Hwarang Segi

Hwarang segi (lit. ''Annals of Hwarang'' or ''Generations of the Hwarang'') was a historical record of the Hwarang (lit. flower boys but referring to an elite warrior group of male youth) of the Silla kingdom in ancient Korea. It is said to have been written by Silla historian Kim Daemun 金大問 ( fl. 704) in the reign of Seongdeok the Great (r. 702~737).

The ''Hwarang segi'' survived to the time that Kim Busik 金富軾 (1075–1151) compiled the ''Samguk sagi'', but is believed to have been lost since the 13th century, because no reference to the ''Hwarang segi'' was made after reference to the text found in monk Gakhun's 覺訓 ''Haedong goseung jeon'' 海東高僧傳 (Lives of Eminent Korean Monks, ca. 1215). However, two handwritten manuscripts of a text titled ''Hwarang segi'' were suddenly made public in 1989. It had been owned by a man named Park Chang-hwa, who worked at the Japanese Imperial Household Library during the Japanese Colonial period. The manuscript was kept by his student, Kim Jong-jin, and Kim's wife, Kim Kyung-ja, made it public to the media in 1989. The 32-page excerpt was released at the time and when Hwarang Segi was unveiled, Park had already died. (1889~1962) The first manuscript, which was made public in 1989, is typically called the "extract" (''balchwebon'', 발췌본, 拔萃本), and contains a preface and short accounts of the first fifteen ''pungwolju'' (풍월주, 風月主) or leaders of the ''hwarang''. The second manuscript, which was revealed by Park Chang hwa's son in 1995, is usually called "the mother text" (''mobon'', 모본， 母本) and contains a 162-page manuscript. Because the first part of the manuscript was damaged and missing, it begins with a fragmented but fuller account of the fourth ''pungwolju'', continues with more detailed accounts of the first fifteen ''pungwolju'', and concludes after an account of the thirty-second and final ''pungweolju''. Both manuscripts are in the handwriting of Bak Changhwa 朴昌和(1889–1962), who was skilled in literary Chinese and also worked for the Imperial Library in Tokyo during the Colonial period. The historical validity of these ''Hwarang Segi'' manuscripts is still in controversy among many scholars of early Korea and Korean studies. Most scholars think of this as a novel although some argue for its authenticity.

For those who argue for the authenticity of the manuscripts, the importance of ''Hwarang segi'' is that is one of the scarce historical works about Silla by a person of Silla himself, and it is free from Confucian dogma and morality. If the ''Hwarang segi'' manuscripts are authentic, later historians have based their understanding of Three Kingdoms era on Goryeo Dynasty sources like ''Samguk sagi'' and ''Samguk yusa''. However, even if it turns out to be Park Chang-hwa's novel, its value as a historical source is likely to be recognized. For instance, Lee Do Heum from Hanyang University suggested that "Hwarang segi," written by Bak Chang Hwa, could be a manuscript of the original "Hwarang segi," or a reprint of the original manuscript in later years.

The manuscript known as the ''Hwarang Segi'' extract is made of 16 parts; one for the introduction and the fifteen for the biographies of fifteen pungwolju leaders of the hwarang. They are:

#Introduction
#Wihwarang
#Mijinbu
#Morang
#Ihwarang
#Sadaham
#Sejong
#Seolwonrang
#Munno
#Biborang
#Miseng
#Hajong
#Bori
#Yongchun
#Horim
#Kim Yusin

Notes

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Bibliography

McBride, Richard D., II. "The ''Hwarang segi'' Manuscripts: An In-Progress Colonial Period Fiction." ''Korea Journal'' 45, no. 3 (Autumn 2005): 230-260.

McBride, Richard D., II. "Silla Buddhism and the ''Hwarang segi'' Manuscripts." ''Korean Studies'' 31 (2007): 19-38.

McBride, Richard D., II. "Silla Buddhism and the ''Hwarang segi'' Manuscripts." ''Tongguk sahak'' 東國史學 (Seoul) 44 (June 2008): 35-71.

McBride, Richard D., II. "Pak Ch’anghwa and the ''Hwarang segi'' Manuscripts." ''Journal of Korean Studies'' 13, no. 1 (Fall 2008): 57-88.

See also

* Three Kingdoms of Korea
* History of South Korea

Silla
History books about Korea
Korean false documents