Kŭmgangsan as Social Battleground

AT TOWERING, JAGGED KWIMYŎN ROCK (KWIMYŎN’AM) IN OUTER KŬMGANG, dozens of single-autograph inscriptions of different sizes bespeak the rock’s popularity for inscriptions among late-eighteenth-and nineteenth-century travelers (fig. 3.1). Kwimyŏn Rock’s grandest autograph belongs to high-ranking government official Yi Yangjŏng (1739–?). Masterfully carved on the curved and highly visible edge of the rock and accented in vermilion pigment, the carving’s grandeur derives from its comparatively large size, prominent location, and distinctive script.¹ Yi’s elegant combination of clerical script (yesŏ, C. lishu) and seal script (chŏnsŏ, C. zhuanshu) provides a stark contrast to the signature written in regular script by Hong