Three books have recently been rejected -- "Song of Sword", a novel by Kim Hoon, "Ahbe's Family", a novel by Jeon Sang-kuk and "Samgukyusa (Legends of the Three Kingdoms)”, a classic about the early history of Korea. They were translated into Chinese with subsidies from the Korea Literature Translation Institute, which had since May been looking for a publisher there.

The People's Literature Publishing House in Beijing agreed to publish "Song of Sword." The author and the Korean publisher, Thinking Tree Publishing, signed a copyright contract with the Chinese publisher in June and the book was to come out in China next year. But at the last minute, the Chinese publisher pulled out. The People's Literature Publishing House, established in 1951, is China's most authoritative publisher of literary works and has published some 700 million books.

Apparently the publisher took issue with some parts of the novel, complaining for instance that the book portrays Ming Dynasty reinforcements to the Chosun rulers during Hideyoshi Toyotomi’s invasion of Korea in the 1590s in a negative light. In the novel, Chosun sailors behead 60 Japanese sailors, but Ming admiral Chen Lin attempts to persuade Chosun admiral Yi Sun-shin to let him take credit for 50 of the heads in a false report to the Ming emperor. His attempt is discovered.

An official with the Korea Literature Translation Institute said Chinese publishers are objecting to the term “three kingdoms” in the title of the classic. Cho Bup-jong, a professor of history education at Woosuk University, said, "Chinese historians are reluctant to accept the term 'three kingdoms' because they define the ancient history of Korea as that of two kingdoms, Shilla and Baekje, not three that include Koguryo."

Cho said this could mean that the so-called Northeast Project by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which co-opts some early Korean history like Koguryo for China, “is establishing itself as the official view of Chinese history.” China has so far tried to placate Korean protests against the project by saying it simply represents the opinions of individual academics.

(englishnews@chosun.com )