K172 Mid Term
S1monD
Lecture5-2.pptx3. The Term Question in Korea (1)
French RC missionaries (1837 – 1908)
Terms for God = Translations of Chinese Terms
Tianzhu 텬쥬 天主 was adopted
Shangdi 샹뎨 上帝
Shangzhou 샹쥬 上主
Protestants missionaries used Hanănim
insisting that Koreans had primitive monotheism before missionaries came to Korea
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The Tan’gun Myth and Korean Religions
Korea has “5,000 years of history” = Antiquity of the Nation
During the late Goryŏ Kingdom, the Tan’gun legend has played an important role in national unity and patriotic mobilization against the Mongolian invaders.
Kosindo (古神道), a version of Korean shamanism that considered Tan’gun a god, had a small following, but had largely died out by the 15th century.
In 1910s, with a resurgence in Korean nationalism and the beginning of Japanese colonial rule in 1910, the movement was revived in Taejong-gyo 大宗敎, promoted by Na Ch’ŏl (1864-1916).
Korea is a Unitary Ethno-Nation 單一民族 = Ethnic Purity
Tan’gun is the original ancestor of all Koreans
Tan’gun Nationalism
After the liberation in 1945, Syngman Rhee government emphasized the One Nation theory (ethnic unity under Tan’gun) for the unification of the divided nation.
Taejong-gyo was revived, although it remains a minor religion.
Tan’gun is worshipped today as a deity by the followers of Ch’ŏndo-gyo and Taejong-gyo.
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Q. Ancient Indigenous Monotheism in Korea?
Donald Baker (UBC, 2002) = No
= No existence before Christianity came
Tan’gun Myth is not monotheistic
No documentary evidence until 1880
RC did not use “Hanănim,” but “Tianzhou”
Tonghak’s “Hanălnim” was influenced by RC
Protestant “Hanănim” was invented by J. Ross & J. S. Gale
Most, including Oak (UCLA, 2002)= Yes
Invented, yet Indigenized new term
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French Missionaries’ Use of Hanălnim
Donald Baker insists that French missionaries dictionaries = No entry for “Hanănim”
They used only “Shangdi” and “Tianzhou”
But I found that they used “Hanănim”
“Les payens par respect superstitieur a disent Hanălnim”
= The pagans say Hanălnim with superstitious respect.
The late 19th century French conservative theology
regarded Korean spirituality and all forms of worship
of spirits as idolatry and demon worship.
Dictionaire Français-Coréen (1869), p. 55
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광셔 칠년
예수셩교문답
심양 문광셔원 간
John Ross’s Bible Catechism, 1881
the First Protestant Korean Tract—adopted Hanŭnim 하느님
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The Gospel of Luke, 1882---the same 하느님
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Wenli Version, 1854
Ross’s John, 1882
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Ross Version
Luke, 1887
Hananim
= spelling system change
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Yi Su-jŏng’s Version
in 1884 (Yokohama) 1887 (Yokohama) 1891 (Seoul)
Shin Shangdi Shangdi
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1900, Gospel of John (Seoul) 1899, Underwood, Study of John (Seoul)
Tianzhou 텬쥬
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텬
쥬
Tianzhu vs Hanănim
Underwood Gale, Moffett
Christian identity indigenization
new term old name
(Shangzhou)
Co-existence of two terms and two camps
in the Korean Protestant Scriptures and Literatures
1895-1904
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Jan. 26, 1897
The Independent
Emperor Kojong’s
Coronation ceremony
On Oct. 12, 1897
He worshipped
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Competing Names for God in Korean Scriptures, 1882-1904
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