Yi Tal (1539–1612), whose literary name is Son’gok, is regarded as a representative poet of the mid-Chosŏn period. As an illegitimate son of a yangban, despite his talent and education, Yi suffered state-sanctioned injustices like other members of his class. He had a brief career as an Education Official (hakgwan) in the Translation Office (Sayŏg’won) and served as a Diplomatic Attendant (chongsagwan) tasked with composing poems during an official visit by a Ming envoy. Yi was a nonconformist and he lived and died as a wandering poet. As a poet, he aspired to High Tang poetry, especially the poetry of the Tang poet Du Fu. Influences from Du’s poetry are noticeable in the themes and styles of Yi’s poetic works, in particular in their shared autobiographical approach to poetry. Yi’s literary talents were recognized by contemporary writers. He befriended yangban poets Ch’oe Kyŏngch’ang (1539–1583) and Paek Kwanghun (1537–1582), and the three were called the “Three Tang poets” in their literary circle. As a group, they were highly critical of the Song style of poetry and advocated for a revival of High Tang poetry. Yi taught poetry to Hŏ Kyun (1569–1618) and Hŏ Nansŏrhŏn (1563–1589), the sibling literary icons of the sixteenth century. After Yi’s death, his poems were collected and published by Hŏ Kyun under the title Son’gok chip [The collected works of Sŏn’gok] in 1618. Yi’s poems contain sensitive and candid portrayals of life of a wandering poet, the misery of poverty, the devastation caused by the Japanese invasion of Korea, the comfort of friendship, and the simple joys of life.
목차
Abstract The Translation of Selected Poems by Yi Tal Wandering Reflections on the War Friendship Reflections on Scenery Feelings of Home
저자
CHRISTINA HAN [ An associate professor in the Department of History, Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada ]
WING S. CHU [ A translator of classical Chinese literature. ]
한국연구원은 1970년 5월 한국 민속의 각 분야에 걸친 자료의 수집과 학술적 연구를 목적으로 '한국민속연구소'로 출발하였다. 그 후 1973년 5월 연구 분야를 확대하며 민속뿐만 아니라 한국학 전반에 걸친 연구를 위해 '한국학연구소'로 개편하였고, 다시 1989년 3월 한국의 국제적 위상의 부상과 함께 한국학 연구의 중요성이 높아짐에 따라 '한국학연구원'으로 확대, 개편하였다. 한국학연구원은 한국학 전반에 걸친 연구를 통해 지역과 민족문화 발전에 기여하며 한국학의 세계화를 위해서 학술활동을 강화하고 나아가 내·외국인에 대한 한국문화 교육을 담당하고자 한다.