The Tale of Shim Chong

The Tale of Shim Chong (Korean: 심청전; Hanja: 沈淸傳; RR: Sim Cheong-jeon) is a Korean folk tale.[1] Simcheongga is the pansori of the tale.[2] It was adapted on screen by Shin Sang-ok twice, once in South Korea in 1972,[3] and as The Tale of Shim Chong in 1985 when he and his wife Choi Eun-hee were abducted to North Korea.[1]

For the 1985 film, see The Tale of Shim Chong (film).

The Tale of Shim Chong
Hangul
Hanja
Revised RomanizationSim Cheong-jeon
McCune–ReischauerShimch'ŏngjŏn

Introduction

Sim Cheong-jeon is a story about Sim Cheong who throws herself into the sea of Indangsu as a sacrifice so that her blind father can regain his eyesight. Her filial piety helps her to be resurrected and become an empress, and her father's blindness is cured.

Authorship

The identity of the author is unknown, and the period in which this work was created is also unknown. However, there is a mention of a jeongisu (professional storyteller) reading Sim Cheong-jeon in Chujaejip (秋齋集 Collected Writings of Chujae Jo Susam), written by Jo Susam (趙秀三, 1762-1847). Therefore, scholars believe that Sim Cheong-jeon existed as a complete work in the 18th century.

Literature

Texts

There are handwritten, woodblock print, and metal-type print editions of Sim Cheong-jeon. Sim Cheon-jeon jeonjip (심청전 전집 Complete Collection of Sim Cheong-jeon) (edited by Kim Jin-yeong et al., Pagijong, 2004) contains a total of 83 different editions of the story. Woodblock editions are largely divided into three groups: “Hannam edition version” and “Songdong edition version,” which were published in Seoul, and “Jeonju edition version.” Major differences among the three versions are: 1) the appearance of a celestial being who comes down to earth (Hannam edition version), 2) the appearance of Bbaengdeok's mother (Songdong edition version), and 3) the appearance of Lady Jang (Jeonju edition version). Generally, the Hannam edition is considered to be the earliest version of Sim Cheong-jeon, followed by the Songdong edition and the Jeonju edition. Sometimes the different editions of Sim Cheong-jeon are grouped by whether the writing style shows characteristics of pansori or written fiction; by the different spellings of the name of Sim Cheong's father; and by the differences in the section featuring Lady Jang. Most handwritten editions of Sim Cheong-jeonare considered to be the Jeonju edition version.

Plot

The Hannam edition version, published in 24 sheets in Seoul, features the following plot:

During the reign of Emperor Chenghua in Ming China, Sim Hyeon and his wife Jeong give birth to a daughter named Sim Cheong. Upon giving birth to Sim Cheong, Jeong dies and Sim suffers from an illness that renders him blind. As a single father, Sim Hyeon raises Sim Cheong all by himself. In the year Sim Cheong turns 13, Sim Hyeon goes out by himself and gets into trouble, whereupon a Buddhist monk rescues him and tells him that he will regain his eyesight if he gives 300 sacks of rice as an offering to Buddha. Sim promises the offering to the monk and returns home. Sim Cheong finds out about her father's promise and volunteers to become a sacrifice for the seamen in return for 300 sacks of rice. When Sim Cheong throws herself into the sea of Indangsu, she is summoned by the Dragon King, is resurrected in a lotus flower, and becomes an empress. Now an empress, Sim Cheong hosts a feast for the blind and reunites with her father. Overjoyed at the reunion with his daughter, Sim Hyeon regains his eyesight.

Although the versions of editions printed in Seoul tend to be relatively unpolished, Jeonju edition versions are more detailed and elaborate, featuring a variety of characters, including Lady Jang, Bbaengdeok's mother, Gwideok's mother, and Blind Hwang.

Bbaengdeok's mother

Bbaengdeok's mother is a character who appears after Sim Cheong falls into the waters of Indangsu. She swindles Sim Hyeon and steals his money. The negative image of Bbaengdeok's mother is apparent from the description of her appearance and actions. Although there are differences in different editions, in most cases, Bbaengdeok's mother is described as an ugly woman with a strong sexual appetite. She becomes a more prominent character in the Jeonju edition and Sin Jae-hyo edition, and Sim Cheong's father also becomes more important in the plot. This has led some scholars to argue that Sim Cheong's father becomes a main character in the Jeonju edition version, while Sim Cheong is the sole main character in earlier versions of Sim Cheong-jeon. On the way to the feast for the blind that Sim Cheong hosts as an empress, Bbaengdeok's mother falls in love with Blind Hwang and runs away with him, leaving Sim Cheong's father behind. In relation to the appearance of Bbaengdeok's mother, the yangban culture is often discussed as an important aspect shown through Sim Cheong's father, who is depicted as a foolish man who becomes infatuated with a woman and squanders his fortune away.  This shows that while Sim Cheong-jeon tells the story of Sim Cheong's filial piety on the surface, the depiction of Sim Cheong's father shows people's criticism of the reality and ideologies of the time.  

Features and Significance

Pansori-based fiction

As pansori became popular in the late Joseon Dynasty, stories of pansori began to be enjoyed in the book form. Pansori Sim Cheong-ga became a novel, titled Sim Cheong-jeon. Pansori-based fiction is generally thought to have originated from folk narratives (seolhwa), which became pansori, and later novels. But in the case of Sim Cheong-jeon, some believe that the novel version came before the pansori.

Original folk narratives

Sim Cheong-jeon is considered to be a result of several different folk narratives, such as Hyonyeo Jieun seolhwa (孝女知恩說話 Story of Jieun, a Filial Daughter), Gwaneumsa yeongi seolhwa (觀音寺緣起說話 Story about the Origin of Gwaneum Temple), Insin gonghui seolhwa (人身供犧說話 Story of a Human Sacrifice), and Hyohaeng seolhwa (孝行說話 Story of Filial Actions). Some also believe that it is a combination of Gaean seolhwa (開眼說話 Story of Regaining Eyesight) and Cheonyeo saengji seolhwa (Story of a Virgin Sacrifice).  

Hyonyeo Jieun seolhwa tells the story of a girl named Jieun who took care of her mother by selling her body. Gwaneumsa yeongi seolhwa is about Won Hongjang who made an offering to the Buddha for her father and later became an empress. After becoming an empress, she sent a statue of Gwaneum to Korea, and Gwaneum Temple was built in Gokseong to house the statue. Insin gonghui seolhwa is a story about making a human sacrifice to a celestial being, while Gaehan seolhwa tells a story about a blind person regaining his eyesight. Lastly, Cheonyeo saengji seolhwa is a folk narrative about offering up an unmarried woman as a sacrifice.

Other

Yeo Gyu-hyeong (呂圭亨, 1848-1921) rewrote Sim Cheong-jeon in Chinese characters and entitled it Japgeuk Sim Cheong wanghu-jeon (Miscellaneous Play: Tale of Queen Sim Cheong). This edition was created for a performance at Wongaksa, the first modern Korean theater, and therefore is presumed to have been written sometime between 1907 and 1908, when performances were staged at Wongaksa.

Sim Cheong-jeon was also rewritten into a sinsoseol titled Gangsangnyeon (江上蓮, Lotus in the River) by Yi Hae-jo (李海朝, 1869-1927). Gangsangnyeon was published in 33 installments in Maeil Shinbo from March 17 to April 26, 1912.

Sim Cheong-jeon has been rewritten as modern fiction and poem and also adapted into song, TV show, film, changgeuk, opera, musical, madang nori, and children's book. Most recently, Universal Ballet held a ballet performance titled Shim Chung (October 2019).

The town of Gokseong in Jeollanam-do hosts the annual Sim Cheong Festival in an attempt to celebrate Sim Cheong's filial piety and reinterpret the meaning of filial piety in modern society. Gokseong is considered to be the setting for Gwaneunsa yeongi seolhwa, which is known to be the original story on which Sim Cheong-jeon is based.

Translations

English
  • H. N. Allen, “SIM CHUNG, The Dutiful Daughter,” Korean Tales, New York & London: The Knickerbocker Press, 1889.
  • Charles M. Taylor, Winning Buddha's Smile; A Korean Legend, Boston: Goham Press, 1919.
  • W. E. Skillend, “The Story of Shim Chung,” Korean Classical Literature: An Anthology, London: Kengan Paul International, 1989.
  • Marshall R. Pihl, “The Song of Shim Ch'ng,” The Korean Singer of Tales (The Harvard-Yenching Institute Monograph Series, 37), Harvard University Press, 1994.
  • J. S. Gale, “The Story of Sim Chung,” Gale, James Scarth Papers, unpublished.

French
  • Le Bois Sec Refleuri, translated by HONG-TJYONG-OU, Ernest Leroux, 1895.
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See also

References
  1. Bärtås, Magnus; Ekman, Fredrik (2014). Hirviöidenkin on kuoltava: Ryhmämatka Pohjois-Koreaan [All Monsters Must Die: An Excursion to North Korea] (in Finnish). Translated by Eskelinen, Heikki. Helsinki: Tammi. p. 161. ISBN 978-951-31-7727-0.
  2. 재미있는 우리국악 이야기, 서해문집
  3. Schönherr, Johannes (2012). North Korean Cinema: A History. Jefferson: McFarland. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-7864-9052-3.

Sources
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