(Translation) 東國正韻序

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Introduction

The Tongguk Chŏngun (or the "Correct Rhymes of the Eastern State") is known to be the first rhyme dictionary that was compiled in the several kingdoms that developed on the Korean peninsula. It was completed in September 1446 during the reign of King Sejong (r. 1418–1450) of the Yi Dynasty (1392-1910) and published in 1448, that is, one year after the promulgation of the Hunmin Chŏngŭm (the "Correct Sounds for the Instruction of the People", the well-known publication introducing the new alphabet for writing in vernacular Korean and glossing Hanmun texts).

The Tongguk Chŏngun consists in 6 volumes, as it was mentioned in the official records. It had been lost until its volumes 1 and 6 were first discovered in 1940 and a copy of the entire book was found intact in 1972.

Sin Sukju (申叔舟), Choe Hang (崔恒), Sŏng Sammun (成三問), Pak P'aengnyŏn (朴彭年), Yi Kae (李愷), Kang Hŭian (姜希顔), Yi Hyŏnro (李賢老), Cho Pyŏnan (曹變安) and Kim Chŭng 김증 (金曾) were as many scholars involved in this compilation work. Among them, the first four had previously also participated to the elaboration of the Hunmin Chŏngŭm.

Original script preserved here temporarily (편집중)

Classical Chinese & Translation (this table will be back to its original aspect by the end of this translation work)

p.8 東國正韻序 天地絪縕 大化流行 而人生焉。陰陽相軋 氣機交激 而聲生焉。聲旣生而七音自具 七音具而四聲亦備 七音四聲 經緯相交 而淸濁輕重 深淺疾徐 生於自然矣。是故 包犧畵卦 蒼頡制字 亦皆因其自然之理 以通萬物之情 及至沈陸諸子 彙分類集 諧聲恊韻 而聲韻之... Preface to the Correct Rhymes of the Eastern States When the generative forces of heaven and earth1 greatly transformed and disseminated, humans were born. When the Yin and the Yang ran into each other and the Qi dynamics awoke, the sounds and tones were born. When the sounds and tones were born 7 sounds2 were obtained. When the 7 sounds were obtained, 4 tones were also provided. The 7 sounds and 4 tones govern one another, and their voice3, their weight4, their depth5 and their speed6 originated from the nature. For this reason, Baoxi7 draw divinatory symbols and Cangjie8 designed the (Chinese) characters. Also because of their natural principles and through/by(???) the Qing/character(???) of ten thousand things, reached/until/by the time(???) + going down profoundly(???) + various sages/classical schools of thought(???) who gathered, divided, categorized and compiled, harmonized the sounds/tones(???) and made the rhymes, then... 1: 天地絪縕 (Korean: Ch'ônji-in'on), formula used in the 易經 (Chinese: Yijing) and followed by an explanation on the transformation of ten thousand things into purity/essence(official translations to be be verified). 2: 音 (Korean: ûm, Chinese: yin), translated here by 'sounds' which refer to the consonnants and vowels in opposition to 聲 (Korean: sông, Chinese: sheng) 'tones' which refer to the prosody aspect of phonetics). 3: 淸濁 (pure and impure), in linguistic terms, 'voiceless and voiced sounds'. 4: 輕重 (light and heavy), that is 'weight'. 5: 深淺 (deep and shallow), that is 'depth'. 6: 疾徐 (fast and slow), that is 'speed'. 7: 包犧 (Chinese: Baoxi, Korean: P'ohûi), also known as 伏羲 (Chinese: Fuxi, Korean: Pokhûi) or 庖犧 (Chinese: Paoxi, Korean: P'ohûi), is a Chinese legendary ruler that was credited with creating humanity and the invention of hunting, fishing and cooking as well as the invention of the Eight Trigrams. 8: 蒼頡 (Chinese Cangjie, Korean: Ch'anghil), another legendary figure claimed to be the inventor of Chinese characters. p.9 (聲韻之...)說始興 作者相繼 各出機杍 論議旣衆 舛誤亦多 於是 溫公著之於圖 康節明之於數 探賾鉤深 以一諸說 然 其五方之音 各異 邪正之辨 紛紜。夫音非有異同 人有異同，人非有異同 方有異同。盖以地勢別 而風氣殊 風氣殊而呼吸異。東南之齒唇 西北之頰喉 是已。遂使文軌雖通 聲音不同焉。矧吾東方... ... the interpretations of the rhymed sounds and tones started to get along, the authors succeeded one after another, each one ______ important _______, __________ were many, errors too were numerous. Thereupon, _________ ordered in drawings(???), ______ _____ in number(???), explore(???) mysteries and describe depths, by then(???) this one interpretation, however/if(???) these 5 cardinal sounds are all different (from each other), the discrimination between the iniquitous and the correct differ(???). There is no sameness or difference between sounds, but there is between people, (but in the meantime) there is no sameness or difference between people, but there is between sounds. When the given盖以? geography is different, the climate is distinct; when the climate is distinct, [people's] breathing diverge. Hence [one would notice that] dental and labial sounds1 are characteristic of the Southeast, [and that] inner and guttural sounds2 are characteristic of the Northwest. Thus, although the writing rules are common, tones and sounds are (definitely) not the same. 1: 齒唇 (teeth and lips), sounds produced at the extremity of one's mouth. 2: 頰喉 (mouth and throat), sounds produced inside one's throat and inner part of his mouth. p.10 (矧吾東方...)表裏山河 自爲一區 風氣巳殊於中國 呼吸豈與華音相合歟? 然則語音之所以與中國異者 理之然也 至於文字之音 則宜若與華音相合矣。然 其呼吸旋轉之間 輕重翕闢之機 亦必有自牽於語音者 此其字音之所以亦随而變也。其音錐變 淸濁四聲 則猶古也。而曾無著書 以傳其正 庸師俗儒 不知... ■■ Besides our East, inside and outside, in the mountains and the rivers, is originally a region; if the common practices are ____ separated(???) from the Middle Kingdom1, as for the respiration(???), how would the sounds correspond with those of China2? That being the case, the fact that the speaking of the sounds differs with the Middle Kingdom, _____, reaching the sounds of the writings/characters. Thus the proper [attitude](???) is to make the sounds correspond with those of China. If(???) between the respiration and the spin, the advantage(???) of the weight and the opening3, the fact there must also be speech sounds/pronunciation/voice(???) that are implicated/dragged(???) themselves(???), the sounds of that character that also adapts/follows(???) and do not change. If its sounds _____ change, voiceless and voiced sounds, the four tones, then they are like the antiquity. But/and(???) transmitting the standards by collecting books that are not reliable, inferior masters and cheap(une meilleure idée???) confucians... 1: 中國 (Chinese: Zhongguo, Korean: Chungguk), sometimes translated directly as China or the Middle Empire. 2: 華 (Chinese: Hua, Korean: Hwa), other way to call China. 3: 翕闢 (opening/closing of the mouth), ??? p.11 (不知)切字之法 昧於紐躡之要 或因字體相似 而爲一音 或因前代避諱 而假他音 或合二字爲一 或分一音爲二 或借用他字 或加减點畫 或依漢音 或從俚語 而字母七音 淸濁四聲 皆有變焉。若以牙音言之 溪母之字 太半入於見母 此 字母之變也 溪母之字 或入於曉母 此 七音之變也 我國語音 其淸濁 do not know the law/rules(???) to cut(???) characters, are ignorant on the necessity to tie links/of following initial consonants(???); some/either, because the shape of the characters look similar, they make them sound as one sounds; some/either, because in ancient times the taboos are avoided1, they take temporary other sounds; some/either combining two characters to make one, some/either dividing two characters to make two, some/either borrowing another character, some/either adding or substracting/varying(???) the dots and strokes, some/either leaning on the sounds of the Han, some/either following the vulgar language; and the 7 sounds of the character/letters, the voiceless and voiced sounds and the 4 tones(???) all have change. If it is said with a velar consonnant, ______________, more than a half enter _______. This is the change of letters/characters. ______________, some __________. This is the change of the 7 sounds. The sounds of our kingdom's language... 1: 避諱, reference to the taboo on the characters being the same ones as in the living emperors' personal names. p.12 (其淸濁)之辨 與中國無異 而於字音 獨無濁聲 豈有此理 此 淸濁之變也 語音則四聲甚明 字音則上去無別 質勿諸韻 宜以端母 爲終聲 而俗用來母 其聲徐緩 不宜入聲 此 四聲之變也。端之爲來 不唯終聲 如次第之第 牡丹之丹之類 初聲之變者 亦衆 國語 多用溪母 而字音 則獨夬之一音而巳。此尤可笑者... ... and the differenciation of its voiceless and voiced sounds is not different from [those of] the Middle Kingdom and/but in comparison the sounds of Chinese characters, contrary to the normal situation/what would be expected(???), do not have voiced initials1; how would(???) there be this principle/li(???), this change of voiceless and voiced sounds? The speech sounds/pronunciation(???) are therefore/then 4 tones/sounds are very clear/bright(???), the sounds of Chinese characters therefore/then do not have distinction between shang and qu2, the nature/character(???) never rhymes variously, should be with a ______ start, become a tone ending/final tone(???), and commonly (be) used ______, its tone is gentle/slow(???), should not be a ru3 tone; this is the change of the four tones. The becoming of the beginning(???)is not the only final/ending(???) tone. Like the order(???)'s ___ (???),like the tree peony's cinnabar/powder/red(???), what is (called) the change of the starting tone, also the crowds' kingdom language(???) use many _______, and the ûm/sounds(???) of the Chinese characters, then only is a one sound of one of the guai4... 1: 濁聲, voyels or voiced initial consonnants. 2: 上去 (Chinese: shang qu), two of the 4 traditional categories of tones in Chinese linguistics. 3: 入 (Chinese: ru), one of the 4 traditional categories of tones in Chinese linguistics. 4: 夬 (Chinese: guai), one of the sixty-four hexagrams in the __ (Yijing). p.13 (此尤可笑者)也 由是 字畫訛而魚魯混 眞聲音亂 而涇渭同流 橫失四聲之經 縱亂七音之緯 經緯不交 輕重易序 而聲韻之變 極矣。世之爲儒師者 往往或知其失 私自改之 以敎子弟 然 重於擅改 因循舊習者　多矣。 若不一大正之 則愈久愈甚 將有不可救之弊矣 盖古之爲詩也 恊其音而巳 自三百篇而降 漢魏晉 What is particularly curious/absurd(???), it is that by this reason if calligraphy and painting are wrong, then ___ and ___(the confusing similar shape of those two characters???) will be confused/bring chaos; but(???) if tones and um/sounds are in disorder, then the waters of Jing and Wei1 would flow together; the warp of the horizontal strikes' errors and the four tones, the longitude of the up/downs and down/ups' chaos and the seven sounds, warp and longitude are not commutable, heavy and light are easily arranged(???), but/and the change of the tones' rhymes is extrem! Those who are the confucian master of this/the(???) generation sometimes know/recognize their mistakes and correct them in secret, by teaching juniors(???); that being so/if(???) heavier than, it is because those who follow old habits/customs are many. 1: 涇渭 (Jing Wei), combination of the two Chinese rivers 涇shui (in____) and 渭shui (in ____); the author is insisting on the fact that those rivers have no reason to cross each other. p.14 唐諸家 亦未嘗拘於一律 如東之與冬 江之與陽之類 豈可以韻別 而不相通恊哉 且字母之作 諧於聲耳 如舌頭舌上 唇重唇輕 齒頭正齒之類 於我國字音 未可分辨 亦當因其自然 何必泥於三十六字乎 恭惟我主上殿下 崇儒重道 右文興化 無所不用其極 萬機之暇 慨念及此 爰 p.15 命臣叔舟 及守集賢殿直提學臣崔 恒 守直集賢殿臣成三問 臣朴彭年 守集賢殿校理臣李塏 守吏曹正郞臣姜希顔 守兵曹正郞臣李賢老 守承文院校理臣曹變安 承文院副校理臣金曾 旁採俗習 博考傳籍 本諸廣用之音 恊之古韻之切 字母七音 淸濁四聲 靡不究其源委 以復乎正 臣等 才識淺短 p.16 學問孤陋 奉承未達 每煩(linked to the following sentence?) 指顧 乃因古人編韻 定母可倂者 倂之 可分者 分之 一倂一分 一聲一韻 皆稟 宸斷 而亦各有考據 於是 調以四聲 定爲九十一韻 二十三母 以 (linked to the following sentence?) 御製訓民正音 定其音 又於質勿諸韻 以影補來 因俗歸正 舊習譌謬 至是而悉革矣 書成 p.17 賜名曰 東國正韻 仍命臣叔舟爲序 臣叔舟 竊惟人之生也 莫不受天地之氣 而聲音生於氣者也 淸濁者 陰陽之類 而天地 之道也 四聲者 造化之端 而四時之運也 天地之道 亂而陰陽 易其位 四時之運 紊而造化失其序 至哉 聲韻之妙也 其陰陽之閫奧 造化之機緘乎 况乎書契未作 聖人 p.18 之道 寓於天地 書契旣作 聖人之道 載諸方策 欲究聖人之道 當先文義 欲知文義之要 當自聲韻 聲韻 乃學道之權輿也 而亦豈易能哉 此 我聖上 所以留心聲韻 斟酌古今 作爲指南 以開億載之羣蒙者也 古人 著書作圖音和類隔 正切回切 其法甚詳 而學者 尙不免含糊囁嚅 昧 p.19 於調恊 自正音作 而萬口一聲 毫釐不差 實傳音之樞紐也 淸濁分 而天地之道定 四聲正而四時之運順 苟非彌綸造化 轇轕宇宙 妙義契於玄關 神幾通于天籟 安能至此乎 淸濁旋轉 字母相推 七均 而十二律 而八十四調 可與隔樂之正 同其太和矣 吁 審聲以知音 審音以知樂 審樂以知政 後之觀 p.20 者 其必有所得矣 正絯十二年 丁卯九月下澣 通德郞 守集賢殿應敎 藝文應 (linked to the following sentence?) 敎知製 (linked to the following sentence?) 敎 經筵檢討官 臣 申叔舟 拜手首謹序

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