Forging an Era: Chusa Kim Jeonghui

INSIGHT

By Park Chul-sang Director of the Research Institute on Ancient Books, Documents, and Culture of Korea

The nineteenth century during the Joseon Dynasty was a time when the seeds were sewn for many aspects of our society today. When studying the scholarship and art of Joseon during that time, one person keeps coming to our mind: Kim Jeonghui 1786–1856 , penname Chusa, representative scholar and artist of the nineteenth century. Study of Kim Jeonghui, therefore, helps us to understand Joseon in those days and reflect on the way we are now.

Orchid of Non-duality

Joseon Dynasty, 19th century / By Kim Jeonghui / Ink on paper / Gift of Sohn Chang Kun, 2018

Kim Jeonghui was born in a prestigious family. His great-grandfather was the husband of Princess Hwasun, daughter of King Yeongjo, which means he was a member of the Joseon royal family. Legend has it that he was born 24 months after conception. This story was not generated in later years but already existed in his time and is symbolic of his extraordinary qualities. The foundation for Kim Jeonghui’s learning and art were laid when he was a young student in the Qing Dynasty of China. Indeed, it can be said that his encounter with two Qing scholars, Weng Fanggang 1733–1818 and Ruan Yuan 1764–1849 , determined the course of his life. He met them only once but the impact was long lasting. They exchanged letters and the two scholars became Kim Jeonghui’s teachers as he studied the art and learning of the Qing Dynasty, China.

Most notably, Kim Jeonghui embraced evidential scholarship (gojeunghak), a field that he eventually made his own and transmitted back to Qing Dynasty. At the time the collection and research of Joseon epigraphy was in vogue, and Kim took the lead in discovering and analyzing new inscriptions and passing on his knowledge to Qing intellects. Through Kim Jeonghui, epigraphy was established as a new field of study in Joseon.

Literati painting was another field that Kim Jeonghui studied deeply, the result of which were his masterpieces Wintry Days and Orchid of Non-duality. Literati paintings are works that were produced by men of letters as a hobby, not by professional artists. Their paintings did not focus on the depiction of objects, but on conveying the spirit of the artist. Orchid of Non-duality, one of Kim’s major works beside Wintry Days, is a painting with the artist’s thoughts written in the empty spaces. Interestingly, the orchids do not look like pictures but rather written letters. Conversely, the letters in the empty spaces look like pictures. These letters like pictures and pictures like letters harmonize as compositional elements on the canvas, while the seals stamped here and there add life to the ink painting. The writing in the blank spaces says that the artist cannot begin to describe the way orchids should be painted but that this is the way to paint them. From this painting we can sense the pride of the artist in attaining the highest level of orchids painting.

Wintry Days

Joseon Dynasty, 1844 / By Kim Jeonghui / Ink on paper / National Treasure No. 180 / Gift of Sohn Chang Kun, 2020

Kim Jeonghui’s greatest artistic achievements are found in calligraphy. When he invented the new calligraphy script “Chusache” (named after his own penname, Chusa) and introduced it to the Qing Dynasty, many literati there obtained examples of his handwriting and hung them up in their homes. The substance of Chusache was embodiment of the calligraphy of the ancient Western Han Dynasty, which Kim regarded as the root of all writing scripts. However, in Kim’s time the Western Han script consisted of not more than one hundred characters. Through his research, Kim Jeonghui identified the characteristics of Western Han script and was finally able to write the characters that had not been handed down. As such, Chusache is not just a copy of old writing but a creative script. It represents the acme of evidential scholarship. A calligraphy masterpiece featuring Chusache is Pavilion with Inscribed Letters on Broken Stones, called Janseo wanseongnu. It is a combination of several scripts and it seems somehow broken and lacking in something. Through this combination, Kim Jeonghui makes people feel as if they had returned to the world that existed thousands of years ago.

Kim Jeonghui’s calligraphy, painting, and scholarship were completely unprecedented in the history of Joseon. Kim devoted his life to constant exploration and interpretation of history and reviving the essence of the process. Joseon was neither a country rich in resources nor a populous country. Kim embraced foreign cultures and made them his own, building on them to forge a unique culture for Joseon. Foreign culture, therefore, became a driving force in the lives of Koreans and the conduit of knowledge. In this respect, Kim was like a representative of Joseon when it came to creating the “Korean Wave of learning,” comparable to the current Korean wave in culture. His very life was a model of how to accept and embrace foreign culture. He rendered the nineteenth century of Joseon an era of his own, and through his art and academic achievements he is showing us how to shape the twenty-first century in which we live.

Pavilion with Inscribed Letters on Broken Stones

Joseon Dynasty, Mid-19th century / By Kim Jeonghui / Ink on paper / Gift of Sohn Chang Kun, 2018