Historical Significance and Transmission of ‘Reciting Sound of Chinese Literature Texts’ as ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage’

This paper aims to discuss the characteristics and significance of reciting sound of Chinese literature texts as intangible cultural according to the agreement with UNESCO. Since the ‘reciting sound of Chinese literature text also means a method of reading Chinese classics in our own way after the transmission of chinese writing, its aspects and characteristics are revealed through the historical literature. According to these records, greater importance was attached to Gugyeol and Hyeonto as systems for rendering Chines literature texts into understandable Korean, and efforts to homogenize the individual and regional difference in methods of reading are revealed. The ‘reciting sound of Chinese literature texts is based on the understanding of Chinese writing, and it has been handed down to the present through the course of Chinese education. However, since interpretation of the meaning is currently being emphasized more than reading aloud in Chinese writing, an individual attention for the ‘reciting sound of Chinese literature texts is being weakened. Nevertheless, efforts to read Chinese characters in our own way in the times when Korean alphabet did not exist are inherent in the ‘reciting sound of Chinese literature texts’. In this regard, it can be evaluated to have its significance as intangible cultural heritage that reveals the identity and diversity of our culture.