Jusaengjeon (周生傳 The Tale of Jusaeng)

1. Introduction

“Jusaengjeon” is a fictional biography produced in literary Chinese presumably created by Kwon Pil (權韠, 1569~1612) in the late 16^th or early 17^th centuries. It features a love triangle among main characters (Jusaeng, Bae-do, and Seon-hwa) and their tragedy, which was rarely seen in other old fictional biographies. Based on the record remained at the end of the work, it is believed to be written after the narrator communicated with Ju-saeng in writing about his life when he met Ju-saeng in Songdo (松都).

2. Author

The writer of “Jusaengjeon” is believed to be Kwon Pil who was active in the late 16^th or early 17^th centuries. As a descendant of noble Andong Kwon clan, he was taught by Jeong Cheol (鄭澈) and associated with renowned literati of the time such as Jo Wi-han (趙緯韓) and Heo Gyun (許筠). Kwon was sent into exile for denouncing Gwanghaegun’s maternal relatives but he drank all the liquor that people offered him on his way to the place of exile, leading him to death on the following day. He was a great poet and received much attention from the public for his keen insights and conduct which weren’t bound by convention.

As to who wrote “Jusaengjeon,” there had been much controversy over the argument that Kwon Pil is the writer. But when the existence of Hwamongjip (花夢集 A Collection of Romance and Dream Journey Stories) was known to the public, more detailed information could be obtained. Looking at a statement “癸巳仲夏, 無言者, 權汝章, 記 (Gyesanyeon Junghae Mueonja Gweonyeojangi Girokhada)” at the end of “Jusaengjeon” included in Hwamongjip, “癸巳仲夏” indicates the fifth lunar month of 1593 and “汝章” suggests Kwon’s courtesy name. Even though many believed that Kwon Pil is the writer of “Jusaengjeon” based on this record, some were still careful about this argument, saying Kwon had never used “無言者” as his nom de plume and other versions of “Jusaengjeon” did not include any information about the writer. Nevertheless, the argument has become even more convincing from the fact that there are similarities in poems and verses and funerary oration inserted in “Jusaengjeon” with Kwon’s other works and that “Jusaengjeon” contains Kwon’s personal experiences and social aspects of the time.

3. Plot

There was a man whose name was Ju-saeng in Chokju (蜀州) in the Ming Dynasty. He went to the National University and took civil service examinations several times but failed each time. He ended up relinquishing the idea of holding public office and became a merchant. While wandering around, he arrived in his hometown Jeondang (錢塘). There he met gisaeng Bae-do and fell in love with her. As being adored by the wife of Prime Minister Noh, Bae-do frequently visited Noh’s house. One day, Ju-saeng quietly followed Bae-do to Noh’s house and fell for the Prime Minister’s daughter Seon-hwa at a glimpse of her. By recommendation of Bae-do, Ju-saeng became a tutor of Seon-hwa’s younger brother Kuk-yeong and stayed at the Prime Minister’s house. Ju-saeng fell in love with Seon-hwa in secret, but soon Bae-do came to notice his relationship with Seon-hwa. He returned to Bae-do when she resented him, yet he kept missing Seon-hwa. Bae-do died in agony caused by a broken heart and Kuk-yeong also died from a sudden illness. After the death of Bae-do and Kuk-yeong, Ju-saeng had no one to turn to in times of need. He left the Prime Minister’s house and went to his relative old Jang.

Ju-saeng and Seon-hwa got deeply ill due to an irresistible yearning for each other, but they got engaged thanks to old Jang who arranged their meeting after acknowledging the circumstance. Unfortunately, the Japanese Invasion of 1592 broke out right before their marriage and Ju-saeng was conscripted and sent to Joseon. However, his illness prevented him from serving in the army and left in Songdo where he met the narrator and shared his life story through communication in writing. Later the narrator recorded the story.

4. Significance of the Work

“Jusaengjeon” is a fictional biography dealing with a tragic love story between Ju-saeng, Bae-do, and Seon-hwa. Until now the work has been interpreted based on the factors like conflict in a relationship involving three people, reality of the work’s composition, and catastrophic fates of a hero and heroines.

When it comes to conflict regarding this love affair, “Jusaengjeon” elaborately demonstrates feelings of a man’s lust and selfishness and a woman’s jealousy and perseverance driven around a romantic relationship. The work also exhibits understanding and assistance offered by people around them cheering their relationship. Many fictional biographies often tend to emphasize fidelity and exclusive relationship between a heroine and hero, making the romantic relationship including three people in this work sets apart from others. It is also notable that the work was set in a realistic setting with realistic figures and incidents unlike others dealing with unrealistic factors such as an experience in the otherworld or a love affair with a ghost. In addition, there are views that the narrator reflected his ill-fated fate into hero by focusing on tragic fates of characters and the work evokes a gloomy mood through sorrowful verses and poems demonstrating the characters’ frustration and sadness.

Meanwhile, as to the age of this work, along with “Unyeongjeon (雲英傳 A Love Affair at the Royal Palace of Joseon)” and “Choicheokjeon (崔陟傳, A Love Affair of Choi Cheok and Ok-yeong),” “Jusaengjeon” is regarded as the work filling the gap between the early and late Joseon periods. “Jusangjeon” is believed to have influence on novels created in the 17^th century and later by adopting the old narrative style carried on since Geumosinhwa (A Collection of Short Stories Written by Kim Si-seup) was created in the 15^th century as well as trying a new experimental style. A case in point is that it focuses on themes of a tragic love story between a man and woman as “Yisaengkyujangjeon” in Geumosinhwa did in its work while mainly demonstrating the hero’s life story like later heroic novels. It also features gisaeng which was frequently appeared in later novels such as “Guungmong (九雲夢 The Nine Cloud Dream),” “Okrumong (玉樓夢 Dream of The Jade Chamber),” and “Chunhyangjeon (春香傳 The Story of Chunhyang).” What is interesting is that Ju-saeng and Seon-hwa couldn’t get married because of the war, but in later works, war helped heroes make a significant contribution. In conclusion, “Jusaengjeon” has taken on greater importance in terms of a history of Joseon novels.

5. Source

1) Versions

“Jusaengjeon” has been transmitted as transcribed versions and there are eight versions in Chinese characters and two versions in Korean alphabets. Among various versions, “Kimgugyeongbon (Kim Gu-gyeong’s publication)” and Hwamongjip that is being kept in North Korea are considered representative. Both versions are written in Chinese characters and remain intact while other versions have missing pages. In particular, Hwamongjip maintained in North Korea is regarded as a rare and authentic copy of the book as there are no omitted or added parts and its sentences are most accurate and eloquent with the least typos.

 2) Translated work

None

6. References and links

● Encyclopedia of Korean Culture “Jusaengjeon”

https://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=549923&cid=46644&categoryId=46644

Gan Ho-yun, Newly Discovered Versions of Jusaengjeon and Wisaengjeon and their Interpretations, Pagijong, 2008.

Park Il-yong, Jusaengjeon―Theory of Korean Classical Novels, Jipmundang, 1990.

Park Hee-byeong, Aesthetics of Korean Fictional Biographies, Dolbegae, 1997.

So In-ho, The Manuscripts of Jusaengjeon and its Meaning in the History of Korean Old Novel, The Research of the Old Korean Novel Vol. 11, The Society of the Korean Classical Novel, 2001.

So In-ho, The Creation and Circulation of Korean Old Novel in the 17th Century, and the Historical Meaning of Hwamongjip, The Research of the Old Korean Novel Vol. 21, The Society of the Korean Classical Novel, 2006.