Shin Saim-dang：A Woman Before Her Time

Shin Saim-dang: A Woman Before Her Time

申师任堂：一个时代的女性

Five hundred years ago, a woman of extraordinary abilities earned respect for her talent as a painter and poet. She lived in the tradition-bound society of ancient Korea, and her family cherished her as a devoted daughter, mother, and wife. Today, we recognize her as a woman who pioneered independence and individuality for women. Shin Saim-dang was born in Korea in 1504 during the Chosun Dynasty. The second of five daughters, she was named In-sun at birth.

五百年前，一位具有非凡才能的女性因其作为画家和诗人的才华而受到尊重。 她生活在古代朝鲜的传统社会，她的家人将她视为一个忠诚的女儿、母亲和妻子。 今天，我们认识到她是女性独立和个性的先驱。 申师任堂1504出生于朝鲜，正当朝鲜王朝时期。 她是五个女儿中的第二个，出生时取名为仁善。

At a young age, she chose the pen name Saim-dang, which means “ loving mother of the king. ” Her inspiration was the mother of King Wen, a ruler in the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China. During the Chosun Dynasty, most Koreans abided by Confucian teachings, which held that a son must look after his parents. For this reason, after a man was married, his wife would leave her family to go and live with her husband’s family.

在很小的时候，她选择了笔名任堂，意思是“国王的慈爱母亲” 她的灵感来自中国古代周朝统治者文王的母亲。 在朝鲜王朝时期，大多数朝鲜人遵守儒家教义，即儿子必须照顾父母。 出于这个原因，男人结婚后，他的妻子会离开自己的家庭去和丈夫的家人一起生活。

Although Saim-dang’s family honored Confucian teachings, they did not always follow tradition. Saim-dang’s mother was an only child, so Saim-dang’s grandparents had no son to take care of them. With the consent of her husband, Saim-dang’s mother continued to live at home even after she married. Thus, Saim-dang was born in her mother’s childhood home, called Ojukheon, in the city of Gangneung.

尽管任堂的家族尊重儒家教义，但他们并不总是遵循传统。 任堂的母亲是独生女，因此任堂的爷爷奶奶没有儿子照顾他们。 在丈夫的同意下，任堂的母亲即使在结婚后仍继续住在家里。 因此，任堂出生在她母亲的童年之家，名为乌竹轩，位于江陵市。

Saim-dang’s father worked in Seoul, 150 kilometers away, so she did not see him very often. Her mother and grandfather took on the responsibility of raising her and her sisters. The five girls all learned to read and write, even though most girls at the time received little education. In this atmosphere of learning, Saim-dang developed an appreciation for the arts. She enjoyed practicing calligraphy and composing poetry.

任堂的父亲在150公里外的首尔工作，因此她不经常见到他。 她的母亲和祖父承担起抚养她和她的姐妹的责任。 这五个女孩都学会了阅读和写作，尽管当时大多数女孩接受的教育很少。 在这种学习氛围中，任堂培养了对艺术的鉴赏力。 她喜欢练习书法和写诗。

At the age of seven, she studied the works of Ahn Gyeun, a famous painter who lived during King Sejong’s rule, one hundred years earlier. Saim-dang imitated Ahn Gyeun’s brushstrokes as she developed her own style of painting. Her favorite subjects were the things she saw every day in the backyard of Ojukheon: flowers, clusters of grapes, bamboo trees, butterflies, and insects. It is said that Saim-dang’s drawings were so lifelike they deceived even animals.

七岁时，她学习了一百年前世宗国王统治时期的著名画家安京恩的作品。 任堂模仿安京恩的笔触，发展出自己的绘画风格。 她最喜欢的主题是她每天在乌竹轩后院看到的事物：花、葡萄丛、竹子、蝴蝶和昆虫。 据说，任堂的画栩栩如生，甚至欺骗了动物。