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About: The Samguk Yusa was a Korean historical record/folktale collection. It was printed three times--first after its compilation in the Yuan Dynasty, second in the Ming Dynasty, and third in the Meiji era of Japan. The most widely distributed copy is the Meiji copy, with a table of contents and preface added in by the editor. Since there is no copy on the internet to my knowledge, I have produced an amateur translation.

Warnings: I am not an expert in old literary Chinese, nor am I an expert at pronouncing Korean hanja. I also lack geographic knowledge of Korea, especially when it comes to archaic names. Therefore, it is possible that this translation contains mistakes. I only hope I have translated the main idea of the work correctly.

Copyright: This work is an amateur translation that I'm doing because I'm bored. Any attempts to pass it off as an work of actual literary merit that you can make money from will probably get you laughed off of whatever site you're using. In other words, copy and sell at your own discretion.


Translation under cut )

Volume 1 | Volume 2 | Volume 3 (incomplete)
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From the Taiping Guangji (Extensive Records of Taiping)
Book 256: Mockery Part III, Section 24: Cui Hu (originally found in Wei Xuan's Fine Sayings of Gentleman Liu Yuxi) and Book 274: Love, Section 2: Cui Hu (originally found in Meng Qi's Poetry of Capabilities)

Translation under cut )
lotus_genie: <user name=timestops> (pic#7750743)
The Samguk Sagi (History of the Three Kingdoms), was compiled in 1145 by Kim Busik. It is a comprehensive history of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla. It traces the kingdoms from their myth-shrouded origins to their unification under Silla. However, since it was compiled during a period when Confucianism held sway, some of the more fantastical elements of the foundation myths have been excised. One of these myths is the foundation of Goguryeo, starting with the birth of its leader, Jumong. Fortunately, a complete version of Jumong and Yuhwa's story can be found in an excerpt of the now lost text Gu Samguk Sagi (Earlier History of the Three Kingdoms).

Translator's Notes: The Goddesses of the Han River are a unique duo in Chinese Mythology. Usually river goddesses are very sensual, always willing to take one lover after another. Only the Goddesses of the Han River are untouchable. It is said that the elder goddess's beauty was so enticing that even Confucius and his students pursued her when she appeared before them, but she politely refused them. Another incident has a young scholar propositioning the two goddesses by comparing them to an orange he wanted to swallow up, peel and all. The girls gave him a jade ornament, but turned him away as well.

Copyright: This work is an amateur translation that I'm doing because I'm bored. Any attempts to pass it off as an work of actual literary merit that you can make money from will probably get you laughed off of whatever site you're using. In other words, copy and sell at your own discretion.


Translation under cut )
lotus_genie: <user name=duskfallicons> (pic#5925346)
About: The Macheon Yarok is a private collection of court gossip put down by Hwang Hyeon, pen name Macheon, a famous Confucian scholar, poet, and patriot of modern, pre-Japanese occupation Korea. He was one of the Four Great Authors of the Late Joseon Period. His historical writings provide a valuable look at the contemporary politics and society at the end of the Joseon Dynasty.

Warnings: I am not an expert in old literary Chinese, nor am I an expert at pronouncing Korean hanja. I also lack geographic knowledge of Korea, especially when it comes to archaic names. Therefore, it is possible that this translation contains mistakes. I only hope I have translated the main idea of the work correctly.

Copyright: This work is an amateur translation that I'm doing because I'm bored. Any attempts to pass it off as an work of actual literary merit that you can make money from will probably get you laughed off of whatever site you're using. In other words, copy and sell at your own discretion.



Translation Under Cut )
lotus_genie: <user name=famira> (pic#7750741)
Primary texts on Ching Shih the Chinese Pirate Queen are unfortunately lacking in the Western World. This is a translation of 《靖海氛记》 one of the the main sources for Ching Shih's biography. The author was the adjutant of the Viceroy who received Ching Shih's surrender and the entire account is, according to him, compiled from eye and ear-witness testimony. There does exist another translation by Charles Fried Neumann, but his translation misinterprets several key concepts.

Translator's Notes: The part about Vietnam is bogus. Le Duy Khiem is called by the name of his ancestor Le Duy Ky. The first king of the Nguyen Dynasty, Nguyen Phuc An, is made into his brother. A war with Thailand after which Nguyen Hue died is conflated with the war between Nguyen Hue's son and Nguyen Phuc An. However, everything from Nguyen Quan Toan's escape is accurate. The "Chang Pao" in the text is the pirate better known as Chang Pao-Tsai, with the "Tsai" part meaning "The Kid". The mention that Ching I favored him, in the original Chinese, used a word that had sexual connotations. Also, the offer of surrender attributed to Kwo Pow-Tai here is more often attributed to Chang Pao Tsai himself. As I am not a speaker of Cantonese, nor do I know how the names were first romanized, the names might be rendered differently than what is familiar to a Western audience. For example, Charles Fried Neumann translated "东海伯" as "Scourge of the Eastern Sea. However, looking up the man's biography, the "东海" part does not refer to the Eastern Sea, but his birthplace of Dunghoi in Canton, while the last character in his moniker is rendered differently depending on regional dialect. This text renders it as "伯" meaning "Count", instead of "霸" meaning "Scourge". Also, some of the poetry at the end, which no longer has anything to do with the main subject, was left out. Many Chinese terms for ranks, titles, and timekeeping have been translated into English approximations.

Copyright: This work is an amateur translation that I'm doing because I'm bored. Any attempts to pass it off as an work of actual literary merit that you can make money from will probably get you laughed off of whatever site you're using. In other words, copy and sell at your own discretion.



Translation under cut )
lotus_genie: (Default)
About: The Samguk Yusa was a Korean historical record/folktale collection. It was printed three times--first after its compilation in the Yuan Dynasty, second in the Ming Dynasty, and third in the Meiji era of Japan. The most widely distributed copy is the Meiji copy, with a table of contents and preface added in by the editor. Since there is no copy on the internet to my knowledge, I have produced an amateur translation.

Warnings: I am not an expert in old literary Chinese, nor am I an expert at pronouncing Korean hanja. I also lack geographic knowledge of Korea, especially when it comes to archaic names. Therefore, it is possible that this translation contains mistakes. I only hope I have translated the main idea of the work correctly.

Copyright: This work is an amateur translation that I'm doing because I'm bored. Any attempts to pass it off as an work of actual literary merit that you can make money from will probably get you laughed off of whatever site you're using. In other words, copy and sell at your own discretion.


Translation under cut )

Volume 1 | Volume 2 | Volume 3 (incomplete)
lotus_genie: (Default)
Some scanlations of Nasuverse character materials that I translated and typeset. If you want a certain scan but can't see or find it, comment and provide a link to a good scan of the picture. 

Scans under cut )
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