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A Female Intellectual Who Surpassed Men
Portraying the Image of Woman Dreamed of
by Noble Families in the Chos？n Dynasty

This book is an English translation of the modern Korean translation of Yuhandang Sa-ssi ？nhaennok (Dongsan Library Old Books Translation Series No. 3), which records the daily life of Yuhandang (幽閒堂) Sa-ssi (謝氏), a fictional female figure who would have been considered an ideal woman by noble families in the Chos？n dynasty. There are more than thirty versions of this work extant in Korea, and Keimyung University Dongsan Library possesses four of them in Hang？l and one in classical Chinese. The Hang？l version in the old books collection of Keimyung University that was used for this translation is the richest in terms of volume and contains many anecdotes that have been omitted from other versions, giving it a high value as an original source material.
From her childhood, Yuhandang is not only wise but also delights in studying. After her marriage, she attends her parents-in-law with filial piety, carries out ancestor memorial rituals with sincerity, and is greatly praised by her relatives for treating her servants with benevolence. In addition, Yuhandang directly teaches the contents of the Confucian classics to her children and grandchildren and makes her in-laws’ family wealthy by teaching her husband the strategy of saving through thrift. Setting up a ‘righteous storehouse’ with the wealth accumulated in this way, Yuhandang takes the lead in charitably distributing it not only to relatives but also to passers-by, in accordance with level of difficulty of their circumstances.

In this book, the knowledge and methods that would have been necessary for the management of a noble family, such as prenatal education and childrearing, childbirth and hospitality, health care and disease prevention, as well as admonitions in words and deeds, are all described in detail through conversations between Yuhandang and the people around her. In this way it can be an important guide for our understanding of traditional Korean yangban society as well as providing a valuable insight into the general orientation of consciousness and notable characteristics of upper-class women in the Chos？n dynasty.

“When Yuhandang was nine years old, a fire broke out on one side of Scholar Sa’s house. All the people in the household were shocked, and after the fire was put out, they found that Yuhandang was not in her room. The people searched for her high and low, and then they found that Yuhandang had opened the central door of the ancestral shrine and was standing inside the central doorway with the key in her hand.
When the people asked her the reason, Yuhandang replied, ‘Everyone in the whole family was at their wits end and preoccupied with trying to put out the fire, but as I am a child, I am not able to put out a fire. But if the fire came close to the ancestral shrine, I was worried that in the rush the adults would be falling over themselves trying to open the door, so I opened the central door of the ancestral shrine, and as I could not leave it unattended after already having opened it, I remained to guard it.’
Everyone considered this to be admirable, and also Lord Scholar Sa upon hearing this said, ‘As your thoughts are always outstanding in this way, it is regrettable that you were not born a man.’”

- An anecdote from the book

남성을 뛰어넘는 여성 지식인 유한당
조선 시대 양반 가문에서 꿈꾸던 여성상을 그리다

이 책은 조선 시대 양반 가문에서 이상적으로 여겼을 법한 허구의 여성 인물 유한당(幽閒堂) 사 씨(謝氏)의 일화를 기록한 「유한당샤시언ㅎㆎㅇ녹」의 한국어 역주본(동산도서관 소장 고문헌 번역 총서 3)을 영어로 번역한 것이다. 국내에는 이 작품의 이본 30여종이 존재하는데, 계명대학교 동산도서관에서는 4종의 한글본과 1종의 한문본을 함께 소장하고 있다. 이번에 번역한 계명대 소장 한글본은 분량이 가장 풍부하고 다른 이본에 누락된 일화가 여럿 실려 있어 자료적 가치가 높다.
유한당은 어려서부터 총명하였을 뿐 아니라 학문을 매우 좋아하였다. 혼인 후에는 시부모님을 효로 모시고, 제사를 정성스럽게 지내며, 비복들을 인의로 대하여 일가친척의 칭송하는 소리가 자자하였다. 또 유한당은 자녀와 손자녀들에게 경서의 내용을 직접 가르치며, 남편에게는 절약을 통한 치산의 요령을 알려줘 가문의 재산을 풍족하게 만들었다. 유한당은 이렇게 축적한 재산으로 의고를 설치하여 친척뿐 아니라 길 가는 과객들에게도 그들의 형편에 맞게 베푸는 일에도 앞장섰다.
이 책에는 주변 인물과 유한당의 대화를 통해 태교와 육아, 치산과 손님 접대, 양생과 질병 예방, 언행의 유의점 등 양반 가문의 운영에 필요하였을 법한 지식과 요령이 조목조목 서술되어 있어, 조선시대 상층 여성의 일반적 의식 지향과 특징은 물론 전통 한국의 양반 사회를 이해하는 길잡이의 하나가 될 수 있을 것이다.

유한당이 아홉 살 때에 처사의 집 한 쪽에서 불이 났다. 온 집안사람들이 놀라 불을 끈 후에 보니 유한당이 없었다. 급히 찾아보니, 유한당이 사당 중문을 열고 열쇠를 손에 들고 중문 안에 서 있는 것이었다. 그 까닭을 물으니 유한당이 대답하였다.
“집안사람들은 불을 끄려고 정신없이 바쁜데 저는 어린아이라서 불을 끄지 못합니다. 그런데 만일 불이 사당 가까이 오게 되면 어른들이 문 열기가 창졸간에 급할까 염려하여 사당 중문을 열었고, 이미 연 후는 비워두지 못하여 지키고 있었습니다.”
사람들이 다 기특히 여기고, 처사공도 듣고 말하였다.
“네 생각은 뛰어나기가 매양 이러하니, 남자로 태어나지 못한 게 아깝다.”
-작품 중 일화

ㆍ About Keimyung University Dongsan Library
Keimyung University Dongsan Library has over 78,000 old books, including
22 types and 96 volumes of state-designated treasures such as Yongbi ？ch’？ ka
(Songs of flying dragons) and 8 types and 18 volumes of tangible cultural heritage
of Daegu such as Taegu ？pchi (Daegu county gazetteer). As one of Korea’s
representative institutions housing an extensive collection of old books, Dongsan
Library contributes to the systematic management of Korea’s traditional cultural
heritage and the promotion of Korean studies research by holding exhibitions as
well as publishing catalogs, annotated texts and translations.

Fascicle 1
Yuhandang’s Birth … 16
Prognostication of the Japanese Invasion of 1592 … 18
Questions and Answers on the Elementary Learning I … 21
Questions and Answers on the Elementary Learning II … 22
Questions and Answers on the Elementary Learning III … 24
Writing about Doors … 25
The Origin of the Phrase ‘Born in the Year of the Pig’ (Sokch？) … 27
16th Day of the Tenth Lunar Month … 29
Studying How to Stop Drinking Alcohol … 32
How to Write Well … 36
Wangy？？ … 39
Regretting Being Born as a Woman … 42
The Reason for Standing in Front of the Ancestral Shrine Doorway … 45
Yuhandang’s Marriage … 46
A Frugal Marriage Ceremony … 50
Returning the Silk … 53
A Mother’s Entreaty … 55
Yuhandang’s Physiognomy … 57
Taking Care of Her Sick Mother-in-law … 61
Making Her Father-in-law’s Court Attire … 62
Questions and Answers on the Book of Odes … 63
Giving Birth to Seven Sons … 65
A Mother-in-law’s Requests Concerning Prenatal Education … 67
Way of Managing Household Affairs and Establishing a ‘Righteous Storehouse’ … 71
Tu Ch’？nbok’s Dream … 76
Tu Ch’？nbok Gives up the Civil Examination … 80
A Poem Written as a Child … 82
Visiting Parents after Three Years … 85
Cleanliness Is the Most Important Thing for Ritual Food … 87
The Way of Managing Servants … 88
Study Hard … 91
The Great Significance of the Doctrine of the Mean and the Great Learning … 94
The Reason for Particularly Liking the Book of Changes … 96
‘Seventh Lunar Month’ (Qiyue), Book of Odes … 100
‘Reverence Study Exhortation’ and ‘Exhortation on Rising Early and Sleeping Late’ … 102

Fascicle 2
Righteous Storehouse Anecdote I … 106
Righteous Storehouse Anecdote II … 109
The Story of Zhou Ji of Qi … 116
Weaving Should Also Be Done Like Studying … 119
The Way of Teaching Children … 122
Zhu Zhifan’s Departure as an Envoy to Chos？n … 126
The Way to Bring Up Children … 132
The Human Mind and Moral Mind … 143
Cases of Long Pregnancies … 146
Questions and Answers on the Book of Rites … 150
Questions and Answers on ‘Learning from the Ancients’, Elementary Learning … 154
Questions and Answers on the ‘Four Pillars’ … 155
Medicinal Plants, Trees, Birds and Animals … 158
A Virtuous Daughter-in-Law Who Is Also an Intimate Friend … 165
Nokhamhwa (Pyrola japonica ) and Aenghamdo (Cherry) … 166
When Attending Her Mother-in-Law … 169
The Way of Preparing Food … 170
How to Consult Almanacs … 174
The Origins of Holidays and Seasonal Customs I … 184


Fascicle 3
The Origins of Holidays and Seasonal Customs II … 204
When Helping Others, Continue Until the End … 206
A Poetry Meeting at Wanshu Garden … 210
Do Not Pick Blossoms in the Spring … 218
Questions and Answers with Her Son upon His Return from Qiantang Lake … 221
The Reign Periods of Past Sovereigns … 227
How to Engage in Astronomy … 232
A Family Gathering at Shuiyue Pavilion … 237
A Family Tradition of Frugality … 242
Sage Rulers and Sages … 244
The Secret of Enjoying Blessings … 253
Famous Sights of Qiantang Lake … 271
Sightseeing around Wanshu Garden … 279
Lady S？p Offers Wishes for Longevity … 288
The Eldest Son Ilbong’s Sixtieth Birthday Celebration … 292

Explication of Record of the Words and Deeds of Yuhandang Sa-ssi (Yuhandang Sa-ssi ？nhaengnok) … 299
Index … 318