Life in Corea (1888)
（申福龍訳）『朝鮮風物誌』集文堂,1999.(韓国語) [初出=1888年
http://blog.goo.ne.jp/think_pod/e/11a802b2bcb28a0a0a60bc368989c582
【韓国】西洋人の目“朝鮮の人々は大食いで力が強い”“朝鮮語は下層庶民と女性だけが使用”[04/17]
http://news24.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/news4plus/1208402836/-100
１９００年代初め朝鮮（チョソン）の少女らの姿。『朝鮮の少女オクプニ』に載っている写真だ。
「（朝鮮）の人々は皮膚が白く活気に満ちて、大食いで力がとても強い」「男子は朝起きて夜に寝るまで帽子を被っていなければならない」「朝鮮語の文字は世界で最も合理的だが単純である分、下層庶民と女性だけ がこの文字を使用する」
異邦人の目に映った韓国の昔の風景だ。１５日、サルリム出版社から出版された『彼らが目にした私たち（原題）』シリーズの『壬辰乱の記録（原題）』『白頭山へ行く道（原題）』『朝鮮の少女オクプニ（原題）』に出てくる大きなテーマだ。
このシリーズは１６世紀から２０世紀の初めまで西洋で出版された韓国に関する古書を翻訳したものだ。 韓国文学翻訳院と明智（ミョンジ）大のＬＧヨンアム文庫が共同で進めている「西洋古書の国語訳出版事業」の成果だ。翻訳院は２０１２年まで９１種の韓国に関係する古書を翻訳する計画だ。
今回出版された『壬辰乱の記録』は１５６３～１５９７年に日本で活動したポルトガル宣教師、ルイス・フロイスの著書『日本史』の中の壬辰倭乱（文禄の役）に関する部分を韓国語に訳した。
また『白頭山へ行く道』は１８９１年済物浦（チェムルポ）に入国した英国人将校アルフレッド・エドワード・ジョン・キャベンディッシュが漢陽（ハニャン、現在のソウル）と元山（ウォンサン）を経て、白頭山（ぺクドゥサン）へ登頂する旅行記。『朝鮮の少女オクプニ』は１９０３～１９１２年に朝鮮で監理教の宣教師として活動した米国人、ミネルバ・グタフェルのエッセーだ。
本には当時の朝鮮の生活の模様が生き生きと描写されている。『白頭山へ…』の著者は府使（朝鮮王朝の長官）の行列の姿を次のように描写した。
「府使は蓋のある箱のような椅子に座ったまま、持ち上げられて移動し、前後から従者が随行した。従者らの一部には槍で武装し、幾人かはラッパを、幾人かうちわを手にしていた。位の高い者が通り過ぎるとき、道行く人々には丁重な態度が求められた。府使の「手下」の一人が、ときどきたばこを消していない男に走り寄りキセルを奪い折って放り投げ、うちわで煙草を吸った者の頭を殴りつけた。」（３７ページ）
朝鮮を眺めた西欧人の優越感も露見している「人間という動物から沸くさまざまなガスと固体の排せつ物は男女を問わず、したくなったら気楽に処理する」（『白頭山へ…』１７８ページ）、「（朝鮮人たちの服は）それほど白くない。私たちの服も３、４カ月に、または５カ月に一度は洗ったらあんなふうに白くなくなるだろう（『朝鮮の…』１１９ページ）」という具合だ。
シリーズの発行を統括している韓国文学翻訳院の尹志?（ユン・ジグァン）院長は「西洋の視線をまとめ、韓国を客観的に見つめる作業は韓国人のアイデンティティーと実像を見つけ出し、これから世界の中で韓国の位置を確立するのに助けになるはずだ」と語った。
http://japanese.joins.com/article/article.php?aid=98876&servcode=400§code=400
【韓国】 「世界のあらゆる言語をハングルで」…忠南大・鄭元洙教授が新たな表記法開発 [10/10]
http://news24.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/news4plus/1191981916/l50
【書籍】 「ウリナラ三国志」著者イム・ドンジュ「韓民族のアイデンティティ求めて書きました」[04/13]
http://news24.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/news4plus/1208179708/l50
http://sweets4.blog96.fc2.com/?mode=m&no=779&m2=res&page=1
Ｗ･Ｒ･ｶｰﾙｽﾞ（申福龍訳）『朝鮮風物誌』集文堂,1999.(韓国語) [初出=1888年]
道の両側には汚物でいっぱいのどぶ川が流れ､道はひどく狭くて二匹のﾛﾊﾞが出会えば一方がどぶに落ちるのを免れるのが難しいほどだ｡領事館で利用する井戸はこのどぶ川とは関係なく､他の水源から充分に供給されている｡家の中に井戸がなく､火災に対する準備も出来ていない｡天然痘にかかった子どもたちは､路地にずらりと並んでいるあばら家の外で親が看護する｡衛生問題に神経を使う人が見れば､事実上多くの病気の要因が領事館の門前で待機しているということになる｡(p. 84)
※当時はｷﾚｲだったんだろうが､川になんでも流すことを何百年も続けてると､結果的にこういうことになるんだよな｡
川があれば沐浴できるから､それは文化云々の話じゃないしなあ｡水が無い所はこうでしたっと｡
Ｃ･Ｐ･ﾂｭﾝﾍﾞﾘｰ（高橋文訳）『江戸参府随行記』平凡社東洋文庫,1994. [初出=1778-93年]
清潔さは､彼らの身体や衣服､家､飲食物､容器等から一目瞭然である｡彼らが風呂に入って身体を洗うのは､週一回などというものではなく､毎日熱い湯に入るのである｡その湯はそれぞれの家に用意されており､また旅人のためにどの宿屋にも安い料金で用意されている｡(p. 223)
一方日本は都市部でも入浴を管理する技術を広め､毎日風呂へ入る文化を得た｡
10/07 23:16 By:案山子 URL
[ああ､面倒だ｡ｻｲﾄからのｺﾋﾟﾍﾟで済ますか]
この辺はｺﾋﾟﾍﾟしないのかｗ
貴様が参考にしてるｻｲﾄからのｺﾋﾟﾍﾟだがｗ
俺は基本的にﾆｭｰｽｿｰｽだが､貴様は2ちゃんからのｺﾋﾟﾍﾟｗ
このｻｲﾄも2ちゃん辺りで紹介されたのかｗ
日本の清潔さに驚く外国人
ｹﾝﾍﾟﾙ（斎藤信訳）『江戸参府旅行日記』平凡社東洋文庫,1977. [初出=1777-79年]
これに反して人びとは非常に清潔で飾りを施し便利なように努めていて､こういうことが低い木造の家の中でも全く快適に暮らすことを可能にする｡(p. 27)
申維翰（姜在彦訳注）『海游録』平凡社東洋文庫,1974. [初出=1719年]
夏の暑い時､蝿がはなはだ稀である｡これはすなわち､室中を清潔にして汚さず､魚肉の腐敗したものはただちに土に埋め､厠間の悪臭を放つものはただちに田畔に移すからである｡だから蝿が生じる余地がないのである｡(p. 292)
Ｃ･Ｐ･ﾂｭﾝﾍﾞﾘｰ（高橋文訳）『江戸参府随行記』平凡社東洋文庫,1994. [初出=1778-93年]
清潔さは､彼らの身体や衣服､家､飲食物､容器等から一目瞭然である｡彼らが風呂に入って身体を洗うのは､週一回などというものではなく､毎日熱い湯に入るのである｡その湯はそれぞれの家に用意されており､また旅人のためにどの宿屋にも安い料金で用意されている｡(p. 223)
ｺﾞﾛｳﾞﾆﾝ（井上満訳）『日本幽囚記』岩波文庫,1943. [初出=1816年]
しかし日本家屋の最上の装飾であり､最も賞賛すべき装飾と認むべきものは､上下を通じて守られている小ざっぱりと清潔なところであろう｡(下巻, p. 95)
土屋喬夫･玉城肇訳『ﾍﾟﾙﾘ提督日本遠征記』岩波文庫,1948. [初出=1856年]
下田は進歩した開化の様相を呈して居て､同町の建設者が同地の潔と健康とに留意した點は､吾々が誇りとする合衆國の進歩した潔と健康さより遙に進んでいる｡濠があるばかりでなく下水もあって､汚水や汚物は直接に海に流すか､又は町の間を通っている小川に流し込む｡(4巻, p. 27)
函館はあらゆる日本町と同じように著しく潔で､街路は排水に適するようにつくられ､絶えず水を撒いたり掃いたりして何時でもさっぱりと健康によい状態に保たれてある｡(4巻, p. 93)
ｺﾞﾝﾁｬﾛﾌ（井上満訳）『日本渡航記』岩波文庫,1941. [初出=1858年]
まず眼につくのは､中庭や､茣蓙を敷いた木造の階段や､それから當の日本人のなみはずれた潔さである｡この點は全く感服せざるを得ない｡彼らは身體も､衣服も､潔でこざっぱりとしている｡(p. 107)
ﾊﾘｽ（坂田精一訳）『日本滞在期』岩波文庫,1953. [初出=1930年]
柿崎は小さくて､貧寒な漁村であるが､住民の身なりはさっぱりしていて､態度も丁寧である｡世界のあらゆる國で貧乏に何時も附き物になっている不潔さというものが､少しも見られない｡彼らの家屋は､必要なだけの潔さを保っている｡(中巻, p. 14)
ｵｰﾙｺｯｸ（山口光朔訳）『大君の都』岩波文庫,1962. [初出=1863年]
だがいまでは､長い経験からして､わたしはあえて､一般に日本人は清潔な国民で､人目を恐れずたびたびからだを洗い（はだかでいても別に非難されることはない）､身につけているものはわずかで､風通しのよい家に住み､その家は広くて風通しのよい街路に面し､そしてまたその街路には､不快なものは何物もおくことを許されない､というふうにいうことをはばからない｡すべて清潔ということにかけては､日本人は他の東洋民族より大いにまさっており､とくに中国人にはまさっている｡(上巻, p. 288)
ﾊｲﾝﾘｯﾋ･ｼｭﾘｰﾏﾝ（石井和子訳）『ｼｭﾘｰﾏﾝ旅行記 清国･日本』講談社学術文庫,1998. [初出=1869年]
日本人が世界でいちばん清潔な国民であることは異論の余地がない｡どんなに貧しい人でも､少なくとも日に一度は､町のいたるところにある公衆浴場に通っている｡(p. 87)
ｸﾞﾘﾌｨｽ（山下英一訳）『明治日本体験記』平凡社東洋文庫,1984. [初出=1876年]
けれども日本人は石鹸を表す言葉を知らないし､今日になってもそれを使ったことがない｡にもかかわらず､どのｱｼﾞｱ人よりも身なりも住居も清潔である｡(p. 42)
ｲｻﾞﾍﾞﾗ･ﾊﾞｰﾄﾞ（時岡敬子訳）『朝鮮紀行』講談社学術文庫,1998. [初出=1898年]
南山の斜面には簡素で地味な白い木造の日本公使館がありその下には茶屋､劇場をはじめ日本人の福利に不可欠なさまざまな施設を備えた､人口ほぼ五〇〇〇人の日本人居住区がある｡ここでは朝鮮的なものとはきわめて対照的に､あくまで清潔できちょうめんで慎ましい商店街や家々が見られる｡(p. 64)
朝鮮の不潔さに呆れる外国人
ﾍﾞｲｼﾞﾙ･ﾎｰﾙ（春名徹訳）『朝鮮･琉球航海記』岩波文庫,1986. [初出=1818年]
一方､家のなかは暗くて居心地が悪かった｡むき出しの土の床はでこぼこ､壁は煤で黒ずみ､何もかもがきたならしくみえた｡(p. 76)
ﾌｨﾘｯﾌﾟ･ﾌﾗﾝﾂ･ﾌｫﾝ･ｼｰﾎﾞﾙﾄ（尾崎賢治訳）『日本･第五巻』雄松堂,1978. [初出=1897年]
しかし精神的教養と生活の洗練という点では､朝鮮人は同じ階層の日本人よりかなり劣る｡またわれわれが一番低い階層の日本人を見ても感心する共同生活におけるあの巧みさや高いﾚﾍﾞﾙの暮らし方も､朝鮮人にはない｡彼らは正直､忠実で､人がよいということであるが､彼らを清潔､親切だとしてほめる気はあまりしない｡(pp. 4-5)
ｼｬﾙﾙ･ﾀﾞﾚ（金容権訳）『朝鮮事情』平凡社東洋文庫,1979. [初出=1874年]
ｿｳﾙは､山並みに囲まれており､漢江の流れに沿って位置し､高くて厚い城壁にかこまれた人口の多い大都市であるが､建築物には見るべきものはない｡かなり広いいくつかの道路を除いては､曲がりくねった路地だけがあり､この路地には空気も流れることなく､足にかかるものといえばごみばかりである｡家はふつう瓦で覆われているが､低くて狭い｡(p. 64)
William Elliot Griffis, Corea the Hermit Nation, Kessinger, 2004. [初出=1882年]
国家的にも個人的にも､朝鮮人はﾄｲﾚｯﾄの便宜に疎い｡ﾊﾞｽﾀﾌﾞは稀で､川や海での水浴びに適した夏の暖かい日を除いて､水中にいる朝鮮人にはめったにお目にかかれない｡1876年に条約調印に来た日本人たちは､ﾊﾞｽﾀﾌﾞを船から陸揚げせねばならなかった｡(p. 270)
Ｗ･Ｒ･ｶｰﾙｽﾞ（申福龍訳）『朝鮮風物誌』集文堂,1999.(韓国語) [初出=1888年]
道の両側には汚物でいっぱいのどぶ川が流れ､道はひどく狭くて二匹のﾛﾊﾞが出会えば一方がどぶに落ちるのを免れるのが難しいほどだ｡領事館で利用する井戸はこのどぶ川とは関係なく､他の水源から充分に供給されている｡家の中に井戸がなく､火災に対する準備も出来ていない｡天然痘にかかった子どもたちは､路地にずらりと並んでいるあばら家の外で親が看護する｡衛生問題に神経を使う人が見れば､事実上多くの病気の要因が領事館の門前で待機しているということになる｡(p. 84)
Ｈ･Ｎ･ｱﾚﾝ（申福龍訳）『朝鮮見聞記』集文堂,1999.(韓国語)[初出=1908年]
朝鮮人たちは､長年の経験からこのようなにおいに慣れている｡しかし彼らは8ﾌｨｰﾄ四方の寝室でこの有害な空気を呼吸し､この小さな部屋で火を炊き､6～8人が同じ部屋に寝てどうやって生命を維持できるのか､まったく驚かされる｡このような部屋に入ろうとして扉を開いた瞬間､ぶわっと押し寄せるにおいは筆舌に尽くし難く､こんなとき白人なら誰でも､外の天気がいかに悪くても､息を止めて外に飛び出してしまうだろう｡(p. 103)
Ｇ･Ｗ･ｷﾞﾙﾓｱ（申福龍訳）『ｿｳﾙ風物誌』集文堂,1999.(韓国語) [初出=1892年]
朝鮮人は､清潔さの問題では多くの非難を浴びるだろう｡東洋では警句を学ぶ｡外国人たちは､朝鮮人をさかなにｼﾞｮｰｸを言うことを好む｡ある英国人は､朝鮮では最も清潔だという人物が､彼がこれまでに見た中で最も汚い人物だったと言ったことがある｡彼が意味するところは､朝鮮人が地球上で最も汚い人々だということだ｡(p. 74)
朝鮮の使用人たちは勉強熱心だが､彼らを訓練するには大変な我慢強さが要求される苦しさがある｡まず朝鮮人たちは､風呂に入る必要性を感じないらしい｡家庭内の暮らしで絶対に必要な清潔さを彼らに維持させるには､絶え間ない注意が必要である｡(p. 208)
Lillias H. Underwood, Fifteen Years among the Top-Knots or Life in Korea, Kessinger, 2007. [初出=1904年]
言う間でもなくこうした家に付属しているものはおそろしく不衛生で､多くは不潔で害虫でいっぱいである｡あらゆる下水は道の両側にある､お話にならない溝に流される｡(p. 5)
朝鮮の宿屋は不潔さ､狭さ､悪臭と不快さにおいて､中国内陸部の宿屋に次ぐものである｡女性用の部屋は通常ひとつしかなく､紙を張った扉か窓がひとつから四～五ヶ所ある｡それらはほとんど常に同じ大きさで同じ名称で呼ばれ､厨房･中庭･書斎に通じている｡この部屋は８×10または12ﾌｨｰﾄを超えることは少なく､床は低い｡扉を覆う紙は一様に汚れで黒ずんでおり､光線がほとんど差し込まないため､部屋は陰鬱な感じがする｡(p. 39)
油紙の上か､あるいは直に地面の上のことの方が多いが､ﾏｯﾄが敷かれており､それは埃と､そこいら中を這い回る害虫でいっぱいである｡この部屋が最後に掃かれ､ﾏｯﾄがはたかれてから､部屋に入って同じﾏｯﾄに寝た人の何人が赤痢や天然痘やｺﾚﾗやﾁﾌｽに罹って死んで行ったのだろうなどと考え始めない方がよい｡(p. 40)
あらゆることが絶望的に思えたその夜､ｱｼﾞｱ･ｺﾚﾗが発生した｡なぜこの疫病が毎年夏に朝鮮全域に蔓延しないのか､謎のひとつである｡すべての下水は汚くて狭い溝に流されるが､それはしょっちゅう詰まってあふれ出し､緑色の泥水が道路から中庭まで流れ込んで来る｡井戸はすぐそばで洗濯される衣類の汚れで汚染され､大量の腐りかけの野菜くずが道路と窓の下に投げ捨てられ､腐るにまかせられる｡(pp. 133-134)
ｹﾞ･ﾃﾞ･ﾁｬｶﾞｲ編（井上絋一訳）『朝鮮旅行記』平凡社東洋文庫,1992. [初出=1958年]
町を縦横に走るその他の街路は､約三ｻｰｼﾞｪﾝ幅の狭くて曲がりくねった道で､とりわけ朝夕は悪臭が充満する｡つまり､食事の支度が開始されるその時刻には､街路に面して設けられ､しかも屋根の上ではなくて家屋の裾に開口する煙道のおかげで､煮炊きの煙が一斉に街路へ向けて放出されるからである｡また汚物がそのまま街路へ投棄される夏には､なお一層ひどい事態になるそうである｡(p. 24)
Henry A. Savage-Landor, Corea or Cho-sen, IndyPublish.com, 2007. [初出=1895年]
朝鮮の住民は､私の経験から言うと､あまり洗濯をせず､入浴はなおさらしない｡彼らが手を洗うところは何度も見たし､顔を洗うところは時々見た｡毎日顔を洗う人は､ごく少数である｡清潔を保つための水の使用がそれほど少なく不規則だとしたら､朝鮮人はとてつもなく不潔に見えるだろうと思われるかもしれないが､そうでもない｡私がいつもこの上なくｲﾗｲﾗしたのは､この不潔な人々が､見た目は清潔に見えるということだった! (p. 32)
ｿｳﾙの街路は､これ以上ないほど不規則に曲がりくねっている｡主な大通りを除いて､ほとんどの通りは四人が横に並んで歩けないほど狭い｡下水は家の横の街路の中の､蓋をしていない溝に流される｡下水溝のすぐ上に窓があるため､朝鮮の善男善女は家の中では､すぐ下で腐って行く悪臭を放つｺﾞﾐの臭いを嗅がずには呼吸できない｡(pp. 85-86)
Ｗ･Ｆ･ｻﾝｽﾞ（申福龍訳）『朝鮮備忘録』集文堂,1999.(韓国語) [初出=1930年]
家はぎっしりと固まって建っており､小川と路地に沿って集まっている｡洪水の季節を除いて､青いごみだらけの下水は床に沿って染み出し､腸ﾁﾌｽ･天然痘･ｺﾚﾗを伝染させる｡こんな井戸で女たちは楽しげに洗濯をし､毎日食物を洗う｡排水路の表面から悪臭がするこの浅い井戸よりひどいものはない｡汚い下層民の家からは､土俗の食品であるｷﾑﾁのすっぱい臭いがする｡(p. 50)
胸を露わにした女性、ボロを着て飢えた子供たち、倭小で怠惰な男たち…人々の記憶に残っている日帝強占期時代前の朝鮮人々の姿だ。しかしこのようなイメージたちが朝鮮総督府によって歪曲されたことなら？
19日夜11時5分に放送される＜SBSスペシャル＞‘日帝写真。その秘密と嘘’は日本が操作した朝鮮の写真を告発する。約100年前、朝鮮のイメージは日本が作った何枚かの写真葉書(絵はがき)を通じて世界に伝えられた。葉書の中の朝鮮人は未開で貧しかった。写真を通じて朝鮮に初めて接した人々は朝鮮を哀れに思って、日本の植民地支配を博愛主義的選択と理解した。製作陣はこのようなイメージ作りのために朝鮮総督府が思いのまま行った写真操作を追跡する。
この時期作られた代表的な写真は妓生(キーセン)写真。写真の中の妓生は技芸を備えた芸人では無く売春観光のための宣伝道具に描写されている。韓半島地図全体を踊る妓生で表現した葉書もあった。一方、着物を着た日本女性たちは韓服を着た朝鮮子供たちを保護する慈しみ深い姿で写真の中に残されている。
庚戌国恥(日韓併合)以後、帝国主義政策が本格化されてからは日本による朝鮮近代化の姿が葉書を満たした。高層建物と道路、鉄道などの写真が載せられた葉書たちは日本による朝鮮近代化という植民支配正当化論理を正当化する道具だった。これと共に処刑直前の安重根義士の姿を写真葉書で製作、抗日運動の意志を折る恐怖政治に利用したりした。
製作陣は1945年8月15日、日本天皇の終戦発表を聞いて悲しむ日本人たちの姿も一連のイメージ操作の中の一つと結論付ける。敗戦の屈辱感を消すために朝鮮人だけではなく自らの姿も何枚かの歪曲された写真に閉じ込めたというのだ
韓国日報(韓国語)2007/08/14 17:57:32
'SBS スペシャル' 告発…朝鮮総督府の写真操作 'また一つの蛮行'未開で怠けな国民性売春などイメージ歪曲
http://news.hankooki.com/lpage/culture/200708/h2007081417573384220.htm
'SBS 스페셜' 고발…조선 총독부의 사진 조작 '또 하나의 만행'
미개하고 게으른 국민성·매춘 등 이미지 왜곡
가슴을 드러낸 여인, 헐벗고 굶주린 아이들, 왜소하고 게으른 남자들… 사람들의 기억에 남아 있는 일제 강점기 시대 조선 사람들의 모습이다. 그러나 이런 이미지들이 조선총독부에 의해 왜곡된 것이라면?
19일 밤 11시 5분에 방송되는
이 시기 만들어진 대표적인 사진엽서는 기생엽서. 사진 속 기생은 기예를 갖춘 예인이 아니라 매춘관광을 위한 선전도구로 묘사된다. 한반도 지도 전체를 춤추는 기생으로 표현한 엽서도 있었다. 반면, 기모노를 입은 일본 여성들은 한복을 입은 조선 어린이들을 보호하는 자애로운 모습으로 사진 속에 남아 있다.
경술국치 이후, 제국주의 정책이 본격화되면서부터는 일본에 의한 조선 근대화의 모습이 엽서를 채웠다. 고층건물과 도로, 철도 등의 사진이 담긴 엽서들은 일본에 의한 조선 근대화라는 식민지배 정당화 논리를 정당화하는 도구였다. 이와 함께 처형 직전의 안중근 의사의 모습을 사진엽서로 제작, 항일운동의 의지를 꺾는 공포정치에 이용하기도 했다.
제작진은 1945년 8월 15일, 일본 천황의 종전 발표를 듣고 슬퍼하는 일본인들의 모습도 일련의 이미지 조작 가운데 하나라고 결론짓는다. 패전의 굴욕감을 지우기 위해 조선인뿐 아니라, 스스로의 모습도 몇 장의 왜곡된 사진에 가뒀다는 것이다.
<저작권자 ⓒ 한국아이닷컴, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지>
입력시간 : 2007/08/14 17:57:32
William Richard Carles and Korea
W. R. Carles’s book Life in Corea, published in 1888, is one of the very first books about the country based entirely on personal experience. Carles made 2 visits to Korea from China, where he was working in the British Consular Service. The first was a private visit made in later 1883, then he was appointed Vice-Consul in Korea in April 1884 and served there until some time in 1885. Later in 1884, he was charged with making an exploration of the economic potential of the northern regions, which were still unexplored by any western power. This journey lasted from September 29 until November 7, 1884. He then left for a visit to China, and was absent during the aborted Gapsin coup of December. He describes both journeys in his book.
Click here for a PDF file of the corrected scan of his Life in Corea (1888, reprinted in 1894)
Click here for a PDF file of the text of his paper presented to the Royal Geographical Society in London early in 1886 and published in their journal that year
Click here for a PDF file of the text of his White Paper Report of a Journey by Mr. Carles in the North of Corea presented to Parliament and published in 1885
No account of Carles's life seems ever to have been published. What follows is mostly based on records and materials available through the Internet.
The Life of William Richard Carles
by Brother Anthony
Carles in 1889
Helen Maude Carles in 1898
William Richard Carles (1848 – 1929) was the second son of the Rev. Charles Edward Carles, B.A., Vicar of the parish of Haselor, Warwick, and Georgiana Baker, his wife. His father had studied at Catherine Hall, Cambridge. His elder brother, Charles Wyndham Carles (1842-1914. M.A. Lincoln College, Oxon) was born on 29th December, 1842. William Richard Carles was born in Warwick on June 1, 1848. Both brothers were educated at Marlborough College, where they played cricket. William Richard entered the Consular Service in 1867, when he was sent as a student interpreter to China, nominated by Marlborough School. He served in various parts of China from 1867 to 1901. Among the posts he held was that of Assistant Chinese Secretary, a testimony to his language ability (Coates, p.139). He reports in Life in Corea that his first journey in Korea was a private one made in the early winter of 1883, at the time that a treaty between Great Britain and Korea was being negotiated by Sir Harry Parkes. He was appointed “provisionally” British Vice-Consul for Corea on March 17, 1884, at the same time as William George Aston (1841-1911), then Consul at Nagasaki, was appointed to be “provisionally” Her Majesty's Consul-General (The London Gazette, March 25, 1884, p. 1404). Both served there in 1884 and into 1885 and were the first European representatives to reside for any length of time in Korea. Carles was perhaps chosen for the position on account of his knowledge of Chinese.
Aston was born in Londonderry, educated at Queen’s College, Belfast, and had been in Japan since 1864, arriving there first as a student interpreter. He had been studying Korean since the mid-1870s and was very fluent in both Japanese and Korean. He had accompanied Vice-Admiral Willes in 1882 as interpreter during his visit to Korea, when Willes drew up a treaty based on the American treaty with Korea, and signed it on behalf of the British government, but this treaty was later repudiated by the British government. Aston, with others, had to make repeated visits to Korea in 1883 to negotiate a new treaty, which Aston and Sir Harry Parkes, the British Minister to China, drafted. This new treaty, the Treaty of Friendship and Commerce between Her Majesty [Queen Victoria] and His Majesty the King of Korea, was signed at Seoul on 26 November 1883, and marks the beginning of Anglo-Korean relations. It was Aston who in May 1884 secured the land on which the British legation / embassy now stands.
Carles says in his Life in Corea that in all he spent some 18 months in the country. The first part of the book, chapters 1-4, describe his first visit late in 1883. This was a private visit, on the invitation of a Mr. Paterson, a partner in the firm of Messrs Jardine, Matheson & Co.. It happened to coincide with the visit by Sir Harry Parkes to Korea to negociate the new treaty. Carles accompanied two other Englishmen, Paterson and Morrison, and a Dane, the rest of the group being composed of Chinese servants, 3 ponies and several dogs. They arrived at Chemulpo from Shanghai on November 9, 1883. After a few days in “Soul” (the way Carles always spells Seoul), on November 16 they set out to explore the mining areas immediately to the north and east in already freezing weather. After returning they spent a few more days in Seoul, then they went to Chemulpo to return to Shanghai but their boat had left. They were obliged to take another boat to Busan, then on to Shanghai, where they arrived on Christmas Eve, 1883.
After being appointed Vice-Consul in April 1884, Carles returned to Korea at the end of April and attended the ceremony in the palace on May 1, 1884, when Sir Harry Parkes presented a letter from Queen Victoria to the King. After the conclusion of the ceremonies, Carles took up residence as Vice-Consul in Chemulpo, which was still a very small settlement with no adequate buildings and little to do. He made occasional visits to Seoul, endured a dreadful summer, then early in September he was ordered by London to make a survey of the so-far unexplored northern regions, to see if there were business prospects for Britain in that direction. They set off on September 27 and returned to Seoul on November 8. On his return, Carles was ordered to take up the position of Vice-Consul in “Fusan” (as it was then known). He therefore sent his furniture down to Fusan and left for a short visit to Shanghai. He had not returned when the Gapsin Coup erupted on December 4.
On December 4, 1884, Aston attended the dinner held to celebrate the opening of the Korean Post Office, during which a group of pro-Japanese reformists staged the Gapsin coup, killing and wounding many of the pro-Chinese conservative ministers. Aston and his colleagues were taken through icy streets to the safety of the American legation. A few days later, on December 9, Aston wrote informing the Korean foreign Minister that he had decided to move the Consulate-General to Chemulpo, presumably to the building that Carles had recently vacated. Aston fell sick at this moment and was obliged to leave Korea to convalesce in Japan, late in December or early in January. Carles had clearly returned to Korea quickly and on January 12 wrote from Chemulpo as "acting Consul-General" to inform the Korean foreign Minister that Aston had left the country.
Carles was present at and describes in his book Life in Corea events in Seoul during the spring of 1885, and lists the gifts of food he received from the King. He does not say when he left Korea.The last communication from Carles appears to be on 5 May, in which he notes the appointment of E. H. Parker to be second Vice Consul in Korea, to be based at Pusan. (Korea University, p. 126) By 12 June 1885, Aston was clearly back in Korea, for on that day he wrote to the Foreign Ministry about the possible grant of border trade rights to Russia. (p. 137) Aston‘s last communication was on 22 October 1885, when he wrote to the Foreign Minister saying that he had that day handed over charge of Consulate General to E. Colbourne Baber, “who will discharge the duties of Her Majesty’s Consul General during my absence on home leave.” (.p.177) He seems not to have returned to Asia after that.
We know that Carles was in London in January 1886, when he presented his paper about Korea to the Royal Geographical Society. In July 1886, Carles was appointed Vice-Consul at Shanghai (The London Gazette, July 13, 1886, p. 3396). He cannot have left at once, though, since he and Helen Maude James were married in Devon in September 1886. He was appointed Consul at Chinkiang (Zhenjiang) in July, 1889 (The London Gazette, July 19, 1889, p. 3895). His wife, Helen Maude, is recorded as having given birth to a son at Shanghai in 1890 (North China Herald, February 14, 1890, page 1.) but the newspaper records no name and nothing more is known of him. Another son, Alan James, was born on 1 February, 1894, in Chinkiang.
In September, 1897, Carles was appointed Consul at Swatow (The London Gazette, November 15, 1897, p. 6077). In May, 1899, he was made Consul at Tientsin / Tianjin (The London Gazette, June 20, 1899, p. 8866) and was promoted to Consul-General there in June, 1900 (The London Gazette, August 14, 1900, p. 5032). During the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, he attempted to act as go-between for the besieged legation in Peking. Carles apparently came in for criticism at the time of the Boxer uprising. He sent a message which Lancelot Giles, one of the student interpreters at the Legation in Beijing said caused “much comment and ridicule”. The message read: “Yours of July 4. 24 troops have now landed, and 19,000 here. Gen.Gasalee expected Taku tomorrow. Russians hold Pei Tsang. Tientsin under foreign government; and Boxer power exploded here. Plenty of troops on the way, if you can hold out with food. Almost all ladies have left Tientsin.” Giles said that he thought the message perfectly clear and “probably purposely obscured to avoid giving the Chinese any news, if it fell into their hands.” (Lancelot Giles, The Siege of the Peking Legations: A Diary, ed. With introduction by L. G. Marchant, University of Western Australia Press, 1970, pp. 165-66, entry for 28 July 1900.)
Tianjin was the scene of heavy fighting during the Boxer uprising and endured a long siege. In January, 1901, Carles was made a Companion of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George and he seems to have retired back to England soon after. Coates writes that Carles “…collapsed from overwork and anxiety less than a month after the legations had been relieved, went home sick, and retired. The Foreign Office showed their opinion of criticism of his behaviour in Tientsin by procuring for him a CMG. (p. 187) Apparently, he “… collapsed so completely at Tientsin under the Boxer strain that absolute cessation of work was medically ordered.” (p. 357). Carles was one of six successive consuls at Tientsin who had some form of nervous breakdown (p.357). After his return to England, apart from a paper on the history of Shanghai he presented to the China Society in London in May 1916, there is no record of any activity by him for the rest of his life.
During the time he spent in Korea, Carles made several trips to explore the interior of the country. He published reports about them in various places, including at least one Government Paper, the paper given to and published by the Geographical Society of London in 1886, and in The Field, before publishing his Life in Corea in 1888. The book was republished in 1894. Apart from the monumental Choson: The Land of the Morning Calm by the American Perceval Lowell dated 1886, it is the first book-length account of Korea published on the basis of an extended period of residence in the country. William Elliot Griffis had published his Corea, The Hermit Nation in 1882 without once setting foot in the country. Carles’ book includes photos taken by Lieut. G. C. Foulk U.S.N., “who was in charge of the united States Legation in Soul while I was there in the early part of 1885.” Foulk made a heroic journey through the southern regions of Korea in the autumn of 1884, but his account of it was not published until 2008.
Carles was a keen botanist and he sent plants which he collected to the Royal Botanic Garden in England. In addition to Korea, he collected plants and sent them back to Britain from China (1877-98: Fukien; Hopeh; Kiangsu); India (1884-91 ); and Japan (1892-96). His name was given (unbeknown to himself) to the wonderfully fragrant Korean Spicebush Viburnum (Viburnum carlesii) by William Botting Hemsley, Director of Kew Gardens. He became a Fellow of the Linnaean Society of London in 1898. A set of his plants from Korea, Kiangsu, and Fokien is in the Kew Herbarium. He also indicates in his book that he was a keen hunter and always hoped to do some shooting, killing both birds and animals, like so many others of his time.
William Richard Carles and his wife Helen Maude were residing at “Silwood”, The Park, Cheltenham (Gloucester) at the 1911 Census, together with Helen Mary, a daughter aged 23, born in China, and 3 sons, Richard Eric (aged 18, born in Berkshire), John Robin (aged 11, born in China) and Henley William (aged 8, born in Dorset). Their son Alan James (aged 17, born in 1894 in China) was serving as a naval cadet at the time. Mrs. Carles’s brother, John Ernest James, a retired school-master, was living with them, as were four servants and a “hospital nurse.” Charles Wyndham Carles, William Richard’s older brother, also a retired school-master, is recorded as being present as a visitor in a nearby house (“The Woodlands” The Park, Cheltenham) on the day of the census. Perhaps he had come on a visit and there was no room for him in his brother’s house? He was headmaster of Cothill School, Marcham, Berkshire at the time of the 1891 census. The census report records Mrs. Carles's age as 51, which would mean she was born in 1860. She was 11-12 years younger than her husband,
A few years later, during the war, Lt Alan James Carles, Royal Navy, was killed (missing in action) when HM Submarine E22 was sunk on 25th April 1916, in the North Sea off Harwich. Acting Captain Richard Eric Carles of the Bedforshire Regiment was awarded the Military Medal “for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty” (Supplement to The London Gazette, 22 June, 1918), the location is not specified. He died on 14 December 1924, aged only 32.
William Richard Carles died in June, 1929, in Bradfield, Berkshire. His wife lived on until 26 November, 1953, when she died in Reading, Berkshire.
Publications
Corea. No. 2 (1885). Report Of a Journey by Mr Carles in The North of Corea. Presented to both Houses of Parliament by Command of Her Majesty. April 1885.
“Recent Journeys in Korea.” In The Proceedings of The Royal Geographical Society and Monthly Record of Geography Vol. VIII, No. 5. May, 1886. pages 289 – 312, having been read at the Evening Meeting of the Society, January 25th, 1886.
Life in Corea (London ; New York : Macmillan and Co. 1888, 1894)
Online at: http://archive.org/details/cu31924023275641
"The Yangtse Chiang", The Geographical Journal, Vol. 12, No. 3 (Sep., 1898), pp. 225–240; Published by: Blackwell Publishing on behalf of The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers)
Some Pages in the History of Shanghai, 1842-1856 : A Paper Read Before the China Society on May 23, 1916. (London : East & West, Ltd. 1916)
Online at: http://archive.org/details/cu31924023217809
“The Emperor Kang Hsi's Edict on Mountains and Rivers of China. A translation of the edict originally published in the winter of 1720-21.” 12pp. Map. The Journal of the Royal Geographical Society. 1922.
Sources
Some of the detailed information in the text above is supplied by the first volume of Korea diplomatic documents relating to Britain published by Korea University in 1968 (quoted in correspondence by J. E. Hoare).
P. D. Coates, The China Consuls , Hong Kong; Oxford University Press, 1988,
See also Peter Korniki’s online account of Aston’s life and activities:
A photograph by George Foulk seems to have served as the model for this engraved frontispiece in "Life in Corea"
The issue of the Royal Geographical Society journal includes a map of Korea: Carles's second journey is marked in red.
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