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Bracken in Song Dynasty Food Poetry ― Representation and Literary Symbolism

  • The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China
  • Abbr : JSLCKC
  • 2026, (81), pp.207~237
  • DOI : 10.16874/jslckc.2026..81.008
  • Publisher : Korean Society of Study on Chinese Languge and Culture
  • Research Area : Humanities > Chinese Language and Literature
  • Received : July 10, 2026
  • Accepted : August 20, 2026
  • Published : August 31, 2026

Wonhee Kim 1

1제주대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This study examines the representation of bracken in Song Dynasty food poetry and explores its literary symbolism. Furthermore, by situating these poems within the food culture of the period, this study demonstrates that literati perceived bracken not merely as a culinary ingredient but as an object imbued with aesthetic experience and cultural significance. First, through an analysis of the literary image of "a small child's clenched fist, 小兒拳" this study elucidates the aesthetic and symbolic meanings embodied in bracken. As a wild mountain vegetable emblematic of spring, bracken symbolizes both the cyclical passage of the seasons and the vitality of life. It serves as a sensory medium through which literati could experience the changing rhythms of nature and the passage of time in tangible ways. This finding demonstrates that poetic inspiration arose not only from grand landscapes but also from the everyday sensory experience of eating seasonal foods. Furthermore, the gathering and enjoyment of seasonal bracken constitute an experience shaped by direct engagement with nature, thereby serving as a catalyst for poetic imagination. The convergence of season, place, and material object—spring, the natural landscape, and bracken—creates a poetic experience in which the senses and memory interact on multiple levels, giving rise to a complex notion of "taste" that transcends mere gustatory sensation. Thus, bracken harvested and enjoyed amid the abundant mountains and streams of spring paradoxically comes to symbolize poverty. This symbolism was shaped not only by the cultural associations derived from the legend of Baek-i(백이) and Suk-je(숙제), but also by a food culture in which bracken roots were ground into powder and consumed as a famine food. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that, in Song Dynasty poetry, bracken functions as a multilayered symbol encompassing seasonality, lived experience, and survival, illustrating how everyday culinary experiences are transformed into poetic reflection and cultural symbolism.

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This paper was written with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea.
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