scholarly journals Introductory Notes for History of Korean Literature in Classical Chinese-Ideas for Integration with Korean Literature-

2016 ◽  
Vol null (64) ◽  
pp. 7-29
Author(s):  
Im HyeongTaek
Author(s):  
Paul Goldin

This book provides an unmatched introduction to eight of the most important works of classical Chinese philosophy—the Analects of Confucius, Mozi, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Sunzi, Xunzi, and Han Feizi. The book places these works in rich context that explains the origin and meaning of their compelling ideas. Because none of these classics was written in its current form by the author to whom it is attributed, the book begins by asking, “What are we reading?” and showing that understanding the textual history of the works enriches our appreciation of them. A chapter is devoted to each of the eight works, and the chapters are organized into three sections: “Philosophy of Heaven,” which looks at how the Analects, Mozi, and Mencius discuss, often skeptically, Heaven (tian) as a source of philosophical values; “Philosophy of the Way,” which addresses how Laozi, Zhuangzi, and Sunzi introduce the new concept of the Way (dao) to transcend the older paradigms; and “Two Titans at the End of an Age,” which examines how Xunzi and Han Feizi adapt the best ideas of the earlier thinkers for a coming imperial age. In addition, the book presents explanations of the protean and frequently misunderstood concept of qi—and of a crucial characteristic of Chinese philosophy, nondeductive reasoning. The result is an invaluable account of an endlessly fascinating and influential philosophical tradition.


Semiotica ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 (224) ◽  
pp. 19-44
Author(s):  
Guangxu Zhao ◽  
Luise von Flotow

Abstract In the history of translating classical Chinese poetry, there are two kinds of translators. The first kind translate classical Chinese poetry “by way of intellectual, directional devices” (Yip, Wai-lim. 1969. Ezra Pound’s Cathay. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press: 16). What these translators are concerned with most is the coherence of their translations. They give little attention to the ideogrammic nature of Chinese characters. I call them traditional translators. These translators include those in the history of translating classical Chinese poetry from its beginning to the first decade of the twentieth century, although there are still some who translate classical Chinese poetry in this way later. The second kind of translator is highly interested in the images created by ideogrammic Chinese characters and tries to convey them in target language. We call them modernist translators. These translators are represented by some American modernist poets such as Ezra Pound, Amy Lowell, Florence Ayscough, etc. From the point of view of iconicity, modernist translators’ contribution lies in their concern with the iconic characteristics of Chinese characters. But they did not give enough attention to syntactical iconicity and textual iconicity in classical Chinese poetry.


Author(s):  
Hye-jeoung Kim

El género lírico sicho, desarrollado principalmente a finales del reino Koryo (918-1392) y a lo largo de 500 años del reino Choson (1392-1910), destaca por la amplia base de escritores y lectores que disfrutan de él y, a la vez, por su presencia activa en el panorama de la literatura contemporánea. Su larga tradición y su vigente actualidad testimonian más que suficientemente su valor como uno de los géneros más importantes de la literatura coreana. A nuestro juicio, la razón por la que el sicho sobrevive hasta hoy radica en su forma sencilla de tres versos breves, siendo un medio adecuado y eficaz para transmitir la sensibilidad lírica del pueblo coreano. Se tiende a pensar que, a lo largo de la historia de la literatura coreana, cada época concibe su propio género lírico, ya incorporado y archivado en la tradición oral, como el hyangga (향가), propio del reino Silla o el sokyo (속요) característico de Koryo. En cambio, la forma lírica del sicho persiste entre los diferentes tipos de poemas contemporáneos, tal como sucedió con el soneto en Occidente, cuya composición es aún muy valorada.The lyric genre shijo, developed primarily in the late Koryo period (918-1392) and over 500 years of the Choson Kingdom (1392-1910), stands out by the broad base of writers and readers who enjoy it, and, at the same time, by its active presence in the landscape of contemporary literature. Its long history and active present testify more than sufficiently its value as one of the most important genres of Korean literature. In our view, the reason why shijo survives today lies in its simple form of three short verses, being an appropriate and effective way to transmit the lyrical sensibility of the Korean people. We usually think that, over the history of Korean literature, every time conceive its own lyric, incorporated and filed in the oral tradition, as hyangga (향가) proper of Silla kingdom, or sokyo (속요), characteristic of Koryo. Instead, the lyrical form of shijo persists among different types of contemporary poems, like the sonnet in the Western tradition, whose composition is still highly valued.


Meridians ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 193-217
Author(s):  
Min Young Godley

Abstract The awarding of the 2016 Man Booker International Prize to Deborah Smith’s English translation of The Vegetarian brought global recognition to emergent Korean literature, but domestically it has sparked outrage among numerous Korean scholars who believe the literal inaccuracies in Smith’s translation have brought about a “national disgrace.” Situating this overheated reaction in the larger context of the colonial history of Korean nationalism, this article points out the irony that the “noble cause” of anti-imperialist resistance has historically led to the silencing of women’s voices in the context of preserving and transmitting an idea of quintessential Korean culture to an international audience. Such nationalist tendencies demand the “feminization” of the translator—requesting her to be barely visible while performing a self-effacing humility in deference to the putatively “original” culture. In contrast to this tendency, reading Han’s original and Smith’s translation together makes visible the damages that both colonization and nationalism have inflicted on the representation of female experiences. In the end, what truly scandalizes nationalist critics is not the failure of the translator to accurately convey Korean experiences, but the success of the translation in conveying an area of Korean experience they tend to neglect: that of female subjectivity.


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