Ten-panel Folding Screen with Paintings on the Five Moral Rules, Joseon Dynasty

#삼강오륜행실도 열폭 병풍

This is a ten-panel folding screen mounted with paintings of five devoted sons and five friendly brothers.

The attached writings and paintings all convey tales about good sons and brotherly affection which appeared in the Paintings of Five Moral Imperatives (Oryun Haengsildo).

The title is written in Chinese characters at the top of the work, while the story is told in both Chinese characters and Korean letters.

In order to freshen up the social climate and disseminate the samgang oryun (삼강오륜, the fundamentals of Confucian morality, meaning “the three bonds and five relations”) to the general public, figures and scenes from Chinese and Korean tales were drawn.

Though the painting is regarded as the work of an amateur, it is all the more valuable in that it was written in Korean alphabet, Hangeul.


Ten-panel Folding Screen with Paintings on the Five Moral Rules, Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897),

#NMKCollection