The ''Nogeoldae'' ('Old Cathayan') is a textbook of colloquial northern Chinese published in Korea in several editions from the 14th to 18th centuries. The book is an important source on both Late

Middle Korean Middle Korean is the period in the history of the Korean language succeeding Old Korean and yielding in 1600 to the Modern period. The boundary between the Old and Middle periods is traditionally identified with the establishment of Goryeo in 9 ...

and the history of

Mandarin Chinese Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language ...

. Later editions were translated into

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) an ...

and Mongolian.

The word (Korean ;

Old Mandarin Old Mandarin or Early Mandarin was the speech of northern China during the Jurchen-ruled Jin dynasty and the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty (12th to 14th centuries). New genres of vernacular literature were based on this language, including verse, dram ...

''Khita'') of the title, like the term ''

Cathay Cathay (; ) is a historical name for China that was used in Europe. During the early modern period, the term ''Cathay'' initially evolved as a term referring to what is now Northern China, completely separate and distinct from China, which ...

'', is a transcription of the Mongolian form of '' Khitan'', a people who ruled northern China as the

Liao dynasty The Liao dynasty (; Khitan: ''Mos Jælud''; ), also known as the Khitan Empire (Khitan: ''Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur''), officially the Great Liao (), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed between 916 and 1125, ruled by the Yelü ...

(907–1125). It became a common name throughout Asia for China and all things Chinese. Here it means 'Chinese'. The word (, Korean , literally 'old') had been used as a prefix indicating familiarity (as in modern

Standard Chinese Standard Chinese ()—in linguistics Standard Northern Mandarin or Standard Beijing Mandarin, in common speech simply Mandarin, better qualified as Standard Mandarin, Modern Standard Mandarin or Standard Mandarin Chinese—is a modern standa ...

) since at least the Tang period. The book mainly consists of dialogs centered on a journey of a Korean merchant to

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

, and the Chinese travelers who join him on the way. It opens with the following lines: After arriving in Beijing, they sell Korean commodities and purchase goods to sell back in Korea. The book concludes with the Korean merchant's departure from Beijing. The book focuses on language used in travel, business, banquets, and medicine. It also contains unique insights into life in Beijing, including the first instance of the word ''

hutong ''Hutong'' () are a type of narrow street or alley commonly associated with northern Chinese cities, especially Beijing. In Beijing, hutongs are alleys formed by lines of ''siheyuan'', traditional courtyard residences. Many neighbourhoods wer ...

'' (alley). Later editions are accompanied by Korean-language annotation (諺解 ) interleaved with the text. Below each Chinese character are written two transcriptions in

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The l ...

: a "left reading" taken from the "popular readings" in

Shin Suk-ju Shin Suk-ju ( ko, 신숙주, hanja: ; August 2, 1417 – July 23, 1475) was a Korean politician during the Joseon Dynasty. He served as Prime Minister from 1461 to 1466 and again from 1471 to 1475. He came from the Goryeong Shin clan (고령 ...

's 1455 dictionary, and a "right reading" reflecting contemporary pronunciation. Each Chinese sentence is followed by a colloquial Korean translation, also written in Hangul. The text below is from eonhae edition

Editions

Five editions of the book exist, as it was revised over the centuries to follow changes in the northern Chinese vernacular and the Korean language. The original Chinese edition seems have been written around the middle of the 14th century. The ''Nogeoldae'' and a similar text, ''

Bak Tongsa ''Bak Tongsa'' () is a textbook of colloquial northern Chinese published by the Bureau of Interpreters in Korea in various editions between the 14th and 18th centuries. Like the contemporaneous ''Nogeoldae'' ('Old Cathayan'), it is an important s ...

'' ("Pak the interpreter"), were very popular, and are mentioned in Korean records of 1426 as required texts for government translators. An early 15th century copy discovered in

Daegu Daegu (, , literally 'large hill', 대구광역시), formerly spelled Taegu and officially known as the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; it is ...

in 1998 is believed to be close to the original version. It includes valuable information on the colloquial

of the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fif ...

, called "''Han'er'' speech" () in this book. In 1480, the royal instructor ordered revisions of both textbooks to match the very different

Middle Mandarin Mandarin () was the common spoken language of administration of the Chinese empire during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It arose as a practical measure, to circumvent the mutual unintelligibility of the varieties of Chinese spoken in different par ...

of the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

. A Korean scholar,

Choe Sejin Choe Sejin (, ͡ɕʰwe̞ sʰed͡ʑin 1465 – February 10, 1542) was a Korean linguist, and a translator and interpreter of the Chinese language during the Joseon Dynasty. He is of the Goesan Choe clan and his courtesy name was Gongseo (공 ...

, wrote a guidebook based on this edition in 1507–17. This edition is now conventionally called the ''Beonyeok Nogeoldae'' ( "New Translation of the 'Old Cathayan'") to distinguish it from the original. The Korean versions of the dialogs are written in a colloquial style, giving unique insight into Late

. A third edition, the ''Nogeoldae eonhae'', was published in 1670 by the

Bureau of Interpreters The Bureau of Interpreters or Sayŏgwŏn was an agency of the Joseon government of Korea from 1393 to 1894 responsible for training and supplying official interpreters. Textbooks for foreign languages produced by the bureau aimed to accurately de ...

. It has the same Chinese text as the ''Beonyeok Nogeoldae'', but the right readings and translations were updated to contemporary Korean. During the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

, the Chinese text was revised again as the ''Nogeoldae Sinseok'' ( "New edition of the 'Old Cathayan'"), which was published in 1761. The revision is attributed to one Byeon Hon, who went to Beijing in 1760 with the official delegation. Among the revisions are changing the Chinese name of Korea from (; Korean ) to (; Korean ). A corresponding revised commentary, the ''Nogeoldae sinseok eonhae'', was published in 1763 but is no longer extant. The ''Junggan Nogeoldae'' ( "Reprinted 'Old Cathayan'") appeared in 1795, with a corresponding commentary ''Junggan Nogeoldae eonhae''. Its Chinese text is less colloquial than the earlier versions.

Translations

Translations of the ''Nogeoldae'' into other languages were also published by the

. The ''Cheong-eo Nogeoldae'' (淸語老乞大 "Manchu 'Old Cathayan'") includes

text along with Hangul pronunciation and Korean translations. It was written by Choe Hutaek () and others and published in 1704 and revised in 1765. I Choedae () made a Mongolian edition called the ''Mong-eo Nogeoldae'' (蒙語老乞大 "Mongolian 'Old Cathayan'") that was published in 1741 and revised in 1766 and 1790. A textbook list included in an edict of 1669 mentions a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

translation, but it is no longer extant.

Notes

References

Works cited * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

* * {{commons category-inline, 重刊老乞大諺解, ''Junggan Nogeoldae eonhae''
Joseon dynasty texts
at the

Academy of Korean Studies Academy of Korean Studies (한국학중앙연구원, AKS) is a South Korean research and educational institute with the purpose of establishing profound research on Korean culture. It was established on June 22, 1978, by Ministry of Education & ...

, including ''Beonyeok Nogeoldae'', ''Nogeoldae eonhae'', ''Cheong-eo Nogeoldae'', ''Mong-eo Nogeoldae'' and ''Junggan Nogeoldae''. * Texts at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

: *
''Junggan Nogeoldae''
*
''Junggan Nogeoldae eonhae'', vol. 1vol. 2

14th-century books 18th-century books Chinese-language education Joseon dynasty works Korean language Manchu language Mongolian language Old Mandarin

Contents

Editions

Translations

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links