Winning Buddha's smile : A Korean legend by Charles Mundy Taylor and Jong-u Hong
"Winning Buddha's smile" by Charles Mundy Taylor and Jong-u Hong is a translated retelling of a Korean legend written in the early 20th century. It unfolds a Buddhist-tinged folk tale of virtue tested and ultimately destined for restoration, centering on the benevolent official Sun-Yen, his selfless daughter Cheng-Si, the orphaned seeker San-Syeng, the exiled young prince Ki-Si, and the ruthless usurper Ja-Jo-Mi. Expect a tapestry of exile, sacrifice, prophecy, romance, and court
intrigue drawn from old Korean dramatic tradition. The opening of the legend traces how Sun-Yen’s frank rebuke of royal excess leads to his framing by Prime Minister Ja-Jo-Mi and exile, followed by his wife’s death, his blindness, and his daughter Cheng-Si’s heroic decision to sell her life to repay a prophetic vow for his future restoration. In a parallel strand, the scholar San-Houni is murdered at sea by the brigand Su-Rung, his widow Yeng-Si bears a son (San-Syeng), marks him with his name and a ring, and leaves him to be found, while a kindly nun shelters her. Raised by Su-Rung, San-Syeng discovers clues to his true origin, wanders in search of it, secretly weds the noble Yeng-So-Yei, and flees pursuit. Meanwhile Ja-Jo-Mi seizes power, exiles Prince Ki-Si to Cho-To, and the people grumble under his tyranny. Cheng-Si, cast into the sea, is borne by a turtle to the Prince’s hidden garden; the two fall in love, marry themselves in solitude, and escape a staged fire meant to fake the Prince’s death. At the shore, as the pair teeters on despair, San-Syeng—guided by a dream—arrives by boat and carries them to safety, while the usurper rejoices prematurely at news of the Prince’s supposed demise. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Translator | Taylor, Charles Mundy, 1890-1955 |
|---|---|
| Translator | Hong, Jong-u, 1850-1913 |
| Title | Winning Buddha's smile : A Korean legend |
| Original Publication | Boston: Richard G. Badger, 1919. |
| Credits | Mairi, chenzw, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PL: Language and Literatures: Languages and literatures of Eastern Asia, Africa, Oceania |
| Subject | Legends -- Korea |
| Subject | Mythology, Korean |
| Category | Text |
| EBook-No. | 78208 |
| Release Date | Mar 14, 2026 |
| Copyright Status | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 258 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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