(Translation) 1801年 龍山書院 首奴 禹發 自賣明文
Primary Source | ||
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Title | |
English | A Document of Selling one’s person | |
Chinese | 1801年 龍山書院 首奴 禹發 自賣明文 | |
Korean(RR) | 1801년 용산서원(龍山書院) 수노(首奴) 우발(禹發) 자매명문(自賣明文) | |
Text Details | ||
Genre | Social Life and Economic Strategies | |
Type | Record | |
Author(s) | 龍山書院 首奴 禹發 | |
Year | 1801 | |
Source | ||
Key Concepts | Trading | |
Translation Info | ||
Translator(s) | Participants of 2017 Summer Hanmun Workshop (Advanced Translation Group) | |
Editor(s) | ||
Year | 2017 |
목차
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Original Script
- 3 Translation
- 3.1 Student 1 : (Irina)
- 3.2 Student 2 : (Kim Young)
- 3.3 Student 3 : (Write your name)
- 3.4 Student 4 : (Jong Woo Park)
- 3.5 Student 5 : (Kanghun Ahn)
- 3.6 Student 6 : (Hu Jing)
- 3.7 Student 7 : King Kwong Wong
- 3.8 Student 8 : (Write your name)
- 3.9 Student 9 : 마틴
- 3.10 Student 10 : (YoungSuk)
- 3.11 Student 11 : (Write your name)
- 3.12 Student 12 : (Write your name)
- 3.13 Student 13 : (Write your name)
- 3.14 Student 14 : (Write your name)
- 4 Further Readings
Introduction
Original Script
Classical Chinese | English |
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嘉慶六年辛酉二月二日龍山書院首奴禹介處明文 右明文事段矣亦多有院債而勢無報 償之道故不得已自己所生女件里進年十歲 二所生女件里德年七歲合二口身乙價折錢文 拾七兩儀數捧上爲遣右院前永永放賣 爲去乎日後若有雜談是去等持此文記 告官卞正事 父先岩外 證庫直龍奉 筆執色金萬九 |
(translation) |
Translation
Student 1 : (Irina)
- Discussion Questions:
In Korean texts Chinese characters are used for units of measurement, but often Korean units do not correspond to Chinese. Is there a reliable source for checking Korean units of quantity, length, and so on?
Student 2 : (Kim Young)
- Discussion Questions:
- 2 A Document of Selling One's Person
1. In this document, the father states the reason for selling his two daughters as owing a great debt to the Yongsan Academy. But the document does not clarify either how much he owed or if the debt was entirely cleared with his selling of the two daughters. Given the unusually blurry language used in this contract document, could we possibly understand "owing to the Academy" not so much as owing a specific fiscal amount, but more as a rhetorical pretext for entrusting the daughters to the Academy?
- 3 A Document of a Slave Selling Land to a Yangban
1. In this document,
- 4 A Document of Trading a Slave with a Horse
1. How could Mrs. Kim claim ownership over the slave Jongnam, who was a descendant of a slave bought by the slave Jeongryeon (Mr. Kim's slave)? If a slave bought a slave, did the master have any ownership over the bought slave? If a slave could own another slave, then he could buy himself out by paying for his freedom with the slave he owned. Did the state have any legal measure to prevent this? Or, was "buying oneself out" a common practice which made Joseon dynasty still a society of flexible class movement?
Student 3 : (Write your name)
- Discussion Questions:
Student 4 : (Jong Woo Park)
- Discussion Questions:
Education and sacrificial rite are known to be the main functions of the private academies (sǒwǒn). In this document, Mr. Sǒn could not repay a debt that he had borrowed from the academy so he sold out his two daughters to the academy. If we think about it from the perspective of non-yangban people, what might be the social and economic functions of sǒwǒn in local society? How did sǒwǒn affect the life of the commoners or slaves at that time?
Student 5 : (Kanghun Ahn)
1) Was there any standard as to how to calculate the price of slaves in Choson Korea?
2) To what extent were the Sowons in charge of loaning system in late Choson? Didn't it bring about any disputes (or problems) in Choson society? (If so, are there any sources (e.g. pleas, appeals) for that?)
Student 6 : (Hu Jing)
- Discussion Questions:
Q-4. We can learned from the Document 4 that Jongnam was sold from a yangban family to a slave family. How would his fate would have been changed? Even though they were both called nobi, was there any different between yangban slaves and slave slaves?
Q-3. In my impression, the "slaves" should have been in a low status both socially and economically. But how Park Geumson, a private "slave", could own a land? How was the economical statue of the Joseon "slaves"? Were the public "slaves" also allowed to own their land?
Student 7 : King Kwong Wong
- Discussion Questions:
- For Document no.2: since the document does not specify that the two daughters were sold as slaves, what was the status of the daughters after the transaction? Were they slaves or remained as commoners? Are there other similar cases?
- For Document no.4: since the document was signed by Madame Kim and witnessed by (possibly) her relatives, would this be the case that Madame Kim managed her husband's family property as the widow of the deceased Yun Sahoe, considering that none of the Yun was represented?
Student 8 : (Write your name)
- Discussion Questions:
Student 9 : 마틴
- Discussion Questions:
1. In Document 4, a horse is traded for a person. The quality of the horse is measured by its teeth(age), the worth of the slave is also decided by his age. We have seen before some categories employed to judge the worth of slaves (dumb, young, able, old). How about other characteristics or skills of the slaves? (strong, easily sick, can weave, likes to run away...etc.) Are there cases like this, or is a slave just a slave?
2. In Document 2, two daugthers are sold to an academy, in later Choson academies often served as the "unofficial" center of their respective localities. Considering that all public slaves are manumitted in the same year as the trade is conducted, how can we view this document?
Student 10 : (YoungSuk)
- Discussion Questions:
Document 2:
Student 11 : (Write your name)
- Discussion Questions:
Student 12 : (Write your name)
- Discussion Questions:
Student 13 : (Write your name)
- Discussion Questions:
Student 14 : (Write your name)
- Discussion Questions: 1. What roles does the state play in these documents? 2. How does the state contribute toward the endurance of "slavery" in Joseon society?