‘Myeong(銘)' has the functions of both vigilance(警戒) and blessing(頌祝) all together. Of these, the 'Myeong' with the function of vigilance has its important characteristic of expressing the meaning of vigilance through a variety of subject matters. Ther ...
‘Myeong(銘)' has the functions of both vigilance(警戒) and blessing(頌祝) all together. Of these, the 'Myeong' with the function of vigilance has its important characteristic of expressing the meaning of vigilance through a variety of subject matters. There exist a lot of works from which a figurative expression of personifying things does appear, and it is not too much to say that those things are all the things that exist especially as those being used as subject matters. In this respect, to tell about the aspect of 'the diversity of subject matters,' the Chinese literature genre, which is called 'Myeong,' does never fall behind any other literature genre. In the beginning, the 'Myeong' has started only with recording the article name, article owner's name, article manufacturer and manufacturing time spent by engraving several letters on an article. Such engraved letters (Myeongmun: 銘文) have gradually changed into sentences of expressing vigilance and recording charitable deeds. In other words, through recording, the intention for encouraging vigilance or leaving any recording to posterity as lessons has been contained in the recording. Among these, in this study, with the 'Myeong' at the center taking articles, namely, routine things as subject matters, the modes of selecting subject matters have been closely examined while they have also been considered separately by subject, by form, etc. The life that is learned by oneself with lessons obtained by attaching 'Myeong' to articles may be regarded as the Wisdom of Orientals. It was possible to study the positive view of living of the writers who would also take the vigilance of life management through affection and praise about articles. In addition, there are a number of works in which deep affection toward articles has been revealed through personification, which can be said to be the part where the literary characteristics have been revealed rather sufficiently. There is the effect expanded to be the vigilance effect in advance of the expression of a special affection about the things (desk, shoes, seat, blanket, tent, clothes hanger, pot, mirror, comb, rule, chair, folding screen, etc.) that are used for everyday life just by granting a name to every inanimate object. In conclusion, the 'Myeong' literature is a piece of writing of the nature that makes a composition of vigilance written on a thing and makes it continued to practicing. This part may almost seem to be a rigid writing of homily, but the literary nature like the figure of speech and symbols, etc. has also been mingled together. Above all, because it is the genre in which the majority of writers have been creating works throughout a long history, the 'Myeong' literature is obviously a valuable heritage that can never be neglected. This study may be called a deepened study of the 'Myeong' literature being taken from the two different genres of the 'Myeong(箴)’ and the 'Jam(銘)’ that are commonly called 'Jammyeongryu(箴銘類),' and it is hoped that this study will be a catalyst for invigorating related studies.