Page:The passing of Korea.djvu/492

 of the country. These stories are always short and pithy and are truly indigenous. Most of them are of great antiquity and antedate any considerable Japanese or Chinese influence.

Many legends deal with the founding of the various dynasties and kingdoms that have flourished here from time to time. We find upon examination that the egg plays a very important part in the origin of ancient heroes. To be sure, the Tangun, the most ancient of all, had another and a unique origin. A bear, by patient waiting in a cave, at the command of the great spirit became a woman. Whan-ung, the son of the Creator, sought and found her, and she bore a son who is known as Tangun, contemporary with Noah. The founder of the great southern kingdom of Silla (57 B. c.-o,i8 A. D.) was brought forth from a gigantic egg that was found in a forest. The founder of Koguryu in the north came also from an egg of superhuman origin. One of the early heroes of Silla came from an egg that floated in from the sea in a chest. The origin of the three heroes of Quelpart is different. They arose from a hole in the ground. The founder of Koryu had for mother the daughter of the sea-king, the Korean Neptune. Another mighty man came from beneath a boulder in the shape of a golden toad.

Closely connected with these are the tales which deal with the omens and signs that heralded the coming of momentous events. It was always the evil fortune that was thus foreshadowed. Fear is a main element in the religion of all semicivilised people, and this fear has made them quick to detect the signs of coming danger. Before the kingdom of Pakche fell, imps flew through the palace corridors, screaming, "Pakche is fallen," and then dived into the earth. Digging at the point where they disappeared, the King found a tortoise on whose back was written, "Pakche's sun is at the zenith," which meant that it was ready to go down. In other cases, tigers have come down from the mountains and wandered in the streets of the capital; the sea has turned red like blood ; meteors, comets and eclipses have appeared; abnormal births, either human or animal, have