[1] The Rev. James Scarth Gale, son of John Gale, a native of Aberdeen, N.B., and Miami Bradt of Ontario. Born 1863. Published “Korean Grammatical Forms,” 1892; “The Vanguard: a Tale of Korea,” 1894; “Korean-English Dictionary,” 1897; “Korean Sketches,” 1898; “Korean Folk Tales,” 1913. For ten years was one of the translators of the Bible into Korean. Married, first, the widow of Dr. Heron, Physician to the Emperor of Korea; second, Ada Sale of Yokohama. Presbyterian missionary since leaving the Toronto University. ◀◀
[2] The worship of the hills. This religion of the East finds its origin in a passage of the “Book of History” which reads, “King Soon (2255-2205 B.C.) offered sacrifice to God, to the six Honourable Ones, to the hills and streams, and to the multitude of spirits.”
Since that far-away time mountains have been regarded as divinities, presiding over the fortunes of the State and the welfare of the King, and as such have had prayers and sacrifices constantly offered to them. ◀◀
[3] Deluge. In the “Book of History” there is an account of a deluge that lasted for nine years, from which the people were saved by the might of Ha-oo (2205-2197 B.C.). ◀◀
[4] Chin See-wang. (221-209 B.C.). This is the king who built the Great Wall of China; he is likewise famed for having destroyed all the libraries and literature of the kingdom, saying that it was a source of pride and contention, and of no service to the State. For this his unblessed name has been handed down through the centuries as keul-e to jok, the “thief of literature.” ◀◀
[5] Talma. He was the 28th, or last of the Indian patriarchs, Boddhidarma. ◀◀
[6] Chee-jang. The God of the Buddhists, who has supreme charge of all earthly things, and under whose commands the King of Hades is supposed to act. ◀◀
[7] Saree. These are relics that are said to spring forth from the body of a faithful Buddhist, usually during cremation. They are guarded with great care, oftentimes having monumental stones placed over them; sometimes again they are swallowed by devoted disciples. ◀◀
[8] Pong-nai Hills. One of the fabled abodes of the genii, supposed to belong to some celestial island in the Eastern Sea. The story of it dates from 250 B.C. The fairy inhabitants of the place are said to live on gems found on the sea-shore. The elixir of life is also dug from its enchanted slopes. ◀◀
[9] Panak. A youth of great beauty who lived in the time of the Chin Kingdom, 300 A.D. ◀◀
[10] Willows. Before the capital of ancient China there was a grove of willows where people said their farewells and where expressions of sorrow at departure were spoken; hence the willow became the token of special love. It is the first tree, too, of springtime to announce by its blush of green the happy season. ◀◀
[11] Koo Sa-ryong. He was a noted rebel who attacked the State during the period of the Tangs, 840 A.D. ◀◀
[12] Nakyang. This city lies south of the Yellow River, not far from the great elbow where the stream turns east, and its name to-day is Ho-nan. The capital mentioned in the story is modern Si-an, or Si-ngan, that lies about 250 miles directly west. ◀◀
[13] Superior Man. This is a translation of the term koon-ja, which means a man of superior virtue. Learning and training play their part, but goodness is the sine quâ non for this great master. His superior, again, in the scale of immortals is the “Sage,” or holy man. ◀◀
[14] Examinations. According to the old laws of China the official examinations were held only in the years of the intercalary moon, but special examinations might be held at other times with the permission of His Majesty. ◀◀
[15] Princess Tak-moon. The daughter of a great Croesus of China, B.C. 150, she has become associated with the most famous of all historic scandals. Through the influence of his skill upon the lute, she became enamoured of the scholar and poet, Sa-ma Sang-yo, and, contrary to all the laws that govern widows and keep them exclusively to the memory of their late husband, she eloped with him. Her name is universally associated to-day with the delights and charms of sweet music. ◀◀
[16] Yi Tai-baik. The most famous of China’s poets. He lived from 699 to 762 A.D., in the Tang Kingdom, a hundred years or so before the time of this story. He claimed, as this story depicts, that he was one of the genii, exiled for a period to this dusty, troubled world. ◀◀
[17] Han Moo-je. Died B.C. 87. He is one of the most famous Emperors of China. At first he was a great lover of Confucian literature, but later this love waned and he became a devotee of Taoism. He is said to have visited the famous Western Queen Mother, So Wang-mo, who kept her court of paradise on the tops of the Kuen-luen Mountains. She also visited him, and this has become the most famous incident in the life of this Emperor, who reigned for over fifty years. ◀◀
[18] The Division of the Sexes. This custom has been strictly observed in Korea up to the present time, and forbids not only acquaintance but even the seeing of women and girls by members of the male sex. According to the law of Confucius, brothers and sisters were divided at seven years of age, the girls to abide thereafter in the inner quarters, while the boys were to live their lives outside this enclosure. ◀◀
[19] The Feast of Lanterns. Held as a prayer to the first full moon of the year. One of the great sacrificial seasons of the Far East. ◀◀
[20] Kok Kang. In the year 785 A.D. King Tok-jong, on the 1st day of the 2nd Moon, called his ministers and made them come to the Kok Kang Pavilion and write for him. The commemoration of this event has become a festival for the literati, and is called the Kok Kang Assembly. ◀◀
[21] Wang So-geun. This marvellous woman, by her beauty, brought on in the year 33 B.C. a war between the fierce barbarian Huns of the north and China Proper. She was finally captured and carried away, but rather than yield herself to her savage conqueror, she plunged into the Amur River and was drowned. Her tomb on the bank is said to be marked by undying verdure.
The history of Wang So-geun forms the basis of a drama, translated by Sir John Davis, and entitled “The Sorrows of Han.” ◀◀
[22] The Hoi Examination. This is the second regular examination taken by those who have passed the first. The Chon is a special examination taken before the Emperor. ◀◀
[23] Hallim. The term hallim means a member of the college of literature, a literary senator. ◀◀
[24] So Wang-mo (Western Queen Mother). A great divinity of Taoism, who is supposed to dwell in her paradise on the tops of the Kuen-luen Mountains, Tibet. For thousands of years she has been regarded as the chief of the genii, and kings and emperors have become immortalised from having had audience with her. She dwells by the “Lake of Gems,” near whose border grow the peach trees of the fairies. Anyone eating of this fruit will live for ever. The gentle messengers who carry her despatches are the “azure pigeons” mentioned so often in Far Eastern stories. ◀◀
[25] Song Ok. He was a great poet of the fourth century B.C. His teacher was Kool-won, who was drowned in the Myok-na River. Song Ok, by supernatural power, called up the dead spirit of his teacher and talked with him. ◀◀
[26] Cho Yang-wang (650 B.C.). He met a fairy from Moo-san Mountains and lived with her. Her way of going and coming was by becoming rain in the evening and visiting him, and by becoming a cloud in the morning and so sailing away. ◀◀
[27] Wang Ja-jin. A man of the time of Han Myong-je (58 A.D.), who became one of the genii. He was a magistrate of a far distant county, and yet he came the first day of every month to pay his devotions to the Emperor. His Majesty, amazed at his coming thus over so impossible a distance, had an officer commissioned to watch and find out how he came. This official, when the time came for Ja-jin’s arrival, was on the look-out and saw two ducks flying toward the capital. He caught them in a net, when suddenly they changed into a pair of shoes. The shoes, on being examined, turned out to be a pair that the Emperor had given to Ja-jin.
When the time of Ja-jin’s departure from the earth came, a green stone coffin descended from heaven. Ja-jin, seeing it, said that God was calling him. He then bathed and took his place in the coffin; the lid arose of itself and covered the top. A grave was found made without human hands just outside the city, where he is said to be buried. ◀◀
[28] Nong-ok (sixth century B.C.). She was the wife of Wang Ja-jin, the most renowned of all China’s flautists. She learned from him, and when they played together it is said they brought down angel-birds (phoenixes) from the sky to hear them. ◀◀
[29] Yo, Soon. These are the two most famous rulers of patriarchal China. Their names are associated in Korea with the golden age of the world, and are passed from lip to lip as the ultimate of righteous kingship. Their story is told in the sacred “Book of History.” ◀◀
[30] The Three Relationships. The subject’s duty to his sovereign; the son’s duty to his father; the wife’s duty to her husband. ◀◀
[31] The Primary Laws. These are the Five Laws for which special honour is done Confucius, as the great sage who emphasised their importance. They are: duty to the king; duty to a father; duty to an older brother; duty to a husband; duty to a friend. ◀◀
[32] The Six Forms. These have to do with marriage, and may be defined as: 1st, the announcement; 2nd, asking the name; 3rd, choosing the day; 4th, making the presents; 5th, settling the various times; 6th, performing the ceremony. ◀◀
[33] Six Laws. These pertain to the art of warfare, and are explained in the famous treatise said to have been written by the Duke Kang-tai, who flourished in the twelfth century B.C. The six divisions are marked respectively by the names Dragon, Tiger, Ideograph, Warrior, Leopard, Dog. ◀◀
[34] Eight Diagrams. These are sets of lines divided and undivided, arranged in threes, which, when combined in double sets, form the basis of “the Book of Changes,” the most famous literary work of Far Eastern Asia. ◀◀
[35] The Dragon King. He is said to live in the crystal palace, in the bottom of the sea, and to be the giver of rain. As the tiger is regarded as the king of the mountains, so the dragon rules the deep. The chief Dragon king presides over the Four Seas, while the lesser dragon kings hold court in such places as Nam-hai, Tong-jong, etc. ◀◀
[36] Grandmother of the Moon. There was a man in the time of the Tangs called Wi-go, who greatly desired to get married. Once, while he was going on a journey he saw an old woman sitting in the moonlight reading a book, while she leaned her back against a linen sack. Wi-go asked what book she was reading, and she replied that it was a book of the marriages of all the earth. Again he asked, “What is in the sack?” “Red string,” said she. “When once I have tied the feet of those who are destined for each other with this red cord the whole world cannot keep them apart.” ◀◀
[37] Transmigration of Souls. This is a teaching that came in with Buddhism, and has had a ruling place in the thought of the East for 2000 years. A righteous life in this present age means a step upward in the next existence, which, if continued, will at last bring one to Nirvana. Sin brings one lower and lower till at last it lands the guilty one in the hells that await the lost. ◀◀
[38] Weaving Damsel, She is one of the celestial lovers. Her sweetheart, the herdsman, is supposed to be the star b in Aquila, while she is the star a in Lyra. They are lovers who, by the abyss of the Milky Way, are separated all the year round, till the 7th night of the 7th Moon, when the magpies of the earth assemble and form a bridge over the chasm and enable them to meet. This is one of the Orient’s most famous legends. ◀◀
[39] Panso. She is the most noted of ancient literary women. Her brother is one of the first historians of the East, and after his death she, at the command of the Emperor, carried on what he had begun. ◀◀
[40] Pi-yon (first century B.C.) A famous dancing girl who, by her grace and loveliness of form, won the name of Pi-yon, Flying Swallow, and became the first favourite of the Emperor. So gifted was she in the touch of the toe that she could dance on the open palm of the hand. ◀◀
[41] Seven Precious Things. 1st, the full moon; 2nd, lovely ladies; 3rd, horses; 4th, elephants; 5th, the guardians of the treasury; 6th, great generals; 7th, wonder-working pearls. ◀◀
[42] The left hand. While in the East the right hand is really the place of honour if we judge by evidences of antiquity, still in ordinary usage the left comes first. In the marriage here mentioned, Princess Blossom takes precedence of Princess Orchid. ◀◀
[43] Che Kal-yang. He is the great Napoleonic leader of China 200 B.C. Hang-oo and Pom-jing, who lived shortly before the beginning of the Christian era, were lesser lights in the world of the warrior. ◀◀
[44] A-whang; Yo-yong. These were two sisters, daughters of the Emperor Yo (2288 B.C.), who, like Leah and Rachel, were given to his successor as his faithful wives. Tradition relates that they journeyed south with him till they reached Chang-o, where he died. They wept, and their tears, falling on the leaves, caused to come into being the spotted bamboo. ◀◀
[45] Im, Sa. Two famous women of China, who lived 1122 B.C. ◀◀
[46] So-boo (Nest-Father). He is a legendary being said to have lived B.C. 2357, and to have made his home in a tree; hence his name. He was a man of singular uprightness, who greatly influenced his age for good. Once, when offered the rule of the empire by the great Yo, he went and washed his ears in the brook to rid them of the taint of worldly ambition. ◀◀
[47] Chang Cha-pang. One of the founders of the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.) and one of China s three great heroes. Mayers says: “At the close of his official career he renounced the use of food and prosecuted the search for the elixir of life under the guidance of a supernatural being, but failed to attain immortality.” ◀◀