Kim Jeong-hui
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| Kim Jeong-hui | |
 | |
| Korean name | |
|---|---|
| Hangul | 김정희 |
| Hanja | 金正喜 |
| Revised Romanization | Gim Jeonghui |
| McCune–Reischauer | Kim Chŏnghŭi |
Kim Jeong-hui (Korean: 김정희, Korean pronunciation: [kimdʑʌŋçi]; 1786–1856), was one of the most celebrated practitioners of calligraphy, epigraphists, and scholars of Korea's later Joseon period.[1] He was a member of the Gyeongju Kim clan. He used various art names: Wandang (阮堂), Chusa (秋史), Yedang (禮堂), Siam (詩庵), Gwapa (果坡), Nogwa (老果) etc. (up to 503 by some estimates[2]). He is especially celebrated for having transformed Korean epigraphy and for having created the "Chusa-che" (秋史體; lit. Chusa writing style) inspired by his study of ancient Korean and Chinese epitaphs. His ink paintings, especially of orchids, are equally admired.
As a scholar, he belonged to the
Biography
Early life
Kim was born in the family home in
He is reputed to have been a remarkable calligrapher already as a child. When he was 7, the famed scholar Chae Je-gong (蔡濟恭, 1720–1799) is said to have been impressed on seeing the "Ipchun Daegil Cheonha Daepyeongchun" (立春大吉 天下太平春) good-luck charm marking the coming of spring that he had written, pasted on the gate of the family home.
Early youth
In the 1790s, the head of the family, his eldest uncle, Kim No-yeong (金魯永, 1747–1707), was sent into exile, while another uncle as well as his grandparents all died in quick succession. It was decided that Kim Jeong-hui should be adopted by Kim No-yeong (who had several daughters but no son) and so become the next head of the family. When he was 15, in 1800, he married a member of the Hansan Yi clan (閑山李氏). That same year, King
Later youth
Kim Jeong-hui's birth mother died in 1801, aged only 34. Queen
Adult life
Visit to China
In 1810, his birth-father was appointed a vice-envoy in the annual embassy to
He also pursued research by visiting and studying the inscriptions on ancient stele. In 1815, the Venerable
Success in national exams
Passing the
Exile
Following the death of King Sunjo of Joseon (r. 1800–1834) late in 1834, Queen Sunwon, the wife of Sunjo and a member of the Kim clan of Andong, held immense power after her grandson, Heonjong (憲宗, 1827–1849 ), still only a child, was made king. Queen Kim acted as his regent. Factional in-fighting increased and in 1840, when he was due to be a member of the Chinese embassy, Kim Jeong-hui was instead condemned to exile in Jeju Island. Late in 1842, his wife died. He was finally allowed to return home early in 1849. It was during those years in exile that he developed the calligraphic style known as the "Chusa style", based on his studies of models dating back to the earliest periods of Korean and Chinese history.[4] On his way into exile and on his way back home afterward, he visited the Venerable Cho-ui in his Ilchi-am hermitage at what is now known as Daeheung-sa temple. Cho-ui consecrated several of his building projects in the temple to helping sustain Kim during his exile and visited him in Jeju-do 5-6 times, bringing him gifts of tea.[5]
In 1844, during his exile in Jeju Island, he produced his most celebrated ink painting, usually known as "Sehando" or "Wandang Sehando" (阮堂歲寒圖, 'Wandang' was one of Kim's most frequently used 'Ho' names; 'Sehan’ means ‘the bitter cold around the lunar new year,' 'do' means 'painting'), which he gave to his disciple Yi Sang-jeok (李尙迪, 1804–1865) in gratitude for his friendship, which included bringing him precious books from China. The painting shows a simple house, barely outlined, framed by two gnarled pine trees. Beside it there are texts expressing gratitude to Yi Sang-jeok. Yi was an outstanding figure, a poet and calligrapher who went 12 times to China and was greatly admired by the scholars he met there. In 1845, Yi returned to China with the painting, which he showed to the scholars he met. Sixteen of them composed appreciatiative colophons which were attached to the left side of the painting, creating a lengthy scroll. After Yi's return to Korea, some Korean scholars also added their tributes, creating a unique cumulative work combining painting, poetic writing and calligraphy.[6][unreliable source?]
Soon after King
Final years
After the northern exile, he settled in Gwacheon (to the south of Seoul, where his birth father was buried) in a house he called Gwaji Chodang (瓜地草堂). In 1856 he went to stay for a while in Bongeun-sa temple, in what is now Seoul's Gangnam area, and is said to have become a monk. Later that same year he returned to his home in Gwacheon, and continued to write until the day before he died.
In the years following his death, his disciple Nam Byeong-gil and others prepared and published collections of his letters (Wandang Cheokdok 阮堂尺牘) and of his poems (Damyeon Jaesigo 覃糧齋詩藁) in 1867; a collection of his other writings (Wandangjip 阮堂集) was published in 1868. A complete edition of his works, (Wandang Seonsaeng Jeonjip 阮堂先生全集), was published by his great-great-grandson Kim Ik-hwan (金翊煥) in 1934.
Achievements
The influence of Kim Jeong-hui among the Korean scholars of the later 19th century was immense. He was reputed to have taught 3,000 of them and was seen as the leader of a modernizing trend that developed into the Gaehwapa Enlightenment Party at the end of the 19th century. Among the names associated with him we find Shin Wi (申緯, 1769–1845), O Gyeong-seok (吳慶錫, 1831–1879), Min Tae-ho (閔台鎬, 1834–1884), Min Gyu-ho (閔奎鎬, 1836–1878), Gang Wi (姜瑋, 1820–1884).
His main scholarly interest was in documentary history and monumental inscriptions. He maintained correspondence on these topics with major scholars in China. He was particularly celebrated for having deciphered and identified the stele on Mount Bukhan commemorating a visit by King Jinheung of Silla (540–576). He is remembered for his outstanding achievements in calligraphy, ink painting, as well as his writings in prose and poetry. He was in the habit of devising a special Ho (pen-name) for himself whenever he dedicated a painting of orchids to an acquaintance, so that he became the person of his generation with the most such names.
Buddhism
It seems that Kim Jeong-hui was accustomed to frequenting
He was especially close to the Ven.
In 1815,
Kim Jeong-Hui had initiated a controversy with the other celebrated Seon Master Baekpa Geungseon (白坡 亘璇, 1767–1852) who had written the Seonmun sugyeong (禪文手鏡 Hand Glass of Seon Literature). In his Baekpa Mangjeungsipojo (白坡 妄證十五條 Fifteen Signs of Baekpa's Senility), Kim wrote, "The truth of Seon is like a light new dress without stitching, just like a heavenly dress. But the dress is patched and repatched by the inventiveness of humans, and so becomes a wornout piece of clothing." Baekpa had written that certain traditions were superior to others, and Kim considered such quibbles to be a waste of time as well as a misunderstanding of the nature of Seon. Nonetheless, when Baekpa died at Hwaeom-sa Temple in 1852, Kim wrote an epitaph for him: 華嚴宗主白坡大律師大機大用之碑.[6][7]
Family
Parents
- Biological father: Kim No-kyung (김노경)
- Biological mother: Daughter of Yoo Junju (유준주)
- Brother: Kim Myeong-hui (김명희)
- Brother: Kim Sang-hui (김상희)
- Adoptive father: Kim No-yeong (김노영)
- Adoptive mother: Daughter of Hong Dae-hyeon (홍대현)
Wives and issues:
- Lady Yi, of the Hansan Yi clan (한산이씨)
- Kim Sang-mu (김상무), adopted son
- Lady Yi, the Yean Yi clan (예안 이씨)
- Lady Han, of the Han clan (한씨)
- Kim Sang-U (김상우), first son
Gallery
References
- ^ Korea: A Historical and Cultural Dictionary ed. Keith Pratt and Richard Rutt. (Curzon. 1999) page 209.
- ^ 호 (號) 한국민족문화대백과사전 Encyclopedia of Korean Culture
- ^ "일세의 통유 - 추사 김정희". Archived from the original on 2012-04-26.
- ^ 김정희 金正喜 (in Korean). Nate / Encyclopedia of Korean Culture. Archived from the original on 2011-06-10. Retrieved 2009-10-03.
- ^ Korean Tea Classics ed./trans. Brother Anthony of Taizé, Hong Keong-Hee, Steven D. Owyoung. Seoul: Seoul Selection. 2010. Page 64.
- ^ moam. "「세한도 歲寒圖」의 비밀?". moam.egloos.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2022-01-19.
- ^ Korean Tea Classics ed./trans. Brother Anthony of Taizé, Hong Keong-Hee, Steven D. Owyoung. Seoul: Seoul Selection. 2010. Page 63.
Further reading
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