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70 chapters
Works by Wm. Elliot Griffis
Works by Wm. Elliot Griffis
A CITY IN COREA. Copyright , 1882, 1888, 1897, 1904, 1907, 1911 By CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS TO ALL COREAN PATRIOTS: WHO SEEK BY THE AID OF SCIENCE, TRUTH, AND PURE 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. [ v ] The year 1910 saw t
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PREFACE TO THE NINTH EDITION.
PREFACE TO THE NINTH EDITION.
When in October, 1882, the publishers of “Corea the Hermit Nation” presented this work to the public of English-speaking nations, they wrote: “Corea stands in much the same relation to the traveller that the region of the pole does to the explorer, and menaces with the same penalty the too inquisitive tourist who ventures to penetrate its inhospitable borders.” For twenty-four years, this book, besides enjoying popular favor, has been made good use of by writers and students, in Europe and Ameri
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PREFACE TO THE EIGHTH EDITION.
PREFACE TO THE EIGHTH EDITION.
Ithaca, N. Y. , December 12, 1906. [ ix ] 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
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PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.
Many friends have assisted me with correspondence, advice, or help in translation, among whom I must first thank my former students, Haségawa, Hiraii, Haraguchi, Matsui, and Imadatté, 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 was manifested not only in discussion of mooted points, but by search among the book-shops in Kiōto and Tōkiō, which put much valuable standard matter
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ORTHOGRAPHY AND PRONUNCIATION.
ORTHOGRAPHY AND PRONUNCIATION.
[ xxiii ]...
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MAPS AND PLANS.
MAPS AND PLANS.
PART I. ANCIENT AND MEDIÆVAL HISTORY . CHAPTER I. PAGE The Corean Peninsula , 1 CHAPTER II. The Old Kingdom of Chō-sen , 11 CHAPTER III. 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 VII. Epoch of the Three Kingdoms.—Shinra , 45 CHAPTER VIII. Japan and Corea , 51 [ xxiv ] CHAPTER IX. K
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COREA: THE HERMIT NATION. CHAPTER I. THE COREAN PENINSULA.
COREA: THE HERMIT NATION. CHAPTER I. THE COREAN PENINSULA.
The European name Corea is derived from 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 from the eleventh to the fourteenth century. The Portuguese, who were the first navigators of the Yellow Sea, brought the name to Europe, calling the country Coria, whence the English Corea. [ 3 ] The French Jesuits at Peking Gallicized this into Corée . Following the genius of their language, they call it La Co
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CHAPTER II. THE OLD KINGDOM OF CHŌ-SEN.
CHAPTER II. THE OLD KINGDOM OF CHŌ-SEN.
Among the conqueror’s first acts was the erection of a memorial mound over the grave of Pi Kan, and an order that Ki Tsze should be released from prison, and appointed Prime Minister of the realm. But the sage’s loyalty exceeded his gratitude. In spite of the magnanimity of the offer, Ki Tsze frankly told the conqueror that duty to his deposed sovereign forbade him serving one whom he could not but regard as a usurper. He then departed into the regions lying to the northeast. With him went sever
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CHAPTER III. THE FUYU RACE AND THEIR MIGRATIONS.
CHAPTER III. THE FUYU RACE AND THEIR MIGRATIONS.
“Alas! shall I, who am the child of the Sun, and the grandson of the Yellow River, be stopped here powerless by this stream.” So saving he shot his arrows at the water. Immediately 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 [ 21 ] Japanese version of the legend, three others with him), crossed the stream and safely reached the further side. No sooner did he set
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MA-HAN AND BEN-HAN.
MA-HAN AND BEN-HAN.
After the fall of the Tsin dynasty in China, a small body of refugees, leaving their native seats, fled across the Yellow Sea toward the Sea of Japan, resting only when over the great mountain 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 tribes into which the han or country was divided. [ 33 ] This name Shin (China or Chinese), which points to the origin of the clan, belonged to but
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SHIN-HAN.
SHIN-HAN.
Coin of the Sam-han or the Three Kingdoms. “Sam-han, Current Treasure.” [ 35 ] The history of the peninsular states from the time in which it is first known until the tenth century, is that of almost continuous civil war or border fighting. The boundaries of the rival kingdoms changed from time to time as raid and reprisal, victory or defeat, turned the scale of war. A series of maps of the peninsula expressing the political situation during each century or half-century would show many variation
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CHAPTER V. EPOCH OF THE THREE KINGDOMS.—HIAKSAI.
CHAPTER V. EPOCH OF THE THREE KINGDOMS.—HIAKSAI.
Meanwhile the priest-army and the forces under Fuku-shin had reconquered nearly all their territory, when they suffered a severe defeat near the sea-coast from the large Chinese force hastily despatched to put down 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 unity of purpose. Fuku-shin had put the priest-leader to death, which arbitrary act so excited t
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CHAPTER VI. EPOCH OF THE THREE KINGDOMS.—KORAI.
CHAPTER VI. EPOCH OF THE THREE KINGDOMS.—KORAI.
After so crushing a loss in men and material, one might expect instant surrender of the besieged city. So far from this, the garrison redoubled the energy of their defence. In this we see a striking trait of the Corean military character which has been noticed from the era of the Tangs, and before it, down to Admiral Rodgers. Chinese, Japanese, French, and Americans have experienced the fact and marvelled thereat. It is that the Coreans are poor soldiers in the open field and exhibit slight proo
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CHAPTER VII. EPOCH OF THE THREE KINGDOMS.—SHINRA.
CHAPTER VII. EPOCH OF THE THREE KINGDOMS.—SHINRA.
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 pronunciation of words of the Chinese, which the latter have 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 scien
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CHAPTER VIII. JAPAN AND COREA.
CHAPTER VIII. JAPAN AND COREA.
Some traditions state that the first Corean envoy had a horn growing out of his forehead, and that since his time, and on account of it, the bay near which he dwelt was named Tsunaga (Horn Bay) now corrupted into Tsuruga. It may be added that nearly all 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 delineated in native art. Six years later an envoy from Shinra arrived, also bringing pres
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CHAPTER IX. KORAI, OR UNITED COREA.
CHAPTER IX. KORAI, OR UNITED COREA.
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 emigration set into Northern Corea, which again became populous, cultivated, and rich. With increasing prosperity better government was desired. The worthlessness of the rulers and the prospect of a successful revolution tempted the ambition of a Budd
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CHAPTER X. CATHAY, ZIPANGU, AND THE MONGOLS.
CHAPTER X. CATHAY, ZIPANGU, AND THE MONGOLS.
In the details of the Mongol rule kindness and cruelty were blended. The most relentless military measures were taken to secure obedience after the conciliatory 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 brilliant half century of intercourse between Europe and Cathay, which has been studied and illustrated in the writings of Colonel H. Yule. The two Franciscan
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CHAPTER XI. NEW CHŌ-SEN.
CHAPTER XI. NEW CHŌ-SEN.
In China, great events, destined to influence “the little kingdom,” were taking place. The Mongol dynasty, even after the breaking up of the empire founded by Genghis Khan, still 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 unpaid. 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 Ni Taijo. The wo
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CHAPTER XII. EVENTS LEADING TO THE JAPANESE INVASION.
CHAPTER XII. EVENTS LEADING TO THE JAPANESE INVASION.
He then despatched a second envoy, named Yoshitoshi, himself the daimiō of Tsu Island, who took with him a favorite retainer, [ 91 ] and a priest, named Genshō, as his secretary. They reached Seoul 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, through 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 th
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CHAPTER XIII. THE INVASION—ON TO SEOUL.
CHAPTER XIII. THE INVASION—ON TO SEOUL.
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 daimiōs, who personally led their troops in the field with Konishi, were Arima, Omura, Amakusa, Bungo, and Tsushima. The personal name of the latter, a former envoy to Corea, of whom we have read before, was Yoshitoshi. He was the son-in-law of Konishi. Kuroda, as Mr. Ernest Satow ha
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CHAPTER XIV. THE CAMPAIGN IN THE NORTH.
CHAPTER XIV. THE CAMPAIGN IN THE NORTH.
The Japanese soldiers felt so elated over their victory that they [ 107 ] expected immediate orders to march into China. With this purpose 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 armies, and a general war between these rival nations might have turned the current of Asiatic history. This,
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CHAPTER XV. THE RETREAT FROM SEOUL.
CHAPTER XV. THE RETREAT FROM SEOUL.
The Chinese suffered heavily in officers, and their first taste of war in the field with such veterans as the soldiers of Taikō was discouraging in the extreme. Li-yo-sun drew off his forces and soon after retired to Sunto. Not knowing that Kato had got into Seoul, and fearing 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 gras
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CHAPTER XVI. CESPEDES, THE CHRISTIAN CHAPLAIN.
CHAPTER XVI. CESPEDES, THE CHRISTIAN CHAPLAIN.
Others, of gentle blood and scholarly attainments, rose to positions of honor and eminence under the government, or in the households of the daimiōs. Many Corean lads were adopted by the returned soldiers or kept as servants. When the bloody persecutions broke out, by which many thousand Japanese found death in the hundred forms of torture which hate and malice invented, the Corean converts remained steadfast to their new-found faith, and suffered martyrdom with fortitude equal to that of their
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CHAPTER XVII DIPLOMACY AT KIŌTO AND PEKING.
CHAPTER XVII DIPLOMACY AT KIŌTO AND PEKING.
On his arrival, he requested to see Konishi, who, however, evaded him, excusing himself on the plea of expecting to hear from Taikō, after which he promised to hold an interview. Konishi then departed for Japan, taking Chin Ikei with him. On his return he still avoided the Chinese envoy, for he had no definite orders, and the other generals refused to act without direct word from their master in Kiōto. Meanwhile Chin Ikei, consumed with jealousy, and angry at the Peking mandarins for ignoring hi
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CHAPTER XVIII. THE SECOND INVASION.
CHAPTER XVIII. THE SECOND INVASION.
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 built 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 ] glistened innumerable fragments of nacre and the enamel of shells, giving the structure the appearance of glittering porcelain. At the angles, and at intervals along the
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CHAPTER XIX. THE SIEGE OF URU-SAN CASTLE.
CHAPTER XIX. THE SIEGE OF URU-SAN CASTLE.
A Japanese captain commanded one of the advance pickets, which had their quarters in the cloisters of Ankokuji (Temple of the Peaceful Country). One night a board, inscribed with Chinese characters, was set up before the gate of the camp. The soldiers, seeing it in the morning, but unable to read Chinese, carried [ 139 ] 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 Uru-san. Betraying no emotion and sayi
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CHAPTER XX. CHANGES AFTER THE INVASION.
CHAPTER XX. CHANGES AFTER THE INVASION.
After leaving Nagasaki, and calling at Bantam, Saris took in a load of pepper, and sailed for England, reaching Plymouth September 27, 1614. An attempt was also made by the Dominican order of friars to establish a mission in Corea. Vincent (Caun), the ward of Konishi, who had been educated and sent over by the Jesuits to plant Christianity among his countrymen, reached Peking and there waited four years to accomplish his purposes, but could not, owing to the presence of the hostile Manchius in L
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CHAPTER XXI. THE ISSACHAR OF EASTERN ASIA.
CHAPTER XXI. THE ISSACHAR OF EASTERN ASIA.
The home of the Manchius was, as this legend shows, on the north side of the Ever-White Mountains, in the valley of the Hurka. From beyond these mountains 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 defied the Chinese. The formidable expeditions of Li-yu-sun, previous to the Japanese invasion of Corea, kept them at
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CHAPTER XXII. THE DUTCHMEN IN EXILE.
CHAPTER XXII. THE DUTCHMEN IN EXILE.
The good ship, after a long voyage around the Cape of Good Hope, and through the Indian and Chinese Seas, was almost in sight of Japan. Coasting along the Corean shores, Mr. John Weltevree and some companions went ashore to get water, and there were captured by the natives. The Coreans were evidently quite willing to have such a man at hand, for use rather than ornament. After the Japanese invasions a spasm of enterprise in the way of fortification, architecture, and development of their militar
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PING-AN, OR THE PACIFIC.
PING-AN, OR THE PACIFIC.
Map of Ping-an Province. Ping-an has the reputation of being very rich in mineral and metallic wealth. Gold and silver by report abound, but the natives 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 Chō-sen and Chin, was respected by the Chinese government until 1875, when Li Hung Chung, on complaint of the king of Corea, made a descent on the Manch
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THE YELLOW-SEA PROVINCE.
THE YELLOW-SEA PROVINCE.
In January, 1867, Commander R. W. Shufeldt, in the U. S. S. Wachusett, visited this inlet to obtain redress for the murder of the crew of the American schooner General Sherman, and while vainly waiting, surveyed portions of it, giving the name of Wachusett Bay to the place of anchorage. Judging from native maps, the scale of the chart made from this survey was on too large a scale, though the recent map-makers of Tōkiō have followed it. The southern coast also is dotted with groups of islands, a
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KIUNG-KEI, OR THE CAPITAL PROVINCE.
KIUNG-KEI, OR THE CAPITAL PROVINCE.
Military Geography of Seoul. 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
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CHUNG-CHONG, OR SERENE LOYALTY.
CHUNG-CHONG, OR SERENE LOYALTY.
The large shoal off the coast is called Chasseriau. Other wide and dangerous shoals line parts of the coast, making navigation exceedingly difficult. Fogs are frequent and very dense, shrouding all landmarks for hours. The tides and currents are very strong, rising in some places even as high as sixty feet. The international 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
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CHULLA, OR COMPLETE NETWORK.
CHULLA, OR COMPLETE NETWORK.
Chulla is well furnished with ports and harbors for the junks that ply northward. The town of Mopo, in latitude 34° 40′, has been looked upon by the Japanese as a favorable place for trade and residence, and may yet be opened under 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 [ 199 ] the scene of a famous siege and battle between the allied Coreans and Chinese and the Japanese besiegers, during the
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KIUNG-SANG, OR RESPECTFUL CONGRATULATION.
KIUNG-SANG, OR RESPECTFUL CONGRATULATION.
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 barracks and planted seed, with every 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
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KANG-WEN, THE RIVER-MEADOW PROVINCE.
KANG-WEN, THE RIVER-MEADOW PROVINCE.
Map of Kang-wen Province. 4. From an elevation near the town of Kan-nun, or Bay Hill, one may obtain a pretty view of the groves and shrubbery growing 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 exquisite beauty. 6. At the old castle town of Kan-nun, there
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HAM-KIUNG, OR COMPLETE VIEW.
HAM-KIUNG, OR COMPLETE VIEW.
Russia needs a coast line in the Pacific with seaports that are not frozen up in winter, and her ambition is to be a naval power. While England checks her designs in the Mediterranean, and in Europe, 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 country by “Russia the ravenous” is considered a necessity of the absorption policy of Peter the Great’s successors. The Tumen River, which ri
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CHAPTER XXIV. THE KING AND ROYAL PALACE.
CHAPTER XXIV. THE KING AND ROYAL PALACE.
There are several noted holidays, on which the curfew law is suspended, and the people are allowed to be out freely at night. These are the first and the last day of the year, the fourteenth and fifteenth day of the first month, and the fifteenth of August. Even under 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 empl
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CHAPTER XXV. POLITICAL PARTIES.
CHAPTER XXV. POLITICAL PARTIES.
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 their getting appointments. Hence the continual quarrels 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 domina
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CHAPTER XXVI. ORGANIZATION AND METHODS OF GOVERNMENT.
CHAPTER XXVI. ORGANIZATION AND METHODS OF GOVERNMENT.
Overreaching 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 oil. Now, however, the condemned man is exiled, and only rarely put to death, while a commutation of justice [ 233 ] —equivalent to being burned in effigy—is made by a pretended boiling in oil. Good and upright magistrates are often remembered by mok-pi , or inscribed columns of wood,
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CHAPTER XXVII. FEUDALISM, SERFDOM, AND SOCIETY.
CHAPTER XXVII. FEUDALISM, SERFDOM, AND SOCIETY.
The penal settlements on the sea-coast, and notably Quelpart Island, are worked by colonies of these male government slaves or convicts. 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 daimiōs of Japan, and were very numerous. The whole country was owned by them, o
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CHAPTER XXVIII. SOCIAL LIFE.—WOMAN AND THE FAMILY.
CHAPTER XXVIII. SOCIAL LIFE.—WOMAN AND THE FAMILY.
On the marriage-day, in the house of the groom, a platform is set up and richly adorned with 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 word. This constitutes the ceremony of marriage. Each then retires, on either side;
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CHAPTER XXIX. CHILD LIFE.
CHAPTER XXIX. CHILD LIFE.
The first thing inculcated 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 prevail
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CHAPTER XXX. HOUSEKEEPING, DIET, AND COSTUME.
CHAPTER XXX. HOUSEKEEPING, DIET, AND COSTUME.
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 furniture is the rule. Coreans, like the Japanese, sit, not cross-legged, [ 264 ] but on their heels. Among the well-to-do, do
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CHAPTER XXXI. MOURNING AND BURIAL.
CHAPTER XXXI. MOURNING AND BURIAL.
When 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 mourning 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 country where the police were as lynxes and hounds ever on their track. The Jesuits were not [ 280 ] slow to see the wonderful shelter promised for the
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CHAPTER XXXII. OUT-DOOR LIFE.—CHARACTERS AND EMPLOYMENTS.
CHAPTER XXXII. OUT-DOOR LIFE.—CHARACTERS AND EMPLOYMENTS.
All distances in every direction are measured from the front gate of the magistrates’ offices, the standard of all being the palace at Seoul. Not the least interesting sights to the traveller are the memorial stones set up and inscribed with a view to commemorate local or national worthies, or the events of war, famine, or philanthropy. The Coreans are “idolaters of letters,” and the erection of memorial tablets or columns occasionally becomes a [ 286 ] passion. Sometimes the inscriptions are th
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CHAPTER XXXIII. SHAMANISM AND MYTHICAL ZOÖLOGY.
CHAPTER XXXIII. SHAMANISM AND MYTHICAL ZOÖLOGY.
The kirin (kilin or lin) is another of the four supernatural creatures of Chinese philosophy and mythology, believed in by the Coreans, and depicted in Corean art especially as a symbol 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 nev
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CHAPTER XXXIV. LEGENDS AND FOLK-LORE.
CHAPTER XXXIV. LEGENDS AND FOLK-LORE.
The mythical origin and founding of Shinra is thus told in the local legends of the place. After the invasion of Chō-sen, by the Chinese emperor, many of the original inhabitants fled and scattered over the east coast. They made settlements on the mountains, 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 directio
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CHAPTER XXXV. PROVERBS AND PITHY SAYINGS.
CHAPTER XXXV. PROVERBS AND PITHY SAYINGS.
“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 difficult as the roads of Thibet,” is evidently a reminiscence 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
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CHAPTER XXXVI. THE COREAN TIGER.
CHAPTER XXXVI. THE COREAN TIGER.
“A broken-backed tiger” describes impotent and raging malice. “To give wings to a tiger,” is to add shrewdness to force. “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
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CHAPTER XXXVII. RELIGION.
CHAPTER XXXVII. RELIGION.
The Corean cult of ancestor-worship seems to present no features which are radically distinct from the Chinese. Public celebrations are offered at stated times to ancestors, and in every well-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
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CHAPTER XXXVIII. EDUCATION AND CULTURE.
CHAPTER XXXVIII. EDUCATION AND CULTURE.
At present, Corean literary men possess a highly critical knowledge of Chinese. Most intelligent scholars read the classics with ease and fluency. Penmanship is an art as much prized and as widely practised as in Japan, and reading and writing constitute education. From the fifth to the seventeenth century the Corean youth of gentle blood went to Nanking to receive or complete their education. Since Peking has been the Chinese capital (under the Mongols from 1279, and under the Ming emperors fro
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MODERN AND RECENT HISTORY. CHAPTER XXXIX. THE BEGINNINGS OF CHRISTIANITY—1784–1794.
MODERN AND RECENT HISTORY. CHAPTER XXXIX. THE BEGINNINGS OF CHRISTIANITY—1784–1794.
A counterblast soon followed. The first, and as they were destined to be the last and most bitter enemies were the literati, who saw at once that the new faith sapped at the base their national beliefs and their most cherished customs. In the contest of discussion which followed, Senghuni came off victor. The pagan champions retired from the conflict uttering memorable and prophetic words, with a final question, that became a by-word to Americans nearly a century later: “This [Christian] doctrin
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CHAPTER XL. PERSECUTION AND MARTYRDOM—1801–1834.
CHAPTER XL. PERSECUTION AND MARTYRDOM—1801–1834.
The four political parties into which the Corean nobility was at this time divided, as described in Chapter XXV., were ranged into [ 356 ] two general groups, the Si-pai and the Piek-pai, “the government” and “the opposition.” The Si-pai were devoted to the king, and ready to second his views, the Piek-pai were more attached to their special views. The king, Cheng-chong, who had ruled since 1776, was opposed to persecution of the Christians, and had done much to restrain the bitterness of partis
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CHAPTER XLI. THE ENTRANCE OF THE FRENCH MISSIONARIES—1835–1845.
CHAPTER XLI. THE ENTRANCE OF THE FRENCH MISSIONARIES—1835–1845.
Great events now began to ripen in China. The opium war of 1840–42 broke out. The “Western Barbarians” held the chief cities of the China coast from Hong-Kong to Shanghae, and the military weakness of the colossal empire was demonstrated. The French, though having nothing to do with this first quarrel of China with Europe, were on the alert for any advantage to be gained in the far East. In 1841, Louis Philippe sent out the war vessels Erigone and Favorite, to occupy if possible some island to t
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CHAPTER XLII. THE WALLS OF ISOLATION SAPPED.
CHAPTER XLII. THE WALLS OF ISOLATION SAPPED.
Ferreol, worn out with his labors, after lying paralytic for many months, died February 3, 1853; but in March, 1854, Janson, making a second attempt, entered Corea, having crossed the Yellow Sea in a junk, which immediately took back three native students for Macao. Janson died in Seoul, of cerebral fever, June 18, 1854. In these years, 1853 and 1854, Commodore Perry and the American squadron were in the waters of the far East, driving the wedge of civilization into Japan, and sapping her walls
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CHAPTER XLIII. THE FRENCH EXPEDITION.
CHAPTER XLIII. THE FRENCH EXPEDITION.
On the 23d the Déroulède and Tardif, leaving the Primauguet at Boisée (Woody) Island, moved up the Han River to the capital, the Corean pilots at the bow, and Ridel with the men at the wheel. [ 380 ] One or two forts fired on the vessels as they steamed along, and in one place a fleet of junks gathered to dispute their passage. A well-aimed shot sunk two of the crazy craft, and a bombshell dropped among the artillerists in the redoubt silenced it at once. The rocks were safely avoided, and on th
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CHAPTER XLIV. AMERICAN RELATIONS WITH COREA.
CHAPTER XLIV. AMERICAN RELATIONS WITH COREA.
Cotton was the next American raw material exported to China, beginning in 1791. In 1842 the loaded ships sailed direct from Alabama to Canton, on the expansion of trade after the Opium War. The idea now began to dawn upon some minds that it was high time that Japan and Corea should be opened to American commerce. The first public man who gave this idea official expression was the Honorable Zadoc Pratt, then member of the House of Representatives from the Eleventh (now the Fifteenth) Congressiona
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CHAPTER XLV. A BODY-SNATCHING EXPEDITION.
CHAPTER XLV. A BODY-SNATCHING EXPEDITION.
Readers of our narrative will smile at discovering the poor [ 398 ] fishermen who brought their bishop across the Yellow Sea in their boat thus transformed into “ambassadors.” One thing seemed to be on the surface—that this modern Jason and his argonauts had gone out to find a golden fleece, but came back shorn. On the return of the expedition, Mr. Seward questioned the American closely, sifted the matter, and finally, being satisfied that something was wrong, put him on trial, eliciting the fac
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CHAPTER XLVI. “OUR LITTLE WAR WITH THE HEATHEN.”
CHAPTER XLVI. “OUR LITTLE WAR WITH THE HEATHEN.”
The whole spirit of the expedition was not that reflected in the despatches of the State Department, but rather that of the clubs and dinner-tables of Shanghae. The minister went to Corea with his mind made up, and everything he saw confirmed him in his fixed opinion. Of the admiral, it is not unjust to say that the warrior predominated over the peace-maker. He had an eye to the victories of war more than those, not less renowned, of peace. The sword was certainly more congenial to his nature th
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CHAPTER XLVII. THE PORTS OPENED TO JAPANESE COMMERCE.
CHAPTER XLVII. THE PORTS OPENED TO JAPANESE COMMERCE.
Since 1868 the Japanese navy, modelled after the British, and consisting of American and European iron-clads and war vessels, has been manned by crews uniformed in foreign style. On September 19, 1875, some sailors of the Unyo Kuan, which had been cruising off the mouth of the Han River, landing near Kang-wa for water, were fired on by Corean soldiers, under the idea that they were Americans or Frenchmen. On the 21st the Japanese, numbering thirty-six men, and armed with breech loaders, stormed
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CHAPTER XLVIII. THE YEAR OF THE TREATIES.
CHAPTER XLVIII. THE YEAR OF THE TREATIES.
The British minister at Tōkiō, Sir Harry Parkes, who had left no stone unturned to secure a personal interview with the ambassador [ 436 ] in 1876, and, since that time, British trade with Corea, was still on the alert. He at once ordered Admiral Willes to proceed to In-chiŭn. Leaving his large fleet in Japanese waters, Admiral Willes left Nagasaki in the Vigilant, May 27th, while Mr. William G. Aston, the accomplished linguist and Corean scholar, received orders to follow. The Admiral’s busines
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CHAPTER XLIX. THE ECONOMIC CONDITION OF COREA.
CHAPTER XLIX. THE ECONOMIC CONDITION OF COREA.
With such a people, both Confucianism and Buddhism become the grossest of superstitions. The Corean’s face is toward the past. He invokes and worships the dead, and to him the graveyard contains more than the future can bring him. Besides the extortions of the nobles, officials, and other parasitic or predatory classes, the expense of offerings to his dead ancestors amounts to many millions of dollars a year, far exceeding in their total the national revenue. In Seoul alone there are three thous
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CHAPTER L. INTERNAL POLITICS: CHINESE AND JAPANESE.
CHAPTER L. INTERNAL POLITICS: CHINESE AND JAPANESE.
On the same evening in Seoul, November 27th, a banquet was spread in the English-language-school building to celebrate the signing on the day before of two treaties, one with Great Britain and the other with the German Empire, the negotiator of the English treaty being Sir Harry Parkes. 4 The music was furnished by the band of the German man-of-war Leipsic. Seoul now began to be the residence of foreigners from Christendom, nine of whom were already in the city. New Year’s Day, January 20, 1884,
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CHAPTER LI. THE WAR OF 1894: COREA AN EMPIRE.
CHAPTER LI. THE WAR OF 1894: COREA AN EMPIRE.
As soon as it was known in Tokio that the Tartar forces had been mobilized and that the Kow Shing was being loaded, the Japanese fleet sailed and orders were given to the troops, railways, and steamers to be ready for the embarking of an army. Within twelve days a Japanese army corps was landed at Chemulpo, marched to Seoul, the Han River bridged by pontoons in twenty minutes, and the military cordon around Seoul completed. On the 20th of July Yuan fled the Corean capital, leaving his nationals
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CHAPTER LII. JAPAN AND RUSSIA IN CONFLICT.
CHAPTER LII. JAPAN AND RUSSIA IN CONFLICT.
Corea, being now free and independent, between the two great empires of Japan and China, and Corean conceit of national history and antiquity, real or supposed, being never at any time lacking, it was thoroughly appropriate and financially very profitable for the yangban and palace officials to take measures to proclaim the once “little outpost state” an “empire,” and their sovereign an “emperor.” Besides suffering from imperialism in an acute form, the Corean office-holders knew well the signif
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CHAPTER LIII. COREA A JAPANESE PROTECTORATE.
CHAPTER LIII. COREA A JAPANESE PROTECTORATE.
By invitation of President Roosevelt, the envoys of the two warring nations, de Witte and Rosen for Russia, and Komura and Takahira for Japan (both of the latter the writer’s former pupils in Tokio), met at Portsmouth, N. H.; whence, in the thirties, had sailed Captain Edmund Roberts, commissioned by President Jackson, and the first American diplomatist in the Far East. The Japanese won a signal diplomatic victory, securing the main points of their contention. The peace treaty which was signed r
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CHAPTER LIV. CHŌ-SEN: A PROVINCE OF JAPAN.
CHAPTER LIV. CHŌ-SEN: A PROVINCE OF JAPAN.
The Amalgamation Convention provides: 1 “(1) The Emperor of Corea shall concede to the Emperor of Japan the Corean sovereignty, together with all territorial rights. “(2) The Sovereign Imperial Household is to be treated as a quasi-Imperial Family of Japan, continuing to have the annual allowance of 1,500,000 yen , while members of the Imperial Family and meritorious persons of the country are to be created peers, or endowed with certain grants. “(3) The name Corea shall be changed into ‘Chō-sen
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Abbreviations
Abbreviations
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