Flowers and phrases

The sheath and handle of this jangdo are made of copper and painted black with gold lacquer ornaments.Johannes Diederich Eduard Schmeltz, Die Sammlungen aus Korea im ethnographischen Reichsmuseum zu Leiden (Leiden: Trap, 1891), 4,. Men’s jangdo were often decorated with phrases and landscapes. The knives carried by women, on the other hand, were usually engraved with flowers and leaves, indicating that this jangdo was most likely used, or at least intended to be used, by a woman.Jin Kyung Lee, “[muhyeong munhwajae] jungyomuhyeongmunhwajae je 60-ho jangdojang bakjonggun ([Intangible Cultural Heritage] Important Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 60 Jangdojang Park Jong Gun),” The Korea Cultural Heritage News, September 5, 2011,. Aside from the practical usages of these daggers, like cutting fruit or paper, the decoration was used as a way of conveying rank, as different types of jangdo were carried depending on status.Seok Won Baek, “[dandokinteobyu] gukgamuhyeongmunghwajae jangdojang bakjonggun jangin, muhyeongmunhwajaee daehan gukgawa gungminui gwansimi pilyohada.’ Keolcheotaimjeu ([Exclusive interview] Master Park Jong Gun, the master of the national intangible cultural heritage, needs the attention of the state and the public in intangible cultural assets),” Culture Times, May 29, 2020,.Lee, “Important Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 60 Jangdojang Park Jong Gun.” Animals like butterflies and dragons are also regularly seen on jangdo, as well as the Four Gracious Plants.Lee, “Eunjangdo.” These plants, namely bamboo, prunus, chrysanthemum, and orchid, symbolically stand for the Confucian virtues and can be found in other Korean art forms as well. Scholar-painters, or literati, of the Joseon period, in particular, would paint the Four Gracious Plants not necessarily to make a beautiful painting but to cultivate the mind.Hyosup Song, “Three Korean Literati Paintings of an Orchid in the Deconstructive Process,” Semiotica 2016, no. 208 (2015): 224. Just like painting, the making of a jangdo is considered an art form and was appointed as National Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 60 in the 1970s.“gukgamuhyeongmunhwajae jangdojang: gukgamunhwayusanpoteol – munhwajaecheong (National Intangible Cultural Heritage Jangdojang),” Heritage Portal : Cultural Heritage Administration, accessed September 29, 2021,.