Ancient shipping feels

[ljwrites]

I finished reading The King of the Light in the East as a Work of Epic Poetry by Hwang Sun-gu. It turns out there was a full text of the original epic poem in the back of the book so I took time to read that too. I need a better annotated copy, though, because I counted like four mistakes in transcription and/or translation, some of it really basic stuff like the letter 花 (flower) being used in place of 化 (become). "He turned into a pheasant and flew away" is a strange enough sentence without being rendered as "He flower pheasant and flew away."

After reading the full text I find myself shipping Songyang/Jumong more than ever. Songyang, the arrogant king of Biryu, sees the newcomer Jumong and "on seeing his extraordinary looks, invited him to sit with him." Trusting to his own power Songyang fails to give due respect to Jumong's heavenly lineage and "was careless in his words to Jumong," encouraging Jumong to serve him as his vassal. When Jumong refuses, claiming to be a son of heaven, Songyang tests his skill with archery and is handily beaten. The two become bitter rivals and eventually Jumong curses the land of Biryu with a flood that finally forces Songyang to surrender and swear fealty as Jumong's vassal.(1)

Also I find it interesting that Jumong's wife Soseono, the heroine of my WIP, is recorded as having two sons and the elder of them is named Biryu, the name of Songyang's kingdom/tribe. Depending on the interpretation you go with it's not that mysterious, though, since you can read "Soseono" and "Songyang" as different Chinese writings of the same Korean word roughly meaning "High Land." They may well have been from the same tribe, which would explain her son's name. Add a streak of fantasy and Soseono and Songyang can be the same person, with Soseono as the ruling queen who fought a war with Jumong. That's part of what I love about this history, it's like a puzzle that can fit together in so many different ways.

Notes
1. And yes, I know the reference to extraordinary looks in the ancient literature is code for unusual/superhuman abilities and not like sexy good looks, but just let me have my modern interpretation okay??

Comments

[lb_lee]

Maybe like Soseono could be pulling a Zelda/Sheik disguise job?

Also man, the "SUPERPOWER HANDSOMENESS" good to know it ain't just the fay. I wonder if superpower ugliness is a thing, outside of Medusa?

--Mori

[ljwrites]

I like that idea! Kind of like a more fraught Mulan/Shang situation.

Welllll depending on how you view these descriptions (and your tastes, I guess) these powerful dudes in the ancient world ARE examples of superpower ugliness. Guan Yu, Liu Bei's sworn brother from The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, was said to be nine feet tall with a beet-red face, red eyes, and eyebrows that looked like caterpillars. There's a reason I say that unusual looks in these historical/mythological works are not about teh sexay XD

These descriptions are also highly symbolic, btw, for instance red faces represent loyalty in traditional Chinese opera so Guan Yu's description in the novel draws from that. The history doesn't say anything about how he looked other than that he had a beautiful beard.

[lb_lee]

Oh man, that's what the red face masks mean? I saw them but never knew that's what they meant! Today, I learned!

I'm just imagining this elaborately brushed, curled, and waxed beard. The kind that wins beard contests over here.

--Mori

[ljwrites]

Oh, no doubt. Keeping facial hair clean and presentable is no joke--Hercule Poirot's moustache care routine was one of the things I really enjoyed about the old Murder on the Orient Express movie. If Guan Yu had a beard beautiful enough to be noted in the histories (the novel says his beard was two feet long) you can bet your ass he, or more likely his valet, worked hard to keep it that way.