A Record of Manboksa Temple's Game of Jeopo

by Kim Si-seup

There lived a young scholar named Yang-saeng in Namwon, Jeolla Province. He had lost his parents early and had not yet married, living alone to the east of Manboksa Temple.

Outside his room stood a single pear tree, and when spring arrived, its blossoms bloomed profusely, as if silver fragments were piled high on a tree made of jade.

On bright moonlit nights, Yang-saeng would often stroll beneath that tree, reciting poetry.

A single pear blossom soothes my loneliness,

But a bright moonlit night is painful to spend alone.

By the desolate window where this young body lies alone,

Which house's fair lady will play the tungso for me?

A lonely kingfisher flies by itself,

While a lost mandarin duck floats on the clear water.

Tapping go stones, I envision a connection,

And by lamplight, I divine my fate, sighing by the window.

After he finished reciting the poem, a human voice suddenly echoed from the air.

"If you truly wish to find a beautiful partner, why worry that it won't come to pass?"

Upon hearing those words, Yang-saeng rejoiced greatly in his heart.

The next day happened to be the twenty-fourth day of the third month. It was customary in this town for men and women to gather at Manboksa Temple, light lanterns, and pray for blessings, each making their own wish.

As dusk fell and the dharma assembly concluded, people gradually departed, and the temple became quiet.

Yang-saeng took out a low-quality cloth from his sleeve and threw it before the Buddha, saying,

"Today, I will play a game of low-quality cloth with the Buddha. If I lose, I will prepare a Dharma feast to repay the Buddha. But if the Buddha loses, please grant me a beautiful woman and fulfill my wish."

After finishing his prayer, he immediately threw the jeopo sticks, and indeed, Yang-saeng won.

He immediately knelt before the Buddha and said,

"Since your destiny is already set, you must not deceive."

Then, he hid behind the Buddha statue, waiting for the promise to be fulfilled.

Not long after, a beautiful young lady entered the Dharma hall. She appeared to be about sixteen years old, with her hair neatly braided into two plaits and dressed impeccably, looking like a celestial maiden descended from heaven. Her face was beautiful, her demeanor graceful, and the more one looked, the more modest and elegant she appeared.

The woman brought an oil lamp, poured oil into it, and lit incense. After bowing three times, she knelt and sighed mournfully.

"Though life is said to be ill-fated, how could it be like this?"

Then, she took out a prayer scroll from her bosom and placed it on the Buddha altar.

The text read as follows:

This humble maiden, [Name], residing in [Village Name], [Town Name], dares to address the Buddha.

In the past, the border defenses collapsed, Japanese invaders attacked, and battles spread to our doorstep, with beacon fires burning for many years. The Japanese invaders burned houses and plundered the people; people scattered east and west, fleeing left and right. All our relatives and servants also dispersed.

Being a frail woman like a willow, I could not flee far and hid in my deep boudoir, preserving my chastity to the end. I committed no unethical acts and avoided the calamities of the war.

My parents also affirmed that it was right for a woman to preserve her chastity and allowed me to move to a secluded place to live in the countryside. It has already been three years since I have lived this way.

I spent the autumn moonlit nights and the blooming spring days in vain with a heavy heart, and passed the years idly with the flowing clouds and water. Dwelling alone in a desolate valley, I lamented my short-lived existence, and staying awake alone through beautiful nights, I grieved the lonely dance of a lost phoenix.

But as days and months pass, it seems even my soul is scattering. During every long summer day and long winter night, my liver and gallbladder feel torn, and my intestines feel severed.

I humbly pray to Buddha, please have pity on this body and take special care of me. Human life is predetermined before birth, and the retribution for good and evil is unavoidable, so I too must have a destined connection. I earnestly pray that I may find a spouse as soon as possible.

After the woman finished her prayer, she sobbed repeatedly.

Yang-saeng saw her face through a gap in the Buddha statue and could not control his heart. Unable to bear it any longer, he suddenly rushed out and said,

“What is the reason for the letter you just offered?”

He saw the letter the woman offered to Buddha, and with his face full of joy, he spoke again.

“What kind of lady are you, to come all the way here alone?”

The woman quietly replied,

“I am also a human being. What is so suspicious? You just need to find a good spouse, so there’s no need to ask for my name or be so flustered.”

At this time, Manboksa Temple was already in great disrepair, and the monks were staying in a secluded room in one corner. Only the cloisters remained desolate in front of the main hall, and at the end of the cloisters, there was a very narrow plank room.

When Yang-saeng took the woman's hand and entered the plank room, the woman also entered with him without hesitation.

The two shared their joy, no different from ordinary people.

As night deepened and the moon rose above the eastern hill, shadows were cast on the window lattice.

Suddenly, footsteps were heard, and the woman asked,

“Who is it? Is it not a maidservant who has come?”

From outside the door, the maidservant replied,

“Yes. Normally, my lady does not even go out the door and does not walk three or four steps, but last night, by chance, you went out. How did you come all the way here?”

The woman said,

“Today’s event is no accident. Heaven helped and Buddha cared, so I met a beautiful lord and we are to live together for a hundred years. Getting married without asking my parents goes against etiquette, but meeting each other with joyful hearts is also a strange fate for a lifetime. You go home and bring a place to sit and some snacks for drinks.”

The maidservant returned as she was and set up a drinking table in the courtyard. It was already the fourth watch of the night.

The cushions and drinking table prepared by the maidservant were clean without any patterns, and the fragrance emanating from the wine also did not seem like the work of the human world.

Although Yang-saeng felt strange and suspicious in his heart, the woman’s words and laughter were clear and beautiful, and her face and demeanor were so proper, that he thought she must be a young lady from a noble family who, unable to overcome a momentary impulse, had climbed over the wall and come out, and he no longer doubted.

The woman offered a cup of wine to Yang-saeng and said to the maidservant,

“Sing a song to add to the merriment.”

Then, looking at Yang-saeng, she smiled and said,

“This child only knows old tunes. How about you compose a new song for me to add to the merriment?”

Yang-saeng readily agreed and immediately composed lyrics to the tune of "Man'ganghong," having a maid sing them.

In the chilly spring, the silk slip is still thin,

How many times have I fretted, wondering if the incense burner's fire has gone out.

The mountains at dusk are tangled like eyebrows,

And the evening clouds spread like a parasol.

With no one to pair with in the silken curtain and mandarin duck quilt,

I play the tungso, with my golden hairpin half-inserted.

Alas, how swiftly time passes!

The sorrow deep in my heart is stifling.

The lamp flickers behind the low screen,

Who would notice if I shed tears alone?

Joyfully, tonight,

Spring has arrived with the sound of a flute,

The accumulated sorrow of ages dissipates,

Let us raise our wine cups to the tune of Geum-nu-gok.

Now I grieve for the regrettable past,

I used to fall asleep frowning in my lonely room.

When the song ended, the woman spoke sadly.

“Although the promise to meet at Bongdo last time was broken, how can it not be a blessing from heaven to meet my former beloved again today at the Xiao River? If you do not abandon me, I will serve you until the end. But if you do not grant my wish, I will vanish forever.”

Yang-saeng was surprised yet grateful to hear her words and replied,

“How could I not follow your wishes?”

Nevertheless, the woman's demeanor was unusual, so he observed her carefully in his heart.

At this time, the moon hung over the western mountains, roosters crowed in distant villages, and temple bells could be heard.

As dawn approached, the woman said to her maid,

“Child, clear the table and return home.”

As soon as the maid replied, she vanished, and it was unknown where she went.

The woman spoke again,

“Our fate is already sealed, so now I wish to serve you and return home.”

As Yang-saeng held the woman's hand and walked through the village, dogs barked from fences and people came and went on the road.

However, the people on the road did not see him with the woman and merely said,

"Bachelor Yang, where have you been since dawn?"

Yang-saeng replied calmly,

"Last night, I got drunk and lay down at Manboksa Temple, and now I'm on my way to visit a friend's village."