April 16, 2015: To Won's Father

[Undertoad]

via Archaeology magazine and I hadn't heard this story before so perhaps it is new to you as well.

In 1998 Archaeologists in South Korea uncovered the 16th-century mummy of Eung-tae, a member of Korea's ancient Goseong Yi clan.



Mummies were rare in Korea, and this 500 year old was not in great condition. But there was a letter from his wife on top of his body - shown above - which helped them figure out who he was.

It reads,

To Won's Father
June 1, 1586

You always said, "Dear, let's live together until our hair turns gray and die on the same day. How could you pass away without me? Who should I and our little boy listen to and how should we live? How could you go ahead of me?

How did you bring your heart to me and how did I bring my heart to you? Whenever we lay down together you always told me, "Dear, do other people cherish and love each other like we do? Are they really like us?" How could you leave all that behind and go ahead of me?

I just cannot live without you. I just want to go to you. Please take me to where you are. My feelings toward you I cannot forget in this world and my sorrow knows no limit. Where would I put my heart in now and how can I live with the child missing you?

Please look at this letter and tell me in detail in my dreams. Because I want to listen to your saying in detail in my dreams I write this letter and put it in. Look closely and talk to me.

When I give birth to the child in me, who should it call father? Can anyone fathom how I feel? There is no tragedy like this under the sky.

You are just in another place, and not in such a deep grief as I am. There is no limit and end [to my sorrows] that I write roughly. Please look closely at this letter and come to me in my dreams and show yourself in detail and tell me. I believe I can see you in my dreams. Come to me secretly and show yourself. There is no limit to what I want to say and I stop here.

[DanaC]

Wow. That is beautiful. And it feels weirdly contemporary - her attitude to him, and his apparent attitude to her seem so recognisable. This bit especially:

Whenever we lay down together you always told me, "Dear, do other people cherish and love each other like we do? Are they really like us?"

[Griff]

It does feel so very modern. I don't know what effect the translation had... Still very beautiful,

[DanaC]

It's the sentiment, rather than the words, that feels modern to me.

[glatt]

Can you imaging how much it would suck if you were an archeologist and you neglected to wear a surgical mask and gloves while unwrapping a mummy, and you caught some nasty old extinct disease and revived it into the modern world?

Cause that would suck.

[BigV]

Can you imaging [sic] how much it would suck if you were an archeologist and you neglected to wear your scientific objectivity and detachment while translating a love lament buried with a mummy, and your impressionable mind was stamped with the anguish and longing of the old extinct writer and revived it into the modern world?

Cause that would be awesome.

[DanaC]

Yehbut, glatt has a point. And, like, it makes sense. The Zombie apocalypse has to come from somewhere, right?

[Gravdigr]

[footfootfoot]

Originally Posted by glatt

Can you imaging how much it would suck if you were an archeologist and you neglected to wear a surgical mask and gloves while unwrapping a mummy, and you caught some nasty old extinct disease and revived it into the modern world?

Cause that would suck.

No one can call you a Pollyanna!

I always think the same thing, even when I'm tearing into old walls and the like. Who knows what kind of dormant bacteria are living with this dust? How do I know everyone here didn't die of some rare terrible disease?

Plus mummy cooties.

[xoxoxoBruce]

See foots, it never fucking stops, even after you're dead they'll bitch and blame you for everything.