''Naehun'' (Instructions for Women, 내훈, 內訓) is a guidebook for women and the first known book written by a female author in Korea. It is one of the most representative books that reflects the social construction of gender and sexuality based on

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a Religious Confucianism, religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, ...

ideals in premodern East Asia. It is also a unique historical source material, with various Korean royal court vocabulary describing appropriate behavior for a woman in accordance with Confucian cultures.

Background

This is an instruction book for women published in 1475 (6th year of Seongjong's reign) written by

Queen Insu Queen Sohye (舊1437-09-08 - 舊1504-04-27), of the Cheongju Han clan, was the only wife of Crown Prince Uigyeong. She never was the consort of a reigning king. Nevertheless, she was honored as Queen Insu (인수왕후) and later as Queen Dowager ...

(posthumously honoured as Queen Sohye; 7 October 1437 – 11 May 1504), the wife of

Crown Prince Uigyeong Crown Prince Uigyeong (; 3 October 1438 – 20 September 1457), personal name Yi Jang () and formerly called as Prince Dowon () was a Crown prince of the Korean Joseon Dynasty. He was the oldest son of Sejo of Joseon and Queen Jeonghui, also the o ...

and a member of the

Cheongju Han clan The Cheongju Han clan (Hangul: 청주 한씨, Hanja: 淸州韓氏) is a Korean noble family. It is also called the House of Han or the Han clan of Cheongju. It is considered one of the most prominent clans since the Gojoseon period. In the Sil ...

, who was appointed as the Queen Dowager in 1475. She regretted that there were no educational books that women could read easily at that time, and wrote this book by extracting the key points of the women's discipline from four Chinese classical books for women:

Biographies of Exemplary Women The ''Biographies of Exemplary Women'' () is a book compiled by the Han dynasty scholar Liu Xiang c. 18 BCE. It includes 125 biographical accounts of exemplary women in ancient China, taken from early Chinese histories including '' Chunqiu'', ' ...

, Lesser learning,

Mingxin Baojian The ''Mingxin baojian'' () is an ancient Chinese book containing "a collection of aphorisms and quotations form the Chinese classics and other works" Léonard Blussé, Harriet Thelma Zurndorfer, Erik Zürcher, ''Conflict and accommodation in early ...

and Chinese Introduction for Women. ''Naehun'' is the oldest known surviving work by a Korean female writer and shows the effects of the

social values on women's status during the

Joseon Dynasty Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

. It was published several times, during different periods, and the notation, vocabulary and writing style changed as well, making it an important resource for the study of the Korean medieval language.

Tomb of Queen Sohye

In a royal tomb in the form of ''Dongwoni Gangneung'', the tomb of the King is on the left and the tomb of the Queen is on the right. Nevertheless, in ''Gyeongneung'', the tomb of Queen Sohye is on the left, and the tomb of King Deokjong (also known as Crown Prince Uigyeong), is on the right. The reason is that Deokjong died at the age of 20, while he was still the Crown Prince, but Queen Sohye died at the age of 68 under the status of Grand Royal Queen Dowager (대왕대비, 大王大妃), so regardless of gender, her status was higher than that of her husband.

The Book

At the beginning of the book is the Queen's letter of Instruction (내훈) and the list. The book is composed of 3 volumes and 7 chapters. VOLUME 1 :언행 – Onhaeng: Speech and Comportment :효친 – Hyochin: Filial Piety :혼례 – Hollye: Bond of Marriage VOLUME 2 :부부 (夫婦) – Bubu: Husband and Wife VOLUME 3: Parents, Mother, Cordiality, Frugality :모의 (母儀) – Moui: Motherly Rectitude :돈목 (敦睦) – Donmok: Cordiality in Sibling Relationships :염검 (廉儉) – Yeomgeom: Integrity and Frugality

Queen Sohye's preface

All persons at birth receive the spirit of Heaven and Earth, and all are endowed with the virtues of the Five Relations. There is no difference in the principle of jade and stone. But yet how is it that orchids and wormwood differ? It depends on whether or not you have done your best to fulfill the Way of cultivating yourself. The civilizing transformation of
King Wen of Zhou King Wen of Zhou (; 1152–1050 BC, the Cultured King) was Count of state of Zhou, Zhou during the late Shang dynasty in ancient China. Although frequently confused with his fourth son Duke of Zhou, also known as "Lord Zhou", they are different hi ...
was enhanced and broadened by the brightness of his consort
Tai Si Tai Si (, c. 12th – 11th century BC) was the wife of King Wen of Zhou and is revered as a highly respected woman of History of China#Ancient China, ancient China. She was a descendant of Yu the Great - founder of the Xia Dynasty - and was the ...
. The hegemony enjoyed by
King Zhuang of Chu King Zhuang of Chu (, reigned 613-591 BC) was a monarch of the Zhou dynasty State of Chu during the Spring and Autumn period in ancient China. His personal name was Xiong Lü (), his ancestral name was Mi (), and his posthumous title was King Zhua ...
was largely due to the efforts of his consort
Fan Ji Fan Ji (died in the 7th century BC), was the Queen consort of King Zhuang of Chu King Zhuang of Chu (, reigned 613-591 BC) was a monarch of the Zhou dynasty State of Chu during the Spring and Autumn period in ancient China. His personal name was ...
. Who could do more to serve her King or her husband? The order and disorder, the rise and fall of a country are related to the wisdom and ignorance of men, but are also closely tied to the goodness and badness of women. Therefore women must be taught well ..

Sources

* 250 pages. * * viii+105 pages. * * *

References