"Ŭlchi Mundŏk hansi" (), or "Yŏsujang Ujungmunsi" () is an ancient Korean poem.
Context
In the second
Goguryeo-Sui War,
Ŭlchi Mundŏk
Ŭlchi Mundŏk () 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 famous for his victory at Salsu, and is often numbered among the greatest her ...
maneuvered the
Goguryeo
Goguryeo (37 BC – 668 AD) (; ; Old Korean: Guryeo) also later known as Goryeo (; ; Middle Korean: 고ᇢ롕〮, ''kwòwlyéy''), was a Korean kingdom which was located on the northern and central parts of the Korea, Korean Peninsula an ...
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
Pyongyang
Pyongyang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Accordi ...
, 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, Ŭlchi wrote the caustic poem 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 force ...
.
Text
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.
History
The performance of oral ...
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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 classi ...
References
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Korean poetry
Chinese-language literature of Korea