Jemangmaega (Korean: 제망매가; Hanja: 祭亡妹歌) is a

hyangga ''Hyangga'' () were poems written using Chinese characters in a system known as ''hyangchal'' during the Unified Silla and early Goryeo periods of Korean history. Only a few have survived: 14 in the ''Samguk yusa'' and 11 by the monk Kyunyeo. ...

written by a Buddhist monk named “Wolmyeongsa” in the ancient Korean kingdom of

Silla Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms of K ...

. The poem was included in

Samguk Yusa ''Samguk yusa'' () or ''Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms'' is a collection of legends, folktales and historical accounts relating to the Three Kingdoms of Korea (Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla), as well as to other periods and states before, duri ...

, a collection of

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

from the

Three Kingdoms Period The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...

. The poem still remains one of the most popular Korean works of literature today. The poem's title “Jaemangmaega” roughly translates to “A Requiem for a Dead Sister.” Consequently, the poem is about the author mourning his sister's death in a regretful and sad tone. A variety of figurative expressions such as

simile A simile () is a figure of speech that directly ''compares'' two things. Similes differ from other metaphors by highlighting the similarities between two things using comparison words such as "like", "as", "so", or "than", while other metaphors cr ...

metaphors A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared with ...

, and philosophical statements related to

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

are present in the work.

Legend

It is believed that the poem was written during the deceased sister's

jesa Jesa (, ) is a ceremony commonly practiced in the East Asian cultural sphere. Jesa functions as a memorial to the ancestors of the participants. Jesa are usually held on the anniversary of the ancestor's death. The majority of Catholics, Budd ...

, a traditional Korean

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

. Legend states that upon writing the poem on a piece of paper, a strong gust of wind flew the paper westwards. In Korean and Buddhist folklore, a paper flying towards the

west West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

means that the wish on the paper has been granted.

Original Text

This is how the poem was written in the original Samguk Yusa:

生死路隠此矣有阿米次肹伊遣吾隐去内如辝叱都毛如云遣去内尼叱古於內秋察早隠風未此矣彼矣浮良落尸葉如 / 一等隠枝良出古去奴隠處毛冬乎丁阿也彌陁刹良逢乎吾 / 道修良待是古如

Translation

{, class="wikitable" , + !Original (Classical Chinese) ! Mixed Script Korean{{Cite web, last=김, first=완진, date=, title=제망매가 김완진 해독, url=https://ko.wikisource.org/wiki/%EC%A0%9C%EB%A7%9D%EB%A7%A4%EA%B0%80, url-status=live, archive-url=, archive-date=, access-date=, website= !Modern Korean !English , - , 生死路隠 , 生死 길흔 , 삶과 죽음의 길은 , rowspan="2" , Was it because it was here that the paths of life and death crossed that you hesitated, , - , 此矣有阿米次肹伊遣 , 이에 이야매 머믓그리고 , 여기에 있음에 머뭇거리고 , - , 吾隐去内如辝叱都 , 나ᄂᆞᆫ 가ᄂᆞᆫ다 말ᄯᅩ , '나는 간다'는 말도 , rowspan="2" , and then passed away without even saying "I must go?" , - , 毛如云遣去内尼叱古 , 몯다 니르고 가ᄂᆞ닛고 , 못 다 하고 가는가 , - , 於內秋察早隠風未 , 어느 ᄀᆞᅀᆞᆯ 이른 ᄇᆞᄅᆞ매 , 어느 가을 이른 바람에 , rowspan="2" , Like leaves that will be blown hither and thither in an untimely autumn wind, though we come from the same branch, , - , 此矣彼矣浮良落尸葉如 / 一等隠枝良出古 , 이ᅌᅦ 뎌ᅌᅦ ᄠᅳ러딜 닙ᄀᆞᆮ / ᄒᆞᄃᆞᆫ 가지라 나고 , 이리저리 떨어질 잎처럼 / 한 가지에 나고도 , - , 去奴隠處毛冬乎丁 , 나논 곧 모ᄃᆞ론뎌 , 가는 곳을 모르겠구나 , we know not where we go. , - , 阿也 , 아야 , 아아, , Oh! (

Interjection An interjection is a word or expression that occurs as an utterance on its own and expresses a spontaneous feeling or reaction. It is a diverse category, encompassing many different parts of speech, such as exclamations ''(ouch!'', ''wow!''), curse ...

) , - , 彌陁刹良逢乎吾 / 道修良待是古如 , 彌陀刹아 맛보올 나 / 道 닷가 기드리고다 , 극락세계에서 만날 나 / 도를 닦아 기다리겠노라 , As for me, whom you shall meet in Paradise, I shall wait, seeking truth profound.

Citations

Korean poetry Korean folklore Chinese-language literature of Korea