The Tale of Chunhyang (春香傳, 춘향전) is one of the oldest Korean folk tales. Although originally in the Korean vernacular, there were a number of translations into Classical Chinese. One of them is the Hyeonto Hanmun Chunhyangjeon (懸吐漢文春香傳, 현토한문춘향전) first published in 1917.
Words Versus Characters
It is important to differentiate between words (辭/詞, 사) and characters (字, 자). Characters are monosyllabic symbols, the smallest unit of expression in Classical Chinese text. Words are composed of characters. Words can be: (1) monosyllabic, composed of only one character (單詞, 단사); or (2) polysyllabic, composed of multiple characters. Oftentimes, in Classical Chinese, words are composed of only one character (一字一言一詞, 일자일언일사). For example, the following are monosyllabic words:
- 天(천) – Sky
- 地(지) – Earth
- 玄(현) – Black
- 黃(황) – Yellow
There are also polysyllabic words in Classical Chinese. Most often, these words are composed of one two characters (disyllabic). Some of the examples below are from modern Sino-Korean words:
- 天堂(천당) – Heaven; 天帝(천제) – God; 天王峯(천왕봉) – Cheonwang Peak
- 地域(지역) – Area; 地境(지경) – Border; 地下鐵(지하철) – Subway; 地理學(지리학) – Geography
- 玄祖(현조) – Great-great-great grandfather; 玄慮(현려) – Deep thought; 玄米機(현미기) – rice husker
- 黃河(황하) – Yellow River; 黃泉(황천) – Afterlife; 黃海道(황해도) – Hwanghae Province
In interpreting Classical Chinese texts, it is necessary to differentiate between monosyllabic and polysyllabic words. Polysyllabic words fall into two categories: (1) “Extended” Words (衍聲複詞, 연성복사); and (2) Compound Words (合意複詞, 합의복사). The following series of posts will explore these categories.
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