Samguk yusa () ) is a collection of legends, folktales, and historical accounts relating to the Three Kingdoms of Korea (Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla), as well as to other periods and states before, during, and after the Three Kingdoms period. It was compiled by the Buddhist monk Il-yeon in the late Goryeo dynasty, around 1280, and was originally written in Classical Chinese. It is the earliest extant record of the Dangun legend, which records the founding of Gojoseon as the first Korean nation. Samguk yusa is National Treasure No. 306.
Samguk yusa is a history record composed of five volumes divided into nine parts. It documents various tales and legends which are categorized into two parts: historical events and Buddhist narratives. The text contains various historical narratives such as tales of the Three Kingdoms period, myths, legends, genealogies, histories, and Buddhist tales, which have helped maintain folklore from medieval Korea. "Yusa" is a term used to describe a text that is supplementary to an earlier work. Samguk yusa is intended to provide additional information to texts such as the Samguk sagi. The beginning of Samguk yusa describes Dangun Wanggeom, a mythological ancestor of all Koreans, founding the first nation of Korea, named Gojoseon. The text also contains several well-known tales such as "Choshin's Dream" and "Lady Suro".
Background
Samguk yusa was written in the Ingak Temple in the 13th century. The author, Il-yeon, became a monk at the age of eight in 1214, working as an abbot in various temples, attending royal conferences at the king's command, and hosting important Buddhist events until his death in 1289.
The book was written during the Mongol conquest of Europe and East Asia, including China and Korea. Mongols invaded Korea for the first time in 1231. The invasion devastated the lives of Koreans by destroying valuable cultural properties, recordings, and literature. This invasion motivated Il-yeon to protect all of the folklore and stories handed down. Il-yeon collected and analyzed many works of Korean culture for a long period of time prior to the writing of Samguk yusa. The Korean peninsula was not yet united when the Samguk yusa was composed, so one of the Samguk yusa myths, Dangun, which is regarded as the root of all Koreans, has long been believed to have contributed to the idea of "one blood, one nation" among Koreans, as well as helping them to characterize themselves as a "common blood race".
However, there is also criticism that the sense of "one blood" could marginalize those who are not regarded as "genuinely Korean", as well as restrict the different ways that people could consider themselves Korean by eliminating diverse and possible viewpoints that are not rooted in this conservative mythology. In order to honor and pass down Il-yeon's achievements and life, the Inagak Temple holds annual festivals such as the Cultural Festival of Il-yeon Samguk yusa under the assistance of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and the festival activities include an academic seminar for academics, a writing contest for poems or essays, and poem recitation.
Contents
Samguk yusa consists of two books containing a total of five volumes, divided into nine parts (fascicles): Wangryeok, Gii, Heungbeop, Tapsang, Uihae, Sinju, Gamtong, Pieun, and Hyoseon.
Wangnyeok is a brief chronology of the Three Kingdoms, Garakguk, Later Goguryeo, and Later Baekje. Gii contains the archive from Gojoseon to the late Three Kingdoms Period; it opens with an introductory passage explaining why it was written. Heungbeop is about the rise of Buddhism in the Three Kingdoms, and Tapsang includes pagodas and Buddhist images. Uihae contains narratives of famous monks during the Silla period. Sinju includes the tales about miracles that happened through esoteric Buddhism during the Silla dynasty. Gamtong is about stories of devotion. Pieun contains the legends of solitary heroes. Hyoseon contains folktales of filial piety and Buddhist virtues. Although it is divided into many parts, the composition of the entire book can be briefly described below: +VolumePartThemeVolume 1Part 1Records of the Kings; Records of Great Wonders 1 (the founding of the kingdoms)Volume 2Part 2Records of Great Wonders 2 (United Silla)Volume 3Part 3Rise of BuddhismVolume 3Part 4Pagodas and Buddhist imagesVolume 4Part 5Anecdotes of renowned monksVolume 5Part 6Tales of divination and miraclesVolume 5Part 7Emotional tales of devotionVolume 5Part 8SeclusionVolume 5Part 9Stories of filial piety
Authorship and dating The text was written in Classical Chinese, which was used by literate Koreans at the time of its composition. The earliest version of the text is believed to have been compiled in the 1280s, and the earliest extant publication of the text is from 1512.
20th-century Korean scholars such as Choe Nam-seon established the Buddhist monk Il-yeon (1206–1289) as the main compiler of the text, on the basis that his name (and full official title) was indicated in the fifth fascicle. This view is widely accepted among modern scholars. The compilation is believed to have been expanded by Il-yeon's disciple Muguk (1250–1322) and several others prior to the definitive 1512 recension.
Ha Chongnyong and Yi Kunjik produced a critical edition of Samguk yusa in 1997. According to Ha Chongnyong, Il-yeon wrote only the fifth fascicle, since his name is mentioned only in that section of the text.
The 1512 edition of the text mentions a dynastic chronology at the beginning, which has several discrepancies with the information that appears later in the text. According to Robert Buswell, Jr. and Donald S. Lopez, Jr., this chronology may have been a 14th-century addition to Il-yeon's compilation.
National heritage Samguk yusa is considered an extremely important cultural heritage representing ancient Korean history and culture.Cultural Heritage Administration. “Samguk Yusa (Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms) - Heritage Search.” Cultural Heritage Administration - English Site, english.cha.go.kr It includes ancient literary works about history, Buddhism, and legends, most of which does not exist in modern times.
Moreover, the Samguk yusa is one of a limited number of sources for the study of ancient Korean language systems. In particular, its fourteen pieces of hyangga (ancient Korean folk songs) are especially important in the study of classical Korean literature. Additionally, Il-yeon uses different styles of writing, including ones from the Sinitic Buddhist Culture.
The book also includes plenty of information on Buddhist art, the dominant type of art in ancient Korean art history. In particular, Tapsang (part 4), "which mainly focuses on the founding of pagodas, Buddhist images and temples, is an essential source for the study of various remains and relics of both historical and archeological value." Lastly, the book includes various written records about young soldiers during the Silla dynasty.
Comparison with Samguk sagi Samguk sagi and Samguk yusa are often compared in terms of Korean history books, both holding a prominent place in Korean history. In terms of similarity, both of them were written by Goryeo scholars who believed they were descended from Silla rather than Goguryeo. This belief contributed to the emphasis of Silla history as the main focus of both the Samguk yusa and Samguk sagi. However, the two works differ in authorship: while the author of Samguk yusa was a devoted Buddhist monk, Samguk sagi was written by a Confucian scholar-statesman, Kim Pusik, allowing readers to access the two different historical works from the differing perspectives of Buddhist monk or Confucian official.
According to the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea, "the book contains a wide range of records about young soldiers of the Silla Period, which are more religious and poetical than those written in Samguk sagi." On the other hand, studies have found that "Samguk sagi was almost immediately accepted as one of the most definitive histories of its time and within several decades was read even in China." Therefore, it can be considered that even though the Samguk yusa was written a century later, Il-yeon considerably relied on the Samguk sagi. Moreover, the Samguk yusa contains the historical elements not found in the Samguk sagi. Since it is also the same in reserve, it is found that the two works complement each other.
Kim Pusik attempted a more rational and logical approach towards the historical writings, whereas the romantic Buddhism approach of Samguk yusa of the Goryeo dynasty allowed the readers to experience the old historical cultures such as superstitions, folklore, and mythical stories. Both of the historical books are also generally focused on certain backgrounds in terms of religion. Despite the reasonable writing of the Samguk sagi, nationalist historians and scholars refer to it as a Chinese Confucian-centered book, arguing that it instils a subordinate attitude (sadae), with the ancient tradition ignored. In contrast, in the case of Samguk yusa, the majority of the text is dedicated to Buddhism, tailored to the Korean style under the author's influence; the only occurrence of Confucianism is in Hyoseon (part 9), which expresses filial piety as a way of Buddhism. Naturally, the contents of Samguk yusa were influenced more greatly by Il-yeon's Buddhist values than was the case for Samguk sagi. Il-yeon's work provides four bizarre stories depicting the discovery of archaeological artifacts to demonstrate the existence of Buddhism in the pre-modern era, the time of the tale's telling.
Buddhist stories, including both the principles of Buddhism and various Buddhist monks, account for nearly half (49.5%) of the total writing in Samguk yusa. In terms of adequate factual delivery, Samguk yusa conveys relatively insufficient historical information, such as about the explanation of kwallogup (officials' land) and sigup (the land for producing food), which are well described in Samguk sagi in detail. Nonetheless, the Samguk yusa and Samguk sagi are mutually regarded as complementary regarding uncompleted ancient recordings among Koreans today.
Historical reliability Many of the founding legends of the various kingdoms in Korean history are recorded in Samguk yusa. The text covers legends from many Korean kingdoms, including Gojoseon, Wiman Joseon, Buyeo, Goguryeo, Baekje, Silla, and Gaya. Unlike the more factually oriented Samguk sagi, the Samguk yusa focuses on various folktales, legends, and biographies from early Korean history. Given its mythical narratives, the reliability of Samguk yusa is questionable.
The author attempted to keep original phrases drawn from various sources—including Chinese Buddhist literature, Korean historical literature, and languages written in epigraphy—and he sometimes omitted unnecessary phrases or paraphrased several expressions with the intention of integrating them into the whole story. In terms of Il-yeon's research approach, he regarded the quality and quantity of the resources as crucial elements for his work, used the "inserted textual commentary" in order to seriously evaluate his resources, allowed readers to access comparative information about the history, and even expressed concerns about the reliability when there was insufficient information to depict. Moreover, Il-yeon attempted to use various versions of the same story when he recorded folktales and myths. For instance, he comments that the story of Tangun was quoted from both the Wei-shu ("Wei Dynasty History") and Tangun Kogi ("Ancient Record of Tangun"). This comment is valuable because both these source history books are not accessible now. The inscription of Samguk yusa is also a relatively credible source, but its contents are mainly confined to the mobilization of the peasantry for dike construction and the description of land property for the temple.