Im Yunjidang

Excerpt from poem by Im Yunjidang translated from Hanja (via modern Korean) by Suphil Lee Park

Written on Dagger
 
This shapeless blade
Will cut through any steel
Where its end points
The evil hold their breath
Help me, dagger
See me not as lady
Dare yourself sharper
As if whetted anew
 
*
This shapeless blade
Can cut through steel
Where its end points
No evil’s left
Help me, dagger
I’m no lady
Sharpen yourself
As whetted straight
 
*
NonexistentShapeOfBlade
ThatBenefitCutIron
BladeTipWherePoint
HundredEvilFightHold
TryPleaseDaggerSword
NotIWifeHuman
BetterTryYouSharpen
LikeWhetstoneNewStraigten

匕劍銘
任允摯堂

無體之劒
其利截鐵
鋒穎所指
百邪屛息
勖哉匕劍
無我婦人
愈勵爾銳
若硎新發

비검명
임윤지당
 
형체도 없는 칼이
날카로움으로 철을 끊겠네
그 끝이 가르키는 곳에
백 가지 악함 숨 죽이니
비검이여 도와다오
나는 부인이 아니니
더욱 날카로워져라
숫돌에 새로 펴진 듯

*This is a stanza excerpt from a much longer poem, edited in order to better reflect the spirit of the poem.

Author: Im Yunjidang

Im Yunjidang (임윤지당 / 任允摯堂) (1721-1793) was a Korean poet of the late Joseon dynasty who’s now considered to have been one of the first female Korean philosophers. She was a daughter of fallen aristocrats who recognized her rare talent and her second elder brother taught her many literary, philosophical, and political texts of the time, even the ones typically reserved for men. Even after she got married, Im dedicated her nights to studying in secret, and liked to contemplate and write about Neo-Confucianism and political matters.

Translation: Suphil Lee Park

Plume: Issue #133 September 2022