Samguk Yusa

by Ilyon

  37. The Flute to Calm Ten Thousand Waves

  The thirty-first sovereign was King Sinmun (681-692), whose personal name was Chongmyong. He ascended the throne on the seventh day of the seventh moon in the first year of Kaiyao (Sin-sa). He had Kamun-sa (Thanksgiving Temple) erected on the east coast in honor of his father King Munmu. (The ruins of this temple are to be found in Wolsong-gun, North Kyongsang Province.) The records of that temple contain the following account.

  In order to repel the Japanese pirates, King Munmu started building this temple. (That is, the temple was built in order to secure divine aid. Japanese marauders troubled the coasts of Korea and China for many centuries.) But he died and became a sea-dragon before it was finished, and it was not until the second year of Kaiyao during the reign of his son King Sinmun that construction was completed.

  Under the stairway leading to the Golden Hall of the temple there is a submarine cave opening into the Eastern Sea for the sea-dragon to come in and take its position in a twisting posture. This is the place where the bones of King Munmu are preserved by the august will of that patriotic sovereign, and so it is called Taewang-am, the great King's Rock. (Actually “am” designates a temple or shrine subordinate to a main temple.) The terrace for viewing the appearance of the dragon is called Igyondae, Dragon-viewing Hill.

  On the first of May in the following year (Imo, 683) a marine official named Pak Suk-chong reported to the throne that a small mountain was floating to and fro on the rolling waves and drifting from the Eastern Sea toward Kamunsa. The King summoned his astrologer Kim Ch'un-chil and asked the meaning of this singular event.

  “Your Majesty,” the official replied, “Your august father has become a sea-dragon and protects Samhan (the Three Hans, an ancient designation of Korea) in the sea. General Kim Yu-sin, one of the sons of the Thirty-three Heavens, has also descended to earth. These two guardian deities wish to give you a holy treasure which will protect the kingdom. If you go to the seashore you will receive an invaluable jewel.”

  The King was overjoyed, and on the seventh day of that month he climbed a hill on the coast and viewed the floating mountain with amazement. A courtier was sent to get a closer look, and when he returned he said, “O King, the top of the floating mountain looks like a turtle's head and on it a bamboo grows. The bamboo is separated into two plants by day and becomes a single plant at night.”

  With a wondering heart the King slept at Kamun-sa that night. On the following day just at noon the cloven bamboo suddenly united and heaven and earth shook with thunder. Wind, rain and darkness prevailed for seven days, and it was not until the sixteenth of the month that the wind died down and the waves grew calm. The King then boarded a boat and landed on the sea-mountain, where a monstrous dragon presented him with a belt of black jade.

  “Sir Dragon,” said the King, “I wonder why the bamboo sometimes divides and sometimes unites.”

  “My King,” the dragon said, “one hand cannot make any sound but when two hands strike each other they make music. Likewise the cloven bamboo makes a good sound when its halves unite. This is a happy omen that Your Majesty will make all the people obey your commanding voice. If you make a flute from this bamboo its music will bring peace and happiness to your kingdom. The jade belt and the magic bamboo are gifts from your august father, who is now the King of dragons in the sea and from General Kim Yu-sin who is now a god in the Thirty-three Heavens.”

  Rejoicing at his good fortune, the King gave gold, precious stones and five-colored brocade to the dragon in return for its kindness. He had a courtier cut a piece of the bamboo and then rode back to the land, whereupon dragon and mountain vanished in the mist.

  The King stayed another night at Kamun-sa and had started the return journey in his carriage when he was met by Crown Prince Ikong on horseback.

  “Congratulations, Your Majesty!” said the Prince. “Every ornament on the belt is a living dragon!”

  “How do you know?”

  “Take an ornament from the belt and put it in the water, Sire.”

  The King removed the second ornament from the left side of the belt and rolled it into a stream. Immediately it was transformed into a dragon and flew up to heaven, while the stream became a deep pool with sapphire wavelets which the King named Dragon Pool.

  As soon as the royal procession had returned to the palace a flute was made from the bamboo and was stored in the Ch'onjon-go (High Heaven Vault) at Wolsong (Moon Fortress). When this flute was played attacking enemies fled, spreading plagues receded, sweet rains came after drought, the bright sun shone in the downpour, the wind was mild and the sea was calm. It was called the Flute to Calm Ten Thousand Waves, and was prized as one of the greatest national treasures.

  During the reign of King Hyoso (692-702) this flute was mentioned in connection with the miraculous safe return of the Hwarang Sillye-rang (his correct name is Puryerang). The full story is to be found in his biography (in the chronicles of Paengnyul Temple).

  38. Chukjirang (Chukman or Chigwan)

  During the reign of King Hyoso, the thirty-second sovereign (692-702), there was a young man named Tukosil Kupkan, who was a follower of the noble Hwarang Chukjirang. Tukosil attended Chukjirang every day in order to receive physical and mental training as a loyal and patriotic Silla soldier. But one morning he did not report to his master as usual, and nobody knew where he was.

  When Tukosil had not appeared for ten days, Chukjirang inquired of his mother about her son's whereabouts. The old woman replied that her son had been appointed warehouse-keeper of Busan Fortress by order of Ikson—agan, an army commander in Moryang-pu, and that he had been called away so suddenly that he had not had time to report to his Hwarang chief. Chukjirang said, “If your son had gone on private business there would be no need to call him back, but since he went on official business I must go and give him a treat.”

  He took a basket of cakes and a bottle of wine with him and departed with his servants and 137 youthful Hwarang in stately procession. Arriving at Busan Fortress he inquired of the gate-keeper where he might find Tukosil, and was told that the young man was working on Ikson's farm as usual. Chukjirang entertained Ikson with the cakes and wine and requested that he grant Tukosil a leave of absence. This Ikson flatly refused. (The implication here is that Ikson was using his official position to obtain forced labor for his own private purposes.)

  Just at this time Kan-jin, an official courier, was delivering to the castle thirty bags of rice which he had collected as ground-rents from Ch'uhwa County. He admired Chukjirang for his Hwarang virtues and devotion to his subordinates, and despised Ikson's corruption and stubbornness. He therefore offered Ikson the whole load of rice if he would release Tukosil. But it was not until he had added the gift of a fine saddle and harness that the covetous fortress commander would allow the kidnapped youth to go home.

  Hearing this news, the royal officer who supervised the Hwarang sent out a company of soldiers to arrest Ikson, only to find that he had gone into hiding. So they arrested his eldest son and forced him to take a bath (to wash away his father's guilt) in a pond on the palace grounds in the midwinter cold, this causing him to freeze to death.

  When this strange affair of a father's sin and his son's punishment was reported to the throne, the King issued a decree expelling all natives of Moryang-pu from government office in perpetuity and forbidding them to wear black stoles (part of a monk's habit) or to enter Buddhist temples even though they were monks. At the same time, the children of Kan-jin were awarded the hereditary office of village chief wherever they happened to reside. It was in those days that Wonch'uk-Popsa was denied the rights of clergy even though he was a renowned monk, simply because he was a native of Moryang-pu.

  Many years before these events Suljong-gong, a Silla nobleman, having been appointed governor of Sakju, was proceeding to his new post. Because of an armed revolt on the East Coast, he was guarded by a long train of 3,000 cavalrymen. When they reached the mountain called Chukjiryong,
they found a strong youth guarding the pass against the rebels. The governor praised the youth for his patriotism and wished he had a son like him.

  A month after his arrival at his post, Suljong-kong and his wife both had a dream in which they saw this same man, in the flower of his youth, enter their bedroom. They immediately sent a servant to inquire after the youth, and learned that he had died a few days before. The governor ascertained from the servant that the day of the youth's death was the same as that of his dream. He therefore told his wife that the youth might be reborn as their son (according to the Buddhist doctrine of reincarnation). He sent out soldiers to bury the youth on the northern crest of Chukjiryong and had a stone image of Maitreya (the Buddha of the future) erected before the grave. And sure enough, it was found that the governor's wife had conceived, and in due course she gave birth to a boy, whom they named Chukji.

  The child grew into a strong man and joined the Hwarang. This was Chukjirang, one of the bravest of the Hwarang. As a subordinate of the great general Kim Yu-sin he rendered meritorious service in the unification of the peninsula, and he served as a state minister under four sovereigns—Queen Chindok, King Muryol, King Munmu and King Sinmun.

  During his service with Chukjirang, his follower Tukosil composed the following song in honor of his virtues.

  When I sing the memories of spring

  My heart is sad and lonely;

  In a twinkling all your youthful bloom is gone,

  And on your brow deep furrows are carved too soon.

  Cheer up, my eternal flower of youth!

  On your autumn road of life, with no more earthly cares,

  You'll enjoy a night of sleep under the sage-brush roof.

  39. King Songdok (702-736)

  During the reign of King Songdok an unprecedented famine broke out and brought death to many people. The King therefore distributed 300,500 sok (about five bushels) of government-held rice and other grains, giving three sung (one hundredth of a sok) to each destitute person per day from January through July of the following year.

  King Songdok erected Pongdok Temple in memory of King Muryol the Great, held an Inwang seminar for the Buddhist clergy for seven days, and granted a general amnesty to all prisoners. He also modified the government organization, creating the post of Sijung (Minister President of State). Some historians attribute this modification to King Hyosong (the next monarch after Songdok, 737-742).

  40. Suro Puin (the Lady of the Waters)

  (This traditional tale, like that of Tohwarang above and of Ch'o-yong's wife later in this book, illustrates the ancient Koreans' appreciation of physical beauty.)

  During the reign of King Songdok a Silla nobleman named Sunjong-gong once sat on the seashore with his beautiful wife Lady Suro, having lunch while en route to Kangnung to take up the post of county magistrate. Behind them along the sandy beach stood a rocky crest like a windscreen, soaring high into the sky above undulating ridges. On the hazy crest azaleas bloomed in full glory, tossing their heads in the breeze.

  “O, how lovely!” the lady cried. “Who will pluck some of those azaleas and bring them to me?”

  “Madam,” a servant answered, “the mountain-crest rises on a hanging rock, untrodden and untouched by human creatures. The azaleas are there to be gazed at and not plucked.”

  But an old man who was leading a cow along the seashore overheard the words of the beautiful lady. Quickly he climbed up and picked some azaleas, which he offered to her with a song. Nobody could tell who he was.

  On the following day while Lady Suro and her husband were eating lunch in a sea-viewing pavilion called Imhae-jong, a sea-dragon suddenly appeared and snatched her off to his watery palace. The amazed husband stamped his feet and shrieked at the top of his voice, but to no avail.

  Another old man who had seen what happened said to the unhappy husband, “There is an old saying—'Many mouths can melt even hard iron. How much more will the sea-creatures be afraid of myriad voices.' If you gather all the people from the coastal villages and get them to sing and strike the sea-rocks, you will regain your lost wife.”

  Sunjong-gong did exactly as the old man had suggested, and sure enough, the dragon emerged from the depths of the sea and returned Lady Suro to him. He wept for joy.

  “Lady of the Water,” he said, “Tell me about the bottom of the sea.”

  “O! it was very beautiful. In the Palace of the Seven Treasures food was plentiful—all tasty, clean and fragrant. The best cuisine on land cannot be compared to it.”

  “The wonderful aromatic perfume of your body and dress pierces my heart”

  Indeed Lady Suro was a peerless beauty, and whenever she traveled, whether to mountains, lakes or seashore, she would be seized by gods and dragons because of her charms.

  (The following is supposed to be the song the villagers sang. It will be noted that the dragon is here addressed as “turtle.” Some commentators read this word as Kuho, meaning a divine being.)

  Turtle! Turtle! Let Lady Suro go!

  Know your sin of taking a man's wife.

  If you don't let her go,

  We'll catch you with a net

  And then burn and eat you.

  (And here is the song the old man sang as he offered Lady Suro the azaleas.)

  I let go my cow's tether

  And climb up the purple rock;

  If you do not blush at me

  I will pick the azaleas for you.

  41. King Hyosong (737-742)

  (There is again some trouble about dates here. The date given by Ilyon for the building of the wall is 722, during the reign of King Songdok. Similarly, Chinese sources show that the T'ang request for aid was also made during Songdok's reign. The ruins of the gates in the wall can still be seen near Kyongju.)

  In the tenth moon of the tenth year of Kaiyuan (Imsul) the first barrier wall was built in Mohwa County just southeast of Kyongju to block the attacks of Japanese pirates coming from the eastern sea. The circular wall was 6,792 feet in circumference and was built with the labor of 39,262 people under the supervision of Wonjin-kakkan.

  In the twenty-first year of Kaiyuan (Kyeyu) the T'ang Emperor asked Silla for military help in conquering the northern barbarians.

  A 604-man military mission from China visited Kyongju for the negotiations and then returned home. (This was an expedition against Palhae, a state which had taken over much of the old Koguryo realm It was not conquered until toward the end of the Silla dynasty.)

  42. King Kyongdok (742-765), Ch'ungdam-sa and P'yohun-taedok

  (There is evidently a sentence or so missing at the beginning of this section, since it lacks Ilyon's customary introduction giving the King's titles and the date of his ascension to the throne. The book referred to in the opening paragraph is not a Confucian work as might be supposed but evidently the Tao Te Ching of Lao-tzu, the basic scripture of Taoism. Some of the T'ang Emperors did in fact turn from Buddhism to Taoism.)

  The T'ang Emperor sent the Classic of Morality as a gift to the King, who received it with due ceremony. In the twenty-fourth year of the King's reign the gods of the Five Big Mountains and Three Small Mountains3 appeared from time to time and attended the King in his palace. (Another dating problem since according to the received records this king ruled only twenty-two years. The spirits of various places, especially mountains, were and are a prominent feature of Korean popular religion. To this day almost every Buddhist temple in Korea has somewhere on its grounds a shrine of the Mountain Spirit, usually depicted as an old man accompanied by a tiger.)

  On the third day of the third moon the King mounted the tower of his palace on the Kwijong gate (?) and commanded his courtiers to bring him a dignified monk. They found a luxuriously robed one loitering on the road and presented him to the King, but His Majesty said this was the wrong person and sent the man away.

  Just then they noticed another monk, plainly dressed, coming from the south and carrying a barrel on his back. The King was in a good humor, and calle
d the strange-looking monk into his presence. His barrel was found to contain supplies and equipment for making tea.

  “Who are you, my good monk?” the King enquired.

  “My name is Ch'ungdam, Sire,” he replied.

  “And where are you coming from?”

  “I am coming from the Three-Flower Peak on South Mountain, where I have just offered tea to Maitreya Buddha. It is my annual custom to serve tea to him on the third day of the third moon and the ninth day of the ninth moon. Today is my tea-service day.”

  “Will you make me a cup of that tea?”

  The monk complied. The King sipped the tea with great delight, for it had an uncommon taste and a wonderful aroma. Then he said to the monk, “I have heard much about your song 'Kip'arang.' It is very popular among the people for its beautiful words and deep meaning, is it not?”

  “Yes, Sire.”

  “Will you not compose a song for me on the theme 'Peaceful Reign?'”

  “With great pleasure, Sire.”

  The monk composed the song and presented it to the King. His Majesty was so pleased with the beauty of its words and music that he bestowed upon Ch'ungdam the title of Wang-sa (Royal Priest) and wanted to make him a court favorite. But the monk held that he was unworthy of such an honor, and after prostrating himself before the throne and striking his head twice upon the floor, he bade the King farewell. (Here are the two songs alluded to.)

  Song of Peaceful Reign

  The King is the august father, the vassal is the affectionate mother,

  And the people are the happy children.

  The people should understand their loving kindness,

  Since the noble parents feed and rule myriad creatures.

  Who would leave his home and go elsewhere?

  The people should remain in our native country.

  If the King, vassals and people all do their duty