Item ID: 10521 Kongbuja sŏngjŏkto soksu oryun haengsil 孔夫子聖蹟圖續修五倫行實 [Life of Confucius, with Illustrations of His Works & a Continued Account of the Five Cardinal Relationships]. Ŭn-ch’ae 鄭殷采 CHŎNG.

CHŎNG, Ŭn-ch’ae 鄭殷采.

Kongbuja sŏngjŏkto soksu oryun haengsil 孔夫子聖蹟圖續修五倫行實 [Life of Confucius, with Illustrations of His Works & a Continued Account of the Five Cardinal Relationships].

50 full-page woodcut illus. 37 folding leaves. Large 8vo (290 x 200 mm.), orig. semi-stiff wrappers with original title slip (somewhat worn), old stitching. Keijō (Seoul): Ch’oe Hŭng-ku 崔興九 (printer), 1919.

A rare religious primer, instructing common people about the life and deeds of Confucius. Our book opens with a genealogy of Confucius. This is followed by other materials related to him, including a list of his disciples. The favorite disciple Yanzi 顏子 is depicted in an illustration. Miraculous events follow, such as a unicorn (lin 麟) spitting jade, heralding the birth of Confucius; a heavenly choir; and five elders in the sky with two dragons. These images give the book an almost messianic character. The remaining illustrations depict scenes from Confucius’s life. One illustration shows Confucius asking Laozi about ritual; another shows him leaving the state of Lu. Each illustration is accompanied by a legend that explains it. The legends at times quote other Confucian thinkers, such as Zhu Xi. The last illustration shows people mourning at Confucius’s tomb.

The book’s second part lists historical individuals representing various Confucian virtues. Some of the individuals are Korean.

A colophon is appended to the beginning of the book, written by Sin Myŏn-hu 申冕休 and dated 1859 (Chŏljong jiwei [kimi]). The Preface was written by Chang Tŏk-kŭn 張德根 and dated the same year.

Our book represents an interesting transitional phase between the woodblock publishing of the Chosŏn period and the regulated publishing of the colonial era. Although the book is a woodblock printing, it has a final page with publication data as would be expected of a modern Japanese or Korean book. The page gives the date of publication (17 November 1919) as separate from the date of printing (9 November 1919). The publication has been approved by the Japanese colonial authorities.

Fine copy.