Sohun Yi ssi chijemun - Eulogy for the Royal Concubine Sohun Lady Yi

This funeral oration by King Yeongjo was dedicated to his Royal Concubine Sohun Lady Yi upon her death. She passed away on the sixteenth day of the elventh month of 1721, when Yeongjo was still Crown Prince. Yeongjo’s love for the Royal Concubine Sohun Lady Yi is well known. In this eulogy he celebrates his love for her as well as the deep pain of her passing. One peculiarity of this document is that the Hanmun (literary Sinitic) version (call number 2785) and vernacular version (call number 2787) have been handed down together. The vernacular version contains only a phonetic transcription of the Hanmun version together with red marks indicating pauses. It was intended to help and facilitate dictation of the text for the reader. One noteworthy characteristic of this document is the vernacular transcription of a Hanmun text for use by women. Women were not well versed in Hanmun, so to make things easier for them, transcribed texts like this were produced, especially on the occasion of important ritual ceremonies.