許蘭雪軒과 閨怨歌攷

A Study on Mrs. Huh, Ran-Sul-Hun and Her Kyoo-Won-Ka - An attempt to examine genealogy of poetical theme adopted by woman-writers of the Rhee-Dynasty -

When we careful1y examine the poetical works by woman-writers of the Rhee-Dynasty, what most attracts our interest is the peculiarity of the theme they willingly adopted. Although it was from ancient times that Korean women began to write poems and songs, we can’t find such peculiar themes quite different from men’s as we are easily confronted with in the poetical works by woman-writers of the Rhee-Dynasty. And also though there had been, as we know, a few works based on Resentment and Lamentation before the Rhee-Dynasty, we can nowhere find more critical and repulsive element than in the poetical works by woman-writers of the Rhee-Dynasty. In is quite ironical that such works were written numerously in the Rhee-Dynasty during which women’s manners were confined under the Confucian ethics. There must have been some impulsive element. That is why I studied Kyoo-Won-Ka written by Mrs. Hnh, Ran-Sul-Hun. It was found, as the result of it, that Kyoo-Won-Ka was influenced indirectly by Chinese classical poems and Koryo-Kayo, and directly by the poems of Baek, Kuh-Yee, poet of Tang. Besides, it became also clear that she had been influenced much by her domestic environments and her own char cter. By this we know the ironical theme of the resentment adopted in the works by woman-writers of the Rhee-Dynasty had been transmitted from Baek, Kuh-Yee, poet of Mrs. Huh, Ran-Sul-Hun and from her to all the woman writers of the Rhee-Dynasty.