A Record of Manboksa Temple's Game of Jeopo
by Kim Si-seup
As day broke, the woman led Yang-saeng into a deep forest path. The path was soaked with heavy dew, and it was so quiet and deep that the front was out of sight.
Yang-saeng asked,
“Why is your dwelling place like this?”
The woman smiled quietly and replied,
“A woman living alone naturally has a residence like this.”
Then, playfully, she recited a line from the 『Classic of Poetry』:
“The dew on the path, wet and heavy,
You ask why I do not travel in early morning and late night?
It is because the path has much dew.”
Yang-saeng also smiled and immediately responded with a poem from the 『Classic of Poetry』:
“A fox ambles along,
Lingering by the ford of the Qi River.
The road to and from Lu is smooth,
While the lady of Qi idles playfully.”
After exchanging poems and having a good laugh, the two entered Gaeryeong-dong together.
After walking for a while, a small house appeared amidst fields covered with mugwort and tall thorns reaching for the sky. It was not large, but it was a very beautiful and neat house.
Yang-saeng followed the woman inside.
Inside the room, the bedding and curtains were neatly arranged, and the food on the table was no different from what he had seen at Manboksa Temple the previous night.
Yang-saeng stayed there for three days.
The joy was no different from that of the ordinary world.
The maid was beautiful but not cunning, and the dishes were clean but without elaborate patterns. Everything seemed unlike the human world.
Yang-saeng also felt it was strange now and then, but drawn by the woman’s subtle affection and kind heart, he did not think deeply about it anymore.
After a while, the woman quietly said,
“Three days here are like three years in the human world. Now, my lord, you must return home and attend to your livelihood.”
Finally, a farewell drinking party was arranged.
Yangsaeng could not hide his sorrowful heart and said,
“Why is this parting so swift?”
The woman calmly replied,
“We will meet again and fulfill our lifelong wishes. Your coming to this humble place today is surely due to a long-standing connection. How about meeting my relatives and neighbors?”
When Yangsaeng agreed, the woman immediately had a maidservant inform the neighbors in all directions.
The first was Ms. Jeong, the second Ms. Oh, the third Ms. Kim, and the fourth Ms. Ryu.
They were all daughters of noble families with high standing, and unmarried relatives living in the same village as this woman.
Their dispositions were gentle, their dignity exceptional, and they were intelligent and well-read, skilled at composing poetry.
They each composed four seven-character quatrains to bid farewell to Yangsaeng.
First, Ms. Jeong stepped forward.
She was a woman of refined demeanor and elegance, her cloud-like chignon gently covering her ears.
Ms. Jeong sighed deeply, then recited a poem.
On a spring night, with flowers blooming, even the moonlight is beautiful,
My sorrow is endless, I have forgotten even my age.
How regrettable, if only this body could become a biikjo,
We would dance and play in pairs in the blue sky.
With no light in the seven lamps, how deep the night has grown,
The Big Dipper is askew, and the moon is half-waned.
How sorrowful, who will visit this grave?
Her blue jeoksam was crumpled, and her chignon was disheveled.
With the plum blossoms gone, our tender promise has passed in vain,
As the spring breeze sweeps by, all things are fleeting.
How many spots on my pillow were soaked with tears?
The mountain rain is indifferent, only pear blossoms fall abundantly in the garden.
As I idly let my youthful spring pass by,
How many nights have I spent sleepless in this desolate, empty mountain?
I did not recognize the traveler passing by Namgyo as my beloved,
What year will it be when I meet Lady Ungyo like Baehang?
Next was Ms. Oh.
With her hair braided into two parts and a slender figure, she recited a poem, unable to hide the affection in her heart.
Was it that day I returned after offering incense at Manboksa?
When I quietly threw the jeopo, who granted that wish?
The endless resentment of spring days with blooming flowers and autumn moonlit nights,
Let's melt it for a moment with a cup of wine given by my beloved.
Though morning dew settled on her peach-blossom red cheeks,
It's a deep valley, so even in spring, not even a butterfly comes.
How joyful, to hear that neighbors have made a hundred-year vow of marriage,
New melodies are sung again, and golden wine cups are exchanged.
Swallows that come every year dance with the spring breeze,
My heart is broken, and all things are in vain.
How I envy those lotus flowers, whose stems are even aligned,
When night deepens, they bathe together in one pond.
A tall pavilion stands high in the green mountains,
And the flowers on the Yeonriji bloom red every year,
How regrettable, our lives are not even as good as those trees,
Only tears gather in this short-lived youth.
Then, Ms. Kim stepped forward.
She composed her expression and held the brush with a dignified posture.
And then, she quietly rebuked the previously recited poems as being excessively lewd.
“There is no need to speak much at this gathering today. Simply describing the scenery of this place is enough. Why would I reveal my inner thoughts, losing our integrity, and allow that guest to convey our feelings to the human world?”
As soon as she finished speaking, she began to recite a poem in a clear voice.