Collection
Encounter between the writers of the Joseon and Qing Dynasty
Hongdaeyong forged friendship with classical scholars Eomseong, Yukbi and Banjeonggyun of Hangzhou on his trip to China as an envoy of Joseon government with the position of Jajegungwan, and continued to maintain his interaction with them even after his return to Joseon.
Encounter between Hongdaeyong and literary artists of Qing awoken strong curiosities of Park Ji Won and his disciples on the literary artists of Qing, Park Ji Won and 4 other scholars (Lee Deok Mu, Yoo Deuk Gong, Park Je Ga and Lee Seo Gu), etc. sent their poems to and collected the poems of the literary artists of Qing Dynasty even prior to their trip to China as members of the government envoy. In addition, Yoo Deuk Gong and Hong Yang Ho, on the opportunity of having received introductions and critical comments from the literary artists of Qing through their trip and having met with Giyoon who was the Minister of the Ceremonial Department during the trip of envoys, established a long standing friendship between the families even for their descendants. As such, they were able to acquire new energies of and trends in the liberal arts of Qing Dynasty at the time.
Chusa Kim Jeong Hee had meetings with literary artists of Ongbanggang in Beijing and fortified and broadened friendship with the renowned personalities of China at the time including Wanwon, etc. he personally met through exchange of letters. On the foundation for communication established by the Bukhakpa literary artists, he created a new horizon for the Korea-China cultural exchange in the 19th century by socially interacting with the central personalities of the liberal arts sector of Qing Dynasty through his trip to China as a member of the government envoy. In addition, Shineui had literary meetings with Seokmukseoru of Ongbanggang and his literary artists in accordance with the recommendations of Chusa Kim Jeong Hee.
Lee Sang Jeok made countless number of return trips to Yanjing for more than 30 years in his role as an interpreter of the envoy dispatched by the government. He forged broadened interactive relationships with the literary artists of Mancheng through his outstanding literary talents as well as the personal networks of Kim Jeong Hee. He became a celebrated literary artist in the literary circles of Beijing as a representative poet of Joseon at the time.
The majority of interactions between the literary artists of Joseon and Qing Dynasty was conducted in cities such as Beijing, Shenyang and Rehe on their passage to China as members of the government envoy. Beijin and Shenyang were the most important political and cultural centers of Qing Dynasty with the gathering of countless number of highly talented literary persons. Moreover, Rehe was one of the important castle towns in which interactions between the literary artists of Joseon and Qing occurred. In particular, Liulichang in Beijing is situated in the southern part of the Beijing Castle that sold various ancient literatures and antiques, similar to Insa-dong in Seoul today. Whenever the members of the government convey of Joseon stayed in Beijing, they visited this area to purchase books and other various unique items found in China.
Although Jangseoin refers to the official seal itself affixed to indicate the book belongs to the person who owns the book, it is generally used to indicate the image revealed by affixing the official seal on the book. Although our ancestors occasionally made official seals for their use only as Jangseoin, they ordinarily made and used the official seal without distinguishing their applications. As such, there are unlimited types of Jangseoin with differing forms, materials, letters used, chop ink pad colors and location for affixing of Jangseoin. Since the literary artists during the Joseon Dynasty frequently affixed Jangseoin on books they valued highly, it is possible to obtain extensive range of information on the distribution of books through Jangseoin. In this discussion, the usefulness and types of Jangseoin will be examined first, followed by examination of the seal engravers for literary artists who led the official seal cultures in the Joseon Dynasty, in order to discern the trends in the seal engravers for literary artists and have overview of the trends in Jangseoin for each of the eras during the Joseon Dynasty.