P'ahan chip: A Literary Mosaic

From the assigned readings to Kerry's presentation, it was clear that Professor Wuerthner's lecture was going to be impressive. It was truly a pleasure to hear him speak about his work. What I found to be the most fascinating was that his source text was a 1650s woodblock print!

I appreciated learning about Professor Wuethner's meticulous attention to detail, especially his discussion on the importance of the title. He stated that "Poems for Overcoming Idleness" was the most faithful translation, as any other rendition could have altered the work's meaning, even if it risked confusion with another well-known East Asian work of a similar name. This work consists of poems and short nonfiction narratives written over a long period (around 20-25 years?) and in the scriptura franca of classical chinese. And it was amazing to hear about the inclusion of diverse voices, from the powerful to the marginalized.


Professor Wuerthner also went into detail about strategy. He shared about the difficulty of retaining rhyme and decided to omit it and focus on other salient features. The use of footnotes and squares brackets is to explain what would’ve been obvious to a knowing readership (which unfortunately ruins the humor of the text). Additionally, he had to delve deeply into concepts mentioned in the source text and acknowledged previous scholars' work through the use of existing translations.


This work is distinguished by a "creative blend of poetry and prose," with its narratives providing coherence and deeper meaning to its poems. It is transcultural and offers significant insight into medieval Korea. Professor Wuerthner described it as a literary mosaic, where seemingly random pieces come together to form a complete image. I was surprised to learn that this project has taken nearly ten years to complete. But given the effort Professor Wuerthner has invested, and as an audience member noted, slow reading necessitates slow translation. This translation is not only a substantial scholarly achievement but also the first complete Western translation. I’m not sure it’s enough to say that Professor Wuerthner has truly done an exceptional job.


—Maria

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