A Study on the Introduction of Chinese epigraphic rubbings of ancient texts 古文碑帖 into Chosŏn from the 17th to 19th Century and Its Reception

Ancient stone inscriptions composed in ancient script 古文字, known as epigraphic rubbings of ancient texts 古文碑帖, are confirmed to have been introduced into Chosŏn in large numbers beginning in the late sixteenth century. The interest in epigraphic rubbings of ancient texts 古文碑帖 during the late Chosŏn period stemmed from the fervent enthusiasm for epigraphy 金石 and epigraphic compilations 金石帖. Starting with the 17th-century envoy mission to Beijing 燕行 led by Rangsŏn’gun Yi U 朗善君 李俁, Chosŏn envoys who admired epigraphy and calligraphy acquired Shiguwen 石鼓文, Shenyubei 神禹碑, and Yishanbei 嶧山碑, thus giving rise to the epigraphy fever 金石熱 beginning in the 17th century, which extended to the domain of epigraphic rubbings of ancient texts 古文碑帖. What is especially noteworthy is that in the late Chosŏn period, epigraphic rubbings of ancient texts 古文碑帖 were not merely briefly described, but rather were subjected to in-depth analysis and decipherment of characters and texts from a philological standpoint. Shiguwen 石鼓文, the first stone-carved poetic inscription in China, is confirmed to have been introduced already in the 15th century and was brought in repeatedly through 17th to 19th-century envoy missions to Beijing 燕行. Accordingly, Chosŏn literati revealed a general philological consciousness by citing works such as Rixia jiuwen kao 日下舊聞考, Daxing xianzhi 大 興 縣 志 , and Dijing jingwu lüe 帝 京 景 物 略 to investigate the textual transmission of the Stone Drums 石鼓. Shenyubei 神禹碑 is presumed to have been introduced during the 16th to 17th centuries, and it is confirmed that a rubbing 拓本 of Shenyubei had already been brought into Chosŏn by 1659, as evidenced through a classical Chinese poem by Yun Hŭk 尹鑴. Hŏ Mok 許穆 (1595–1682) identified the edition of Shenyubei purchased by Yi U, Nam Kŭk’gwan 南克寬 criticized the cultural value of Shenyubei with striking acuity, and Sŏng Haeŭng 成海應 synthesized and organized the theories concerning the transmission and excavation of Shenyubei. Moreover, Chosŏn literati appreciated the aesthetic quality of the calligraphy in the inscription of Yishanbei 嶧山碑 from the early stage of its introduction and actively embraced its calligraphic style 書法, exhibiting a philological attitude regarding issues such as the authenticity and authorship of the stele.