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--- ljwrites:research:unforgotten_sisters:start [2025/04/01 13:11] – Added Cheomseongdae section TODO: Fill in more historical records ljwrites
+++ ljwrites:research:unforgotten_sisters:start [2025/04/02 23:15] (current) – Minor edits, more on Cheomseongdae records ljwrites
@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 ## Background
-I became aware of the Cosmos Magazine article [The unforgotten sisters: Sonduk, the astronomer queen](https://cosmosmagazine.com/space/the-unforgotten-sisters-sonduk-the-astronomer-queen/) (hereinafter "Cosmos Magazine article," archived version https://archive.is/j7d1n ) from somewhat implausible claims about the ancient Korean monarch Seondeok (善德王) being discussed as fact on social media.
+I became aware of the Cosmos Magazine article [The unforgotten sisters: Sonduk, the astronomer queen](https://cosmosmagazine.com/space/the-unforgotten-sisters-sonduk-the-astronomer-queen/) by Gabriella Bernardi (hereinafter "Cosmos Magazine article," archived version https://archive.is/j7d1n ) from somewhat implausible claims about the ancient Korean monarch Seondeok (善德王, styled 聖祖皇姑) being discussed as fact on social media.
+These include the claims that the female king was an astronomer herself as a princess, had a Tang ambassador named Lin Fang as a tutor, and predicted a solar eclipse as a teenager.
-I found out the article was adapted from an earlier book by the same author, Gabriella Bernardi's *The Unforgotten Sisters: Astronomers and Scientists before Caroline Herschel* (2016 Springer Praxis, hereinafter "*Unforgotten Sisters*") and started tracking down possible sources of these claims starting with the bibliography of Bernardi's book.
+I found out from reading the article that it was adapted from an earlier book by the same author, Gabriella Bernardi's *The Unforgotten Sisters: Astronomers and Scientists before Caroline Herschel* (2016 Springer Praxis, hereinafter "*Unforgotten Sisters*") and read the relevant chapter on Seondeok in the book.
+The chapter made similar implausible claims that I had not seen in any historical record or non-fictional discussions of historical records.
-Suspicions about these claims and subsequent research were recorded contemporaneously on a [thread on writeout.ink](https://writeout.ink/@ljwrites/113164984973469900).
+To prevent the further spread of possible misinformation and to correct the record if necessary, I set out to discover the source of these assertions about Seondeok starting with the bibliography of *Unforgotten Sisters.*
-This page and linked pages are a more formal documentation of the findings.
+Suspicions about these claims and subsequent research were recorded contemporaneously on a [Mastodon thread](https://writeout.ink/@ljwrites/113164984973469900).
+This page and linked pages are a more formal documentation and expansion of the findings.
-## Sources tracked
+## Dubious claims
-### Women of Korea
+The following are the claims in the Cosmos Magazine article and/or the Seondeok chapter of *Unforgotten Sisters* that I found dubious for not being found in recorded history:
-  * Yung-Chung Kim, Women of Korea: A History from Ancient Times to 1945 (2nd ed. 1977)
+  * Votive jar dedicated to grandmother
-    * Index of Queen Sŏndŏk references: 23, 24, 27, 42 (Apparent mistake for 25, 26, 27, 42)
+  * Claimed birth year of 610 CE
+  * Peony seed anecdote dated to seven years of age
+  * A Chinese ambassador named Lin Fang serving as her tutor
+  * Astronomer princess
+  * Solar eclipse prediction
+  * Begged her father to build an observatory
+  * Method of observation from Cheomseongdae
-This book (hereinafter "*Women of Korea*") was cited in the bibliography of *Unforgotten Sisters* and I read the parts relevant to Seondeok as a possible source for the unusual claims.
+The problem with most of these claims are, at base, that they are not found in the known historical records from books such as the *Samguk Sagi* (三國史記, History of the Three Kingdoms) and *Samguk Yusa* (三國遺事, Stories from the Three Kingdoms).
-However, *Women of Korea* does not go beyond the known historical information on Seondeok and I could not find any mention of details unique to *Unforgotten Sisters* such as her passion for astronomy, having a Tang ambassador as a tutor, etc.
+Some of the problems are elaborated in more detail below:
-See [[wok_transcript]].
-### Sŏndŏk: Princess of the Moon and Stars
+### Claimed year of birth
-  * Sheri Holman, Sŏndŏk: Princess of the Moon and Stars (2002)
+Seondeok's years of rule and death are in the known historical record (r. 632-647, d. 647), but her birth year is not.
+Yet the Cosmos Magazine article states that "She was born in 610 CE," while the Seondeok chapter of *Unforgotten Sisters* makes two conflicting claims in marking her birth year correctly in the title as unknown and then, just a few lines down near the beginning of the text, claiming her birth year as 610 AD.
-Not directly cited in *Unforgotten Sisters* and found by independent search, this middle-grade novel (hereinafter "*Princess of the Moon and Stars*") has many striking similarities with the assertions about Seondeok that I could not trace to any historical source.
+### Peony seed anecdote
-There are even passages with very similar wording.
-See [[poms_comparison]].
-### Other sources
+The Cosmos Magazine article states:
-I have looked through four other sources that might be relevant to Seondeok and that I had library access to, mostly biographical dictionaries of astronomers and scientists.
+> At seven, for example, a box of peony seeds arrived at the Court, from China. ... Her observation about the peonies’ lack of smell proved correct – one illustration among many of her intelligence.
-I could not find any mention of her, however.
-## The Unforgotten Sisters chapter on Seondeok
+The anecdote itself is well-known and attested in both the *Samguk Sagi* and *Samguk Yusa,* but no record dates this specifically to when she was seven years of age as claimed by Bernardi.
+The *Samguk Sagi* states she made this prediction as a princess while her father was still king but does not pinpoint the age, while the *Samguk Yusa* states the episode took place during her own reign when she was likely much older than seven.
-I also read the Seondeok chapter of Bernardi's *Unforgotten Sisters* and found it had the same problems as the Cosmos Magazine article:
+### The construction of Cheomseongdae
-Similar in substance, no labeling of fictional content in a book meant to be non-fiction, and no mention or citation of Holman's novel that I could find,
-## Further issues: Claims regarding Cheomseongdae
+The Cosmos Magazine article claims the following about the background for the construction of Cheomseongdae:
-The fictional details about Seondeok claimed as fact are the most egregious errors, but there are issues with the discussions on Cheomseongdae as well.
+> Sonduk had begged her father for several years to set out on its building, but eventually accomplished the challenge on her own.
-There is dispute in the Korean historical and archaeology communities over whether the building was an observatory and some disagreement between records on the specific period of construction, but I do not expect most people outside Korea to go beyond conventional wisdom.
-More problematic are Bernardi's claims on the story behind the construction of Cheomseongdae and the method of observation from the tower, with the first evidently being another uncited invention of Holman's and the second not having any basis in the historical record.
+As far as I know, however, no historical record on Cheomseongdae goes into this level of detail about the background of its construction. The first record on Cheomseongdae is the following line in the *Samguk Yusa:*
-### The construction of Cheomseongdae
+> 別記云是王代鍊石築瞻星臺 (A separate record states that it was in this King[ Seondeok]'s time that stone was shaped to build Cheomseongdae.)
+- 三國遺事 記異卷第一 善德王知幾三事 (Stories from the Three Kingdoms, Extraordinary Events Book 1, Three Episodes of King Seondeok's Foreknowledge) [Hangul translation](https://db.history.go.kr/ancient/level.do?levelId=sy_001r_0020_0330_0010) / [Scan of original record](https://db.history.go.kr/common/imageViewer.do?levelId=sy_001r_0020_0010_0010)
-In the Cosmos Magazine article Bernardi claims the following about the background for the construction of Cheomseongdae:
+Later records do not go into much more detail than the year of construction, either.
+There is some disagreement between records on when it was built, but they generally agree it was during Seondeok's time.
-> Sonduk had begged her father for several years to set out on its building, but eventually accomplished the challenge on her own.
+### The method of observation from Cheomseongdae
-The historical records on the construction of the Cheomseongdae specifying it being in Seondeok's time, however, is the following line from the *Samguk Yusa* (三國遺事):
+The Cosmos Magazine article states:
-> 別記云是王代鍊石築瞻星臺 (A separate record states that it was in the King's [Seondeok's] time that stone was shaped to build the Cheomseongdae.)
+> According to the historical accounts, when astronomers were observing in Sonduk’s tower, they laid on their back and watched the celestial objects through four domes on the top, arranged in a square and oriented towards the four cardinal points.
-Yet again, the only "basis" for the assertion that this was something Seondeok begged of her father seems to be Holman's *Princess of the Moon and Stars* in passages like the following:
+This would be remarkable if true because there is no such historical account to my knowledge, and to the knowledge of many scholars over the centuries who have speculated on how the Cheomseongdae was used for observation.
+In fact there is dispute in the Korean historical and archaeological communities over whether the building was used for astronomical observation at all, though I do not expect most outside a very specific niche of expertise to know about this controversy.
-> It is my greatest desire to one day build an observatory here dedicated only to mapping the sky. I have hinted to Father that is what I want for my New Year's gift. (p. 9)
+If Bernardi can present a historical record in support of her assertion, of course, it would be a remarkable find.
+However, I personally could find no such record myself and could not trace it to any of her cited sources I could access.
-> My heart leaped at his words, Grandmother. Finally, he would grant my desire.
+## Sources tracked
-> "It is not an observatory," he said, as I unwrapped a small red package. Inside was a lovely golden bracelet, hung with the astrological signs . . . carved in jade. . . . I smiled weakly, trying to hide my disappointment . . . (p. 43)
-> Every year I ask for the same thing---an observatory of my very own, and every year my Father pats my head like a child. (p. 44)
+### Women of Korea
-### The method of observation from Cheomseongdae
+  * Yung-Chung Kim, Women of Korea: A History from Ancient Times to 1945 (2nd ed. 1977)
-Bernardi states the following in the Cosmos Magazine article:
+This book (hereinafter "*Women of Korea*") was cited in the bibliography of *Unforgotten Sisters* and I read the parts relevant to Seondeok as a possible source for the unusual claims made by Bernardi.
+However, *Women of Korea* does not go beyond the known historical information on Seondeok and I could not find any mention of details unique to *Unforgotten Sisters* such as her passion for astronomy or having a Tang ambassador as a tutor.
+See [[wok_transcript]] for the transcribed contents of this book pertaining to Seondeok.
-> According to the historical accounts, when astronomers were observing in Sonduk’s tower, they laid on their back and watched the celestial objects through four domes on the top, arranged in a square and oriented towards the four cardinal points.
+### Sŏndŏk: Princess of the Moon and Stars
-This would be remarkable if true because there is no such historical account to my knowledge, and to the knowledge of many scholars over the centuries who have speculated on how the Cheomseongdae was used for observation of the heavens---if it was at all, as alluded to above.
+  * Sheri Holman, Sŏndŏk: Princess of the Moon and Stars (2002)
-Ironically, this is one assertion that cannot be traced to Holman's *Princess of the Moon and Stars* because Holman states in the epilogue:
+Not directly cited in *Unforgotten Sisters* or the Cosmos Magazine article and found by independent search, this middle-grade novel (hereinafter "*Princess of the Moon and Stars*") has many striking similarities with the assertions about Seondeok that I could not trace to any historical source.
+There are even passages with very similar wording.
+See [[poms_comparison]].
+Interestingly, Bernardi's assertion that an astronomer using Cheomseongdae laid on their back and watched the heavens through four domes is one of the few dubious claims that cannot be traced to Holman's *Princess of the Moon and Stars,* with Holman stating in the epilogue:
 > It is almost certain that a wooden platform made the tower even higher, but modern scientists are not absolutely sure as to how the tower was used. It is shrouded in mystery. (p. 161)
-I am unsure about the strength of the wooden platform assertion, but at any rate it contradicts Bernardi's account.
+I am unsure about the strength of the wooden platform hypothesis, but at any rate this directly contradicts Bernardi's account.
-Furthermore, the acknowledgement of uncertainty over the specific mode of Cheomseongdae's usage is a much better-supported statement than Bernardi's claim of a historical record documenting a specific method.
+Furthermore, the acknowledgement of uncertainty over the specific mode of Cheomseongdae's usage is a much better-supported statement than a claim of historical records documenting a specific method, because no such record exists to the best of my knowledge.
-If Bernardi can present such a historical record, of course, it would be quite a remarkable find, though I personally could find no such record myself and could not trace it to any of her cited sources I could access.
+### Other sources
+I looked through four other sources in the *Unforgotten Sisters* bibliography that might be relevant to Seondeok and that I had library access to, mostly biographical dictionaries of astronomers and scientists.
+I could not find any mention of her in these books, however.
+I also looked through all the working links in the Web section of the bibliography and could not find Seondeok mentioned in any of them, either.
 ## Tentative conclusions
-  * The claims about Seondeok not found in the recorded history appear to be drawn uncited and uncredited from the novel *Princess of the Moon and Stars.*
+  * Almost all the dubious claims about Seondeok not found in the recorded history appear to be drawn uncited and uncredited from the novel *Princess of the Moon and Stars.* Other assertions with unclear factual support need either better sourcing or retraction.
-  * The chapter in *Unforgotten Sisters* and the Cosmos Magazine article should be retracted or corrected to remove the fictional material.
+  * The Seondeok chapter in *Unforgotten Sisters* and the Cosmos Magazine article based on it should be retracted or corrected to remove the fictional material.
-  * If the chapter and article are left as they are, they should be marked or otherwise notified as largely fictional, and Ms. Holman's permission should be sought for the use of details she originated, with appropriate credit. She may also be due some form of apology, acknowledgement, and recompense.
+  * If the chapter and article are left as they are, they should be marked or otherwise notified as largely fictional, and Ms. Holman's permission should be sought for the use, with appropriate credit, of fictional details she originated. She may also be due some form of apology, acknowledgement, and recompense.
-  * There are other assertions with dubious support, such as the method of using the Cheomseongdae for observation, that need better sourcing.