Cale Dixon Un Jangdo Exerpt

Un Jangdo

History recalls the Cho sun Dynasty. The English alphabet and Korean Hongul alphabet do not exactly match up, so the spelling varies from scholar to scholar. Some spell it, ‘C – H – O’ and others spell it, ‘J – O.’ Before the Cho sun were the Sam Han, and before them were the Kojo sun. Most of the artifacts in the museum at this time are from these three dynasties, and some still have unknown origins. The Cho sun Dynasty ran from approximately 1392 until 1910. Their two main rivals appeared to be Japan and China. In the 1590s there was a seven-year war between Japan and Korea, which Korea won. In 1910 Japan invaded for a second time. This war the Japanese won. It was the beginning of their overseas empire. This was late in Japan’s Meiji period. Well before Japan was a rival of Korea, there were other warring land neighbors. The Koreans historically lived below present-day China, but Korea was much bigger back then. Like borders of a country, the names of these countries changed numerous times throughout the years. Korea was once made up of three major countries; Kogurya to the north, which is now part of present-day China, the Beck-je to the southwest, and the Silla to the southeast. The Silla joined the people from the north, the Kogurya, to fight against the Beck-je. The campaign was successful, and sometime around the end of this period many people chose to flee the peninsula, fearful of the cultural changes that were going to accompany their new rulers. Some historians say that those who fled by boat ended up in Japan, blending with the people who lived there, bringing with themcultural developments, math, and further science. Back on the peninsula, as expected, much of the same was occurring among the Chinese, the Kogurya, and Silla. China gave lots of literature, textbooks of science, educational materials, and writings, and Korea gave materials such as gold, and silver, and also some medicinal tinctures and herbs. Around this time the Koreans began wearing a small knife called an Un Jangdo, or silver knife. This knife caughton like blue jeans. The Koreans began wearing this knife as a custom en mass. When this occurred, the Koreans began to send less silver to China because of the demand at home; they wanted it for these beautiful knives. There’s a large collection of these knives along the wall and throughout the museum right now. There are artifacts from Southern China in the first room, Kogurya in the second, Beck-je in the third, and Silla in the fourth. Many of these knives, as you can see, have silver handles, iron blades, and silver-plated sheaths. These were for nobility. Many of the average people couldn’t afford such knives, so theirs may have been made with wood handles, iron blades, and wooden sheaths. Many of the wooden handles and sheaths are badly decomposed and, in some cases, dissolved altogether. The handles that were made of silver were usually elaborately decorated with designs and sometimes jeweled. Most of the blades have etched sayings. A typical etched saying looked like these here in this case.” The tour guide pointed to a glass case full of blades with no handles. “Most of these blades have the same etched symbols. The first line translates roughly, ‘One woman has one mind for one man.’ The second line translates, ‘One man has one mind for one country.’ It became a customary ornament in daily dress. It was used for basically what it says, to protect women from other men and to support a man while protecting his country. If anybody has any questions, please feel free to ask, and if you are of Asian descent and wish to add some information, please do so. We can all benefit from your culture and your knowledge.” The tour guide continued walking slowly. He pointed to another room and explained, “This room tells of the disagree

ment between Korea and Japan, which country is oldest, who

taught what to whom, and which bloodlines went where. There have been some heated arguments among Korean and Japanese tourists and historians in there. This next room is primarily devoted to a famous boulder in China that was at one time part of the Kogurya country. It tells the history of the region. When the Japanese invaded in 1910, they went to this boulder and changed some of the dates around to basically change the history of the two countries. The boulder is still there and quite an attraction for many Korean tourists. There are some drawings of the original story on the boulder, and there are some photos showing the changed inscriptions where the Japanese changed the past.Here on thewall are some traditional costume dresses. Traditionally women wore the knife from two straps of silk or twine. The knife slung in front of the woman, inside her clothes and between her breasts. Chopsticks were often connected to the knife and a ring, as shown here. On this costume, the chopsticks are silver. While eating, silver chopsticks would turn a dark color, brown or black, signaling to the owner of the sticks that they had just been poisoned. Hence, the knife would be drawn and, more often than not, bloodshed followed. Un Jangdo is a classification of a

silver knife. There are two branches of such knives; the

Peado and the Nangdo. The Peado is worn in traditional costume between

the breasts, and the Nangdo is basically the same knife,

but held in an intricately designed, usually silk, pouch or pocket,

also easily accessible. Here are some examples of the

Nangdo in these cases. In this next room is a history of the pearl trade,

which all of Asia has been involved in and Japan is well known for capitalizing. In 1498 the Korean government forbade the wearing of the Un Jangdo. It gets a little gray as to how many

actually stopped. But around 1592, when Japan attacked Korea

in a seven-year battle, the knife was still present. Both men and women, mainly of nobility, wore it. Many of the royal family knives have been passed from generation to generation. Incostume dress today, many women still wear the knife. Traditionally, many women wouldn’t remarry after their husbands died, and the knife became a symbol of virtue. If a woman was touched sexually or injured somehow by another man, suicide was an honorable way to end the pain for all.” Cale raised his hand, “Is it all right to take photos?” “Sure you can. We don’t have a standing policy against it,” answered the guide. “But be careful not to use a flash because it will reflect off the glass casing, and you will not get what you expect.” The guide paused at the end of the hall and stood patiently waiting for people to finish browsing. Cale took some photos of some of the silk costumes and a few of the individual knives, trying to focus on the etched symbols on the blades. When he finished, he took a photo of the lengths of the hallway back to the entrance. He let the camera rest against his chest and moved close to the guide, continuing to browse. “Does anyone have any questions?” asked the guide. No one said anything. “Does anyone know who owns the largest ruby in the world?” asked the guide. Cale could hear people whispering to each other, and an Asian man stood quietly translating an information card to his wife. The tour guide pointed to the last three rooms of the hall, “These rooms are housing precious and semiprecious stones and jewelry from Burma, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. Some of the pieces are very rare, including some of the largest sapphires in the United States at this time. I’ll give you a few minutes to have a look. We’ll regroup at the end of the hall where the Cho collection begins.” The guide’s heels clicked on the marble as he walked to the end of the hall and stood in an archway. Cale watched the people gaze into the cases at the stones. He moved closer to the cases when some people moved on. Cale read the information card, “Moguk stones, Irrawaddy River, Burma.” The stones looked similar to the stones found in thevictim’s mouth, but Cale couldn’t tell the difference between a ruby and a marble. Cale looked into the rose-red color, which seemed to capture light and refract it off some deep fractures that ran through the center of the stones. Cale took a picture of the stones and moved on out of the room to follow the guide. Cale entered the archway where the guide stood talking with a woman pointing into a display case and interrupted, “Excuse me, are these all private collections or donated?” The tour guide responded, “All that you are seeing today are private collections. Many of them are on a United States tour; some were specifically invited, and others are being housed here indefinitely.” “Is there any way to find out who owns a collection or where they came from?” “Yes. You would have to be cleared by the curator. Obviously some collectors don’t want to brag about their collections because it attracts all kinds of people, including those we don’t want to attract. You understand,” replied the guide. The rest of the people began filtering into the room and milling around the different cases, reading the information cards and whispering. The tour guide stood near the middle of the room and announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, early yesterday morning, there was a murder in this very room. An Asian man was found stabbed in the back and through the heart with an

UCale Dixon Un Jangdon Jangdo.

The knife I have not seen, but I was told of its elegant beauty. It sounds as if it was a ceremonial-style dagger of silver and gold with precious stones mounted in the handle and a sheath that joins the dagger handle to form one artfully crafted uniform piece. There are some similar knives in this case. Some of these knives were made specifically for the Cho family and have unique sayings etched into the blades. The information cards should have an English translation on them for those of you who don’t read Hongul or Chinese. There are also some examples with chopsticks attached, some made of silver, and others made of bone, tusk, or ivory.”The guide moved further into the room. Cale could now see the fire exit door that he, Martin, and the security guard took to go to the coffee shop next door. The guide continued pointing at different cases and said, “There are also some very old boxes, keys, and other knickknacks, which have mysteries unto themselves. Take, for instance, this case. It is presumed to be a key of solid gold with a Burmese ruby balanced in the eye. This object is the work of a skilled craftsman, and the stone possibly traveled the Silk Road or one of the other trade routes into present- day China, where it was most likely set. Around 450 AD, 800 years before the Cho sun Dynasty reportedly began, a journal entry portrays an early Merkit family member, a great warrior, who took the key from a slain enemy warrior chief of the Hun, presumably after his return from a campaign in the West. Nothing else has been publicly written, and the key or whatever it is has been a puzzling mystery ever since.” The tour group migrated to the showcase to have a look at this remarkable piece of work made out of time. A woman asked, “If it is a key, what does it open?” The tour guide smiled and patiently responded, “No one knows. From all the data collected, there’s no evidence suggesting the Hun, Mongol, Koguryan, or Chinese had this particular style of metal lock back then, or at least that’s what the history books and journals tell us. This style of key was, however, in existence and used by a particular group of people halfway around the world in the Barbarian category. It’s my belief that the key is Saxon or, more accurately, made by a jeweler from Saxony, Germany, before they migrated to present- day Great Britain. The Saxons called it a “Girdle Hanger.” The Saxons were one of many Germanic tribes who were displaced by the invading Huns. Just for clarification I would like to take a minute and give an explanation of the Barbarian Hordes. In my opinion, it pertains to this key. Research has shown that the title “Barbarian” is far from the truth. The term originates mainly from Roman documentation about a number of groups who eventually tore apart Roman outposts along the Rhine River and beyond. These Barbarians were forced off theirlands by other invaders coming from further East, mainly the Huns. Attila the Hun is one of the most famous, although there is some debate to whether that is his true name. The Huns rode horses all the way from Asia into Eastern Europe. They could accurately shoot their bows while riding at a full gallop, similar in practice to the Native American ways, but the Huns were much more sophisticated. There are very few artifacts of the Huns. Obviously, they traveled light and very fast. The Huns pushed the Goths, the Vandals, the Saxons, and many other Germanic tribes in the only direction these people could realistically go and stay in the same climate range, west. They migrated through the Marian Gap and from the Eurasian Steppe, that is, until they all were stopped by the Rhine River and amassed into, I can only imagine, an unruly mob. It’s believed that they became something of a confederation of tribes led by the Vandals. They crossed the Rhine River in the winter of 406, when the river froze over. These ‘savage’ tribes captured, destroyed, raped, and pillaged. Historically, the Huns disappeared with few traces, pretty much the same way they showed up. I think they went home and took with them items of interest, such as this key. The Germanic tribes were masters of metalwork, and while they were destroying cities, they were taking gold and silver articles and reworking the metals—‘booty’, if you will. The Germanic tribes didn’t seem to see much value in the physical cities they conquered. They burned them to the ground on their way to more treasures and raw materials. Remember, it was the conquered Romans who wrote about their own demise and called their conquerors Barbarians. They, the Barbarians, didn’t put the same value on architecture and art, as the Romans had grown accustomed to appreciating.”
I went to the Un Jangdo museum in Gwangyang and saw it all for myself

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