Two Volumes of 'Joseon Wangjo Uigwe' Manuscript Copied by Henri Chevalier Discovered

Made with Four-Needle Saddle Stitch... Writing in French and Chinese Characters and Drawing with Colored Pencils

The inside of the Uigwe handwritten by Henri Chevalier, held at the National Museum of Asian Arts - Guimet (Musee national des arts asiatiques - Guimet) [Provided by the Foundation for Cultural Heritage Abroad. Resale and database prohibited]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jong-gil] A book presumed to have been handwritten by a Frenchman containing two types of the UNESCO World Documentary Heritage ‘Joseon Wangjo Uigwe (The Royal Protocols of the Joseon Dynasty)’ has been discovered. The Foundation for Cultural Heritage Abroad announced on the 23rd that during a data investigation at the library of the National Museum of Asian Arts in France, they confirmed ‘Heonjong Daewang Gukjang Dogam Uigwe’ and ‘Hyohyeon Wanghu Gukjang Dogam Uigwe’ copied by Henri Chevalier.

Joseon Wangjo Uigwe are records that document important royal events in writing and illustrations. Heonjong Daewang Gukjang Dogam Uigwe records the funeral rites of Heonjong, the 24th king of Joseon who passed away in 1849, and Hyohyeon Wanghu Gukjang Dogam Uigwe records the state funeral of Queen Hyohyeon, Heonjong’s queen, who died in 1843. They consist of 10 and 6 volumes respectively. The size is 21.5 cm in width and 31.4 cm in height.

The handwritten Uigwe were made using the East Asian bookbinding method called Sacheom Anjang (Four-needle eye binding). Four holes were punched along the spine and sewn with thread. The text was written in French and Chinese characters, and the illustrations were drawn with colored pencils. Next to the Chinese characters, pronunciations or French translations were written in the alphabet. For example, next to ‘Heonjong’ was written ‘Hen Tjong’ and ‘Huin Tsong’.

'Heonjong Daewang Gukjang Dogam Uigwe' handwritten by Henri Chevalier, held at the National Museum of Asian Arts - Guimet (Musee national des arts asiatiques - Guimet). [Provided by the Foundation for Cultural Heritage Abroad. Resale and database prohibited]

The foundation believes it is highly likely that Chevalier created the handwritten copies based on the Oegyujanggak Uigwe looted by the French army during the 1866 Byeongin Yangyo (French Campaign against Korea). The Oegyujanggak Uigwe were returned on a permanent loan basis and are currently housed at the National Museum of Korea. The copying work is believed to have been done between 1899 and 1906. This is because the number ‘1899’ appears inside the second volume of Heonjong Daewang Gukjang Dogam Uigwe, and Chevalier’s (H. Chevalier) name and the number ‘1906’ are recorded on the lower right corner of each volume’s cover.

Chevalier is already a well-known figure in Korea for compiling a French edition booklet of ‘Hwaseong Seongyeok Uigwe (The Royal Protocols of Hwaseong Fortress)’. It contains illustrations of major facilities and scientific instruments of Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon. The Hwaseong Museum explained about this material: “Hwaseong Seongyeok Uigwe was taken to France in the late 19th century and stored at the library of the ?cole des Langues Orientales in Paris. Henri Chevalier of the French National Museum of Folklore, who recognized its value, commissioned Hong Jong-woo, the first Korean student in Paris, to translate it into French and publish it.” Hong Jong-woo went to France in 1890 and worked as a research assistant at the Guimet Museum from June 1892 for about a year.

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