Кореяның Үш Патшалығының естеліктері

13th century Korean historical record

Samguk yusa (hangul=삼국유사; ) or Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms 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. "Samguk yusa is a historical record compiled by the Buddhist monk Il yeon in 1281 (the 7th year of King Chungnyeol of Goryeo) in the late Goryeo Dynasty." Samguk yusa is a history book which is composed of five volumes in total and is divided into nine parts within the five volumes. The Samguk yusa 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 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. However, there is also criticism that the sense of one blood could lead to not only marginalizing those who are not regarded as "genuinely Korean," but also restricting the different ways that people could consider themselves Korean by eliminating diverse and possible viewpoints that are not rooted in this conservative mythology. 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 Iryeon's disciple Muguk (1250–1322) and several others prior to the definitive 1512 recension.

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, Samguk yusas reliability 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, Il yeon 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 the readers to access comparative information about the history, and even expressed concerns about the reliability when there was insufficient information to depict. The tales are both descriptive and prescriptive because they have been the source of the Korean Buddhist tradition to the present day as the birth of the tradition is described in the book. The places which are mentioned in the book are important religious points in current South Korea also. “The naming of mountains in Samguk Yusa connects Korea with China and India and symbolically recreates the actual sacred places of Buddhism in Korea. Choshin fell asleep resenting the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, but when Kim Nang ja came at night and asked to have a relationship, he went to his hometown together with joy and lived for more than 40 years. In the meantime, he had five children, but he was poor and wandered around. His 15 year old child starved to death while passing through Haehyeonryeong Pass in Myeongju, but he failed to hold a funeral. When Kim Nang ja says, "Let's break up with each other rather than continue the miserable life as it is," Choshin agrees and awakes from his dream while trying to leave the road after sharing the children with each other. After experiencing a miserable life of poverty and bareness in a dream, he realizes how vain human life is.

It is owned by Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies. This book is known as the earliest edition of Samguk Yusa. It is the only book without missing pages and is complete out of all the Samguk yusa books published in Gyeongju in 1512 (the 7th year of King Jungjong). This edition is most used by academic scholars in research.

The Beomeosa Samguk yusa (one book composed of volumes 4 and 5), designated as National Treasure No. 306 4, is kept at Beomeosa Temple in Busan in the form of one book not including volumes 1 to 3. Additional two woodblock printed editions of Sanguk yusa have been excavated in addition to this copy, and they have been designated as National Treasure Nos. 306 and 306 3. Even though this edition is an incomplete set, researchers regard it as highly valuable. It is the first printed copy of the Samguk yusa to have been engraved on wood in 1934. This edition is considered meaningful from both the historical and academic perspectives as it is a crucial copy for the restoration of the original woodblock printed copy of the Samguk yusa, given that it is the only source with which Chapters 28, 29, and 30, which are missing from the other copies, can be included, along with the missing letters and errors in the copy published in 1512 (the 7th year of King Jungjong’s reign). Additionally, the collection at Beomeosa Temple is found to be closely related to the one published in 1512 in terms of its font, size, and spacing between the lines, which shows its importance for bibliographical research was recognized even during the Joseon Dynasty. Moreover, as it contains information on how to read the Chinese characters used in the text in Hangul (Korean alphabet), it is an applicable material for researchers of Korea’s ancient language. It was designated as the national treasure of the Republic of Korea on August 27, 2020

This book contains volumes 3 5 of Samguk yusa. The first 10 pages of volume 3, and pages 18 to 31 of volume 5 (total of 23 pages) are missing. The cover of this book was restored, and the five hole woven with a red thread was used for the title page. This book was kept by Choe Nam seon, and was later donated to Korea University in Seoul. This book originated from the edition published in Gyeongju in 1512 (the 7th year of the reign of King Jungjong of the Joseon Dynasty), which is the most commonly used version in the latest academic fields. “The book belongs to the copy withdrawn relatively early among other extant copies of the Jeongdeok Edition of Samguk yusea, and has value as the bibliography of the Jeongdeok Edition (also known as the Imshin Edition of King Jungjong).” It is the only copy of the Jeongdeok Edition to include Korean endings on the Chinese characters.

The Jung gu version of Samguk Yusa is the only copy with Volume 2 and no other volumes. In this copy, 4 sheets (17 20) out of 49 pages of the text were restored. The cover is restored in a Manja pattern with a five needle red thread, and the binding is in good condition. On the front cover, "Hwangmajungyangwolmaedeuk Nisannamssigajang" is written with ink in the center. Moreover, the word, "Nisanjang" on the middle of back cover, indicates that it was purchased and kept by a person with surname Nam in February of the 55th year of the Chinese Sexagenary Cycle. In terms of structure, 24 out of 49 pages are generally longer than 1 cm in length compared to Jeongdeokbon edition. In terms of content, it can be seen that it was published in the early Joseon Dynasty, as they were written in the style to avoid the names of Goryeo Dynasty's kings. Moreover, it includes many differences compared to the Jeongdeok edition, which was published in Gyeongju in 1512 (the 7th year of the reign of King Jungjong), and acts as a reference to compare and correct the mistakes in the Jeongdeok edition.

This copy of Samguk Yusa, designated as National Treasure of Korea (No. 306 3) is an early Joseon edition. Along with Royal calendar, the brief chronology of Silla, Goguryeo, Baekje, Gaya, and Unified Silla, Later Goguryeo (including Goryeo), and Later Baekjae, it contains the records of mythical events (historical and cultural facts from the Gojoseon to the Late Three Kingdoms period). Even though, part 3 and 5 remain out of a total of five books, this copy is valuable in that it is a complete edition without any missing pages as an early Joseon book. In addition, it has an important value in that it can supplement letters that are difficult to read among the Samguk Yusa published in 1512 (7th year of King Jungjong's reign) and identify cited literary works of which there are no extant copies.

This book is a collection of three volumes, 3rd to 5th volumes of the Book of the Three Kingdoms. The title Samguk Yusais written in large letters and in small letters, it is written as "Seokju" in the blue silk cover of the book. Every damaged and missing part of the copy was repaired and fully recovered to match the original contents. The volume consists of total 107 pages, 50 pages of the third chapter (missing first 6 pages), 31 pages of the fourth chapter, and 26 pages of the fifth chapter (missing last 4 pages). On the other hand, it is possible that most of the early Joseon books were not applied to the subjects of the Goryeo kings' names, such as Yong (the father of King Taejo) and Mu (the name of Hyejong) who were replaced by other characters in honor and samga. In terms of content, there are many differences in text from various books of Jeongdeokbon. This book is the earliest manuscript ever published in the late 14th century (the early Joseon Dynasty) before the 7th year of King Jungjong (1512) of Joseon Dynasty. Moreover, it is a valuable resource to correct errors in the edition in early Joseon period and it also works as a bibliography.

Ilyeon (2006) Overlooked Historical Records of the Three Korean Kingdoms, translated by Kim Dal Yong. Jimoondang: Seoul, Korea. Ilyon (1972; 2006) Samguk Yusa: Legends and History of the Three Kingdoms of Ancient Korea, translated by Tae Hung Ha and Grafton K. Mintz. Yonsei University Press: Seoul, Korea. 일연 (1996) 삼국유사. Somun munhwasa: Seoul. 일연 (2002) 삼국유사. translated by Kim Won jung. Eulyu munhwasa: Seoul. .