Author

Publication

2010 - Global Oriental, Folkestone, Kent, UK

Language

English

Word Count

52,000 words, Guess

Page Count

208 pages

Identifiers

  • ISBN-139781906876173
  • ISBN-101906876177
  • Library of Congress Control Number2012369955
  • OCLC Control Number465369900
  • Better World Books9781906876173
and 1 more

Classifications

  • LCCDS708 .P29213 2010
  • LCCDS913.392
  • LCCDS708 .P2913 2010

Alternate Titles

  • Yŏrha ilgi of Pak Chiwŏn (1737-1805)

Description

This is the first translation into English of the eighteenth-century Korean masterpiece entitled Yorha ilgi (The Jehol Diary') by Pak Chiwon (1737-1805). The original text was written in classical Chinese and is a notoriously difficult work to translate. Pak Chiwon diarizes the experiences of his remarkable overland journey on horseback from the northern border region of Korea to China's imperial summer residence in Jehol. Having been commanded by King Chongjo, the Korean monarch, to undertake the journey, Pak accompanied the royal envoys in 1780 on their tributary visit to the Chinese Emperor Qianlong, who was celebrating his seventieth birthday. The diary reveals the author's considerable curiosity about everything he sees and experiences: he describes aspects of China's superior material culture, and compares what he sees to be the backwardness of Korean methodology and uneconomic ways. In addition, the diary provides an outline of his suggestions for Korean social reform and even painstakingly records the daily lives of his fellow travellers, including his two personal servants.

Subjects

Reader Reviews

No reviews yet for this book.

Be the first to share your thoughts!