[“Sangjenim then declared, “The world’s people will one day travel to Joseon to learn its language and writing.” ... “In the future, a new civilization will emerge.” He continued, “The world will come and learn from the Joseon civilization.” JSD Dojeon 5:7]
Jeong In-ji's Closing Remarks
有天地自然之聲, 則必有天地自然之文.
所以古人因聲制字, 以通萬物之情, 以載三才之道, 而後世不能易也.
然四方風土區別, 聲氣亦隨而異焉.
As there are natural sounds in heaven and earth, there must be natural writings in heaven and earth. So people in ancient times invented characters based on those natural sounds to understand the meaning of all things and record the principles of heaven, earth, and humanity in books, so future generations could not easily change the characters invented by their ancestors. However as the customs of the land differ across all four directions on earth, people's qi of speech as well is different.
蓋外國之語, 有其聲而無其字.
假中國之字以通其用, 是猶枘鑿之鉏鋙也, 豈能達而無礙乎.
要皆各隨所處而安, 不可强之使同也.
Mostly, languages from other countries besides China do not have writings that match their sounds. As such, the characters of China are used for communication, but that is akin to fitting a square tool handle in a round hole, so how would such be possible without difficulty? To the needs of each adherence brings ease, therefore it is impossible to force everyone into conformity.
吾東方禮樂文章, 侔擬華夏. 但方言俚語, 不與之同.
學書者患其旨趣之難曉, 治獄者病其曲折之難通.
Our Joseon in the Eastern land has traditions, culture, and customs that are comparable to the Chinese people, but in language, we are different. So, those who learn Chinese characters worry about the difficulty in understanding the meaning of the text, and the officials who rule over the prison worry about the difficulty in understanding the details of the incident.
昔新羅薛聰, 始作吏讀, 官府民間, 至今行之. 然皆假字而用, 或澁或窒.
非但鄙陋無稽而已, 至於言語之間, 則不能達其萬一焉.
Long ago, Seolchong of Silla devised the Idu System, which government officials and the civil population use until this day. However, as it uses Chinese characters, there are annoyances and limitations. It is howevermore also superficial and baseless, and in modern communication, it is unable to communicate even the most simple things.
癸亥冬. 我殿下創制正音二十八字, 略揭例義以示之, 名曰訓民正音.
象形而字倣古篆, 因聲而音叶七調. 三極之義, 二氣之妙, 莫不該括.
In the winter of the year Gyehae (Black Pig, December 1443), His Majesty invented the 28 letters of the Hunminjeong'eum System, briefly demonstrated examples, and named it the Hunminjeong'eum. Its form imitates that of the scripts of old but its sound fits the seven melodies. Both character and sound encompass all the principles of three elements [heaven, earth, and humanity], the mystery of two energies [yin and yang].
以二十八字而轉換無窮, 簡而要, 精而通.
故智者不終朝而會, 愚者可浹旬而學.
以是解書, 可以知其義. 以是聽訟, 可以得其情.
The transitions of the 28 characters are infinite, simple yet to the point, precise yet universally applicable. As such, a smart man need not more than the morning to learn, and even a fool can learn it in ten days. With this, Chinese books can be understood and know their intent. With this, lawsuits in a court of law can have its details be gleaned.
字韻則淸濁之能辨, 樂歌則律呂之克諧. 無所用而不備, 無所往而不達.
雖風聲鶴唳, 鷄鳴狗吠, 皆可得而書矣.
The rhyme of letters can distinguish its clear and murky sound, and the lyrics of songs make the rhyme harmonious. It falls short nowhere in use and communication. Be it the sound of the wind blowing, a crane crowing, a rooster clucking, a dog barking, it can all be written.
遂命詳加解釋, 以喩諸人. 於是, 臣與集賢殿應敎臣崔恒, 副校理臣朴彭年, 臣申叔舟,
修撰臣成三問, 敦寧府注簿臣姜希顔, 行集賢殿副修撰臣李塏,
臣李善老等, 謹作諸解及例, 以敍其梗槩. 庶使觀者不師而自悟.
若其淵源精義之妙, 則非臣等之所能發揮也.
So, the king finally ordered us to add a more detailed explanation to enlighten the people. Because of this, a humble servant of His Majesty, I with Choe Hang the Eung-gyo of the Hall of Gathered Wisdom, The Vice Royal Scribes Pak Paengnyeon and Sin Sukju, Court Historian Seong Sam-mun, Gang Hui-an from the Ministry of Royal Affairs, Acting Vice Historian of the Hall of Gathered Wisdom Yi Gae, a servant of His Majesty Yi Hyeon-ro, among others, created all examples and recorded a summary of them here. Those who read this need not a teacher and be able to understand this book by themselves. However, its precise meaning and profoundness of its origin are so mysterious that we as mere servents unable to reveal.
恭惟我殿下, 天縱之聖, 制度施爲超越百王. 正音之作, 無所祖述, 而成於自然.
豈以其至理之無所不在, 而非人爲之私也.
It is my humble opinion that His Majesty is a sage king appointed from heaven, whose lawmaking and generosity exceed that of any prior kings. The creation of the Hunminjeong'eum was not from any prior works but something that he created naturally. Truly, its rationality falls short besides none, and it is also objective and natural.
夫東方有國, 不爲不久, 而開物成務之大智, 蓋有待於今日也歟. 正統十一年九月上澣.
資憲大夫禮曹判書集賢殿大 提學知春秋館事 世子右賓客臣鄭麟趾拜手稽首謹書
For long there has been a nation in the East, and it is not to say that the Korean nation is young, but since the founding of the nation, among all the wise who worked to create, they are indeed overshadowed today by him. On the 10th day of the ninth month of the eleventh year of Emperor Zhengtong, A Helpful Servant of His Majesty, Minister of Rites, The Grand Chief Scholar of the Hall of Gathered Wisdom, Court Historian, and tutor of the Crown Prince, the humble servant Jeong In-ji gathers his hands in a bow and lowers his head in genuflection as he writes in reverence.