Kim Chŏng-hŭi (1786-1856) and Sehando: The Evolution of a Late Chosŏn Korean Masterpiece Author(s): Sung Lim Kim Reviewed work(s): Source: Archives of Asian Art, Vol. 56 (2006), pp. 31-60 Published by: University of Hawai'i Press for the Asia Society Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20111336 . Accessed: 20/04/2012 14:54 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. University of Hawai'i Press and Asia Society are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Archives of Asian Art. http://www.jstor.org
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Kim Chŏng-hŭi (1786-1856) and Sehando: The Evolution of a Late Chosŏn Korean MasterpieceAuthor(s): Sung Lim KimReviewed work(s):Source: Archives of Asian Art, Vol. 56 (2006), pp. 31-60Published by: University of Hawai'i Press for the Asia SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20111336 .Accessed: 20/04/2012 14:54
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].
University of Hawai'i Press and Asia Society are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extendaccess to Archives of Asian Art.
Kim Ch?ng-h?i (1786?1856) and Sehando: The Evolution
of a Late Chos?n Korean Masterpiece
Sung Lim Kim Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
JVim Chong-h?i :?:IEW (1786-1856) (Fig. 1) is best
known in Korean art history as the calligraphier who invent
ed the Chu sa style, so called after his studio name (K: ho). Few of Kim's paintings are extant, and those are limited
to orchids and landscapes. One of these is the masterpiece that is now considered the "essence of Korean literati paint
ing," a handscroll called Sehando MMU or Winterscape,
Fig. i. Yi Han-ch?l (1808-?). Portrait of Kim Ch?ng-h?i. 1857, Ink
and colors on silk; 131.5 X 57.7 cm. Kim Song-gi collection Treasure
No. 547.
which Kim painted in 1844 during his exile on Cheju Island. The artwork and the artist have merged in public consciousness; in other words, Sehando has come to repre
sent the essence of Kim Ch?ng-h?i. Kim Ch?ng-h?i's life had enormous ups and downs,
mostly resulting from the standing of his family and the
politics of the late Chos?n period (1392?1910).1 Kim
Ch?ng-h?i s family was prominent and closely related to
the royal family Kim s great-great-grandmother was Queen
Ch?ngsun M.f?.'?.fn (1745-1805), the third wife of King
Y?ngjo 55$? (1694-1776; r. 1724-1776); later she was the
power behind the throne for the first five years of her
step-grandson King Sunjo's reign (1790-1834; r.
1800-1834). Kims great-grandfather, Kim Han-sin Ife/??
(1720-1758), married the second and favorite
daughter of King Y?ngjo. Kim Ch?ng-h?i was the first son of the government offi
cial Kim No-gyong ?:ftl& (1766-1840)2 and Lady Yu; he was born in Ch'uch ong Province on the third day of the
sixth month, 1786. Legends surround his birth. One says that
Kim Chong-h?i s mother bore him after a twenty-month pregnancy. Several other mysterious natural incidents caused
the people of his village to believe that Kim was imbued
with the spirit of Mt. P'albong: just before Kim was born, the village fountain dried up and the trees withered on
Mt. P'albong behind Kim's family house, but they revived
when Kim was born.3
Two anecdotes from Kim Ch?ng-h?i s childhood attest
his early genius with the brush. According to the epigraph in Kim's tomb, the great master of the Northern Learning school Pak Che-ga ^WM (1750?1805), upon seeing
calligraphy for the "onset of spring" by the six-year-old Kim
Ch?ng-h?i, came to Kim's father and volunteered to educate
the boy, predicting that Kim's reputation for calligraphy and
scholarship was bound to extend far and wide. Likewise, see
ing the seven-year-old Kim's calligraphy, the Chief State
Kim's great reputation as a calligraphier, but warned that his
artistic talent would make his life precarious.4 At the age of seven Kim Ch?ng-h?i was adopted by his
father's elder brother, Kim No-yong, to carry on his line.5
Living in Seoul and belonging to the illustrious Ky?ngju Kim clan enabled Kim to receive his education from the
preeminent scholar Pak Che-ga.
31
The Northern Learning school, or Pukhak p'a jbUM, a branch of the so-called Practical Learning, or Sirhak
JtH, was headed by young scholars who had visited Qing China and, once returned, aggressively promoted the
advanced social, scientific, and technical knowledge they had acquired there. Personal networks called "bonds
through the brush," or muky?n,6 developed as Korean
Pukhak p'a scholars were introduced to each other's
Chinese contacts. Kim Ch?ng-h?i's teacher Pak Che-ga was a Pukhak p'a scholar and drew on these personal ties
when he went to Beijing in 1778. His contacts in turn later
enabled Kim to interact with a broad circle of Qing scholars and painters, including Weng Fanggang yf?jjff?i
(1733-1818) and R?an Yuan ?tc7C (1764-1849). Two of
the most significant events in Kim Ch?ng-h?i's life in
Beijing?his meetings with the eminent Qing scholars
Weng Fanggang and RuanYuan?came about through the
strong personal networks established by Pak and those
preceding him.7
When Kim Ch?ng-h?i went to Beijing in 1809, accom
panying his biological father's tributary mission, he was
twenty-four years old. Meeting him, RuanYuan and Weng
Fanggang were impressed with his intellect and scholarly enthusiasm. The seventy-six-year-old Weng and forty-five
year-old Ruan took Kim in hand and showed him their rare books and original art to facilitate their discussion of
Chinese classics, calligraphy, and art. They also introduced
him to their circle of friends. As homage to Ruan Yuan, Kim took the character man (K: wan) from Ruan's name
to use in his own sobriquet, Wandang.8 Weng Fanggang also introduced Kim to his two sons, and Kim became
close to Weng's second son, Weng Shuqun ?iIeHE
(1786-1815), who was Kim's age and shared Kim's interest in epigraphy.9
After two months of intense scholarly and cultural
exchange with the Chinese, Kim returned to Korea with
his embassy. The Qing scholars, regretful, hosted a farewell
party for him. Guests included Ruan Yuan, Weng Shuqun, Zhu Henian $fctl^ (1760-1834), Hong Zhanquan
/??!? (1762-1834), Li Dingyuan $^7?, Li Linsong $#f?,Tan Guangxiang f?3fe#, Jin Yong &M, and Liu
Huatong flJlj?^E.The painter Zhu Henian recorded this
party in a painting and presented it to Kim (Fig. 2). The
painting depicts four men in Chinese scholars' gowns, sit
ting inside a house and conversing with a man wearing the costume of a Chos?n military official and a wide-brimmed
hat?apparently Kim Ch?ng-h?i. The man next to him
raises a cup as if to offer a toast. After returning to Korea,
Kim maintained epistolary friendships with these Chinese
scholars.
Kim Ch?ng-h?i passed the metropolitan exam at the
age of thirty-four and went on to serve in several impor tant official positions. His official career went smoothly for
the next twenty years. In July 1840 Kim was appointed to
Fig. 2. Zhu Henian (i760-1834). Farewell Party for Kita Ch?ng-h?i. Album leaf; ink and light color on paper. Private collection.
the embassy to Beijing and prepared to embark on a sec
ond trip to China, eagerly anticipating reunion with his
Chinese friends. Instead, he became embroiled in a power
struggle between the two royal in-law families. Some of
his opponents revived a ten-year-old politically motivated
accusation against Kim, which resulted in his banishment to Cheju Island that same year. This was a critical turning
point in Kim's life.
There were different levels of banishment, and Kim's was the worst. He had to live in a small house surrounded
by a thorny hedge, which he was not allowed to cross. He
had to leave his wife and family behind, and so suffered
from intense loneliness. The greatest hardship, however, of
which he often complained, was lack of intellectual com
panionship. His banishment lasted for nine years. After five
years on Cheju Island, in 1844 Kim painted Sellando as a
gift for his student and Chinese interpreter, Yi Sang-j?k, to thank Yi for sending some Chinese books to help alleviate the loneliness and boredom of his exile.
Sehando is rendered in ink monochrome on paper and
mounted in a handscroll format; it is over ten meters long,
including its twenty attached colophons (Fig. 3).'? The
original Sellando, however, as Kim conceived it, was much
shorter, consisting of a 22.3 X 70.2 centimeter painting
and a 22.3 X 38.1 centimeter calligraphy, which he joined
together. In the upper right corner of the painting Kim
wrote the title, Sehando, or Winterscape, in clerical script and then added a dedication to his disciple: "Wus?n
sisang," or "Dear Wus?n, for your enjoyment!" (Wus?n was
Yi Sang-j?k's sobriquet), followed by his signature,
"Wandang," and his seal.
The painting depicts two pines, two cypresses, and a
house set on level ground. Horizontal lines imply ground,
32
Fig. 3. Kim Chong-h?i (1786-1856). Sehando. 1844. Handscroll; ink
on paper; 22.3 X 108.1 cm. Son Chang collection. National Treasure
No. 180.
and ragged brush strokes represent tree roots. Reading from right to left, after some negative space we encounter
the pair of pines: an aged pine on the right inclines slightly to on the left, toward a young and strong pine, rooted
firmly, with a straight trunk and dense clusters of leaves.
The old pine has forked branches, one shooting upward and the other meandering to the far right to culminate in
a spray of pine needles. Behind these two trees is the out
line of a simple, big house. Its short wall contradicts the
perspective of its "moon" window, whose cross section
should be visible on the far side, not the near side. Because
Kim was a scholar-painter,
we may assume that this artless
rendering of the architecture was intentional. To the left of
the house stands a pair of small, slender cypress trees, each
with leafy branches splayed out parallel to the picture
plane. All the trees are darker and more detailed, hence more substantial, than the tenuously delineated building.
Sehando combines two different kinds of brushwork.
Sketchy brush strokes in spare ink with a worn-out brush create the level plane of the bleak foreground; no bushes or green color or soft ink washes temper the bleakness. By contrast, the evergreen trees' trunks and needles were done
in slower, deliberate brush strokes that end solidly rather
than trailing off. Here the artists evident control and
concentration increase the somber air while adding sub
stantiality to the scene. This, along with the consciously allocated negative space and the spare skeleton of Sehando,
implies the artist s own condition: physically withered and
fragile, yet mentally aware and clear, just like the stark old
pine tree in the painting.11 In the Chinese literati painting tradition, to which this
image refers, trees are a symbolic and personally expressive
subject. The Northern Song poet-painter Li Cheng
(ca. 919?ca. 967) established the wintry forest theme in
the Chinese painting tradition.12 There is also a famous
Confucian saying, which Kim quotes in his inscription:
"Only when the year grows cold do we see that the pine and cypress do not fade."13 Thus, the pine, being ever
green, is an archetypal emblem of integrity, loyalty, and
enduring strength; especially in a winterscape it is also
well-known literati metaphor for a person courageously
enduring hardship or misfortune. As a master of Chinese
classics, history, and poetry, Kim was thoroughly familiar
with the symbolic meanings of pines and other evergreen trees in the winter, and selected this subject matter to
express his feelings and describe his external conditions.
Kim's four red seals add aesthetic interest to his mono
chrome Sehando. At upper right on the painting, below his
signature "Wandang ^3?," is a horizontal oblong seal
reading "Ch?ng-h?i ?ES," Kim's personal name. A sec
dles the original seam between the painting and the
following calligraphy, thereby confirming that the imme
diately adjacent text passage was attached to the painting
33
by Kim himself. Kim placed a third seal, with his well known sobriquet "Ch'usa %X$L" at the end of his long inscription following the painting. The fourth and most
interesting seal on the painting, at lower far right, bears the
four characters chang mu sang mang ft^^l^ (C: chang wu
xiang wang).14 These four characters, meaning "Long may
you not forget each other," often appeared on roof tiles of
the Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE).15 By using this
ancient adage, Kim signified his interest in epigraphy and
also the theme of the painting. Kim's feelings and the circumstances surrounding the
making of Sehando become clear in his long inscription
following the painting. Elegantly written in regular style within a grid, the 294 characters read as follows:
Last year you sent me two sets of books, Manhak Bftp and Taeun
AS , and this year again you sent a volume of Hwangjo Ky?ngse
Munpyon ?:l8$I#3t$?. This is not a common event. You pur chased them from far away and have been collecting them for
years; you could not have done this all at once. Nowadays, people all pursue power and wealth like the incoming tide, yet you put
your effort and time into gathering books. Furthermore, instead
of giving these books to people in power, you gave them to a
haggard, emaciated old man in a remote place as though you
thought I had power and authority. Taishigong Aj?L^ [Sima
Qian] once said that most people gather together for their own
purposes to seek worldly benefits, and they disperse as soon as
they are of no more use to each other. But you, a person who
also lives in the mundane world, have abandoned those secular
pursuits. Do you deal with me without expectation of any ben
efit? If so, is Sima Qian wrong? Confucius once said that only when the year grows cold do we see that the pine and the cypress do not fade. Pine and cypress trees don't wither in any of the four
seasons; they are the same before and after the cold of the win
ter. But the sage [Confucius] most praised the ones that endured
after the cold season. Looking back at your treatment of me, you neither treated me better before my banishment nor worse after
ward. Therefore, although the sage would not praise you for the
former [ordinary treatment], you would deserve his praise for
the latter. He would praise you not only for your constancy and steadfastness after the cold of winter, but during it as well.
Ah, even in the true-hearted age of the early Han, when great men such as Ji [An] and Zheng [Dangshi] were out of power,
their guests stopped visiting them. Furthermore, the message that
[Di Gong] from Xiagui county posted on his door indicated
people's cold-heartedness. Oh, woe!
Written by old man Wandang.16
In this inscription Kim quotes from two Chinese sources.
First is the Shiji a. 13, by the Han-dynasty historian Sima
Qian, which he cites to praise Yi Sang-j?k for his unfailing
loyalty. To contrast Yi with people who seek only their own
benefit, Kim quotes Sima Qian's cynical statement: "Most
people gather together for their own purposes to seek world
ly benefits, and they disperse as soon as they are of no more
use to each other."17 Kims second quotation comes from
Confucius' famous statement about evergreen trees. With
these quotations Kim expresses his appreciation ofYi's con
stant friendship through a difficult time. At the same time,
he uses the past to reflect on his present and future. Kim
goes on to illuminate his plight with references to Ji An and
Zheng Dangshi, and Di Gong from Shiji, and closes his
inscription with "Oh, woe," echoing the ending of Sima
Qian's Shiji. Kim was a man whose life revolved around intellectual
dialogue, and, from his own words, intellectual depriva tion was his greatest sorrow. SoYi's gift of books was well chosen. What books did Yi send him that aroused such
gratitude? Manhakjip BftSSt (C: Wanxueji) by the Qing scholar-official Gui Fu f?l? (1736?1805, jms/n 1790), is
eight volumes of commentary on the Chinese classics,
published in 1841. The Chinese scholars Weng Fanggang and RuanYuan had participated in its publication, the for
mer supplying the calligraphy for the title and the latter
composing the introduction. Thus, for Kim, receiving this book would have been like meeting again these teachers, from whom he had been long separated. Taeun Sanbang
Mungo AiSlllJ^?? (C: Dayun Shanfang Wengao), is
eight volumes of literary works by the Qing scholar official Yun Jing 1S?jK (1757-1817) and includes Yun's
essay, journals, biographies, epitaphs, short articles, and
important letters.
The third volume that Yi sent to Kim that year was Hwangjo Kyongse Munpy?n lLfB,?"?3t#I (C:
Huangchao Jingshi Wenbian), 120 volumes of documents on Qing statecraft compiled by He Changling Sfifip
(i785-i848;jms/n 1807) in 1827.l8 This massive collection of essays by Qing officials and scholars included the finest
memorials (letters) of earlier and contemporary Qing administrators, dealing with practical issues such as taxes,
granaries, banditry, famine relief, currency, folk religion, and flood control.19 The title suggests that He's compila tion emulated the Ming royalist and Donglin social
activist Chen Zilong's work, Huang Ming Jingshi Wenbian
Jl0/3S"?:5L#?, a collection of essays and memorials to
emperors of the Ming dynasty concerning political and economic problems.20
The books that Kim received and read during his exile
bespeak his constant interest in and study of contemporary statecraft, economics, politics, and history, in addition to
the scholarly fields of calligraphy, literature, and the classics.
Although falsely accused by his political opponents, tor
tured, and banished for five years to a remote island, Kim
continued to study, keeping his mind alive in the present,
cultivating himself without knowing if he would ever be
released from his exile.
Sehando was created to serve two functions. First and
most obviously, it was Kim's personal, handmade expres sion of gratitude to Yi Sang-j?k, to acknowledge and
praise Yi's thoughtful generosity. At the same time, and in
keeping with Chinese literati tradition, it was an autobio
graphical statement and self-portrait. After five years of
banishment, not knowing when or if he would be
34
released, Kim felt bleak, abandoned, and hopeless, yet he preserved his integrity and steadfastness, befitting a
Confucian scholar.
In 1844 Kim sent Sehando to Yi Sang-j?k in Seoul.
Yi soon replied in a letter:
Receiving Sehando and reading your inscription, I hardly realized
that tears were streaming ceaselessly down my cheeks. I was
deeply moved by your praise, which is more than I deserve. Oh, I
could hardly abandon the pursuit of power and wealth in this
world! I only followed my simple heart's calling. The books [given to Kim], like a Confucian scholar's headdress, don't belong with
power and authority, but follow their own way to the pure realm
in which they belong ... I plan to bring this painting to Beijing
to have it mounted. Also, I would like to show it to my old friends
and ask for their colophons . . . Please, burn the following para
graph after you have read it [from this point, the rest of the letter
was burnt away].21
As Yi promised in his letter, he took Sehando along on his
official trip to Beijing in the winter of 1844. As a Chinese
interpreter,Yi made many Chinese literati friends during his frequent official trips to China. When his old Chinese
friend Wu Zan held a welcoming party in his Beijing manor forYi on 22 January 1845,Yi showed Sehando to
the other guests. Most of the eighteen Chinese scholars
already knew Kim Ch?ng-h?i through his artistic and
scholarly reputation. Hearing from Yi of Kim's unfortu
nate exile on Cheju Island, and viewing Sehando, sixteen
guests wrote colophons.22 These scholars were Zhang
Yuezhen $??I,Wu Zan ^S, Zhao Zhenzuo iftSI??, Pan Zunqi /SiB^?, Pan Xifu /?#ffi", Pan Zhenghui
These Chinese Confucian scholars viewed Sehando, as
did they any literati painting, as a reflection of the
painter's mind and character. They all immediately rec
ognized the symbols, messages, and allusions of the
painting and calligraphy?Kim's thoughts and feelings
expressed by the four evergreens in winter. Therefore
their responses include many references and poetic allu
sions, in various literary forms, to wintry pines. Some
scholars composed long and stately prose essays, some
wrote poems, and others wrote both. For the full texts
and translations of all the colophons, see Appendix II.
Zhang Mu (1805?1849) was a scholar in the literati
circle of Ruan Yuan, a historian, the author of a topo
graphical study of Mongolia,24 as well as an accom
plished calligraphier. In his colophon he refers to himself as Kim's old acquaintance. They could not have met dur
ing Kim's visit to Beijing in 1809, because Zhang was
then only five years old. But as Ruan Yuan's favorite dis
ciple, Zhang must have heard so much about Kim from
his teacher that he felt like an old acquaintance. In his
inscription Zhang relates that Kim once sent Ruan a
copy of an ancient mathematics book, long lost in China, and that Ruan was pleased to have met and taught Kim
in days gone by.25
Zhang Mu was a fervent admirer of Ming loyalist Gu
Yanwu, and in 1843 collected funds to build a memorial
temple for Gu.26 In February 1844 Zhang performed the
first memorial rite for Gu. Six of the fourteen participants in this service wrote colophons on Sehando at Wu Zan's
party forYi Sang-j?k, 22 January 1845. Besides Zhang Mu,
they were Feng Guifen, Pan Zhenghui, Chen Qingyong, Zhao Zhenzuo, and Zhang Shouqi. Many Chos?n schol ars too, including Kim Ch?ng-h?i, admired Gu for his
loyalty and his scholarship. In 1844 Zhang composed and
published a biography of Gu Yanwu, and in his colophon on Sehando he mentions that he will send this book
to Kim.
Pan Zhenghui (1819-1886) came from one of the most
illustrious scholarly families in Suzhou. Two other writers
of Sehando colophons, Pan Zunqi and Pan Xifu, bore the same surname. Without further information, we can
only
speculate that these men were related to Pan Zhenghui and were also from Suzhou.
Like Zhang and Pan Zhenghui, the scholar and accom
plished calligraphier Feng Guifen (1809-1874) was an ardent
admirer of Gu Yanwu and regularly paid respects at his
shrine. He too was a native of Suzhou, and close to the Pan
families there.27
Another noteworthy family connection was that of
Zhang Yaoxun and Wu Zan. Zhang Yaoxun (b. 1807) was
the second son of Zhang Qi (1765?1833). A native of
Jiangsu, Zhang Qi was a scholar-official and an accom
plished calligraphier. His four daughters achieved literary fame, and the eldest of them married Wu Zan, a scholar
official in Beijing,28 making Zhang Yaoxun and Wu Zan
brothers-in-law. Zhang Yaoxun had great interest in docu
mentary sources relating to Chos?n Korea, and established a broad circle of friends among Korean scholars.
In sum, these literati had much in common. Beyond
being established scholars, and accomplished calligraphers, many were from the Jiangnan area and revered the Ming
loyalist Gu Yanwu. Confucian ethics obliged them to serve
as officials, but their positions exposed them to imperial
caprice, political infighting and intrigue, and potential ruin. Therefore they identified with Kim as a distinguished
Confucian scholar and emphathized with his plight as a
victim of political conspiracy. In all of the colophons the pine tree appears as
a metaphor for Kim Ch?ng-h?i: its "evergreen-ness"
symbolizing his steadfastness in the face of hardship, its
knots (jie) referring by means of a pun to his integrity
(jiegai). The colophons more or less follow a common pattern:
First, they describe Kim's artistic or scholarly reputation,
35
or praise his integrity and steadfastness; second, they decry
political machinations that embroil the innocent; and
finally, they encourage Kim to anticipate better times.
These patterns are well exemplified in Pan Zhenghui's poem:
Kim is an outstanding talent from abroad,
And I long ago heard of his great name.
Yet a great name brings about destruction
That often makes one a helpless child in the web of the world.
As we watch the mundane world's rolling and bellowing,
Who would know the purity of this intellectual man?
One realizes that in this lamentably earthly world,
Kim has long known this worthy student and friend.
Their lofty friendship remains the same as ever,
Without any change in their closeness even during chilling times.
Like the pine and cypress trees,
They share the same steadfast nature.
By bringing this evergreen quality to the fore,
I hereby pay my deep respect to Kim.
Another writer, Cao Maojian, lauds Kim's talent:
I heard of the reputation of Chu'sa long ago;
But regret not having met him yet.
As an arithmetician he has exhausted his field,
And he is especially good in Chinese classics and history.
He is of the caliber of our JiaYi and Dong Zhongshu,
And is surely a talent of his country.
Pan Zunqi too approves Kim's scholarship by saying:
As a master in Chinese classics, he reaches the apex, and
In the library, he spreads out incense sticks like petals,
[i.e., fervently pursues knowledge about Chinese history].
Zhang Shouqi, on the other hand, obliquely describes Kim
by writing:
At the corner of the Eastern Sea and in a mountain of absolute
wilderness,
This [Kim Chong-h?i] is said to be a tree of divine nature.
Next, the scholars with one voice recognize the pitfalls inherent in political life and acknowledge the inevitability
hardship and suffering. Zhang Yuezhen describes this at
length:
There are times that the Way [Dao] rises or falls,
Just as there are times that one's encounters in life run smoothly or adversely;
This is all within the power of Heaven and beyond the control
of humans.
When the Way waxes, people prosper accordingly;
But when it wanes, they suffer adversities.
And Cao Maojian:
Although worldly practices tend to be ambiguous,
Inquiry into the injustice done only aggravates one's perplexity about life.
Regardless of one's misfortune,
The Way itself does not change itself.
Pan Zhenghui recognized that a great name can be defamed
and that one can easily be falsely accused:
Yet a great name brings about destruction that often makes one a
helpless child in the web of the world.
Who would know the purity of this intellectual man?
All of the writers praise Kim's dogged perseverance and
encourage him, maintaining that this period of trial will
strengthen him further. Pan Xifu writes:
In the rocky ravine,
It is hard for the timber to give itself up;
As under the ice and frost the [tree's] knots only become stronger.
Wu Shunshao says:
The longer [the evergreens] endure the frost and snow,
The darker their green color becomes.
Who can share such steadfastness?
In the same vein Zhang Mu advises Kim to take this hard
ship as "lightly as a wild goose's feather," observing that his
current banishment is just "one of the many worries we
have in life." Cao Maojian philosophically advises:
Alas, in the human world,
A hundred years fly by as swiftly as lightening!
Having put our hope in a thousand harvests,
Let us not battle against glory or failure.
All the writers believe, or at least hope, that better times
will follow adversity, just as the warm spring follows the
cold winter. They seek to comfort Kim with this predic tion, and request him to take care of himself physically and
to maintain mental harmony. Chen Qingyong writes:
Because of its torments, [the pine] eventually receives blessings.
Despite repeatedly being covered by severe frost,
It does not change its branches or leaves.
As long as one is in harmony,
No attainment is impossible.
Yao Fuzeng advises Kim:
Never worry that no one will recognize us.
Let us both delight in the pine and cypress,
And anticipate the next hundred years [the future].
Pan Xifu ends his poem with this blessing:
May you take good care of yourself
On the mountain top overlooking the sea.
36
Most of the ideas are expressed in subtle and metaphorical ways, and it is probable that the authors projected their own
situations and thoughts through them. In 1845, when they viewed Sehando and wrote their inscriptions, the Chinese
government was threatened from within and without, and
the writers were enduring trying times. Internally,
numer
ous Han Chinese rebellions had erupted against the Manchu
Qing government; on the international stage, the Chinese
government was forced to sign "unequal treaties" with Great
Britain after China's humiliating defeat in the Opium Wars
(1839?1842). For Confucian scholar-officials, feeling obliged to serve both the Han people and the Manchu emperor at
a time when China was under attack from outsiders, it was
a cold season and one in which they were politically vulnerable. Like Kim, these scholars could find themselves
in favor one day and out of favor the next.Thus, their writ
ings about Kim may also have expressed their anxieties
about their own positions.
Two writers specifically compliment Yi Sang-j?k for his
loyal and long-lasting friendship with his former teacher.
Pan Zhenghui states:
Kim has long to know this worthy student and friend [Yi].
Their lofty friendship remains the same as ever,
Without any change in their closeness even during chiling times.
Like the pine and cypress trees,
They share the same steadfast nature.
Yi's friend Zhang Yaoxun wrote two poems; the first
poem addressed to Yi, the second to Kim. After the poems
Zhang gives the date, the winter of 1845, and recounts
the circumstances:
It has been eight years since I last parted with Brother Wus?n [Yi]. After his arrival in Beijing with the Korean envoys in the winter
of 1845, he was invited to a banquet the following spring in Wu
Weiqing's [Wu Zan's] garden. At a joyous moment of conversation
about old times and literature, Wus?n showed the guests Kim's
Sehando painting, and I composed two poems in which I also
expressed my hope for a spiritual association with Chu'sa through brush and ink. Because the day for us to meet in person remains
uncertain, I cannot help but feel sad.
As we see, in these colophons the pine does double duty as
a metaphor?first, for Kim's personal integrity, and second, for the relationship between Kim and Yi, particularly Yi's
unwavering fidelity to Kim. By extension, Sehando itself was
seen to represent not only Kim's integrity, but also the con
stant friendship between Kim andYi Sang-j?k. When Yi
Sang-j?k made Sehando public, therefore, he inadvertently made his own loyalty a part of the painting.
Thus, this party transformed Sehando from Kim's inti mate expression of gratitude and metaphorical self-portrait
into a medium for exchanging ideas and thoughts among Kim,Yi, and the Chinese scholars. It became a Confucian
didactic work containing the thoughts, feelings, and
endorsement of many scholars, while representing two of
the main moral lessons of Confucian society: noble men
do not compromise their principles, and friends remain
loyal in time of trouble. With the addition of the sixteen
colophons, Sehando was no longer one individual's work, but had become a cross-cultural documentation of shared
values.
Gathering the colophons,Yi attached them to the orig inal Sehando, mounted the whole on fabric in a handscroll
format, and asked Zhang Mu to write the title for its cover. This brings us to Yi's major role in creating Sehando.
Indeed, it was neither Kim Ch?ng-h?i alone nor Kim
with the other scholars who "created" Sehando. Yi was the
mastermind or "artistic director," through whose aesthetic
and intellectual judgment Sehando was assembled in its
present form. Yi was the one who decided to take the
painting to China and invite his Chinese friends to write
colophons. We don't know how the actual writing was
structured, but it was Yi who put the finished colophons in
order for mounting. In other words, Sehando was created
by Yi from parts made by others, starting with his gift from
Kim Ch?ng-h?i. Yi brought Sehando back to Korea in its new format and
sent it to Kim in exile so he could read the scholars'
inscriptions. The sixteen colophons from the Qing schol ars deeply touched Kim, who then sent Sehando back to Yi
with a letter asking for more information about some of
the writers. Yi also showed Sehando to Kim's circle of
friends and followers in Seoul, which inspired some inter
pretive paintings in response. Kim's old friend Kw?n
Ton-in S?M- (1783-1859) produced a painting named
after Kim's Sehando (Fig. 4). Kim's student H? Ry?n lift
(1808-1893) painted Landscape after Wandang's Sehando
(Fig. 5). These paintings can also be seen as a means of sup
porting and encouraging Kim without words, and they
expanded Sehando's visual, social, and historical impact. After Yi's death in 1865, Sehando was passed to his disciple, Kim Py?ng-s?n, and was preserved by his son, Kim
Chun-hak. Kim Chun-hak, who recited and studied
poetry by Chinese scholars, added his impression of the
previous writers at the end of the scroll.29
Sehando at this point had multiple functions and mean
ings. Aesthetically it was the product of an elegant literati
activity, while socially it bespoke appreciation of and com
fort for a colleague. Psychologically the painting expressed Kim's private feelings and thereby enabled other scholars to express theirs. It was a highly valued work among a
small but significant group of scholars.
Whereas Sehando remained a sentimental and scholarly artifact, Kim Ch?ng-h?i's other work was in commercial
demand even during his lifetime. The commercial activi
ties and the prices of his works can be traced from writings
by Kim and his disciples.30 Kim's artwork was sold when
his family property was confiscated after his exile to Cheju
37
Island. In his collected writings, a sarcastic and self
deprecating remark by Kim indicates that he regarded the
sale of his work in the marketplace as unseemly. The comment occurs in an introduction to a poem:
Hearing about somebody who purchased my calligraphy on the
open market and placed it in his collection, I burst out laughing and the grains of rice in my mouth popped out like bees coming out [of a hive].Thus, I take my brush to record my humiliation, and also write this calligraphy in order to admonish myself. [The
poem follows.]31
Nonetheless, after his return from exile, perhaps in need of
money and despite the "humiliation" he felt at doing work
for sale, Kim started producing calligraphy for the market.32
The price of Kim's work in his own time was reported by
SangYu-hy?n (1844?1923) in an essay called Documentation
of my Visit with Ch'usa $??.!& jiJE-*
Nowadays Kim Chong-h?i is considered the best calligrapher.
People follow his calligraphy style and value his works.
Fig. 5. H? Ry?n (1808-1893). Landscape after Wandangs "Sehando." Ink
on paper; 37 X 31.7 cm, previously in Daelim gallery collection.
Fig. 4. Kw?nTon-in (1783-1859). Sehando. Handscroll; 22.1 X
101 cm. National Museum
of Korea.
The Qing Chinese have always purchased many of his works,
And now the Japanese have also begun to collect his work.
Thus, his scrapbook of writings is worth around one hundred won.3i
But I don't have a sophisticated eye,
So I can't understand the great value his works contain.34
It appears that one of Kim s disciples, Kim S?k-j?n, worked as a middleman in marketing Kim's work. In one of his
writings, Kim Ch?ng-h?i wrote that Kim S?k-j?n took
away full boxes of his calligraphic works when he left for
market, and a month later returned and asked for more
works. As seen in these incidents, Kim Ch?ng-h?i's works,
mostly calligraphy, were commodities during his lifetime, collected by Chinese and Japanese as well as Koreans.
Sehando also entered the commercial arena when the
Kim family sold this family heirloom to MinY?ng-h?i, the governor of P'y?ngyang Province and founder of
Hwimun High School in Seoul. And later his son, Min
Kyu-sik, sold it to a Japanese professor, Fujitsuka Chikashi
B^Bf (1874?1974), wno was teaching at Ky?ngs?ng
Imperial University, now Seoul National University, in the
1930s. Sehando became a commodity when Kim Chun
hak sold it to MinY?ng-h?i.35 In the summer of 1943, while World War II raged in the
Pacific, the young calligraphier and private collector Son
Chae-hy?ng S?ES (1903-1981) visited Professor
Fujitsuka's house in Seoul, hoping to purchase Sehando.
Son told Fujitsuka that he would pay any amount for the
painting, but Fujitsuka refused to sell. Instead, during the war Fujitsuka took the painting to Japan, along with other
documents and material related to Kim Ch?ng-h?i. In
December of the following year, after two months of daily visits and requests by Son, who had also come to Japan, the
dying Fujitsuka gave Sehando to him. Three months after
Son brought the painting back to Korea, Fujitsuka's library was bombed and his entire Kim Ch?ng-h?i collection was
lost in the resulting fire.36
For the next five years, until the chaos of Korea's liber
ation subsided, Son Chae-hy?ng kept Sehando in private. Then, in 1949, Son showed it to three Koreans prominent
38
in politics and academia, Oh Se-ch'ang ^"??, Yi
Si-yong $?a^? and Ch?ng In-bo UP MS, who added
their inscriptions after the Qing scholars' colophons.Their
inscriptions constitute a new political appropriation of
Sehando. They made the return of the painting to Korea
into a political symbol, and even suggested that it was
prophetic of Korean liberation from Japanese rule. Not
only would the contemporary political situation alter
the original concept of Sehando and transform it into a
symbol of Korean sovereignty, but Son's courage and
patriotism would come to supersede the original messages of the scroll?the painter's integrity and his disciple's
loyalty?which were reduced to second billing. In the declining years of the Chos?n dynasty many
organizations were formed with the purpose of raising the
political and social consciousness of the educated class, and
during the colonial period the Korean press resisted the
Japanese occupation by stimulating the political conscious
ness of the Korean people. Oh Se-ch'ang (i 864-1953) was
a journalist and political activist; with other leaders of
CWondogyo ̂ 311 f& (Religion of the Heavenly Way), he founded Mansebo SStflsi or Long Live [Korea] News, a
newspaper with the primary goal of attacking the pro
Japanese organization Ilchinhoe 0H^. Oh was also an
accomplished calligraphier and insightful art connoisseur
who collected and compiled the first encyclopedia of
Korean artists, Kunyok S?hwajing liia?MWi, in 1928. Oh was the first of the modern political figures to add
his colophon to Sehando. In it, Oh, fully aware of the artis
tic value of the painting, reviews its history and expresses his joy at seeing it:
When Wandang Kim Ch?ng-h?i was banished to Cheju under a
false accusation, he painted Sehando for his disciple Yi Sang-j?k, to
provide a warning and admonishment. Their friendship was clear
like water and had the fragrance of orchids. When Wus?n [Yi] went to Beijing, he showed this painting to his Chinese friends and
received poems. . . . Later the painting was passed to Yi's disciple Kim Py?ng-s?n and his son Chun-hak, who preserved the paint
ing and added his colophon. This occurred seventy years after this
painting was painted by Kim Ch?ng-h?i. Then our strong neigh bor Japan conquered our country and seized both the public and
private treasures of Korea by all means; thus, this painting came
into the hands of Professor Fujitsuka of Ky?ngs?ng University. At
the height of World War II, Son crossed the sea and brought back
some Korean treasures. This painting was one of them. He under
went difficulties and dangers and returned to Korea through a
storm of bombs. Oh, woe! How could he have done this if he did
not cherish these treasures over his own life? Well done, well done!
Five or six years passed without public notice. In September of this
year Son brought the painting inside his sleeve and showed it to
me. We unrolled, read, and stroked the painting; it was like raising a friend from the other world and shaking hands with him. Our
joy and sadness cannot be expressed in words. For the last several
months, I have studied the painting from beginning to end and
now I record its story. I also write a poem:
Old Wan [Kim Ch?ng-h?i] with a piece of paper spreads his
honor;
[The painting] has traveled to the northern capital [Beijing] and
the eastern capital [Tokyo].
A life of one hundred years is such a dream and an illusion,
What is the use of sorrow and happiness, earning and losing?
Two days after Taehan [about 23 January],
Mr. Son's 86-year-old friend, Wich'ang Oh Se-ch'ang, inscribes
this epilogue.37
Ch?ng In-bo (1892-?) an educator and scholar of Korean
classical literature, wrote a similar inscription. After describ
ing the creation of Sehando and praising it for its intrinsic
beauty and embedded moral lessons in the first half of his
inscription, Ch?ng goes on to praise Son Chae-hy?ng for
his patriotic deed:
Mr. Son excelled in discernment.
After learning that Sehando was in Japan, he couldn't stand the
worry;
He bowed his head toward the far distance, hoping his earnest
desire would reach there.
There was no place that he wouldn't go; he crossed the sea one
night.
In his eyes, nothing could be seen but the location of the painting.
When he found the painting, he bought it with a great amount of
money, [sic]38
On the way home, he viewed it again and again.
Old Chusa Kim Ch?ng-h?i knewYi Sang-j?k's integrity,
But he didn't know there would be a Mr. Son.
I think that, in terms of connoisseurship,
Yi Sang-j?k from the past did not surpass Son today.
When the treasure of our country crossed over the sea,
High-minded scholars were miserable.
But the stalwart Mr. Son fought the hornless dragon [Japan] with
both hands.
Now things have changed and the dragon has disgorged what was
swallowed:
The old thing now becomes complete.
Who knew this return of the painting was the harbinger of the
liberation of our river and mountain [country]?39
Just as Oh compares Son favorably toYi Sang-j?k, Ch?ng portrays Son as a brave and patriotic fighter who fought the
monstrous dragon Japan. Son's courage and patriotism in
bringing Sehando back to Korea before the war ended
becomes as lofty and as noteworthy asYi Sang-j?k's loyalty and Kim Ch?ng-h?i's integrity.
Between these two long inscriptions, Yi Si-yong
(1869-1953), a fighter for national independence in
Manchuria and later vice-president of Korea, wrote a much
shorter colophon. An aggressive political activist, during the
colonial period Yi moved to the Kando area of Manchuria
and there established the Military School of the New
39
Rising in order to train a fighting force against the
Japanese.40 As an exiled activist, Yi sympathized with Kim
Ch?ng-h?i, saying;
Ch'usa got Wus?n's [Yi's] letter in Tamra [Cheju Island] and was
touched by Wus?n's steadfastness. Consequently, he made this paint
ing in order to convey allegorically his thoughts about cold seasons.
Though Ch'usa's reflections are all appropriate, they are merely the personal record of accidental prosperity and decline, or [life's]
ups and downs. In the case of abrupt changes in life, nothing is
unchanging at any particular moment. It is, however, difficult to
stand up for one's principles and values despite the cold season.
Looking at this painting, I suddenly think of the painstaking effort
and trials of our guerrilla martyrs of recent decades. And I could
not help but try to hide my tears with my sleeve. If Ch'usa really had such integrity, surely his reflections were exactly like mine!
These three politically fraught colophons reflect their
authors' harsh and risky political circumstances. Through their words, Sehando grew into a political symbol of Korea's
pride and prestige. No longer just a didactic literati paint
ing, Sehando became a politically charged emblem, a tribute to a later hero and a promising augury of Korea's liberation.
The precious Sehando, which Professor Fujitsuka gave Son because he thought it too priceless to sell, continued
its journey over the next several decades. When running for
Congress, Son needed election funds and gave the painting as collateral to a
private moneylender, Yi Kun-t'ae; after
being defeated in the election, Son was unable to redeem
the painting and Sehando never returned to his collection.41
From Mr. Yi, Sehando passed into the collection of a
businessman, Son Se-gi, and Sehando is currently owned by
his son, Son Ch'ang-gun. Since its registration as a National
Treasure in 1974, Sehando has been regarded as the quintes sential literati painting by Korean's greatest Confucian
scholar.42
Sehando originally embodied a high-minded scholar's artistic temperament and integrity, as well as Confucian
values such as steadfastness and loyal friendship between
gentlemen. But many layers of meaning have been added
since then. The religious historian Richard Davis argues that art works are "repeatedly made and remade through interactions with humans throughout time."43 Art histo
rian Julia K. Murray writes,"Once [a] painting is removed
from its original context, it is likely to acquire new mean
ings, some of them related to its evolution as a valuable
commodity."44 She goes on to state that the documentary record, such as
inscriptions, colophons, seals, and cata
logue record, embodies the changes in a painting's context
and significance over time.45
Examining the meanings and functions of Sehando at its moments of historical re-creation shifts attention from the
traditional art-historical focus on the object's origins to
the historical and political circumstances within which its
identity has been constructed and reconstructed. This is
the "cultural biography" of Sehando A6 Sehando's cultural
life, of course, continues. Its meanings will evolve yet
again in response to changing realities and conceptions.
What we see in Sehando, or any other work, is a combi
nation of the meanings it has already acquired and the
present significance with which we hope to imbue it.
40
Appendix I: Kim Ch?ng-h?i's Inscription on Sehando
Appendix IV: Translation of Sixteen Colophons by Chinese Authors
( i ) Zhang Yuezhen
There are times that the Way [Dao] rises or falls, just as
there are times that one's encounter with life runs
smoothly or adversely; this is all within the power of
Heaven and is beyond the control of humans. When
the Way waxes, people prosper accordingly; when it
wanes, they suffer adversities. This is the way with
human affairs, but this does not change the ways of
Heaven. It is said that Heaven does not eliminate winter
just because men do not like the cold, nor does a man
of virtue change his behavior just because society is depraved. Not only would he not dare change
his proper conduct, rather he would stand by it more
firmly. Only then could he rise or fall, have prosperity or
adversity, know when to advance or retreat, and to
survive or disappear, without losing sight of what is
proper. Whoever behaves in such a manner, would he
not be a lordly man? Confucius said: "When it comes
to the cold season of the year, we realize the pines and
cypresses are the last to wither." It seems he deeply
regretted that without going through frost and snow, their steadfastness is likely to be overlooked, as people tend to realize it late, let alone make use of it before
the cold season; precisely because their integrity is
constant, it can persist throughout the four seasons
without changing. Now, as for ordinary plants and
miscellaneous mundane flowers, do they not wish to
be like the pine and cypress tress in the cold season? Yet
they cannot, because they have never strengthened their
nodes or joints. There may be moments in which
integrity, though fortified [with practice] during ordi
nary times, yet may crumble [in the face of vicissitudes]; but there can hardly be moments in which integrity, not fortified during ordinary times, could hold [in the
face of vicissitudes]. From that point of view, when a
lordly man learns from the pine and cypress, he cannot
but set the standard high for his integrity, not that he wants to show off to the world, but for fear that once
being careless, he might lower himself to be among the
ordinary plants. For his own encouragement he cannot
but firmly sustain himself, not that he yearns to emulate
the ancients, but for fear that being negligent, he might lose what he intends. Even though he might end up
having to spend his old age on a mountain cliff, he does not take this as loneliness, as he seems to nurture his
quality as timber for later use; even if abandoned by the
carpenter, he does not resent, as he seems intent on pre
serving his true self to the end. Without encountering the cold season, [the pines and cypress] could never have
distinguished themselves from those ordinary plants; yet after repeatedly enduring the cold season, they have
never even slightly altered their twigs or branches.When
the world recognizes their integrity, the pine and cypress remain themselves, but if the world does not recognize their integrity, they remain just as contented. And so, if
these trees have to wait for the cold to show their
integrity, they would like it; yet if we rely only on the
cold season to recognize their integrity, we don't know
them well enough. Wus?n showed me Sehando by Mr. Kim Ch'usa, and I take this opportunity to encour
age Wus?n, and to put myself in the same situation by
writing these remarks for Wus?n. and as a reminder to
myself that we should not feel dissatisfied despite our
retreat from the world, which I should like to learn if
the revered Ch'usa would agree. By Zhang Yuezhen of
Yanghu in the early spring of 1844.
(2) Wu Zan
[Following Zhang's long colophon, Wu Zan writes a
short poem. His poem reads:]
All the trees in the grove bear resemblance to their names
and knots,
Just as the pine and cypress have their own natures.
In hard times, a lordly man is supposed to be all the
stronger;
What does it matter if a true lordly man is not accepted [by the world]?
The flourishing or withering of plants is seasonal, but
How could the pine and cypress be compared to ordinary
plants!
When they encounter severe frost and snow,
They have the upright energy of heaven and earth.
By transmitting and practicing evergreen determination,
Once can come close to the worthy or even the
sagacious.
By Wu Zan of Haiyu.
Respectfully inscribing Sehando, I hereby request Wus?n
for review and correction.
(3) Zhao Zhenzuo
Formerly when QuYuan composed his Praise to the
Orange Tree, he declared: "Its conduct is comparable to
Bo Yi, and I should like to make it my image." Could
his reflection be any different from Confucius' praise for the pine and cypress? One praises the orange tree, because the tree accepted its mandate [from Heaven]
without ever deviating from it; in praising the pine and
cypress, however, one would say:"[We should hope] to
be like the pine and cypress." Ah, all this can surely be
reflected upon! I therefore compose this "Praise to the
Pine and Cypress" by imitating the above piece in Qu's
53
"Jiu Zhang," to amplify Wandang's meaning and for
Wus?n's review. It goes like this:
Heaven and Earth have sent the species [pine and cypress]
For them to persist in their potential as timber?ho!
On the cliff or slope and high or dangerous mountains
Where they entrust their existence?ho!
Though their frosty leaves may scatter and wilt,
Their prominent branches continue to thrive?ho!
Their worthiness and steadfastness never change
And their virtuous potential appears like jade?ho!
As mandated by the great creator
They are not to be crooked?ho!
When the early spring breeze comes
They set themselves as if for a competition?ho!
When they coil like dragons or bend like iron,
That is time for them to serve as chariot material?ho!
In the empty mountains higher and higher up,
And unapproachable by paths?ho!
When they prostrate or twist,
Their aroma can hardly be conveyed to anyone?ho!
Their jasper green canopies, though piling up in layers,
Are clearly separated from one another?ho!
Many kinds of birds do not nestle [in them]
Out of dislike for their lofty height?ho!
Not showing frivolous designs,
[The pines] know what dignity is supposed to mean?ho!
Their sturdy trunks may stand there for a thousand years,
But will eventually be able to serve a purpose?ho!
Like a superior individual, without feeling frustration,
But to be looked up to as a high mountain should?ho!
[The needles] sing clear melodies
In harmony with the phoenix?ho!
Playing music beneath them
One would rejoice as if at the presence of ancient
kings?ho!
Let me explicitly tell this to the noble man:
"No other personal style can surpass this?ho!"
Planting jujube one naturally gets thorns,
While planting peach trees, the peaches.
Once the west wind swerves and sweeps by,
Both good and bad [plans] suffer decline in the same way.
As the hundred trees grow densely and burgeon,
They hold onto their aloof nature and set themselves apart from others.
Their renowned timber is good enough to build mansions,
While their shade stretches far into a chamber.
An average person admires florescence and flourishing, whereas
A noble man exalts in genuine substance.
If a tree does not have any purpose,
What is the use of growing so tall?
That is why the Prince ofWei^
Alone has occupied the attention of Longmen's brush!48
I hasten to apply Wandang's reflections to the painting and
present it to Wuson for review.
(4) Pan Zunqi
TaoYuanming sang about the pine tree,49
And the transcendent Dongpo chanted about "Cypress
Hall,"
For ordinary plants flourish and fall all by themselves;
But only these two species have knots that become more
prominent as they age.
[Kim's] new painting embodies advice and admonition
That is intended not to be forgotten for a long time.
As a master in Chinese classics, he reaches the apex, and
In the library50 he spreads out incense sticks like petals.51
Wielding a free brush, he turns out upright52 trunks;
Making friends, he increasingly associates with mature men.
I beg to have from you one roll of a stone for the painting.
Have it stored in the sleeve by the Eastern Sea.
An inscription by Chamo Shanren Pan Zunqi for Wuson to
review.
(5) Pan Xifu
This scroll shows the brush strokes of Ni Zan,53
Like a boat floating for myriad leagues.
The wintry heart can only be found in a lofty hermit,
This divine object [Sehando] presages a peaceful year.
In the rocky ravine, it is hard for the timber to give itself up,
As under the ice and frost the knots can only become
stronger?
True appreciation for your painting can only be conveyed between the lines.
May you take good care of yourself on the mountain top
overlooking the sea.
As [I was] requested to inscribe Sehando, I, Pan Xifu of
Wuxian, hasten to present [this] for Wuson to review.
(6) Pan Zhenghui Kim is an outstanding talent from abroad,
And I long ago heard of his great name.
Yet a great name brings about destruction
That often makes one a helpless child in the web of
the world.
As we watch the mundane world's rolling and bellowing,
Who would know the purity of this intellectual man?
One realizes that in this lamentably earthly world
Kim has long known this worthy student and friend.
Their lofty friendship remains the same as ever,
Without any changes in their closeness even during chilling times.
Like the pine and cypress trees,
54
They share the same steadfast nature.
By bringing this evergreen quality to the fore
I hereby pay my deep respect to Kim.
Drafted by Pan Zhenghui, as bidden by Mr. Wuson.
(7) Feng Guifen
Splendid ornaments delight people,
Whereas an ancient appearance does not please the world.
On the rocky cliff one's glory flickers,
Which once inspired jealousy in the multitude.
Kim stood out as an unusual intellect,
Towering higher and higher on a cliff soaring to the
clouds.5^
Among his moral friends he stood out for his magnanimous
integrity;
Yet in one breath he sank into total obscurity.
His uprightness was implanted in his early days,
And he made an effort to have it take root.
If a plant only blooms in the sunny spring,
How is it not ordinary?
Once the wind and frost become severe,
[The pine tree] surpasses its peers in its dark green color.
Its evergreen quality makes known the Sage's teaching55 without lamenting the perversity of the age.
Despite persistent desolation, one should stand firm on one's
principles,
And may the noble man constantly be mindful of such.
Drafted by Feng Guifen for Mr. Wuson to review.
(8) Wang Zao
In the alternation of the four seasons
People compete for a spring appearance.
Yet when the spring luxuriance wilts
Or the year turns cold, who can share in the hardship?
Pines and cypress shape themselves to give shade
As they somberly and solemnly strive to soar in the severe
winter.
Why is it that their steadfast branches only stand out
In the frost and snow?
Not that you are different on ordinary days,
But that our mundane eyes have become increasingly blurred.
And so, one cherishes the heart of a fortunate intellectual
Who would guard the Way regardless of desolation or
prosperity?
As long as their roots do not wither,
Luxurious abundance is not what they desire.
While [the timbers for] beams and rafters mature late
Let us anticipate one another to keep our ends as our
beginnings.
Drafted by Wang Zao for Mr. Wuson to review.
(9) Cao Maojian
I heard of the reputation of Chusa long ago;
But regret not having met him yet.
As an arithmetician he has exhausted his field,
And he is especially good in Chinese classics and history.
He is of the caliber of our JiaYi5 and Dong Zhongshu,57
And is surely a talent in his country.
Although worldly practices tend to be ambiguous,
Among the ancients, there were the ardently devoted yet cautious.
Inquiry into the injustice done only aggravates one's per
plexity about life.
Regardless of one's destitution, the Way does not change itself.
Recently when [Yi] came with the envoy's chariot,
A literati-style banquet was set up for his welcome.
[Wuson] showed us Sehando,
Which depicts a stretch of chilly grove.
Don't [the pines] have the appearance of the peach and
plum trees,
That show off their glamour in late spring?
Only they want to cling to their wintry hearts in a dark
green manner
And stand upright to brave the frost and snow!
Alas, in the human world,
A hundred years fly by as swift as lightning!
Having put our hope in a thousand harvests,
Let us not battle against glory or failure.
Who knows if we will even meet?
May I first send you this poem?
By Cao Maojian of the Wu country for inscription on
Ch'usa's Sehando, to be presented to Mr. Wuson for review.
22nd day of the early spring in 1844.
(10) Chen Qingyong A big tree with a hundred roots that
Always flourishes without leaves falling?
Only later does it enjoy a good name;
Because of its torment it eventually receives blessings.
Despite repeatedly being covered by severe frost,
It does not change its branches or leaves.
As long as one is in harmony,
No attainment is impossible.
By Chen Qingyong, who gathers eight lines fromYilin for
Mr.Wuson's review.
(11) Yao Fuzeng
Just as a tree may show unusual knots,
This person cherishes purity.
When he encountered [hardships] in his life,
He painted this wintry visage of the year [reflecting his
thoughts].
55
Seasons and things in nature are the same even overseas
As they are all shaped by the hand of the universal potter.
There are also ordinary plants
That strive to flatter by taking full advantage of the bloom
ing season.
Once their blooming season is over,
The hundred plants fall and wither.
Soaring amid ice and snow,
Despite all the hardships, the pine tree sustains itself.
Even though one's travails in life many come early or late,
Never worry that no one will recognize us.
Let us both delight in the pine and cypress
And anticipate the next hundred years [the future].
A draft by Yao Fuzeng of Nansha for the cultured Wuson
to review.
(12) Wu Shunshao
Playfully tracing the water current to reach this chilly grove,
This short scroll is surely intended to be a constant maxim
for oneself.
Today as one unrolls the painting, it constantly evokes in the
imagination
The integrity of a high-minded hermit with the heart of an
ancient.
The longer [the evergreens] endure the frost and snow, the
darker their green color becomes:
Who can share such steadfastness?
It is enough to laugh at the peach and plum, which show off
their beauty pell-mell
By swaying and swinging only to the tune of the spring breeze.
I present this for Mr. Wuson to review. Wu Shunshao from
Guian inscribed it at the Xianwen Pavilion on an early
spring in the Yisi year.
(13) ZhouYichi
Reputation and integrity have long been valued as some
thing managed alone.
Why should one's painstaking efforts be made known to
others?
The soaring dark green color and lofty bearing
Is present right in the empty mountains at this still and quiet moment.
Having sojourned on the rocky cliff for months and years
now,
The hermit's integrity naturally spreads like the [pine] frost.
Unless you exhaustively endure the deprivation of ice and
frost
How can you realize the inner warmth and harmony of
heaven and earth?
(14) Zhang Shouqi Sehando was created by Kim Ch?ng-h?i from Chos?n
Korea for his student Yi Wus?n. Now whenever flowers
are in full bloom, [the pine and cypress] would shy away from the [floral] competition, but instead shoot branch es up profusely to create shade; or during the freezing cold season, as the chilling sleet begins to gather, their
steadfast branches would remain straight as the Big
Dipper changes position, because evergreen plants main
tain their original forms through every cycle. Doesn't
their restraint stand out as decline and restoration alter
nate, and their integrity ever more prominently appear at the interchange of cold and warm weathers? An intel
lectual struggling to emerge from his earthly trap like a
cicada from its carapace, without being weighed down
by mundane pursuits?Kim Ch?ng-h?i probably knows
what this feels like. I therefore would like to compliment him with these words:
At the corner of the Eastern Sea and
In a mountain of absolute wilderness,
This [Kim Chong-hui] is said to be a tree of divine nature
That is well withdrawn from the arduous world,
As if protected by frost and snow.
The passage of wind and cloud
Could only fix its nature and
Promote its flourishing all the more.
Who would recognize this as the pillar?
Whose rock5 and carpenter would [the timber] be working with?
Because it has to age by the cliff or slope,
It cannot be clung to or climbed.
This does not mean its timber is unstained,
And any encounter with it is difficult.
Keep [painting] forever just as it has been transmitted from
long ago,
As an encouragement to the cowardly and the obstinate.
An inscription by Zhang Shouqi ofYanghu in the spring of
1844 for Wuson to review.
(15) Zhang Mu
Formerly he was a flower of Xu Ruzi,5^
It was then he got his sobriquet Wandang,
As an unusual individual coming from abroad,
He took private lessons here in order to dazzle those east of
the sea.
For the first [half of the book] he supplemented Wang Jian's
annotations,
And his great endeavor contributed to the expansion of the
pine-tree courtyard.
RuanYuan, the one he admired,
Met him, rejoicing yet astonished.
They hastened to the publisher, where
The book was accepted as an accurate collation of the
original text.
The place where the valuable edition was shelved,
56
The "Wen Zuan" library, had a high ceiling,
And the venerable Ruan stayed on the lower level of the
premises,
Where he achieved even greater feats in writing as he
advanced in old age.
In his final years he worked diligently to defend the classics
and Gu Yanwu,
And, from among the old commentaries on the classics, he
sorted out the problematic ones for discussion.
When a letter was presented to him from afar,
Our mundane ears seemed all of a sudden exposed to the
ancient music in the stone bell.
In the beginning of the year
When the guests for the banquet all jammed against the front
pillar of our house,
Wandang's favorite disciple,
Who came with a valuable thing to our state capital,
Knowing that I was Wandang's old acquaintance,
Pulled out the painting of evergreen trees from his sleeve?
To the south of the vast sea, billowing and swelling,
We have been separated by a great body of water.
Respectfully with this book by the venerable Ruan
I offer my consolation to Wandang,
While awaiting my chronology of Gu Tinglin to come out as
a set.
Be it prosperity or frustration,
They both should be taken as lightly as a wild goose s feather,
And your minor sufferings, similar to Xi and Zheng's, ?
Are just part of the many worries we have in life.
I would like to hear from you and spread your philosophy
"by the clay."61
May you develop your teaching like the palace in Hefen, 2
So that your minister-making [i.e., long and difficult] endeavor
Can stay prominent and flourishing.
Bidden by Mr. Wuson, I present this to Wandang.
By Pingting Zhang Mu.
(16) Zhang Yaoxun
The vexation of eight years' separation steeps into oblivion;
An unexpected encounter is all the more refreshing to my
eyes.
While at court one constantly associates with new acquain tances,
A hundred leagues of lonely treading converge upon a
virtuous star.
At the sojourner's lodge a bottle of wine starts the banquet, and
The carefree atmosphere drops (with the sun) on the isolated
pavilion.
Recalling those old associates who might have risen or fallen,
It is delightful to see someone rise as if riding on the whirl
wind from the northern sea.
The lonely cloud on the isolated island only appears gloomy
during daytime,
Where a lonely sojourner, mired in his sorrow, could no
longer retain his dark hair.
How distinctive are those rugged rocks and tall trees!
Yet hazelnut trees on the hill and herbs on the lowland are
sparse and scattered.
In the transmission of the Chinese classics, [he prefers] Yu's
version of the Yijing,
And for the meaning of a word he would consult the
Fang Yan. 3
With one single scroll, an unadorned reflection of a thousand
years is conveyed,
As the evergreen loftiness itself stands out by the clear
water.
It has been eight years since I last parted with
Brother Wus?n [Yi]. After his arrival in Beijing with
the Korean envoys in the winter of 1845, he was
invited to a banquet the following spring in Wu
Weiqing's [Wu Zan's] garden. At a joyous moment of
conversation about old times and literature, Wus?n
showed the guests Kim's Sehando painting, and I
composed two poems in which I also expressed my
hope for a spiritual association with Chu'sa through brush and ink. Because the day for us to meet in
person remains uncertain, I cannot help but feel sad. I,
Zhang Yaoxun ofYanghu, recollect this incident.Your
grand composition [Sehando] on its way to Shenyang, which serves as a belated vessel for the humble poems of Wang Zimei [Wang Zao] and myself, should
remain a favorite among the unbridled talents of later
generations. I therefore would like to follow the
original structure of your rhymes and compose this
piece, though exposing myself to ridicule for being a
copycat. I, Zhongyuan, hereby inscribe.
Upon receiving the compositions by Wang Zimei
[Wang Zao] and Zhang Zhongyuan [Zhang Mu] on
the 7 day of the first lunar month of the Guimao
year, I hastened to compose a regulated
verse to show
Zhongyuan, while also sending a copy to Zimei.
While as a traveler on the 7th day of the first lunar
month, my reflections became glum and gloomy. The arrival of poems, one after another, made my
eyes open wide with respect. I recalled my old associates as if awakened from
dreams.
Numerous possibilities of meetings with bosom
friends appear like morning stars.
The wild flowers of April now strew the roadsides
of the Jiangnan area.
Thinking of celebrated intellectuals, such as appear once in a thousand years, happening to gather at the
Xianwan Pavilion [an elegant estate], I laugh at myself for sitting here in this worn-out sable coat.
57
Why not drift off on a raft to pursue my own way on the vast blue sea?
This article is based on a paper written at the
University of California, Berkeley in 2003. My deep est appreciation goes to Professors Patricia Berger and
Gregory Levine for their thorough readings and pro found and revealing questions throughout several
drafts. I am also very grateful to Professors Margaretta Lovell and Frederick E.Wakeman, Jr. for their helpful comments and suggestions. Dr. Kumja Paik Kim of the
San Francisco Asian Art Museum also provided valu
able help whenever needed. I thank Chief Curator
Lee Hee Kwan and Curator Park Chan Hee from the
Horim Museum in Seoul for their generous support
in providing me with slides of the entire Sehando
scroll. I also acknowledge Dr. Yuet-fong "Rubie"
Chung, and Professor Jung Jae-chul from the
Dankook University, for their sensitive help in trans
lating the Chinese colophons. I finally thank my editor
Sharon Hudson for her tireless reading and feedback on my drafts and her insightful questions based on her
background as a visual artist.
For helping me transform my academic paper into a
journal article, I wish to thank Professor Marsha
Haufler for encouraging me to rewrite my paper for
publication, Naomi Noble Richard, for her detailed and
constructive editing suggestions, and the anonymous reviewer for his or her thorough attention to detail.
58
Notes
i. For a biography of Kim Ch?ng-h?i, see Choe Wan-su's "Ch'usa
Silgi?P'aran?i Saeng'ae waYesul" ("The True Record of Ch'usa?His
Checkered Life and Art"), in Ch'usa Kim Ch?ng-h?i (Seoul: Jungang
Ilbo, 1981), pp. 192-211; Choe Wan-su, "Ch'usa Muky?ngi" ("Ch'usa and His Chinese Friends"), Kansong Munhwa, vol. 48 (1995). See alsoYu
Hong-june, Wandang P'y?ngj?n {Critical Biography of Wandang) (Seoul:
Hakkojae, 2002), vols. 1, 2; Ch?ng By?ng-sam et al., Ch'usa wa K? ui
Sidae {Ch'usa and His Period) (Seoul: Dolbegae, 2002). 2. Kim No-gyong later became, successively, Minister of Rites,
Personnel, Works, Punishment, and Military Affairs, and Inspector General.
3. This myth is recorded by Min Kyu-ho (1836-1878) in "Wandang
Kimgong Soj?n" ("Short Biography of Kim Wandang"), the introduc
tion to his 1868 anthology of Kim's writings, Wandang Sbnsaeng Munjip
{Writing Collection of Wandang).
4. Yu Hong-june, Wandang P'y?ngj?n, pp. 40?43.
5. As in other Confucian societies, in Korea the family succession was
of the utmost importance. The family name was only carried on by the
first legitimate son of the eldest son of the family. If the eldest son of
the family had no son or only a son born of a concubine, he usually
adopted a son from a brother or from another relative.
6. Unable to speak each other's languages, the Korean and
Chinese scholars communicated by exchanging poems and paintings. The Korean term rnukyon ^$| in Chinese characters literally means
"ink-and-tie."
7. For detailed anecdotes about Korean scholars in Beijing, their
Chinese acquaintances, and the writings, paintings, and books
exchanged between them, see Fujitsuka Chikashi, Sincho Bunka Loden no
Kenky?: Kakai Doko Gakuden to Richo no Kin Gendo {The Study of the
Lransmission of Qing Culture to the East) (Tokyo: Kokusho Kank?kai,
!975); and Choe Wan-su, "Ch'usa Muky?ngi." 8. Choe Wan-su's "Ch'usa Silgi," p. 197.
9. Ibid.
10. My approach to this painting was influenced by the "Prownian
methodology," which begins from a meticulous physical observation of
the object. For more on Prownian methodology, see Jules David
Prown's article, "Mind in Matter: An Introduction," Winterthur Portfolio, vol. 17, no. 1 (Spring 1982).
11. Kim's physical and mental conditions are known from his letters
to his wife and friends.
12. Richard Barnhart, Wintry Forests, Old Trees: Some Landscape Lhemes
in Chinese Painting (New York: China Institute in America, 1972),
pp. 10?17.
13. The original text is Mmmy1&W?m%\&&&, from The
Analects fjfaff?, chap. 9, l. 28.
14. We do not know whose seal this is. People assume it is not Kim's
because it was not in his collection. Art historian Oh Chu-s?k has
suggested that Kim's disciple Yi Sang-j?k might have used this seal to
express his feeling for his teacher, but this has not been verified.
15. Oh Chu-s?k, Yet K?rim Ikki ?i Ch?lg?'um {The foy of Reading Old Paintings) (Seoul: Sol, 1999), p. 139.
16. For the original text, see App. I
17. Burton Watson, Records of the Grand Historian of China (New York
and London: Columbia Univ. Pr., 1961), p. 355.
18. A.W Hummel, Eminent Chinese of the Ch'ing Period (1644-1 qi2)
(Washington, U.S. Gov. Print. Off., 1943-1944), p. 281.
19. Jonathan D. Spence, The Search for Modern China (New York:
WW Norton, 1999), p. 146. 20. Hummel, Eminent Chinese, p. 102. Chen Zilong (1595-1647) was
a Ming loyalist. After he passed the jinshi with high honors in 1619,
Chen served in various government official positions, including as a
Hanlin compiler and an official on the Historiographical Board.
Leagues in Search of the Brush of Ch'usa"), Munhak Sasang, vol. 50
(1976), p. 396. 22. My research is the first thorough study of the Sehando inscriptions.
23. For a brief biography of the sixteen Chinese scholars and
description of their inscriptions on Sehando, see Fujitsuka Chikashi,
Sincho Bunka Toden no Kenky?.
24. Hummel, Eminent Chinese, vol. 1, pp. 47?48.
25. Zhang did not specify which book Kim sent to RuanYuan; how
ever, the Japanese scholar Fujitsuka Chikashi indicates that the book was
a mathematics book edited by a Mr. Zhu, and that it had been lost for
a long time in China.
26. Hummel, Eminent Chinese, p. 47.
27. Ibid, pp. 243-44.
28. Ibid, pp. 25-26.
29. Yu Hong-june, Wandang P'y?ngj?n, vol.i, p. 405.
30. On the commercial aspect of Kim's works during his lifetime, see
Yu Hong-june, "Ch'usa Kim Ch?ng-h?i ?i Yesul kwa Geu ?i Patron"
("Ch'usa Kim Ch?ng-h?i's Art and His Patrons"), in the exhibition cat
alogue Wandang kwa Wandang Baram {Wandang and Wandang Fever)
(Seoul: Dongsan-bang and Hakkojae, 2002), pp. 119?37.
31. Kim Ch?ng-h?i, Wandangjip {Wandang Writing Collection), 1868,
vol. 3, p. 15.
32. Kim Ch?ng-h?i, Wandangjip, vol. 2, p. 329.
3 3. At that time, the price of a good painting was between five and
ten won.
34. Kim Yak-s?l, "Ch'usa Panghy?ngi" ("Record of My Visit with
Ch'usa"), Doseo, vol. 10 (1996), p. 35.
35. Yu Hong-june, Wandang P'y?ngj?n, p. 405.
36. Ibid.
37. The transcription of Oh's inscription and its Korean translation is
in Pangmulgwan Sinmun {Museum Newsletter), The National Museum of
Korea, vol. 311 (1997).
38. Since we know that Fujitsuka Chikashi gave Sehando to Son with
out compensation, apparently this is a historical error by Ch?ng In-bo.
39. Ibid.
40. For a brief description of the Korean Nationalist Movement in
exile, see Carter J. Eckert et al., Korea, Old and New: A History (Seoul:
Ilchokak, 1990), pp. 273-75.
41. Yu Hong-june, Wandang P'y?ngj?n, pp. 405-7.
42. Ibid.
43. Richard Davis, Lives of Indian Images (Princeton: Princeton Univ.
Pr., 1997), pp. 9-10.
44. Julia K. Murray, "Water Under a Bridge: Further Thoughts on the
Qingming Scroll,"fournal of Sung-Yuan Studies, vol. 27 (1997), p. 99.
45. Ibid.
46. Igor Kopitoff, "The Cultural Biography of Things: Commercialization as Process," in Essays to Arjun Appdurai, The Social
Life of Things: Commodities in Cultural Perspectives, ed. Kopitoff
(Cambridge; New York: Cambridge Univ. Pr., 1986), p. 68.
47. This refers to Lord Xinling of the Wei state during the Warring States period. Xinling broke Qi's siege of the state of Zhao by killing the commander-in-chief of his own state's army so that he could
become its leader.
48. Longmen here refers to the great Chinese historian Sima Qian. Because he was born in a town called Longmen, he was fondly nicknamed
thus in later times.
49. This refers to Tao's Rhapsody of Homecoming, in which he expresses a love for the pine tree.
50. This refers to the legendary library in fairyland, with a wonderful
collection of Han history.
51. This refers to the phrase "yi ban xin xiang," which compares the
sincerity of a believer to a bundle of incense sticks stored in his/her
heart. Therefore, Pan uses the image ban xiang to refer to Kim's fervent
pursuit of knowledge about Chinese classics, history, and poetry.
59
52. I favor the word "upright" here because it embraces both the
nature of the pine trees and Kim's upright personality.
53. "Cloud and forest" is the studio name for the Yuan scholar
painter Ni Zan (1301-1374).
54. Qingyun also means prosperity and it reminds us that Mr. Kim
was once very prosperous.
55. This refers to Confucius'remark:"When it comes to the cold season
of the year, we realize the pines and cypresses are the last to wither."
56. Jia Yi (200 BCE-168 BCE) was a political theorist and man of
letters during the Western Han period.
57. Dong Zhongshu (179 BCE?104 BCE) was a philosopher and
great master epigrapher of the Western Han period.
58. The rock that provides the foundation for the pillar.
59- Xu Ruzi refers to RuanYuan.
60. XiYin and Zheng Tangshi, Xi's contemporary, both were capa ble and upright ministers of the Western Han period. Both suffered
dismissal from the court.
61. "By the clay stove" is a metaphor for "most sincerely," referring to the location where Laozi once listened to Confucius reading his
commentaries, the "Zuo Zhuang" (a lost chapter in Zhuangzi only known as quoted in Taiping Yulan).
62. Hefen refers to the place where Wang Tong of the Sui dynasty once taught and trained a number of outstanding ministers for the sub
sequent Tang dynasty, including Fang Xuanling and Wei Zheng.
63. A dialectic dictionary compiled by Yang Xiong (53 BCE-18 BCE).
