NJ2018 Preface
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Contributor: Jeeeun Kwon (Original Text and Korean Translation Editing)
Contributor: Lyndsey Twining (English Translation Editing)
Original Script
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| 農者，天下國家之大本也。自古聖王莫不以是爲務焉。帝舜之命九官十二牧也，首曰：「食哉惟時。」誠以粢盛之奉，生養之資，捨是無以爲也 。
恭惟□太宗恭定大王嘗命儒臣, 掇取古農書, 切用之語，附註鄕言，刊板頒行，敎民力本。 及我主上殿下，繼明圖治，尤留意於民事。以五方風土不同，樹藝之法, 各有其宜，不可盡同古書，乃命諸道監司逮訪州縣老農，因地己試之驗具聞。 又命臣招就加詮次，臣與宗簿小尹臣卞孝文, 披閱參考，袪其重複，取其切要，撰成一編，目曰《農事直說》。農事之外，不雜他說，務爲簡直，使山野之民, 曉然易知。 旣進，下鑄字所，印若干本，將以頒諸中外，導民厚生，以至於家給人足也。 臣竊觀周詩，周家以農事爲國，歷八百餘年之久。今我□殿下惠養斯民，爲國長慮，豈不與后稷、成王同一規範乎? 是書雖小，其爲利益可勝言哉! |
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Korean Translation
농사직설 서문
총제 정초 등에게 《直說》을 책으로 만들어 올릴 것을 명하였다. 그 서문에 이르기를 농사는 천하 국가의 큰 근본이다. 옛 성왕부터 농사에 힘을 쓰지 않은 국가 통치자는 없었다. 순임금이 9관과 12목에게 명을 내릴 때 가장 먼저 이르기를 ‘먹는 것은 농사의 때에 달렸다.’ 하였으니, 진실로 자성의 도와 생양의 자료도 이것을 떠나서는 될 수 없기 때문이다. 삼가 생각하건대 태종대왕께서 일찍이 유신에게 명하시어 옛날 농서에 절실히 쓰이는 말들을 뽑아서 향언으로 주를 달아 판각하고 반포하여 백성을 가르쳐 농사에 힘쓰게 하셨다. 우리 주상 전하(세종)께서는 명군(태종)을 계승하여 정사에 힘을 써 더욱 백성의 일에 유의하여 다스렸다. 여러 도의 감사에게 명하여 주현의 노농들을 방문하게 하여, 각자의 농토에 따라 자기가 얻은 경험을 자세히 듣고 또 신 초에게 명하시어 설명을 덧붙이게 하셨고 신과 종부소윤 변효문이 두루 읽어 참고하여 그 중복된 것을 삭제하여 그 요점만을 뽑아서 편집하여 한 편을 만들고 그 제목을 《농사직설(農事直說)》이라고 하였다. 농사 외에 원예나 잠상 등 다른 설을 섞지 아니하고 간략하고 누구나 알기 쉽도록 힘을 써서 산이나 들에 사는 모든 백성들이 모두 환히 쉽게 알도록 하였다. 이미 주자소에 소정의 원본을 인쇄하라는 명을 내렸으니 장차 이 책들을 조정과 민간에 반행할 것이다. 백성을 인도하여 살림을 넉넉하게 해서, 집집마다 넉넉하고 사람마다 풍족한데 이르도록 할 것이다. 신이 주 나라 시를 보건대, 주가에서도 농사로써 나라를 다스려 8 백여 년의 오랜 세월에 이르렀는데, 지금 우리 전하께서도 이 나라 백성을 잘 기르고 나라를 위하여 길이 염려하시니, 어찌 후직과 성왕과 규범을 같이하지 않으랴. 이 책이 비록 작더라도 그 이익됨은 어찌 말로 다 할 수 있겠는가? 라고 하였다.
English Translation
Preface
Regulator-General Jeong Cho[EN 1] and others were ordered to compile A Concise Theory of Farming. The preface reads:
Farming is the great foundation of all states under Heaven. Since the ancient times, there has been no sage king who did not commit himself to farming. In the sage King Shun's[EN 2] order to his nine ministers and twelve governors, he first said:
"Crop yields! They depend entirely on timing."[EN 3]
Indeed, as they are used as offerings in sacrificial rites and sustenance, they must not be ignored.
As your subject reverently recalls, the late King Taejong[EN 4] once ordered his ministers to collect old writings on farming and select the essence, attach commentary in the common language, carve the woodblocks, print them out, distribute the copies, and enlighten the people and have them focus on the fundamental task of farming. My Lord, Your Majesty (King Sejong)[EN 5], inherited the grand design for governing from your illustrious predecessor (i.e. Taejong), devoting yourself even more to the people's affairs.
The natural features vary across the country. Therefore, each region has its own way of sowing and cultivating, and the old farming texts should not be blindly followed. And then, the governors of the all provinces were ordered to go around the counties and districts, call on the seasoned farmers, and listen carefully to their tried and true experiences on the land. Furthermore, (Your Majesty) ordered your subject (Jeong) Cho to complete the job of adding explanations. Next your subject (Jeong Cho), along with Royal Genealogist Byeon Hyo-mun[EN 6], revised separate accounts in reference to other sources, eliminated the redundancies, selected the essentials, and completed a single volume called A Concise Theory of Farming.
[This text] does not cover other topics, such as horticulture and sericulture. The priority is on conciseness and straightforwardness, so that people from rural areas can clearly understand it without effort. (The order) for printing has been already handed down to the Bureau of Typecasting[EN 7] and several few copies shall be printed for dispersal throughout the country. This will guide the people and enrich their livelihoods; thereby the benefits shall extend to every household and provide for all the people.
Your subject pondered over the poetry of Zhou[EN 8] and (concluded that) the Zhou ruling house[EN 9] based the state on farming and thus it lasted over eight hundred years. Now Your Majesty's gracious nurturing of our people and long-held concern about the state, how is this standard not the same with that of Houji[EN 10] and King Cheng[EN 11] of Zhou? Though this book is small, its benefits cannot be expressed in words!
- ↑ 정초 鄭招, Civil official of Joseon, ?-1434, of the Hadong Jeong clan Further reading in Korean
- ↑ 帝舜 A lengendary leader of ancient China said to have reigned 2294 and 2184 BCE Wikipedia
- ↑ This quote comes from
- ↑ 태종 太宗The third king of the Joseon dynasty, r.1400-1418; Father of King Sejong, the king to whom this preface is addressed.
- ↑ 세종 世宗 The fourth king of the Joseon dynasty, r. 1418-1456
- ↑ 변효문 卞孝文, Civil official of Joseon, 1395-?, of the Chogye Byeon clan Further reading in Korean
- ↑ 주자소 鑄字所
- ↑ Referring to the Classic of Poetry Wikipedia
- ↑ The Zhou dynasty of China lasted from 1046-314 BCEWikipedia
- ↑ 后稷 A legendary figure of Chinese history who is said to have brought millet to China during the Xia dynasty Wikipedia
- ↑ 周成王 The second king of the Zhou dynasty, r. 1042-1021 BCE Wikipedia
Glossary
Contributor: Ciceo Anca Valentina (Listed Personalities & Others)
Personalities
- Regulator-General Jeong Cho / 총제 정초
- King Shun / 순임금
- King Taejong / 명군(태종)
- King Sejong / 주상 전하(세종)
- Royal Genealogist Byeon Hyo-mun / 변효문
- Houji of Zhou / 후직
- King Cheng of Zhou / 성왕
Others
- Bureau of Typecasting / 주자소
- Zhou ruling house / 주가 / 周家
- poetry of Zhou / 주 나라 시 / 周詩
