Encounter: A Novel of Nineteenth-Century Korea Volume 5

by Hahn Moo-Sook and Moo-Sook Hahn

Book Overview

This historical novel, Encounter (Mannam), by Hahn Moo-Sook, one of Asia's most honored writers, is a story of the resilience in the Korean spirit. It is told through the experiences of Tasan, a high-ranking official and foremost Neo-Confucian scholar at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Because of Tasan's fascination with Western learning, then synonymous with Catholicism, he is exiled to a remote province for 18 years. In banishment...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520073819
• ISBN13: 9780520073814
• Release Date: October 1992
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Korean literary classic explores 18th-19th C. philosopher's life

A must-read tour-de-force for anyone with even a slight interest in Korean history or literature. Tasan was a highly regarded Confucian scholar, who chose a life of poverty and scholarship, and to learn more about Catholicism, which had just entered Korea via the Jesuits in China (a Bible was brought from Beijing during one of Korea's regular tributary visits to its suzerain leader). Less than a Christian testament, this exceptional narrative reveals a precise picture of 18th and 19th century Korean life, politics, class and culture. Hahn explores a deeply thoughtful and informed internal struggle, and how Confucian and Christian ideals, when realized, are compatible. This is a Korean literary classic, in translation.