The draft of Yeolha Diary, a travelogue written by late Joseon practical scholar Yeonam Bak Ji-won (1737-1805) after a trip to Qing China, will be designated a treasure.
The Korea Heritage Service said on the 31st that it has given advance notice of designating "Bak Ji-won Yeolha Diary draft set" as a national heritage treasure.
The materials announced this time capture the form of Yeolha Diary when it was first produced, compiled from Bak Ji-won's experiences after visiting Beijing and Rehe in Qing China. Multiple transcript copies of Yeolha Diary transmitted at home and abroad are known to have been composed based on these materials as the archetype.
An original manuscript is a book made from a draft handwritten by the author; a transcript is a book copied by another person from the author's draft; and an archetype is the base text relied upon when making a copy.
The Yeolha Diary draft materials housed at the Dankook University Seokju-seon Memorial Museum consist of 10 types in 20 volumes. The Korea Heritage Service gave advance notice to designate as treasures 4 types in 8 volumes that are judged to be Bak Ji-won's autograph drafts.
These include Yeonhaeng Eumcheong Geon·Gon (2 volumes), which contains terms related to Western Learning not found in the standard edition; Yeonhaeng Eumcheongnok 4·Yeonhaeng Eumcheonggi 3 (1 volume), which shows the appearance of the earliest drafts; Yeolha Diary Won·Hyeong·I·Jeong (4 volumes), drafts furnished with prefaces and sections; and Yeolha Biseorok (1 volume), which contains many items not included in the standard edition.
An official at the Korea Heritage Service said, "The 'Bak Ji-won Yeolha Diary draft set' allows a look at its form when first produced and the process of revisions and adaptations by the author Bak Ji-won and his descendants," adding, "Given its status as a representative Silhak work of the late Joseon period and its influence on Joseon society at the time, it is highly worthy of designation as a treasure."
Along with this, the Korea Heritage Service also gave advance notice to designate three other items as treasures: "Amitabha preaching painting of Hyeondeungsa Temple in Gapyeong," "Seated stone Vairocana Buddha of Jingusaji Temple site in Imsil," and "Seated stone Shakyamuni triad and enshrined relics of Sinheungsa Temple in Yangsan."
In particular, the "Amitabha preaching painting of Hyeondeungsa Temple in Gapyeong" is evaluated as a work that well shows the flow of 18th-century Buddhist painting, as its production year of 1759 and its producers are clearly recorded.
The Korea Heritage Service plans to collect opinions during a 30-day notice period and then designate each as a national heritage treasure after deliberation by the Cultural Heritage Committee.