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A Study on Bun-un(分韻) of the Literati during the Late Goryeo-Early Joseon Period

  • Journal of Korean Literature
  • 2013, (27), pp.7-33
  • Publisher : The Society Of Korean Literature
  • Research Area : Humanities > Korean Language and Literature
  • Published : May 31, 2013

SIM KYUNG HO 1

1고려대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

It was frequently occurred that literati in pre-modern period wrote poems to broaden the intellectual interchange and to form political groups. This paper is to survey the cases that literati during the late Goryeo-early Joseon period performed Bun-un(分韻) at literary coteries' activities. Bun-un was highly regarded as it was frequently perfomed at literary coteries' activities. It was also useful to practice verse writing. In Korea, the Bun-un tradition began around the middle of Goryeo, and prevailed in the late Goryeo as Gwa-geo(科擧, civil service literary examination) started to be fulfilled regularly. It became very usual consequently that they exercised to rhyme out poems readily as Gwa-bu(科賦) was highly valued at Gwa-geo, and as a result groups that could write and enjoy poems using Bun-un were naturally formed. The preface composed by Lee Jehyeon(李齊賢) for Si-chuk(詩軸, a roll of pomes) of Bun-un Yeon-jang(分韻聯章) suggests that not a few such groups existed at that time and they played a important part in political and literary activities as well. To summarize this paper is the same as follows. (1) In the late Goryeo-early Joseon period, to perform Bun-un Yeon-jang at farewell parties for those who went local government posts or returned home after finishing Gwa-geo, was regularized and it lasted until the late Joseon period. (2) In the late Goryeo period, there were cases that Bun-un Yeon-jang was performed at parties for Jwa-ju(座主, examiner), but Myeongjokhoe(名簇會) by Jwa-ju and Mun-saeng(門生, pupil) began to decrease as Huesi(會試) system was established in Joseon dynasty. (3) In the late Goryeo period, there were also cases that Bun-un Yeon-jang was performed by Buddhist monks, but these cases disappeared as religious oppression for Buddism began at the beginnig of Joseon dynasty. (4) In the late Goryeo-early Joseon period, there were cases that government officials wrote poems using Bun-un keeping harmony with poems in praise for kings, but these cases disappeared since early Joseon period. (5) In the late Goryeo-early Joseon period, there were also cases that one edited a collection of poems or of Bun-un Yeon-jang while visiting the tombs of his father or mother since he or she had been dead. From the middle of Joseon dynasty, literati had lots of chances to exercise Bun-un as literary coteries' activities increased, and it remarkably flourished in the late Joseon dynasty. It is assumed that there would be lots of cases of Bun-un Gu-ho(口呼) and Yeon-jang at that period. It is notable that literary coteries' activities practicing Bun-un had lots of meaning more than they appeared.

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