This research analyzed Suseo (壽序), a short writing in Chinese characters (漢文) for celebrating the aged person's birthday, and folk tales about the aged people to research the recognition of the aged people and their social and psychological anxiety an ...
This research analyzed Suseo (壽序), a short writing in Chinese characters (漢文) for celebrating the aged person's birthday, and folk tales about the aged people to research the recognition of the aged people and their social and psychological anxiety and fear.
A genre of suseo was written from the 17th Century to the 20th Century during Joseon period, focusing on the formation of the genre of Suseo in Ming Dynasty in China and late Joseon Period, and also focusing on the cultural ritualization in Joseon. This paper totally analyzed 266 pieces of texts; amongst them 210 texts (181 are for men, 29 for women) are Suseo, and 56 pieces (49 are for men, 7 for women) are written with the other genres similar to Suseo. A genre of Suseo is written fot celebrating the other's aged life with the perspective of 'live long', and also with the perspective of 'aging well'. They estimated the other's 'blessed long life' as 'happy long-life(福壽) or 'matured long-life (德壽)’, and both are terms which implied humanistic values.
The Joseon literati recognized the genre of Suseo were originated from Ming Dynasty of China, but the culture of celebrating one's 60th birthday and writing Suseo for the person were unique rituals in Joseon. De facto, over 61 percents of Suseo were about for the persons who reached 6oth birthday.
The writing culture of Suseo and giving a feast for the person who had 60th birthday were rapidly spread and generalized during late Joseon period. In case of the person whose parents died, they didn't open their birthday feast. And also in case of one of parents died, they didn't give a party for their living parent. However, in both cases, they didn't omit to write Suseo or ask for their acquaintance to write Suseo for their parents and their partner. As days went by, the new culture surrounding 60th birthday party turn up; descendants held a party for their living parent whose partner was passed away or their parents in advanced the date.
Such analysis is based on translating and literary interpreting on the 266 texts written in Chinese characters with a genre of Suseo and its similar genres by Joseon literati. The texts are neoterically published in Hankuk Munjip Cheonggan since 1960's by Minjok Munhwa Chujin Hoe. This study is my second research on Suseo besides for the study on the senescent woman written in Suseo in 2011. It has much potentialities for researches about the humanistic view and literary values. It should be approached no only with the literary perspective, but also with the historical and cultural perspective. Through analyzing the genre of Suseo, it is possible to explain what is the cultural value of Joseon literati and also their view of life. Based on this research, it can be able to shed new light on the new reflective researchs on the 'aging-well' of the contemporary aged society.
Generally, writings for birthday congratulations for women were written by male family members or their friends, and their main topics were about commemoration and empirical relationships between them. Besides, in case of written by asking for the other’s family members, there should be written the detailed reasons how they wrote such writings for the person whom not knowing. It was a cultural manners at that times could not be permitted to writing about women’s aging-well, except family members like mother, sisters and daughters. In such point, a writing as a birthday congratulations takes a significant role as a commemoration and formalization of women’s lives. It was only permitted to women who could be son’s mother over 60 years old. By those possibility, a birthday congratulations for senescent woman was replaced by the narration of short description of woman’s son or family history.
Secondly, this research analyzed the folklore type No. 431-1; 'make his wife do filial piety toward his parents with the impiety mind'(total 48 pieces) in a viewpoint of family relationships narratives, family ethics and community moral narratives. Such type brought up some important questions; what is the sincere filial piety? Is it permissible for the husband to deceive his wife with a good motivation of letting her do a filial piety?
In a viewpoint of family relationship narrative, such type can be approached in 3 facades. The first, in a position of 'son/husband', he evoked some problematic family dilemma through deceiving his wife for the purpose of making her do filial piety toward his parents. However, eventually such a fraudulent suggestion led to an unexpected result; reconciliation between wife and parents could be called a 'paradoxical effect of lie.' The second, in a position of 'daughter-in-law/wife', some stories revealed the wife's weak social position and unfair couple relationship through the husband's attitude; it was premised that the husband's lie could be rationalized because he lied for parents with a good motivation. The third, in a position of 'parents/parent-in-law', some stories showed the aged persons' dependant position; economical poverty and physical weakness. It was urgent need for the aged persons of material support from their son and daughter-in-law to keep their survival and such thing could unexpectedly resolve the conflict between 'parents/parent-in-law' and 'son/daughter-in-law'.
In conclusion, the type 431-1 suggested some questions problematically; the family relationship couldn't be improved only depending on the obligatory demand for ethics. It was need that mutual aid between family members, breaking the parent's unilateral authoritarianism and keeping the manners of appropriative consideration toward the other family as a neighbor.
And this research was focused on the change of relationship between senior-parent and children when it occurred in inheritance of property and analyze the meaning of money as a qualitative changes amongst family members, senior-parents psychology and imagination which shows their desire to filial duty, as it were strong expectation of mental royalty and material supporting from their children than blind bloody tie. To explain this issues, this paper analyzed the Folklore Type No. 411-5 ‘an Adoptive son than bloody daughter(filial duty of adoptive sun)’ amongst Hankuk kubimunhak daekye.
In this Folklore Type 411-5, the senior-parent prefer to roaming, begging and committing suicide than living together with their children who dislike or felt uncomfortable with them. This is in fact, disorganization of family. Moreover, they adopt the other young man who showed hospitality toward them, because they regarded such attitude as serious filial duty. This means reorganization of family. In such process, the senior-parent showed their extremely-elated anxiety; they demanded to the man who became their adoptive son valued serious filial duty than their love toward their baby. On the other hand, when some problem occurred with regard to property right between bloody-child and adoptive one, the one demanded to dissolution of adoption or made dissolution of adoption. For that reason, it occurred another forms of disorganization of family.