This article is the translation and annotation of the Record of Servant Myogeum(婢猫今所志) and the Appeal of Servant Gaedong(奴狗同原情) from Sojiryu(所志類, the category of record) of Yoram(要覽). Yoram is supposed to be edited by seori(胥吏, a petty official) class person who frequently prepared documents of local government. The title Yoram which means ‘essential reading’ also suggest that this book was designed for learning of practical literary style. The literary form of Soji(所志) which means ‘record’ appeared in Goryeo(高麗) period and lasted to Joseon(朝鮮) period. Soji is petitions turned in by petty officials and the lowest class of people. It is also called Balgwal(白活) and it reflects the realities of society as it includes whole documents concerning civil affair. The term Wonjeong(原情) which means ‘to plead one’s grievous situation’ also belongs to Soji category. It is petitions mostly about lawsuits over burial plot presented by criminals, family members and servants. The story that a cat and a dog file lawsuit and appeal their own situation, which is decided in favor of the dog in the end, is very allegoric so that one might relegate it to a certain literary genre, such as allegory or novel. But these allegoric factors should be understood as kind of device to arouse learners’ interest when we regard its intention of editing. The fact that the stories in Yoram include lots of Idu(吏讀) style which was frequently used in documents of local government, also proves that this book was edited with practical reason. It is also remarkable that, even though most of the stories in Yoram took the irregular form of Soji, the editor also tried to imitate regular Gomun(古文) style in some respect. But these are not such sentences of high standard, and it suggests that the editor was not a Gomun expert, but an educated person who had writing ability in some degree.
Ⅰ. 해제
Ⅱ. 역주