A Study on the History and Species of Street Trees in Seoul (서울시 가로수 역사와 수목 고찰)
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- Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
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- v.38 no.4
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- pp.58-67
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- 2020
The present study was conducted as part of basic research for selecting species of street trees with historical value in Seoul. It also made up a list of traditional landscape trees for a variety of alternatives. The following results are shown below. As to the history of street trees in Korea, records on to-be-estimated street trees are found in historical documents written in King Yangwon during the second year of Goguryeo Dynasty (546) and King Myeongjong during 27 year of Goryeo (1197). However, it is assumed that lack of clarity is found in historical records. During the 23 year of King Sejong in the early Joseon Dynasty (1441), the record showed that the state planted street trees as guideposts on the postal road. The records revealed that Ulmus spp. and Salix spp. were planted as guidance trees. The street tree system was performed in the early Joseon Dynasty as recorded in the first year of King Danjong document. Pinus densiflora, Pinus koraiensis, Pyrus pyrifolia var. culta, Castanea crenata, Styphnolobium japonicum and Salix spp. were planted along the avenue at both left and right sides. Morus alba were planted on streets during the five year of King Sejo (1459). As illustrated in pieces Apgujeong by painter Jeongseon and Jinheonmajeongsaekdo in the reign of King Yeongjo, street trees were planted. This arrangement is associated with a number of elements such as king procession, major entrance roads in Seoul, place for horse markets, prevention of roads from flood and indication. In the reign of King Jeongjo, there are many cases related to planting Pinus densiflora, Abies holophylla and Salix spp. for king procession. Turning king roads and related areas into sanctuaries is considered as technique for planting street trees. During the 32 year of King Gojong after opening ports (1985), the state promoted planting trees along both sides of roads. At the time, many Populus davidiana called white poplars were planted as rapidly growing street trees. There are 17 taxa in the Era of Three Kingdoms records, 31 taxa in Goryeo Dynasty records and 55 taxa in Joseon Dynasty records, respectively, described in historical documents to be available for being planted as street trees in Seoul. 16 taxa are recorded in three periods, which are Era of Three Kingdoms, Goryeo Dynasty and Joseon Dynasty. These taxa can be seen as relatively excellent ones in terms of historical value. The introduction of alien plants and legal improvement in the Japanese colonial period resulted in modernization of street tree planting system. Under the six-year street tree planting plan (1934-1940) implemented as part of expanding metropolitan areas outside the capital launched in 1936, four major street trees of top 10 taxa were a Populus deltoides, Populus nigra var. italica, Populus davidiana, Populus alba. The remaining six trees were Salix babylonica, Robinia pseudoacacia, platanus orientalis, Platanus occidentalis, Ginkgo biloba, and Acer negundo. Beginning in the mid- and late 1930s, platanus orientalis, Platanus occidentalis were introduced into Korea as new taxa of street trees and planted in many regions. Beginning on 1942, Ailanthus altissima was recommended as street trees for the purpose of producing silks. In 1957 after liberation, major street tree taxa included Platanus occidentalis, Ginkgo biloba, Populus nigra var. italica, Ailanthus altissima, Populus deltoides and Salix babylonica. The rank of major street tree species planted in the Japanese colonial period had changed. Tree planting trend around that period primarily representing Platanus occidentalis and Ginkgo biloba still holds true until now.
This study, based on
The Album of Complete Views of Seas and Mountains comprises sixty real scenery landscape paintings depicting Geumgangsan Mountain, the Haegeumgang River, and the eight scenic views of Gwandong regions, as well as fifty-one pieces of writing. It is a rare example in terms of its size and painting style. The paintings in this album, which are densely packed with natural features, follow the painting style of the Southern School yet employ crude and unconventional elements. In them, stones on the mountains are depicted both geometrically and three-dimensionally. Since 1973, parts of this album have been published in some exhibition catalogues. The entire album was opened to the public at the special exhibition "Through the Eyes of Joseon Painters: Real Scenery Landscapes of Korea" held at the National Museum of Korea in 2019. The Album of Complete Views of Seas and Mountains was attributed to Kim Eung-hwan (1742-1789) due to the signature on the final leaf of the album and the seal reading "Bokheon(painter's penname)" on the currently missing album leaf of Chilbodae Peaks. However, there is a strong possibility that this signature and seal may have been added later. This paper intends to reexamine the creator of this album based on a variety of related factors. In order to understand the production background of Album of Complete Views of Seas and Mountains, I investigated the eighteenth-century tradition of drawing scenic spots while travelling in which scenery of was depicted during private travels or official excursions. Jeong Seon(1676-1759), Sim Sa-jeong(1707-1769), Kim Yun-gyeom(1711-1775), Choe Buk(1712-after 1786), and Kang Se-hwang(1713-1791) all went on a journey to Geumgangsan Mountain, the most famous travel destination in the late Joseon period, and created paintings of the mountain, including Album of Pungak Mountain in the Sinmyo Year(1711) by Jeong Seon. These painters presented their versions of the traditional scenic spots of Inner Geumgangsan and newly depicted vistas they discovered for themselves. To commemorate their private visits, they produced paintings for their fellow travelers or sponsors in an album format that could include several scenes. While the production of paintings of private travels to Geumgangsan Mountain increased, King Jeongjo(r. 1776-1800) ordered Kim Eung-hwan and Kim Hong-do, court painters at the Dohwaseo(Royal Bureau of Painting), to paint scenic spots in the nine counties of the Yeongdong region and around Geumgangsan Mountain. King Jeongjo selected these two as the painters for the official excursion taking into account their relationship, their administrative experience as regional officials, and their distinct painting styles. Starting in the reign of King Yeongjo(r. 1724-1776), Kim Eung-hwan and Kim Hong-do served as court painters at the Dohwaseo, maintained a close relationship as a senior and a junior and as colleagues, and served as chalbang(chief in large of post stations) in the Yeongnam region. While Kim Hong-do was proficient at applying soft and delicate brushstrokes, Kim Eung-hwan was skilled at depicting the beauty of robust and luxuriant landscapes. Both painters produced about 100 scenes of original drawings over fifty days of the official excursion. Based on these original drawings, they created around seventy album leaves or handscrolls. Their paintings enriched the tradition of depicting scenic spots, particularly Outer Inner Geumgang and the eight scenic views of Gwandong around Geumgangsan Mountain during private journeys in the eighteenth century. Moreover, they newly discovered places of scenic beauty in the Outer Geungang and Yeongdong regions, establishing them as new painting themes. The Album of Complete Views of Seas and Mountains consists of four volumes. The volumes I, II include twenty-nine paintings of Inner Geumgangsan; the volume III, seventeen scenes of Outer Geumgangsan; and the volume IV, fourteen images of Maritime Geumgangsan and the eight scenic views of Gwandong. These paintings produced on silk show crowded compositions, geometrical depictions of the stones and the mountains, and distinct presentation of the rocky peaks of Geumgangsan Mountain using white and grayish-blue pigments. This album reflects the Joseon painting style of the mid- and late eighteenth century, integrating influences from Jeong Seon, Kang Se-hwang, Sim Sa-jeong, Jeong Chung-yeop(1725-after 1800), and Kim Hong-do. In particular, some paintings in the album show similarities to Kim Hong-do's Album of Famous Mountains in Korea in terms of its compositions and painterly motifs. However, "Yeongrangho Lake," "Haesanjeong Pavilion," and "Wolsongjeong Pavilion" in Kim Eung-hwan's album differ from in the version by Kim Hong-do. Thus, Kim Eung-hwan was influenced by Kim Hong-do, but produced his own distinctive album. The Album of Complete Views of Seas and Mountains includes scenery of "Jaundam Pool," "Baegundae Peak," "Viewing Birobong Peak at Anmunjeom groove," and "Baekjeongbong Peak," all of which are not depicted in other albums. In his version, Kim Eung-hwan portrayed the characteristics of the natural features in each scenic spot in a detailed and refreshing manner. Moreover, he illustrated stones on the mountains using geometric shapes and added a sense of three-dimensionality using lines and planes. Based on the painting traditions of the Southern School, he established his own characteristics. He also turned natural features into triangular or rectangular chunks. All sixty paintings in this album appear rough and unconventional, but maintain their internal consistency. Each of the fifty-one writings included in the Album of Complete Views of Seas and Mountains is followed by a painting of a scenic spot. It explains the depicted landscape, thus helping viewers to understand and appreciate the painting. Intimately linked to each painting, the related text notes information on traveling from one scenic spot to the next, the origins of the place names, geographic features, and other related information. Such encyclopedic documentation began in the early nineteenth century and was common in painting albums of Geumgangsan Mountain in the mid- nineteenth century. The text following the painting of Baekhwaam Hermitage in the Album of Complete Views of Seas and Mountains documents the reconstruction of the Baekhwaam Hermitage in 1845, which provides crucial evidence for dating the text. Therefore, the owner of the Album of Complete Views of Seas and Mountains might have written the texts or asked someone else to transcribe them in the mid- or late nineteenth century. In this paper, I have inferred the producer of the Album of Complete Views of Seas and Mountains to be Kim Eung-hwan based on the painting style and the tradition of drawing scenic spots during official trips. Moreover, its affinity with the Handscroll of Pungak Mountain created by Kim Ha-jong(1793-after 1878) after 1865 is another decisive factor in attributing the album to Kim Eung-hwan. In contrast to the Album of Famous Mountains in Korea by Kim Hong-do, the Album of Complete Views of Seas and Mountains exerted only a minor influence on other painters. The Handscroll of Pungak Mountain by Kim Ha-jong is the sole example that employs the subject matter from the Album of Complete Views of Seas and Mountains and follows its painting style. In the Handscroll of Pungak Mountain, Kim Ha-jong demonstrated a painting style completely different from that in the Album of Seas and Mountains that he produced fifty years prior in 1816 for Yi Gwang-mun, the magistrate of Chuncheon. He emphasized the idea of "scholar thoughts" by following the compositions, painterly elements, and depictions of figures in the painting manual style from Kim Eung-hwan's Album of Complete Views of Seas and Mountains. Kim Ha-jong, a member of the Gaeseong Kim clan and the eldest grandson of Kim Eung-hwan, is presumed to have appreciated the paintings depicted in the nature of Album of Complete Views of Seas and Mountains, which had been passed down within the family, and newly transformed them. Furthermore, the contents and narrative styles of Yi Yu-won's writings attached to the paintings in the Handscroll of Pungak Mountain are similar to those of the fifty-one writings in Kim Eunghwan's album. This suggests a possible influence of the inscriptions in Kim Eung-hwan's album or the original texts from which these inscriptions were quoted upon the writings in Kim Ha-jong's handscroll. However, a closer examination will be needed to determine the order of the transcription of the writings. The Album of Complete View of Seas and Mountains differs from Kim Hong-do's paintings of his official trips and other painting albums he influenced. This album is a siginificant artwork in that it broadens the understanding of the art world of Kim Eung-hwan and illustrates another layer of real scenery landscape paintings in the late eighteenth century.