• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.23
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• pp.215-242
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• 2011

Yingchuang yicao(${\ll}$螢窗異草${\gg}$) is a collection of short stories in Classical Chinese, whose style was much affected by Liaozhai zhiyi(${\ll}$聊齋志異${\gg}$). It consists of 3 chapters, 12 juan, and 138 stories. This work was written by a scholar with the pen name of Hao gezi(浩歌子) in the reign period of Qianlong in the Qing dynasty, and has drawn relatively little attention among the scholars thus far; it was not until 1980's that scholars figured out that the author Hao gezi was Yin Qinglan, the sixth son of the renowned Qing scholar Yin Jishan. Yingchaung yicao had circulated as a manuscript for more than one hundred years until it was printed by Shenbao guan(申報館) in Shanghai in the reign period of Guangxu 2-3 (1876-1877). This edition is currently collected at The Kyujanggan(奎章閣) Institute of National Seoul University. At present, no known study of its introduction to and circulation in premodern Korea is available. However, given that the late $Chos{\ddot{o}}n$ period saw high interest in Chinese narratives, it is speculated that this work was imported to Korea soon after its first publication in China. Later, two publishing houses in Shanghai also published illustrated editions of the work. Given that the Shenbao guan version is the first printed edition of Yingchuang yicao, the copy collected at Kyujanggak Institute should be regarded highly for its academic values.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.36-63
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• 2020

Percival Lowell took photographs of 80s during his stay in Korea in the winter of 1883 and 1884. The photographs are the first in the history of Korea and contain various and precious information about Korea of the day. As such, they could be used for purposes of studying late 19th century Chosōn society. The 61 photographs that are archived in Boston Museum of Fine Art were catalogued by National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and have been posted online with incorrect explanations by Boston Museum of Fine Art. The explanations have been composed and revised at least four times on the basis of Lowell's writings and archivists' understandings of Korea. However these explanations contain many errors regarding the content of the photographs, yet have been cited by researchers and books concerning the history of Korea. I examined the explanations, analyzed Lowell's writings and diplomatic documents, and confirmed the locations where the photographs were taken. Accordingly, I suggest improved explanations of the photographs to prevent misuse of the Boston Museum of Fine Art's online archive. Lowell's photographs of Chosōn have very high historical value and could be used in various cultural fields because of their various contents and high definition. However, they belong to America and are not cared for sufficiently. Therefore, I suggest that high definition digital scans and prints of the photographs be generated for the sake of overseas Korean cultural heritage collection.