# 爲釀作中興 景幾何如



## koolaid02

In Korea, upper classes such as aristocrats and government officials used or borrowed only Hanzi(漢字) in writing system until mid-15th century in which Korean character Hangeul was created.
In <竹溪誌>, published in 1543 Joseon dynasty, there's a poetry-song(別曲) that was written around around 13-14th century Goryeo dynasty: "爲釀作中興 景幾何如" 


Other than very Korean way of using Hanzi, which was used differently from China, such as '爲=Ah/Oh' and '景幾何如=How about that?(=Isn't that great?)', it seems clear that 釀作中興 was used like Chinese. But DB of Korean classics from Institute for the Translation of Korean Classics provides translation of 釀作中興 as reviving(中興) town(釀作). But my doubt is that 釀作 seems to mean 釀造(making liquor or vinegar). Can you throw some light on how to interpret 釀作?


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## Skatinginbc

他代無隱 翠華峯 天子藏胎 爲釀作中興 景幾何如 
釀作 literally "to brew", figuratively "to concoct;  devise"
釀作中興 "devise a resurgence plan, secretly engage in the resurgence of one's country", which might have something to do with why the 天子 needs to 藏胎.  It is just my guess .


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## koolaid02

Oh, now it makes sense that the translator inserted 'town' for the transalation of "釀作中興". Thank you.  
The sound of 翠 is the same as 醉 /chwi/ in Korean so 釀作 was used figuratively. 釀作 refers to 天子藏胎, and the translator inserted town to refer to town around 翠華峯. 


竹嶺南 永嘉北 小白山前 
千載興亡 一樣風流 順政城裏 
他代無隱 翠華峯 天子藏胎 
爲釀作中興 景幾何如

My translation:
Before Mt. 小白山, which is on northern side of 永嘉, on southern side of 竹嶺 Hill
In 順政城, which just looks the same as before, even in rise-and-fall over thousand years
King's umbllical cord is buried in none other than 翠華峯   
Oh, enhancing the town's glory again. How about that?


There's also different use of Hanzi in "他代無隱 翠華峯 天子藏胎": 代 was used for transcription of Korean 데 /de/--which means place, region, or town. The sound 代 is /da/ in Korean. By the same token, 隱 serves as be verb and it was used for transcribing 은[eun].


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## Skatinginbc

koolaid02 said:


> How about that?


Excellent!! 
King's umbllical cord is buried in none other than 翠華峯 --That is the literal meaning, am I right?  Perhaps, it also means that there was a king in exile that hid in 翠華峯 without letting his status and identity known to others.


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## brofeelgood

I have a similar take on 釀作中興 as 

 ... but I've always assumed 中 to refer to China exclusively. Do Koreans have a history of referring to Korea as 中 too?

Edit: Aha! I missed the latest posts from koolaid02 and Skatinginbc. Please ignore the question.


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## Skatinginbc

brofeelgood said:


> but I've always assumed 中 to refer to China exclusively. Do Koreans have a history of referring to Korea as 中 too?


Good point!


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## koolaid02

We used 東 to refer to Korea itself for example, for example 海東 or 東方. 
中興(中兴) was used to make something good again such as fame and status. Borrowed Hanzi words from China are used as the similar or the same as in China with narrower meanings. In other words, many Hanzi words flowed into Korea from China in the past and have been used as the similar or the same meaning as they are used in China, though China now adopted simplified Chinese.


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## Skatinginbc

中 in 中興 means 中途, not China.  中興 = 中途振興；转衰为盛


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## brofeelgood

koolaid02 said:


> We used 東 to refer to Korea itself for example, for example 海東 or 東方.
> 中興(中兴) was used to make something good again such as fame and status. Borrowed Hanzi words from China are used as the similar or the same as China with narrower meanings.





Skatinginbc said:


> 中 in 中興 means 中途, not China.  中興 = 中途振興；转衰为盛



That clears it up chaps, thanks!


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## koolaid02

Skatinginbc said:


> King's umbllical cord is buried in none other than 翠華峯 --That is the literal meaning, am I right?  Perhaps, it also means that there was a king in exile that hid in 翠華峯 without letting his status and identity known to others.



Yes, it's known that mountaintop, named as 翠華峯 in 順政城 region, didn't exist. So it is assumed that 翠華 was used to refer to the mountain with literary effect.


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## retrogradedwithwind

I have a guess.
景，大也。
几，兆也，即前景意。
景几何如，伟大的前景怎么样啊。


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## koolaid02

retrogradedwithwind said:


> I have a guess.
> 景，大也。
> 几，兆也，即前景意。
> 景几何如，伟大的前景怎么样啊。


Good insight! 

景 and 何如 were used as the more or less same meaning and way in Chinese, sight, which refers to things stated earlier in the stanza. 

The other Hanzi characters 幾 were borrowed to transcribe the sound of 그(that), /gi/.

To put it more exactly, 景幾何如: How about that sight(景)?(=Isn't that sight great?)

景 refers to things that were shown earlier in the stanza.


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## BODYholic

koolaid02 said:


> 他代無隱 翠華峯 天子藏胎
> 
> 
> My translation:
> King's umbllical cord is buried in none other than 翠華峯



Classical Chinese (古文) is not my forte but is it accurate or is there a reason why "胎" is translated as an umbilical cord?


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## Skatinginbc

胎: 事物的根源。如：「禍胎」
天子藏胎 is not 天子心懷鬼胎.  Rather, it means 天子隱姓埋名.
The umbilical cord is something that connects a person and his mother.  It is used here, I believe, as a metaphor for the link to one's ancestry or origin 根源.


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## BODYholic

1. No, I didn't think it has anything to do with "心懷鬼胎" too. I'm, on the other hand, more optimistic because I'm thinking along the line of "offspring" or "descendant". Since 胎 also means 胎儿 and it is a metaphor for hope. No?

2. I've no problem relating the fact that an umbilical cord connects. Is it an universal fact that in classical Chinese, 脐带 (umbilical cord) is commonly/habitually known as "胎"?


Sorry, I hope I didn't put myself across as nitpicking. It's just that umbilical cord (the stories and events of it) hardly exists in our Chinese history whether it is figuratively or otherwise. And (pardon me) I can't help but giggle when I read the navel string in the translation.


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## koolaid02

Hanzi 胎/tae/ has been used for referring to a person's umbilical cord from royal family in the past in Korea. 태(胎) alone has the meaning of umbilical cord.  In these days, we call it 탯줄/taetjul/ by adding Hangeul 줄(cord) to 태/胎/


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## Skatinginbc

胎 = 胎盘 "placenta" (胎儿与母体交换物质的器官). 
藏胎 refers to 藏胎儀式 "the ritual of placenta burial", which as well as 加封儀式 is deeply rooted in ancient Korean culture.


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## koolaid02

Skatinginbc said:


> 胎 = 胎盘 "placenta" (胎儿与母体交换物质的器官).
> 藏胎 refers to 藏胎儀式 "the ritual of placenta burial", which as well as 加封儀式 is deeply rooted in ancient Korean culture.


Thanks for adding details. I forgot to mention in my previous statement that 태(胎) is also Korean word came from from China, which can mean placenta as well as umbilical cord. 태(胎) can be also found in <朝鮮王朝實錄>, which is about annals of Korean kings from 1392 to 1863.


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## BODYholic

koolaid02 said:


> Hanzi 胎/tae/ has been used for referring to a person's umbilical cord from royal family in the past in Korea. 태(胎) alone has the meaning of umbilical cord.  In these days, we call it 탯줄/taetjul/ by adding Hangeul 줄(cord) to 태/胎/


koolaid02, thank you so much for sharing the information. It's helpful. 



Skatinginbc said:


> 胎 = 胎盘 "placenta" (胎儿与母体交换物质的器官).
> 藏胎 refers to 藏胎儀式 "the ritual of placenta burial", which as well as 加封儀式 is deeply rooted in ancient Korean culture.


Yes, 胎盘 (placenta) has also crossed my mind too. Short of a better word, I think placenta (if not fetus) is more "representative/significant" in 天子藏胎.
Skatinginbc, thanks again for taking the trouble to explain to me.


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