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Since the 1920s, nearly six identical versions of an ancient printed book, The Song of Enlightenment with Commentaries by Buddhist Monk Nammyeong Cheon (南明泉和尙頌證道歌), have been found in Korea. Until very recently, they were believed to be woodblock-printed versions from the 13th to 16th centuries using woodblocks carved from the sheets of a metal-type-printed version from 1239. Two of the six versions were once identified to be woodblock prints in the Goryeo dynasty in the 13th century and designated as Korean treasures in 1984 and 2012. In 2021, one woodblock-printed version printed during the Joseon dynasty in 1526, was designated as a treasure of the Metropolitan city of Seoul, Korea. Historians in Korea have been in heated debate over the printing techniques (metal type print for one version or all woodblock prints) and printing dates (or sequence) of the two versions designated as Korean treasures for the last 50 years. It was almost a never-ending debate with struggles and anger among Korean historians due to the very subjective nature of the examination method and decision-making process by consensus. The heated debates in Korea were never brought to the world's attention, outside of Korea, and are still considered to be a taboo subject in Korea. To conclude this heated debate with direct evidence of metal type printing of the particular version of interests, all six versions were examined by image comparisons and quantitative analyses of inked areas of individual characters, lines of characters, pages and borderlines. All claims against the possibility of metal type printing of the particular version were reviewed thoroughly. Very clear circumstantial and physical evidence for metal type printing of the version designated as a Korean treasure in 2012 was found. The version carries more than metal casting defects and has the smallest inked area (characters with thin strokes) among all six versions. The version of interest was very likely printed using movable metal type in September 1239, as indicated in the imprint, and is definitely the world's oldest extant book, printed using metal type in Korea in 1239, predating Jikji (1377) by 138 years and the 42-line Gutenberg Bible (1455) by 216 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the fifteenth century, the government of Chosŏn, Korea, influenced by the new religious understandings from early Ming China, strived to reform state and personal rites by eliminating elements of spiritual efficacy to align with contemporary religious perspectives. This series of ritual reforms mirrored various Ming policies that, despite being appealing theoretically, struggled with implementation due to a mismatch with local and personal realities. This suggests that Chosŏn's government-led reforms, diverging from traditional beliefs, faced similar challenges in Korea, leading to various problems. This study delves into the ritual transformations prompted by the reforms in the early Chosŏn era. It highlights the government's partial success in reforming state rites by removing elements of spiritual efficacy despite potential hindrances and deviations from traditional practices. However, this study also notes the failure of reforms concerning personal rites, which did not yield significant results. It reflects on the complexities and implications of these reforms, considering the socio-religious context of the time and the influence of contemporary Ming China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the iconography of "the Listener" in Buddhist prints that was adopted in Joseon dynasty Sakyamuni Preaching paintings. Regarding change in the Listener iconography from bodhisattva form to monk form, diverse research has been conducted on the Listener's identity and origin. However, existing studies are limited as they fail to consider the circumstances of the time this iconography was first adopted and trends in Joseon Buddhism. As the first Joseon print where the Listener in bodhisattva form appeared was based on a print from the Chinese Ming dynasty, and considering trends in publication of Buddhist prints in China where pictures of the Buddha preaching were used repeatedly in sutras regardless of the contents, this paper argues that the Listener should not be identified with any particular figure and examines the current state and characteristics of Joseon Buddhist paintings where the Listener appears. It also explores the possibility that the Listener's change from bodhisattva form to monk form was driven by monk artists such as Myeongok, who were exposed to diverse iconography as they participated in creating both Buddhist paintings and prints in a situation where monks who had received systematic education gained a new awareness of iconography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the ways in which a ban on ancestral rites influenced Korean Christianity. Ancestral rites are religious ceremonies that form the most critical social basis of Joseon, a Confucian society. First, the Korean Catholic Church was the first to oppose ancestral rites. Catholics created a new social and ethical resonance in Joseon society but had to endure tremendous persecution. Second, Protestantism was introduced when Joseon society was the most confused. Protestant missionaries banned ancestral rites, and Korean Protestants accepted them. Gradually, they interpreted it and embodied it in their faith. The ban on ancestral rites contributed to the formation of Korean Christianity. This laid the foundation for Christian social ethics and Hyo (孝, Xiao (Chinese pronunciation), filiality) theology. It has expanded into various fields, such as systematic theology, biblical studies, practical theology, and liturgical practice. Thus, this study examines how the ban on ancestral rites in Korea had a profound impact on the contextualization of Korean Christianity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research study examines Park Se-dang's Sinju Dodeokgyeong, which was the first complete exegesis of the Daodejing (DDJ) in Korea. This study investigates the theoretical strategies that Park used to interpret the DDJ from a Neo-Confucian perspective and also examines the logical missteps that Park took to force a unity between Neo-Confucianism and Daoism. The core method for interpreting the DDJ that Park utilized in his attempt to assert the compatibility of Neo-Confucianism and Daoism can be summarized as "interpreting Daoism through Neo-Confucian theory". This research study breaks down Park's strategy for reinterpreting the DDJ, dividing Park's argumentation into four parts: (1.) clarifying the historical hereticalization of the DDJ; (2.) identifying the ethics and treasured virtues of Confucianism and Daoism; (3.) the study of the cosmologies of Confucianism and Daoism; and (4.) interpreting Daoist moral ethics through Neo-Confucian cosmological theory. Park Se-dang's strategy for forcing unity between Neo-Confucianism and Daoism had its limits. Among other things, Park attempted but failed to narrow the gap between Confucian and Daoist ethics and cosmology by converting the concept of "heaven" in the DDJ into a humanized heaven. Eventually, even though Park's strategy failed, his work inspired other Silhak scholars of Joseon up to the 19th century and had a clear impact on the many subsequent reinterpretations of the DDJ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Five Great Mantras (Odae chinŏn) is one of the most widely circulated collections of Buddhist dhāraṇīs in premodern Korea, having been published or existing in several variant editions during the Chosŏn period (1392–1910). The title refers to the following dhāraṇīs: (1) "The Forty-Two Mantras of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara," (2) Nīlakaṇṭha-dhāraṇī, (3) Mahāpratisarā-dhāraṇī, (4) Buddhoṣṇīṣa-dhāraṇī, and (5) Uṣṇīṣavijaya-dhāraṇī. Another spell, "The Basic Dhāraṇī of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara," was also added, so there are a total of six dhāraṇīs contained in the book. Although most scholarship has hitherto understood the Five Great Mantras to date from the late fifteenth century, when editions with transcriptions of the dhāraṇīs in the Korean script appeared in trilingual format along with Siddhaṃ and Sinitic transliterations, due to the patronage of Queen Insu (1437–1508) and the linguistic ability of the monk Hakcho (fl. 1464–1520), some evidence has come to light suggesting that the Five Great Mantras was initially published as early as the mid-fourteenth century in the late Koryŏ period (918–1392). This essay provides a detailed analysis of the components that appear in the Five Great Mantras by analyzing six variant editions of the text dating from the Chosŏn period, including Brief Transcriptions of Efficacious Resonance (Yŏnghŏm yakch'o) in Sinitic and Korean vernacular translation. The Five Great Mantras demonstrates the significance of non-canonical materials in the Korean Buddhist tradition and suggests a fruitful avenue for study of similar woodblock prints and manuscripts in the Sinitic Buddhist tradition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the framework of the 'Amorepacific Project for the conservation of Korean pictorial art' (2018–2023) at the British Museum, three traditional Korean paintings have been investigated with the aim of supporting their conservation and obtaining information about the dyes used in the mounting textiles and other mounting elements. The paintings include a rare example of late 18th-century traditional Korean portraiture (accession number 1996,0329,0.1); a late 19th-century two-panel screen silk painting of Pyeongsaeng-do-Scenes of life (accession number 2016,3028.1); and a late 19th-century twelve-panel screen silk painting representing the Five Confucian virtues (accession number 1957,1214,0.1). The mounting textiles were investigated non-invasively by using digital microscopy and fibre optic reflectance spectroscopy (FORS), and the results guided a minimally invasive sampling campaign. Fourteen samples were analysed by using high-pressure liquid chromatography coupled with diode array and tandem mass spectrometry detectors (HPLC-DAD-MS/MS), leading to the identification of the natural dyes indigo, sappanwood (Biancaea sappan, formerly Caesalpinia sappan), amur cork tree (Phellodendron amurense) and safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) in the mounting elements of the 18th-century portrait. These results confirmed some of the non-invasive observations and were in agreement with the production date of the painting. Both natural and synthetic dyes were identified in the mounting textiles of the panel screens. Among the synthetic dyes, fuchsin (C.I. 42510), methyl violet 3B (C.I. 42536), methyl blue (C.I. 42780) and benzopurpurin 4B (C.I. 23500) were identified. These are early synthetic dyes first synthesised between the 1860s and the 1880s, suggesting that the silk textiles are likely to have been dyed in the last part of the 19th century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many recent studies show that during the early Joseon dynasty, even kings who externally appeared strongly anti-Buddhist defended or condoned royal relatives who sponsored Buddhist works. Extant sutras produced under court sponsorship attest to this fact. An analysis of the production of court Buddhist prints, focusing on the King Sejo era when a particularly large number of Buddhist projects were completed, yields diverse information such as changes in the style of Buddhist prints and their causes, as well as the intentions of the sponsors. This article examines the creation of new iconography and other aspects of Buddhist prints sponsored by the royal family during the early Joseon period, focusing on the print in the Record of the Manifestation of Avalokitesvara, published during the reign of King Sejo. This new iconography was created at a time that, according to the intentions of the sponsor, clearly attests that the independent creation of iconography did occur in Joseon Buddhist prints, which were mostly considered to be reproductions made by copying the woodblocks of existing prints. Moreover, the projection of the ruler onto Buddhist images as a way to strengthen power shows that Joseon shared perceptions with other countries that sought to use Buddhism as a means of rule. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the emergence, transformation, and transmission of an esoteric Buddhist movement that Hoedang (孫珪祥, Kyu-shang Sohn [or Sohn, Gyu-sang], 1902–1963) began in the 1940s and 1950s. Starting in the middle of the eighth century, the history of Korean Esoteric Buddhism indicates that the tradition continued to exist (albeit marginally) until the Joseon dynasty (1392–1897). However, this case study, which focuses on the new religious sect of Jingak, explorers Jingak's reformist characteristics and its efforts toward the renewal of Korean Buddhism in contemporary society. The article argues that the founder was intellectually receptive to other teachings, including the performance of esoteric healing, the prosocial characters of Pragmatic Buddhism, the doctrine of Japanese Shingon, and permitting priests to marry. This article additionally attempts to identify the innovative philosophy (including Simin, 心印, original sinless self) of Korean Esoteric Buddhism, in the combined concepts of Jinho gukga bulsa (鎭護國家佛事, Protecting the nation by the teaching of Buddhism), Iwon Weonri (二元原理, Relative Principle), Simin Bulgyo (心印佛敎, Mind-seal Buddhism), and Silhaengnon (實行論, The Teachings of Hoedang—Practical Theory). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historical documents refer to records or books that provide textual information about the thoughts and consciousness of past civilisations, and therefore, they have historical significance. These documents are used as key sources for historical studies as they provide information over several historical periods. Many studies have analysed various historical documents using deep learning; however, studies that employ changes in information over time are lacking. In this study, we propose a deep-learning approach using improved dynamic word embedding to determine the characteristics of 27 kings mentioned in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, which contains a record of 500 years. The characteristics of words for each king were quantitated based on dynamic word embedding; further, this information was applied to named entity recognition and neural machine translation.In experiments, we confirmed that the method we proposed showed better performance than other methods. In the named entity recognition task, the F1-score was 0.68; in the neural machine translation task, the BLEU4 score was 0.34. We demonstrated that this approach can be used to extract information about diplomatic relationships with neighbouring countries and the economic conditions of the Joseon Dynasty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historical analogies can help us contextualize new technical developments with social, cultural, and political forces at work. The late Joseon Dynasty period of Korea (1639–1910), a closed economy with detailed written records, provides a rare opportunity to examine a social-ecological system (SES) responding to drivers of change over a long period of time. Based on historical records and reconstructed data, we aim to: (1) characterize how the expansion of human technology, Ondol (traditional underfloor heating system), affected different subsystems and their interactions within the SES over time, (2) examine the role of the government in promoting the technology and regulating its impacts, and (3) summarize the pertinent lessons learned from old Korea for governing a modern-day bioeconomy. Ondol allows various forest biomass to be utilized as household fuel, including fuelwood, forest litter, and grass scraped from forest floor. Continuous biomass harvesting over 250 years to feed Ondol contributed to forest degradation and the forest ecosystem condition trapped in the early successional stage in the Korean Peninsula. The ecological changes were exacerbated by the Pine Policy with a singular focus on reserving Korean red pine (Pinus densiflora Siebold and Zucc.) for government uses. The policy failed to recognize basic needs of the public while countenancing an expansion of Ondol and a cultural preference for heated floors that propagated an increased use of biomass fuel. This case illustrates the importance of recognizing potential technology traps where a human innovation opened opportunities for more resource use. The lessons learned from old Korea show that bioeconomy transitions would require multifaceted governance responses while being cautious about being too closely tied to the dominant national agenda. Environmental history has much to offer for understanding the social and ecological systemic risks of the current technical developments. We call for more historical analogs from different parts of the world to "move forward by looking back". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]