Nam Sago (1509–1571) was a scholar of the Joseon period of Korea.[1] He was well versed in mechanics 역학(易學), geomancy 풍수(風水), astrology 천문(天文), divination 복서(卜筮) and physiognomy 관상(觀相).[2] In a first part of his adult life, he lived as a wandering scholar, traveling to famous mountains all over the country to detect auspicious sites. Under the name of Gyeogam 격암(格庵), he became known for poems and prose with prophetic intents.[2] In his later years he served as Professor of Astronomy[3] (천문학 교수, rank 6b) at Gwansanggam (觀象監).

Appearances in the Records of Joseon Dynasty

During the reign of Seonjo, Nam Sago is quoted as an expert in pungsu (geomancy) 1593-01-12, art.3 (about the fortunes of the sky and fortune-telling) or 1600-07-26, art. 1 (about Selection and Creation of a Burial site). On the contrary, during the reign of Yeongjo 1733-08-18, art. 4, the works of Nam Sago are linked to a criminal case, while 1733-08-26, art. 2 is about banning them for being related to the Gwak Cheo-ung[4] poster case. Indeed, the Joseon court was trying to enforce a separation between the geomancy issued from the approved Chinese texts and the native, politicized, geomancy of Korea.[5]

Works

Nam Sago is credited with writing the "Secret Predictions of Nam Sago" 남사고비결(南師古秘訣) [6] as well as the 십승지 "Ten Excellent Sites for Protection and Good Luck [according] to the Geomancy of Nam Gyeoggam".[7] These two texts were included in the compilation known as Jeonggamnok, which was probably collected in the 1600-1650 period.[8]

On the contrary, it has been proven[9] that the so-called Gyeogam Yurok (Nam Sago Prophecies) released in 1977 by Lee Do-eun was just a forgery, written after the events it was supposed to predict.

References

  1. ↑ Doopedia/Nam Sago.
  2. 1 2 EncyKor/Nam Sago.
  3. ↑ OTD/Astronomy Professor.
  4. ↑ EncyKor/Gwak_Cheo-ung.
  5. ↑ Jorgensen 2018, pp. 102.
  6. ↑ Jorgensen 2018, pp. 234–236.
  7. ↑ Jorgensen 2018, pp. 236–238.
  8. ↑ Pratt 1999, p. 57.
  9. ↑ Kim Hawon 1995.

Sources

  • Doopedia "남사고 (南師古)" [Nam Sago]. Doosan Encyclopedia.
  • Jorgensen: The Foresight of Dark Knowing: Chŏng Kam Nok and Insurrectionary Prognostication in Pre-modern Korea. Translated by John Jorgensen. Hawaii University Press. 2018. ISBN 9780824875381., 451 pages
  • Pratt, Keith L.; Rutt, Richard; Hoare, James (September 1999). Korea, A Historical and Cultural Dictionary. Routledge/Curzon. ISBN 978-0-7007-0464-4., 594 pages
  • Kim Hawon 김하원 (1995). 위대한 가짜 예언서(격암유록) [The great fake prophetic book (Gyeongam Yurok)]. 미리언 출판사 (Milian). ISBN 9788985700085., 294 pages

Heo Ho-Ik 2009, analysed at academic.naver

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