The Journal of Korean Art and Archaeology

I METAL PRINTING TYPES FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF KOREA

Several hundred thousand metal printing types and wooden printing types are currently in the collection of the National Museum of Korea. Most of them were used by the Joseon central government and the royal family, for printing and publishing important books. The Gyoseogwan Office (校書館), which was the representative publication bureau of the Joseon government, and also the Kyujanggak Library (奎章閣), which was founded by King Jeongjo and took charge of publishing and preserving the hand written and autograph documents of former kings (御製書·御定書), both took custody of the printing types, and put them to various usages. Among all the printing types that remain today, there are over 400,000 metal printing types, and they can be categorized into several sorts, such as imjinja (壬辰字),1 jeongnija (整理字),2 hanguja (韓構字),3 sillokja (實錄字),4 and gyoseogwan inseocheja (校書館印書體字).5 They were mostly cast in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.

During the Japanese colonial period, these printing types were all transferred to the Yi Royal Family Organization (李王職),6 and then moved to the Councilor Division (參事官分室) of the Government-General of Joseon. After being processed and surveyed, they were placed in custody of the Museum of the Government-General of Joseon in 1916, and now finally, are housed in the National Museum of Korea.

As recorded in Shen Gua's (沈括, 1031-1095) Mengxi bitan (夢溪筆談, section 307), movable printing types were first invented by a person named Bi Sheng (畢昇, 970-1051) during the Song dynasty, but the types he created were carved from clay [with added glue: jiaotu (膠土)] and fired, before being fixed resin to a metal board. Then the people of the Goryeo period on the Korean peninsula put printing types made of metal to practical usage for the first time in the world. Jikji (直指), which is now kept in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, is a Buddhist text printed in 1377, and is the world’s oldest extant metal print book. And there is also a record that a text entitled Sangjeong yemun (詳定禮文, Detailed Definitions of Ritual Protocols) had already been printed with metal printing types in 1234.

The Joseon people inherited the Goryeo people's skill and expertise of using metal printing types. They created metal printing types for more than dozens of occasions, and continued to use them in publishing books. Such vibrant usage of metal printing types is rare in East Asia. Also, the ones that remain today hold a special place in world culture. There are not that many metal printing types that currently remain in China, and it is hard to identify the time periods when they were cast and the areas where they were used. The Printing Museum, Tokyo (印刷博物館) has several suruga types (駿河版銅活字) which were cast in 1607 under the influence of Joseon types, but there are not that many either.

The Joseon printing types in the collection of the National Museum of Korea are the world's sole group of printing types of which the origin and usages are clearly known to us. The number of remaining individual types and the number of their sorts, simply outnumber any other remaining groups of printing types in East Asia. They are the living proof that Joseon was a leading country in the area of type-printing culture (Figure 1).

( Figure 1 ) Representative metal printing types from the collection of the National Museum of Korea

II HANGEUL METAL PRINTING TYPES FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF KOREA

Although King Sejong promulgated Hunminjeongeum [訓民正音, Correct sounds (and letters) to teach and enlighten the people] or hangeul in 1446, the Chinese characters continued to serve as the official writing system. Therefore, most of the books published during the Joseon period were printed with Chinese characters, and accordingly, 99% of the printing types now in the collection of the National Museum of Korea are printing types featuring Chinese characters.

Then, there are also 753 pieces of hangeul printing types, 232 large ones and 521 small ones, among more than 400,000 pieces of metal printing types at the National Museum of Korea. Among books published during the Joseon period, there were versions that contained translated versions of Chinese texts or eonhaebon (諺解本) published as well so that ordinary people could easily understand the contents. In order to publish these translations, hangeul types were required.

Hangeul represents a very unique alphabet system which can rarely be seen in other countries, so the hangeul printing types also bear unique features of their own. And especially those in the collection of the National Museum of Korea are not to be found elsewhere, even within Korea. The task of casting metal printing types were overseen by the government during the Joseon period, and the civilian manufacturers never produced hangeul metal printing types as they only had limited usage, so there were not that many hangeul metal types produced to begin with.

All these 753 pieces of hangeul metal printing types at the National Museum of Korea form a rare group of valuable items. It has been our general belief that when a metal printing type was worn down after being used many times, they were melted down and then used in creating new sets of types. We also believed that the printing types that had been created in the early half of the Joseon period had already been destroyed, due to the warfare such as Japanese invasion of Korea which broke out in the 1590s. Yet there are indeed types created during the early Joseon period and currently kept at the National Museum of Korea.

Hangeul metal printing types were created to represent ‘whole’ letters, composed of consonants and vowels already combined. Consonants and vowels were not cast separately. Earlier, these types were assorted into two categories by their size, and were designated as either eonmunja daeja (諺文字大字, large-size types) or eonmunja soja (諺文字小字, small-size types). The Museum of the Government-General of Joseon once test-printed all the extant types, and published Joseon hwalja gyeonbon cheop (朝鮮活字見本帖, A Sample Collection of Joseon Printing Types),7 and the hangeul types that were displayed in this book, are now housed in the National Museum of Korea (Figure 2).

( Figure 2 ) The Joseon hwalja gyeonbon cheop printed with hangeul types and the actual types used to print it

III EXAMINATION OF THE HANGEUL METAL PRINTING TYPES AND ANALYSIS OF THEIR CHARACTERISTICS

There are not so many detailed records regarding the printing type production of the Joseon period, and no record remains regarding the production of hangeul printing types. Hangeul printing types must have been produced as part of a supplemental effort to the main task of casting types for Chinese characters. The production dates of the hangeul printing types at the National Museum of Korea are also unavailable to us.

In order to ascertain when all those 753 pieces of hangeul printing types were created, and what kind of books were published with them, we have to examine the figures and the writing styles displayed by all the individual printing types, and compare them with currently remaining old texts also printed with metal printing types.8 As a result, it is confirmed that the hangeul printing types of the Museum can be sorted into two groups.

01 HANGEUL PRINTING TYPES USED IN COMBINATION WITH THE EULHAEJA TYPES: THE OLDEST EXTANT HANGEUL METAL PRINTING TYPES

Comparative examination of the Joseon's translated versions and the metal printing types from the collection of the Museum, revealed 29 individual (small) printing types that seem to have been used in publishing Neungeomgyeong eonhae (楞嚴經諺解, Korean Translation of the Shurangama Sutra) of 1461 and Dusi eonhae (杜詩諺解, Korean Translation of Tu Fu’s Poems) of 1481. Among those 29, 11 types were confirmed to be exact matches with the letters displayed in both books. Several of them were photographed with a microscope, their reversed images were compared with the figures printed on the paper, and they turned out to be identical (Figures 3, 4).

( Figure 3 ) Hangeul printing types used in combination with the eulhaeja types, which were used in publishing Neungeomgyeong eonhae

( Figure 4 ) Image from the printing types in black overlaid on the printed letters (in white on the grey ground), to show their exact correspondence

Neungeomgyeong eonhae is a hangeul translation of the Shurangama Sutra, and was published in 1461 (during King Sejo's reign). The printing types that were made to print Chinese characters and used in printing the Chinese section of the Neungeomgyeong eonhae are called the eulhaeja (乙亥字) printing types. This printing type was produced in 1455 (the first year, eulhae, of King Sejo's reign) based upon the writing style of a governmental official and also a calligrapher named Gang Hui-an (姜希顔). Actually, another sort of printing type named gyeongoja (庚午字) had been produced five years earlier in 1450, based upon the writing style of Prince Anpyeong Daegun (安平大君), who was famous for his magnificent calligraphy style. Yet the newly-enthroned King Sejo, frustrated and angered by the fact that his own brother Anpyeong had opposed his enthronement, destroyed (melted) the types and newly created the eulhaeja types. Eulhaeja printing types were one of two major printing type groups [the other being the gapinja (甲寅字) types produced in 1434] that were heavily used in the early half of the Joseon period.

The hangeul printing types used in printing (the translated section of the) Neungeomgyeong eonhae are called ‘hangeul printing types used in combination with the eulhaeja printing types.’ The hangeul printing types produced during the Joseon period did not have any specific designations, so today they are referred to with the title of the printing types which were used in combination with them to print Chinese characters. In addition, because these printing types were used for the first time in printing this particular text, they are sometimes referred to as the ‘Neungeom hangeul types.’

Later, these hangeul printing types were used in publishing Amitagyeong eonhae (阿彌陀經諺解, Korean Translation of the Amitabha Sutra) in 1461 and Dusi eonhae (杜詩諺解) in 1481. They were also used in the governmental task of publishing translations of important Confucian texts which continued in 1588-1590. It is estimated that these neungeom hangeul types would have been created after 1455 when the eulhaeja types were first created, and before 1461 when Neungeomgyeong eonhae was first published.

Whose writing style provided the template for these neungeom hangeul types is still unknown, yet it is certain that they feature the characteristics of hangeul writings which prevailed in the early days of the Joseon period. As we all know, Korean letters show combinations of consonants and vowels, like ‘consonant-vowel’ or ‘consonant-vowel-consonant.’ Furthermore, just as the Chinese characters were placed in a squared space, the hangeul consonants and vowels, likewise, were properly positioned in a squared space on either the paper or the printing type.

The fashion of positioning consonants and vowels, changed from period to period, and from situation to situation. In the early days when hangeul was first created, it was decided to reflect the nature of the hangeul letters which were composed of the so-called ‘initial sound (consonant),’ ‘middle sound (vowel),’ and the ‘final sound (consonant),’ so the face of a type was divided into four quadrants and the consonants and vowels were simply placed there, in a fashion which is now referred to as a ‘partitioning of space based upon the sound system.’ In this case, the consonant representing the final sound, which is placed under a vowel, would turn out to be too big, and the balance between all the consonants and the vowel would seem to be off. Therefore, the fashion of placing the consonants and the vowel continued to change in subsequent periods. Later the consonants and the vowel, representing the first, middle and final sounds, were placed inside the squared space yet in appropriate positions. Such fashion is now referred to as a ‘partitioning of space based upon appropriate compositions.’

In later periods, the consonants became relatively smaller than the vowel, and the overall position of the initial consonant gradually shifted downward, and the vowel was displayed in two major fashions. ‘Vertical vowels’ like ‘ㅏ, ㅓ, ㅣ’ became relatively larger than the consonant in subsequent periods, and the distance between such vertical vowels and the consonants was also increased, while ‘horizontal vowels’ like ‘ㅗ, ㅜ, ㅡ’ remained relatively the same, except that they also changed in format due to brush stroke changes (Figure 5).9

( Figure 5 ) Changes in the fashions of placing hangeul consonants and vowels

Hangeul letters featured in Neungeomgyeong eonhae show the initial, middle and final sounds placed in a four-quadrant square. From Figure 5 we can see how the squared space is portioned based on the sound system, and consonants and vowels are positioned accordingly. A thorough cross-checking between 29 individual (small) printing types that seem to be hangeul printing types used in combination with the eulhaeja printing types and the translated versions printed with the eulhaeja types, are not yet to be completed. But all the 29 printing types display the aforementioned characteristics (Figures 6, 7).

( Figure 7 ) Fronts and backs of the 29 hangeul printing types used in combination with the eulhaeja types

These 29 pieces of printing types share similar features not only in terms of writing style but also in the appearance of the outside of the types. First of all, the letters are carved upon the metal relatively shallowly.

The most noticeable similarity shared by these types is seen on the back side of the printing types. Most of the currently remaining printing types display rounded grooves on the back. In the case of the large printing types this rounded groove runs in the same direction as the letter, but in the case of small types the groove runs in the opposite direction. Of course, the shape and depth of the grooves vary considerably from type to type.

The types used in printing the eulhaeja version mostly have flat backs. As we can see from Figure 7, even in cases that show grooves the grooves are very shallow, and the form of the grooves are also triangular and not rounded. When erected, they all stand stably, and there are traces of actually rubbing the base to help them stand stably.

If one sees the side of the printing type, most of the types remaining today show slant, but types in this group show a vertical nature, and an almost perfectly rectangular shape (Figure 8).

( Figure 8 ) Six views of the hangeul types used in combination with the eulhaeja types

The back of the printing types very much mirrors the fashion of type-arrangements. According to records, the gyemija (癸未字) printing types first produced during the reign of King Taejong were arranged upon a printing plate covered with beeswax. Because the beeswax did not harden easily, the types could not be held firmly in place, and often shifted in printing. So it was only possible to print a few pages a day. King Sejong attempted to enhance the printing types, and as a result the gapinja printing types had flat bases and a clear form. These enhanced types did not require the usage of beeswax, and it became possible to print 40 copies a day.10 Regarding the eulhaeja printing types, there are no records of how they were cast, but they were created 20 years after the creation of the gapinja types, and as we can see examples in which both the gapinja types and eulhaeja types were used side by side, we can presume that the eulhaeja printing types also had flat bottoms. Figures of the hangeul metal printing types used in combination with the eulhaeja types provide some basis to this presumption.

In the meantime, 60 pieces of hangeul metal printing types at the Museum were selected and analyzed, and the metallurgical results show that three of them were distinctively different from the others. They all belong to the aforementioned group.11 Metallurgical analysis of the 29 types that are believed to have been hangeul types used in combination with eulhaeja types show that 22 of them were alloyed with more than 80% of copper, and 24 of them with less than 10% of lead. This high concentration of copper and comparatively low proportion of lead shows us that they were produced in a different time period, or with a different method.12

As we can see, among 753 pieces of hangeul metal printing types, 29 pieces are confirmed as types that were used in combination with the eulhaeja types, that had been created in the 15th century.

02 HANGEUL PRINTING TYPES USED IN COMBINATION WITH THE MUSINJA TYPES

Among the 753 pieces, except the 29 pieces mentioned above, the rest of the collection are confirmed as ‘hangeul printing types used in combination with the musinja types.’

Musinja metal printing types were created in 1668 (the ninth year of King Hyeonjong's reign) by the Military Minister and Defence Commander (守禦使) Kim Jwa-myeong (金佐明), who produced the types at the Sueocheong Office (守禦廳) with the resources of the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of the Military. The writing style featured by this type is the same as the gapinja types. Actually these types are the fourth generation of types modeled after the gapinja types, so they are also called saju gapinja (四鑄甲寅字, gapinja type, fourth casting). After Kim Jwa-myeong died, these types were transferred to the Gyoseo-gwan Office (校書館) and were used in publishing books that the government needed. And the hangeul printing types that were used in combination with these musinja types are now referred to as ‘hangeul printing types used in combination with the musinja types.’

There is no record regarding the production date of these hangeul types. Of all the texts printed with this type, Daehak eonhae (大學諺解, Korean translation of the Daxue, Book of Great Learning), which was bestowed on someone by the King in 1695 (the 21st year of King Sukjong's reign), is the earliest one we can confirm. Therefore, it seems they were produced after 1668 and before 1695.

Musinja types were widely used during the reigns of Kings Sukjong and Yeongjo when the government published new books, and the hangeul types used in combination with them were also used in various occasions such as when the Sishu (四書, The Four Books of Confucianism) were translated.

All hangeul metal printing types except the ones that had been used in combination with the eulhaeja types show complete match with the printed letters featured in texts said to have been printed with hangeul printing types used in combination with the musinja types (Figure 9).

( Figure 9 ) Hangeul printing types used in combination with the musinja type, which were used in publishing Daehak eonhae and Siygeong eonhae

Letters printed with these types show the consonants and vowels placed appropriately considering the balance of composition, and the consonants are smaller than those featured in hangeul types used in combination with eulhaeja types. In addition figures that seem like printed and figures that seem like handwritten are mixed here. Such situation can be found in other printed texts as well which used hangeul types that were used in combination with musinja types (Figures 10, 11).

( Figure 10 ) Comparison between "handwritten" styles (left) and "printed" styles (right)

( Figure 11 ) Combination of "handwritten" (in red squares) and "printed" styles (circled) used in printing Daehak eonhae and Sigyeong eonhae

The feet of the hangeul printing types used in combination with musinja types shows a pattern. In case of large printing types the direction of the letter and the groove are the same. In case of small printing types, the direction of the letter and the groove are different. Yet some of the large ones also show some variation. The depth and width of the grooves vary from letter to letter (Figure 12). The side view of types are a little inclined, and the lower section gets narrower, but there are cases of the reverse as well. Also due to the mismatch between left and right pillars there are types that do not stand stably when erected.

( Figure 12 ) Front and back sides of hangeul printing types used in combination with musinja types

We can see from records mentioning the production of gapinja types and the overall figures of the hangeul types that were used in combination with eulhaeja types, that the metal printing types of the early half of the Joseon period used to their bases rubbed flat so they would not need beeswax. But the backs of the hangeul types used in combination with musinja types have rounded grooves and in some cases the left and right pillars do not match in length (Figure 13).

( Figure 13 ) Side view of types showing different heights of type face and different shapes of grooves on the foot

In this case it must have been hard to arrange them without either beeswax or soaked paper to plug in the types. So this figure of the hangeul types used in combination with musinja types indicates that the fashion of arranging printing types was not the same during the early periods and the later periods. But we still cannot confirm the exact period when this change would have taken placed.

Daehak eonhae printed in 1695 (the 21st year of King Sukjong's reign) and Daehak yulgok seonsaeng eonhae (大學栗谷先生諺解, Yulgok Yi Ih's translation of the Book of Great Learning) printed in 1749 (the 25th year of King Yeongjo's reign) were both printed with hangeul types used in combination with musinja types, but the quality of printing seems different (Figure 14). It seems like a result of using musinja types too long until they were too much abraded, so the text that was printed later was of inferior quality. Yet this translated version features not only unclear prints as a result of an abraded printing type, but also prints that must have come from ‘wooden printing types.’ Such wooden printing types must have been required as there was some shortage of metal ones. We can see that hangeul wooden (instead of metal) printing types used in combination with Musin-ja types did exist (Figure 15).

( Figure 14 ) Hangeul printing types used in combination with the musinja types, which were used in publishing Daehak yulgok seonsaeng eonhae

( Figure 15 ) Hangeul metal and wooden printing types used in combination with the musinja types

King Jeongjo who succeeded King Yeongjo was also deeply interested in publication. He himself authored many books and documents, launched several publication projects, and created many types of printing types. While he was still the crown prince (世孫), he ordered the production of the fifth generation of gapinja types (known as imjinja types) and after he was enthroned he ordered the production of not only the sixth generation of gapinja types so-called jeongyuja types (丁酉字) but also iminja (壬寅字), saengsaengja (生生字), jeongnija (整理字) types, and so forth. The total number of types ordered by him reached the hundreds of thousands.

Hangeul metal and wooden printing types used in combination with musinja types were again used together in publishing Myeonguirok eonhae (明義錄諺解, Korean Translation of the Mingyilu, Book to Shed Light on Justice) and Sok myeongeuirok eonhae (續明義錄諺解, supplement to Myeonguirok eonhae) which were all printed with imjinja types. Compared to Daehak yulgok seonsaeng eonhae, more wooden types seem to have been used, and so was the case with the Yujungoe daeso sinseo yueum (喩中外大小臣庶綸音, Royal words enlightening all the vassals and subjects everywhere) printed with jeongyuja types (Figure 16).

( Figure 16 ) Example of a ‘Hangeul printing type used in combination with musinja printing types’ seen in imjinjabon or jeongyujabon versions

We can see wooden printing types were created in several occasions, from the Ilseongnok (日省錄, Records of Daily Reflection) record which says that hangeul wooden printing types were carved for the publication of the king's Yuneum order.13 Jeongjo also said that it would be all right to create hangeul printing types in metal and also in abundance. It is not clear whether they were mass produced as the king suggested, but it is likely that it was not the case.

IV OTHER HANGEUL PRINTING TYPES FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF KOREA

In the collection of the National Museum of Korea, there are not only metal printing types, but also wooden printing types. And thousands of them are wooden hangeul types.14 Most of them were used together with hangeul types used in combination with the musinja types.

Yet there are two additional types. One is the group of types used in printing Jeungsu muwonrok eonhae (增修無冤錄諺解, Revised version of the Book to Leave No Bitter Feelings and Frustration) in 1790 (14th year of King Jeongjo's reign). The printing types used to print Chinese characters for this book are the late gyoseogwan inseoche (後期校書館印書體字) types. They are metal printing types, estimated to have been created around 1723 (3rd year of King Gyeongjong’s reign), and they were modeled after the types that were being heavily used in Chinese publications since the middle period of the Ming dynasty. These hangeul printing types also featured figures proportionate to those of the Chinese characters, and they are smaller than wooden hangeul types used in combination with musinja types.

The other additional example is a group of types created in 1795 (the 19th year of King Jeongjo's reign) and used in printing Oryunhaengsildo (五倫行實圖, Illustrated Stories Exemplifying the Five Confucian Virtues) in 1797 (the 21st year of King Jeongjo's reign). They are also called ‘oryunhaengsil hangeul printing types,’ and they feature a typical handwritten style, resembling brush strokes. The bottoms are rectangular and flat, and unlike other hangeul wooden printing types their sides are also straight. The jeongnija types used in printing Oryunhaengsildo also show straight side pillars compared to those of the Imjinja types. Jeongnija types and oryunhaengsil hangeul types show similar figures and height, so it would have been easy to use them together (Figures 17, 18).

( Figure 18 ) Height comparison between the jeongnija printing types, and hangeul printing types used in combination with the jeongnija types