The Foresight of Dark Knowing KOREAN CLASSICS LIBRARY: PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION The Foresight of Dark Knowing Chŏng Kam nok and Insurrectionary Prognostication in Pre-Modern Korea translated, annotated, and with an introduction by John Jorgensen University of Hawai‘i Press/Honolulu Korean Classics Library © 2018 The Regents of the University of California All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America 23 22 21 20 19 18 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Jorgensen, John Title: The foresight of dark knowing : Chong Kam nok and insurrectionary prognostication in pre-modern Korea / translated, annotated, and with an introduction by John Jorgensen. Other titles: Korean classics library. Philosophy and religion. Description: Honolulu : University of Hawai‘i Press, 2018. | Series: Korean classics library: philosophy and religion Identifiers: LCCN 2017060277 | ISBN 9780824875381 (cloth alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Chong Kam nok. | Prophecies (Occultism)—Korea. | Divination—Korea. | Korea—History—Prophecies. Classification: LCC BF1812.K6 F67 2018 | DDC 133.309519—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017060277 Korean Classics Library: Philosophy and Religion Series Editor: Robert Buswell, Jr., University of California, Los Angeles Series Editorial Board: Donald Baker, University of British Columbia John B. Duncan, University of California, Los Angeles Sun Joo Kim, Harvard University Namhee Lee, University of California, Los Angeles James B. Lewis, Oxford University A. Charles Muller, Tokyo University Young-chan Ro, George Mason University Ken Robinson, International Christian University, Tokyo Edward Shultz, University of Hawai‘i, Mānoa Senior Editor: Jennifer Jung-Kim, University of California, Los Angeles This work was supported by the English Translation of 100 Korean Classics program through the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the Korean Studies Promotion Service of the Academy of Korean Studies (AKS-2010-AAA-2101). Publication has been assisted by a grant from the James Joo-Jin Kim Program in Korean Studies, University of Pennsylvania. University of Hawai‘i Press books are printed on acid-free paper and meet the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Council on Library Resources. Design and composition by Wanda China Contents Acknowledgments vii Part I Translator’s Introduction 1 Historical Background 10 History of the Mantic Arts 15 Early Korea: From the Beginnings to the Advent of Koryŏ 39 Koryŏ 50 Chosŏn 82 Conclusion 200 Part II Translation 203 Translator’s Note 205 1. Predictions of Kam 208 2. Yin-Yang Predictions on the Central Palace 214 3. The Numbers of the Central Palace 215 4. Secret Records/Predictions of the Mountains and Forests of the Sam Han 216 5. Secret Predictions of Muhak 226 6. History Discussions of Five Hundred [Years] 229 7. Secret Record of the History of the Discussions of Five Hundred [Years] 231 8. Secret Record/Prediction of Tosŏn 231 9. Secret Predictions of Chŏng Pukch’ang 232 10. Secret Predictions of Nam Sago 234 11. The Ten Excellent Sites for Protection and Good Luck 236 12. Secret Predictions of Great Master Sŏsan 238 13. Secret Predictions of Du Shicong 238 14. Refuge Locations 239 15. Record of the Journey on Hwa’ak Road 240 16. Record of the Journey on the Road to Puktu 241 17. The Method of the Changing Numbers of the Nine Mansions 241 18. Predictions of Ongnyongja 242 19. Predictions Hidden in the House of Mr. Yi of Kyŏngju 243 20. The Poem of Samdobong 245 21. Untitled 246 22. Predictions Hidden in the House of Master Yi of Sŏ’gye 250 vi Contents 23. Hidden Predictions of T’ojŏng’s Family 252 24. Secret Predictions of Yi T’ojŏng 258 25. Poem of the Summer Grains of Kap-o 268 26. The Predictions of Kam 269 27. Teachings of Master Yixing 300 28. The Foresight of Dark Knowing 305 29. Predictions of Chŏng Sun’ong 307 30. Predictions of the Grass Hermitage 308 31. Predictions of the Immortal Nang 309 32. Ongnyongja on Ch’ŏnghak-dong 311 Appendix: The Kap-Cha Cycle 319 Abbreviations 321 Notes 323 Works Cited 433 Index 445 Acknowledgments I wish to thank the board of the Korean Classics Library series of the Academy of Korean Studies for providing the funding and support for this project and to the staff of the Center for Buddhist Studies at the Uni- versity of California, Los Angeles, especially Jennifer Jung-Kim, for their assistance over the years it took to complete this project. Special thanks are due to the anonymous readers of the drafts and the editorial board for their many valuable recommendations. Copy editor Patricia Crosby pro- vided a sterling service in dealing with an awkward manuscript and my many infelicities in style as well for asking pertinent questions about the translation. Nevertheless, the responsibility for all the faults in this book is entirely mine. My thanks also to those of my Korean friends who, often in- advertently, assisted me with understanding some of the ideas that form the premises of the Chŏng Kam nok. Finally, I wish to thank my wife, Min, for her patience and understanding during the course of translating this book, which has been torture for all involved. This work was supported by the Academy of Korean Studies (KSPS) Grant funded by the Korean Government. vii I. Translator’s Introduction