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Translation and Interpretation of the Ten Commandments in China and Korea up to 1800

정중호 1

1계명대학교

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ABSTRACT

This study starts to re-construct the history of Old Testament interpretation in Korea up to the year 1800. The purpose of this article is to trace translation and interpretation of the Old Testment in China and Korea with a particular emphasis on the Ten Commandments. Earlier arguments that date the history of Old Testament interpretation in Korea from approximately 1900, I argue, are overly restrictive. Given that Chinese characters(hanja) were used as the official script of consecutive states on the Korean peninsula, from the Three Kingdoms, the Goryeo dynasty, and up to Joseon, any interpretation of the Hanmun bible(漢文聖經) must also be taken into consideration. A translated version and interpretation of the Ten Commandments appears in Jesus-Messiah Sutra(序聽迷詩所經), written in 635-638, after the introduction of Nestorianism to China. I expect the Ten Commandments to have been introduced to Silla, Goguryeo, and Baekje, all of which had frequent contact with Tang China. Additionally, records exist of bible translations during the Yuan dynasty, raising the possibility of introduction of the bible via Christians to Goryeo. In contrast, we find the bible was brought to Joseon through a variety of routes. Beginning in 1592, several catechisms including Cheon-ju-sil-lok(天主實錄) were already imported into Joseon, and in 1610 Huh-Gyun brought back Ge-12-jang(偈十二章), including a copy of the Ten Commandments, from China. Other bible versions such as the Cheon-ju-seong-gyeo-sib-ge-jik-jun(天主敎十誡直詮) were imported into Joseon and widely distributed. This process of proactive interpretation is clear in the Song of Ten Commandments of 1779. The Song of Ten Commandments stands out as a work written in traditional Korean gasache(가사체), and has the added characteristic of having been written from the beginning in Hangul. Unlike the formalized Ten Commandments of the Chinese catechisms and transcribed in Chinese characters, this version is written in easily accessible Hangul alphabet and includes daily expressions used by commoners such as ‘ggogdugagsi (puppet, 꼭두각시), namusinmak (나무신막), ohneuwul georeom (midsummer fertilizer, 오뉴월 거름), pariddae (swarm of flies, 파리떼), ggamagggachi (crows and magpies, 까막까치)’. Such characteristics point to an independent interpretation by a native of Joseon. The Song of Ten Commandments allows us to ascertain the pre-19C history of biblical interpretation in Korea. Further, the existence of the Chinese character catechisms imported since approximately 1592 sheds even greater light on this process.

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