
of caves, and even of the tiger. They woi-shipped especially the
morning-star, and offered sacrifice of oxen to heaven. From such
scanty notices of early Corea, especially of the noilhem parts, we
may form some idea of the cultus of the people before Buddhism
was introduced. From the reports of recent witnesses, Dutch,
Japanese, and French, and the evidence of language, we incline to
the belief that the fibres of Corean superstition and the actual
religion of the people of to-day have not radically changed during
twenty centm-ies, in spite of Buddhism. The worship of the spir-
its of heaven and earth, of mountains and rivei*s and caves, of the
RELIGION.
327
morning star, is stUl reflected in the names of these natural ob-
jects and still continues, in due form, as of old, along with the
saciifices of sheep and oxen.
The god of the hiUs is, perhaps, the most popular deity. The
people make it a point to go out and worship him at least once a
year, making their pious trip a picnic, and, as of old, mixing their
eating and drinking with their religion. Thus they combine piety
and pleasure, very much as Amei’icaus unite sea-bathing and sanc-
tification, croquet and camp-meeting holiness, by the ocean or in
groves. On mountain tops, which pilgiims cbmb to make a visit
for religious merit, may often be seen a pile of stones called siong-
wang-tang, dedicated to the god of the mountain. The pilgrims
caiTy a pebble from the foot of the mountain to the top. These
pilgiims are among those held in reputation for piety.
The other popular gods are very numerous. The mok-sin, the
genii of the trees, the god of rain and of the harvest, are aU pro-
pitiated, but the robust Corean, blessed with a good appetite,
especially honors Gho-an-nim, the tutelary genius of the kitchen.
To a Corean, the air is far from being empty. It is thickly
inhabited with spirits and invisbile creatures. Some of these fig-
ments of imagination, and the additional powers for good and
evil, which the Corean attributes to animals of flesh and blood,
are treated of in a former chapter on Mythical Zoology. Even
the breezes are the breath of spirits, and “ a devil’s wind ” is a
tempest raised by a demon intent on mischief. MTien a person
falls dead suddenly, heart-disease is not thought of ; he has been
stiaick by a deAuTs an'ow. There are not wanting sorcerers who
seek to obtain supernatural force by magic, which they use
against their enemies or for hire, direct the spirits to wreak
malignity against the enemy of him who fees them. These
sorcerers are social outcasts, and reckoned the lowest of humanity.
The milucky days are three in each month, the figure of iU-
omen being five. Tliey are the fifth, fifteenth, and twenty-fifth.
On all extraordinary occasions there are sacrifices, ceremonies, and
prayers, accompanied with tumultuous celebration by the popu-
lace. Tlie chief sacrifices are to heaven, earth, and to the King
or Emperor of Heaven ‘ (Shang Ti of the Chinese).
'Tlii.s word, pronounced in a slightly different way in Corean, is the term
which Dr. .Tames Legge, in his “Religions of China,” and many missionaries
of Reformed Christianity, translate God (Jehovah, Theos), but which the Ro-
man Catholic missionaries are forbidden to use. Dr. Legge holds that Shang
328
COREA.
The various superstitions concerning the direction of evil, the
auspicious or the ill-omened lay of the land, the site for the build-
ing of a house, or the erection of a tomb, will be well understood
by those who know the meaning of the Chinese teiTU, Fung Shuy,
or the Corean Pung-siu. This system of superstition has not only
its millions of behevers, but also its priests or professoi's, who live
by their expertness and magnify their calling. The native vocab-
ulaiy relating to these pretenders and aU theii' works is verj- pro-
fuse. Among the common sights in Corea are little mounds raised
on eligible, propitious places, in which a pole is planted, from
which little bells or cymbals are hung. These jingled by the
breeze are supposed to propitiate the good sj^irits and to ward off
the noxious influences of the demons. The same idea is expressed
in the festoons of wind-beUs sti-ung on theii’ pagodas and temples.
Pung-siu means literally “■wind and water,” but in a broad sense is
a rude cyclopaedia of ideas relating to nature, and bears nearly the
same relation to natiu’al philosophy as astrology does to astron-
omy. Its ideas color every-day speech, besides haring a rich ter-
minologj' for the advanced student of its m3’steries.
Upon this system, and perhaps nearly’ coeval in origin with it,
is the cult of ancestral worship which has existed in Chinese Asia
from um’ecorded time. Confucius found it in his day and made
it the basis of his teachings, as it had ah’eadj’ been of the religious
and ancient documents of which he was the editor.
The Corean cult of ancestor-worship seems to present no fea-
tures which are radically’ distinct from the Chinese. Public cele-
brations are offered at stated times to ancestors, and in every weU-
to-do house will be found the gilt and black tablets inscribed with
the names of the departed. Before these tablets the smoke of
incense and sacrifice arises daily. In the temple also are rooms
for the preservation of duplicates of the tablets in the private
houses for greater safety. Like the iron atoms in his blood, the
belief in ancestral piety and worship is wrought into the Corean’ s
soul. The Chi’istian missionaries meet with no greater obstacle
to their tenets and progress than this practice. It is the source,
even among their most genuine converts, of more scandals, lapses,
and renunciations, than are brought about by all other causes.
Confucianism, or the Chinese system of ethics, is, briefly stated,
Ti is the most ancient title of Deity in the language of the Chinese, and was
used by their ancestors when the}' held to primitive monotheism. “In the
ceremonies at the altars of heaven and earth, they served God ” (Confucius).
RELIGION.
329
an expansion of the root idea of filial piety. It is duty based on
relation. Given the five gi-eat relations, all the manifold duties of
life follow. The five relations are that of king and subject (prince
and minister), of parent and child, of husband and wife, of the
elder brother and the younger brother, and between friends.
The cardinal virtues inculcated, or “ The Five Constituents of
Worth,” or constant virtues displayed, according to the teachings
of Confucius, by the perfect man are : 1, Benevolence ; 2, Upright-
ness of Mind ; 3, Propriety of Demeanor ; 4, Knowledge or En-
lightenment ; 5, Good Faith ; oi-. Affection, Justice, Deference,
Wisdom, Confidence.
With the ethics of the Chinese came their philosophy, which is
based on the dual system of the universe, and of which in Corean,
yum-yang (positive and negative, active and passive, or male and
female) is the expression. All things in heaven, earth, and man
are the result of the interaction of the yum (male or active prin-
ciple) and the yang (female or passive piinciple). Even the
metals and minerals in the earth are believed to be produced
through the yum-yang, and to grow like plants or animals.
The Confucian ethics, suiting well a state of feudalism, and
being ever acceptable to the possessors of authority, found con-
genial soil in the peninsla, as they had already taken root in
Kokorai. They nourished the spii’it of filial piety and j)ersonal
loyalty, of feud and of blood-revenge, by forbidding a man to
hve imder the same heaven ^ath the murderer of his father or
master. Notwithstanding the doctrines and loftier morals of
Buddha, the Chinese ethics and ancestor-worship, especially in
the northern part of the peninsula, imderlaid the outward ad-
herence of the people to the religion of the Enhghtened One.
As the average Christian, in spite of the spirit of Jesus and the
Sermon on the Mount, is verj’ apt to base his beharior and legal
procedure on the code of Justinian, so the Corean, though he
may believe in Fo (Buddha), practises after the rules of Kong-ja
(Confucius).
Official sacrifices are regulated by the government and are
offered up publicly at the national festivals. Something of the
regulated subordination in vogue among the Chinese prevails in
Cho-sen when ancestors are honored. High officials may sacrifice
to three ancestors, the gentry only to father and grandfather, and
the common people to father only. In every province, capital, and
city ranked as Tai-mu-kan, there are buildings containing statues
330
COREA.
of Confucius and liis thirty-two disciples, which are maintained
at the public expense.
Confucianism overspreads the whole peninsula, but during the
prevalence of Buddhism, from the fourth to the fourteenth cen-
tury, was probably fidly studied and practised only by the learned
classes. Under the present dynasty, or from the fifteenth century,
the religion of China has been both the official and popular cult
of Cho-sen, long ago reaching the point of bigotry, intolerance,
and persecution. Taoism seems to be little studied.
In Corean mouths Buddha becomes Ful, and his “ way ” or
doctrine Pul-to or Pul-chie. Introduced into Hiaksai in the fourth,
and into Shinra in the sixth century, the new faith from India
made thorough conquest of the southern half of the peninsula, but
has only partially leavened the northern portion, where the grosser
heathenism prevails. The palmy days of Corean Buddhism were
dm'ing the era of Korai (from 905-1392, a.d.). The missionary
work had been accomplished, the reigning dynasty were pro-
fessors and defenders of the faith, and for these four centimes it
Avas the religion of the state. The few surviving monuments of
this era of splendor are the grand pagodas, monasteries, and tem-
ples that are found, especially in the southern provinces. The
profusion of legal and ecclesiastical tei'ms in the language which
relate to lands set apart to provide revenues for the temples, and
to their boimdaries and rents, and the privileges of monks and
priests, are more probably the relics of a past time, being only
verbal shells and husks of what were once fruit and kernel
Until the fifteenth or sixteenth century the Japanese Buddhists
looked to the “Treasure-land of the West,” as they termed Cho-
sen, for spiritual and even pecimiary aid in theii* ecclesiastical
enteiprises. The special features of many renowned Japanese tem-
jiles, libraries, collections of books, images, altar furniture, etc.,
are of Corean origin. This is especially noticeable in the old seats
of the faith in Kioto. Images in gold, gilt wood, bronze, and
some fire-resisting material — perhaps platinum — are known and
duly certified by genuine documents in temples in other cities.
In a building at Kamakura is a copy of the Buddhist canon in a
revolving library, said to have been obtained by San4tomo from
Corea in the thirteenth centui-y. Among the amhsing passages in
the letters from Ashikaga in Kamakura, two hundred years later,
is the hint given to the king of Corea that a contribution in aid
of the repaii' of certain Japanese temples would be acceptable.
RELIGION.
331
The site and general surroundings of Corean Buddhist temples
and monasteries greatly resemble those of China and Japan. They
are often situated on hiUs, rising ground, and even high moun-
tains, and walled round by lofty and venerable trees which seem
to inspire awe and veneration in the worshipper, besides acting as
extinguishers to sparks drifted from neighboring fires. An impos-
ing gateway is usually built at some distance before the temple,
with massive cuiwed roof of tiles, and flanked by a wall of ma-
sonry w'hich, in its upper pari, consists of plaster tiled at the top.
On the frieze of the portal, the name of the temple is inscribed in
large Chinese characters. Sanskrit letters or monograms are occa-
sionally seen. Under a roofed shed in front hangs the drum on
which the bonze beats the hours for prayer, or of the clock. On
the other side stands the coffer for the cash of the faithful, or a
weU for the manual ablutions of pious worshippers. Boards, on
which are -wTitten the names of those who have contributed money
to the temple, are suspended near by, and the thatched houses of
the neophytes and bonzes are close at hand.
The idols seen in a Corean temple are the same as those found
throughout Buddhist Asia. The chief is that of Shaka Muni, or
Buddha, the founder of the religion. Li their sculptm-e and artis-
tic treatment of this, the central figure of their pantheon, the
image-carvers of the different countries do not greatly vary, ad-
hering strictly to their traditions. The sage in Nirvana sits on his
knees with the soles of his feet turned upward to the face. His
hands touch, thumb to thumb, and finger to finger. The folds of
the robes, the round bead-like caste mark of his forehead, the
snails on his crown — which tradition says came out to shelter his
head from the rays of the sun — and the lop or pierced ears, are
substantially the same as those seen on idols from India, Siam, and
Thibet. The eye is only slightly oblique, and the ear-lobes are
made but slightly bulbous, to satisfy the tastes of worshippers in
Chinese Asia. The throne, consisting of the fully opened calyx of
a lotus flower — the symbol of eternity — with the petals around the
base and seed-holes open, is the same.
In the representation of local deities the artist asserts his
patriotism and displays his O’mi taste. In the various coimtries
overrun by Buddhism, the indigenous heroes, sages, and gods
have been renamed and accepted by the Buddhists as avatars or
incarnations of Buddha to these countries before the advent of
the teachers of “ the tnie religion.” There are also saints and
332
COREA.
subordinate magnates in the Buddhist gallery of worshipped
worthies, with whose effigies the artist does not scruple to take
certain liberties. One can easily recognize an idol of Chinese,
Corean, Siamese, or Japanese manufacture, though aU bear the
same name. The god of war in Cho-sen holds the double-bladed
sword, with its tasseUed cord, and wears the Chino-Corean armor
and helmet. In the aureole round the head are three fiery revolv-
ing thunder-clouds. On the battle-flags captured by the Amer-
ican forces in 1871 were painted or embroidered the protecting
deities of those who fought under them. One of these, whether
representing a Buddha, as seems most probable, or, as is possible,
some local hero — perhaps Dan Kun or Ki Tsze — deified, rides on
one of the cuidous little ponies, stunted and piebald, of Ham-
kiung, with which, even in ancient times, one could ride rmder a
fruit tree. Ertdently it would have been safer for Absalom in
Corea than in woody Palestine.
The tutelary god on the stunted piebald horse is dressed in
the peculiar winged head-dress and frilled coUar which travellers
on Ham-kiung soil noticed fifteen centuries ago. His armor is in
scales, or wrought in the “ wave-pattern ” characteristic of Corean
art. His shoes and saddle are of the Chinese t^^^pe. He rides
among the conventional clouds, which in the native technique, are
different from those of either China or Japan. Evidently the Budd-
ha and saints of Shaka Muni are portrayed by the native artist
according to the strict canons of orthodoxy, while in dealing with
indigenous deities, artistic licence and local color have free play.
Most of the artists and sculptors of temple work are priests
or monks. The principal idols are of brass, bronze, or gilded
wood, the inferior sorts are of stone. The priests dress just
like the Japanese bonzes. They attend the sick or dving, but
have little to do with the burial of the dead, owing to the prev-
alence of the Pung-sui supei*stition, to which a Corean in life and
in death is a bond-slave. This all-powerful disease of the intellect
is the great coiTupter of Corean Buddhism, many of its grossest
ideas being gi-afted into, or flourishing as parasites on a once
pure faith.
In its development Corean Buddhism has frequently been a
potent influence in national affairs, and the power of the bonzes
has at times been so gi'eat as to practically control the court and
nullify decrees of the king. With the Fuyu race — that is in Cho-
sen and Nihon — the history of Buddhism has a decidedly mili-
RELIGION.
333
t-iry cast. Dm-ing tlie firet centuries of its sway in tlie peninsula
the ablest intellects were fed and the ablest men were developed
by it, so that it was the most potent factor in Corea’s civilization.
Over and over again have the politcial and social revolutions been
lad by Buddhist priests, who have proved agitators and wainiors
as well as recluses and students. Possessing themselves of learn-
ing, they have made their presence at com’t a necessity. Here
they have acted as scribes, law-givers, covmsellors, and secretaries.
Often they have been the conservers of patriotism. The shaven-
jiated priest has ever been a standard character in the ghmpses
of Corean history which we are allowed to catch.
Not always has this influence been exerted for good, for once
possessed of influence at coui’t, they have not scrupled to use it for
the purjjose of aggrandizing their sects. Tradition tells of high
nobles won from the pleasures of the palace to the seclusion of
the cloisters, and even of Corean queens renouncing the bed of
their royal spouses to accept the vows of the nuns. As in Japan,
the frequent svars have developed the formation of a clerical
mihtia, not only able to garrison and defend their fortified monas-
teries but even to change the fortune of war by the valor of their
exploits and the power of theii’ commisariat. There seems to be
three distinct classes or grades of bonzes. The student monks
devote themselves to learning, to study, and to the composition of
books and the Buddhist ritual, the tai-sa being the abbot. The
jung are mendicant and travelling bonzes, who solicit alms and
contributions for the erection and maintenance of the temjjles and
monastic establishments. The military bonzes (siung kun) act as
garrisons, and make, keep in order, and are trained to use, weapons.
Many of their monasteries are built on the summit or slopes of
high mountains, to which access is to be gained only with the
greatest difficulty up the most rocky and narrow passages. Into
these fastnesses royal and noble professors of the faith have fled
in time of persecution, or pious kings have retired after abdica-
tion- In time of war they serve to shelter refugees. It was
in attacking one of these strongholds, on Kang-wa Island, in
1866, that the French marines were repulsed with such fearful
loss.
^lany temples throughout the country have been erected by
the old kings of Korai or by noblemen as memorials of events,
or as proofs of their devotion. The building of one of these at
great expense and the endowment of others from government
334
COREA.
funds, sometimes happens, even during the present djTiasty, as was
the case in 1865, when the regent was influenced by the bonzes.
He rebuilt the temple in an unparalleled style of magnificence,
and made immense presents to other temples out of the public
treasury. It has been by means of these royal bounties, and the
unremitting collection of small sums from the people, that the
bonzes have amassed the vast property now held by them in eccle-
siastical edifices, lands, and revenues. Some of these mountain
monasteries are large and stately, with a wealth of old books,
manuscripts, liturgical furniture, and perhaps even yet of money
and land. The great monastery of Tong-to-sa, between Kiung-
sang and ChuUa, is noted for its library, in which wiU be found
the entire sacred canon. The probabilities of American or Eu-
ropean scholars finding rare treasures in the form of Sanskrit
MSS. in this unsearched field are good, since the countrj^ is now
opened to men of learning from Christendom. As a nile, the com-
pany of monks does not number over ten, twenty, or thirty, re-
spectively, in the three grades of temples. Hamel teUs us that
they live well and are jolly fellows, though his opinion was some-
what biased, since he remarks that “as for religion, the Coreans
have scarcely any. . . . They know nothing of preaching
or mysteries, and, therefore, have no disputes about rehgion.”
There were swarms of monastics who were not held in much
respect. He describes the festivals as noisy, and the people’s
beharior at them as boisterous. Incense sticks, or “joss” per-
fumery, seemed very much in vogue. He bears witness to their
enjojunent in natural scenery, and the dehghtful situation of the
famous temples.
Even at the present day, Buddhist priests are made high
officers of the government, governors of provinces, and military
advisers. Like as in Japan, Buddhism inculcates great kindness
to animals — the logical resirlt of the doctrine of the transmigration
of sorrls, and aU who kill are under its ban. Though beef, pork,
and mutton are greedily eaten by the people, the trade of the
butcher is considered the most degraded of all occupations, and
the butchers and leather dresserrs form a caste below the level of
humanity, hke the Etas in Japan. They are beneath the slaves.
They must live in villages apart from the rest of the people, and
are debarred from receiving water, food, fire, or shelter at the
hands of the people. The creation of this class of Corean pariahs
and the exclusion of these people from the pale of recognized so-
RELIGION.
335
ciety is the direct result of the teachings of the bonzes. Like the
Chinese, and unhke the Japanese bonze, the devotees ■will often
mutilate themselves in the frenzy of their orgies, in order to gain
a character for hohness or in fulfilment of a vow. One of these
bonzes, appointed by the magistrate to dispute pubhcly with a
Christian, had lost foui’ fingers for the sake of manufacturing a
reputation. The ceremony of or “receiving the fire,” is
undergone upon taking the vows of the priesthood. A moxa or
cone of biuming tinder is laid uj)on the man’s arm, after the hair
has been shaved off. The tiny mass is then lighted, and slowly
bums into the flesh, leaving a painful sore, the scar of which
remains as a mark of holiness. This serves as initiation, but if
vows are broken, the tortui*e is rei^eated on each occasion. In this
manner, ecclesiastical discipline is maintained.
In the nunneries are two kinds of female devotees, those who
shave the head and those who keep their locks. The po-sal does not
part with her hair, and her vows ai'e less rigid. Hamel mentions
two convents in Seoul, one of which was for maidens of gentle
birth, and the other for women of a lower social grade.
Excepting in its military phases, the tj'pe of Corean Buddhism
approaches that of China rather than of Japan. In both these
countries its history is that of decay, rather than of improvement,
and it would be difficult indeed for Shaka Muni to recognize the
faith which he founded, in the forms which it has assumed in
Cho-sen and Nijjpon ; nor did it ever succeed in making the
thorough missionarj' conc^uest of the former, which it secured in
the latter, country. The priority of the Confucian teachings and
the thorough indoctrination of the people in them, the nearness
of China, the close coppng of Chinese manners, customs, and ma-
terialistic spii'it, the frequency of Chinese conquests, and perhaps
the presence of an indigenous religion even more strongly marked
than that of Shinto in Japan, were probably the potent reasons
why Buddhism never secured so strong a hold on the Corean in-
tellect or aflfectious as upon the Japanese. Nevertheless, since
Buddhism has always been largely professed, and especially if
Confucianism be considered simply an ethical system and not a
rehgion proper, Corea may be classed among Buddhist countries.
Among the surprises of historj' is the fact that, in 1876, the Shin,
or Reformed sect of Japanese Buddhists, sent their missionaries
to Corea to preach and convert. Among their conquests was a
yoimg native of ability, -who came to Kioto, in 1878, to study the
336
COREA.
reformed Buddhism, and who later returned to preach among his
own people. In 1880 five more yoimg Coreans entered the Shin
theological School in Kioto, and a new and splendid Shin temple,
dedicated to Ainida Buddha, has been built at Gensan. Evidently
this vigorous sect is resolutely endeavoring, not only to recoup
the losses which Christianity has made in its ranks in Japan, but
is determined to forestall the exertions of Christian missionaries
in the peninsula.
So thoroughly saturated is the Corean mind with Chinese philosophy
(p. 329) that when of necessity a national emblem or flag must be made, the
symbol expressive of the male and female, or active and pa.ssive principles
dominating the universe, was selected. Though Corea excels in the variety
of her bunting and the wealth of symbolism upon her flags and streamers, j'et
the national flag, as now floated from her ships, custom-houses, and Legations
in the United States and Europe, has an oblong field, in the centre of which
are the two comma-shaped symbols, red and black, of the two universal
principles. In each of the four corners of the flag is one of the Pak-wa or
eight diagrams, consisting of straight and broken lines, which Fu-hi, the re-
puted founder of Chinese civilization, read upon the scroll on the back of the
dragon-horse which rose out of the Yellow River, and on the basis of which
he invented the Chinese system of writing. In these diagrams the learned
men in Chinese Asia behold the elements of all metaphysical knowledge, and
the clue to all the secrets of nature, and upon them a voluminous literature,
containing divers systems of divination and metaphysical exegesis, has been
written. The eight diagrams may be expanded to sixty-four combinations i
or, are reducible to four, and these again to their two primaries. The con-
tinuous straight line, symbol of the yum principle, corresponds to light,
heaven, masculinity, etc. The broken line symbolizes the yang principle,
corresponding to darkness, earth, femininity, etc. Tliese two lines signify
the dual principle at rest, but when curved or comma-shaped, betoken the
ceaseless process of revolution in which the various elements or properties
of nature indicated by the diagrams mutually extinguish or give birth to one
another, thus producing the phenomena of existence.
Professor Terrien de Lacouperie sees in the Pak-wa a link between Baby-
lonia and China, a very ancient system of phonetics or syllabary explaining
the pronunciation of the old Babylonian ch.aracters and their Chinese deriva-
tives. It is not likely that Jiorse derived the idea of his magneto-electric
telegraphic alphabet from the Chinese diagrams. Possibly the Corean literati
who suggested the design for a national flag intended to show, in the brightly
colored and actively revolving germs of life set prominently in the centre, and
contrasted with the inert and immovable straight lines in the background of the
corners, the progressive Corea of the present and future as contrasted with
Corea of the past and her hermit-like existence. Significantly, and with un-
conscious irony of the Virginia advertisers, the new Corean flag was first pub-
lished to the Western world at large on the covers of cigarette packages. For
centuries the energies of Coreans have been wasted in tobacco smoke, .and the
era of national decay is almost synchronous with the introduction of tobacco.
CHAPTER XXXYIII.
EDUCATION AND CULTURE.
Corea received her culture from China, and gave it freely to
Japan. If we may believe the doubtful story of Ki Tsze, then the
Coreans have possessed letters and writing, or, what is the equiva-
lent thereto, they have had “civilization,” duiing three thousand
years. It is certain that since about the opening of the Christian
6ra, the light of China’s philosophy has shone steadily among
Corean scholars. Japanese early tradition — unworthy of credence
in the matter of chronology — claims that hterature was brought
to Nippon as early as the period 157-30 rc. The legend of Jingu
bringing back books and manuscrpts from Shinra is more i^rob-
able ; while the coming of Wani from Hiaksai, to teach the Chi-
nese characters and expound the classics, is a historic fact, though
the real date may be uncertain, or later than the accepted one,
which is 285 a.d. "While the Kokorai people may have brought
letters with them, as they migrated southward, in Hiaksai the
Confucian analects were not studied imtil the fourth century,
when official recognition of education was made by the appoint-
ment of Hanken as master of Chinese literature. This is said to
have been the first importation of learning into the peninsula. It
was so in the sense of being formally introduced from China into
the countrj" south of the Ta-tong River.
As in most of the Asiatic countries, into which Chinese culture
penetrated, popular education was for centuries a thing unthought
of. Learning was the pririlege of a few courtiers, who jealously
guarded it from the vulgar, as an accomplishment for those about
the royal person, or in the noble families. The classics and eth-
ical doctrines seem in every case to have penetrated the nations
siuToimding the ^liddle Kingdom, and formed the basis of courtly
and aidstocratic education.
Buddhism furnished the popular or democratic element, which
brought learning to the lower strata of society. Neophytes were
22
338
COREA.
usually taken from the hiunbler classes, and thus culture •was
diffused. Even the idols, pictures, and scrolls, with the explana-
tions and preaching in the vernaciilar, served to instruct the peo-
ple and lift their thoughts out of the rut of every-day life — a
result which is in itself true education. "UTierever Buddhism
penetrated, there was more or less literature published in the
speech of the unlearned, and often the first books for the people
were works on religion. China gave her language and ideographs ;
India sent Sanskrit and phonetic letters, from which syllabaries
or alphabets were constructed, not only for vernacular •writing and
printing, but as aids to the easier apprehension and more popular
understanding of the tenets of Confucius.
The Corean sjBabary seems to have been first invented by
Chul-chong, one of the ministers at the court of the king of Shinra,
in the seventh century. This was the Xido ; hke the kana of the
Japanese, purely a collection of syllables and not a true alphabet.
The Nido was made by gi\'ing to some of the commoner Chinese
characters a pho