Eulji Mundeok Hansi is the oldest surviving poem in
Korean literature
Korean literature is the body of literature produced by Koreans, mostly in the Korean language and sometimes in Classical Chinese. For much of Korea's 1,500 years of literary history, it was written in Hanja. It is commonly divided into classica ...
.
Context
In the second
Goguryeo-Sui War,
Eulji Mundeok
Eulji Mundeok (을지문덕) (Ulchi Mundok) was a military leader of early 7th century Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, who successfully defended Goguryeo against Sui China. He is often numbered among the greatest heroes in the m ...
maneuvered the
Goguryeo
Goguryeo (37 BC–668 AD) ( ) also called Goryeo (), was a Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of Northeast China. At its peak of power, Goguryeo controlled most ...
troops so that they engaged the
Sui army seven times a day, each time feigning defeat and retreating, leading the Sui army deeper south with the perception of victory. The Sui army eventually advanced to about 20 km from
Pyeongyang
Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 population ...
, the capital of Goguryeo. However, realizing the advanced hunger and exhaustion of his troops, and perceiving the formidable fortifications of Pyeongyang, Yu Zhongwen realised the looming impossibility of continuing the campaign. To taunt Yu Zhongwen, Eulji wrote the poem in sarcasm and sent it to the enemy general. The Sui army was annihilated at the
Battle of Salsu
The Battle of Salsu was a major battle that occurred in the year 612 during the second campaign of the Goguryeo–Sui War between Goguryeo of Korea and Sui of China. Goguryeo won an overwhelming victory over the numerically superior Sui forces ...
.
Text
The poem reads,
See also
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Korean poetry
Korean poetry is poetry performed or written in the Korean language or by Korean people. Traditional Korean poetry is often sung in performance. Until the 20th century, much of Korean poetry was written in Hanja and later Hangul.
History
The pe ...
*
Korean literature
Korean literature is the body of literature produced by Koreans, mostly in the Korean language and sometimes in Classical Chinese. For much of Korea's 1,500 years of literary history, it was written in Hanja. It is commonly divided into classica ...
{{Poem-stub
Korean poetry
Chinese-language literature of Korea