The Bird That Drinks Blood
Encyclopedia
The Bird That Drinks Blood (Korean
: 피를 마시는 새 Peeru'l mashinuun saeh, abbreviated as 피마새 Pimasae) is a series of Korean fantasy novels by Lee Yeongdo
. Set in the same world of Lee's previous work The Bird That Drinks Tears
, the stories depict clashes between absolute power
and free will
with the backdrop of the Neo Arajit Empire (Korean
: 신 아라짓 제국) that's ruled over by flying capital Skywhere (Korean
: 하늘누리). The Empress Governheaven of the Empire secures the eternal empire against the Lekons and rebellious forces, but it is gradually revealed that behind the endless conflicts and confusion the Empress's ambitions and plots have played a major part as well. The story begins with four people; Jimen the Emperor Hunter and an one-eyed human girl Asil, whose dream of an independent nation of Lekons have been ruthlessly suppressed by the Empress, on whom they swore to wreak vengeance; the General-in-Chief Elsi who took the marches of a margrave
who formed a faction to defy the Empress, and Jeong U, the margrave's daughter.
Korean press has compared Lee's the Bird series to J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth
works, in the aspect that Lee constructed languages and created geography, vegetation, and history that pans several thousand years. "Moreover, unlike Tolkien who set the virtual history simply as a mythical battleground of good and evil, in Lee's world the moving history, politics, industries and cultural background are constructed in such great detail that this another world feels real and urgent, and sucks you in." The Korean overtones of the world was also acclaimed. The ancient language of Arajit is based on the Proto-Korean language. The undefeated general Elsi enjoys a game of baduk while other characters enjoy traditional Korean folk games such as Ssireum
and Yut Nori
, and Jeong U dresses in what is similar to Hanbok
and wears a binyeo in her hair. The Empire's system of rank and office is modeled after that of Silla
and Goryeo
.
(1998) and The Bird That Drinks Tears,(2002) The Bird That Drinks Blood was serialized on a serial
forum of an online service provider
, Hitel, "from the Christmas of 2003 to Christmas of 2004, exactly a year." It is the last of Lee's works to be on the forum before Hitel's closure in 2007. It is also his longest work to date. (August 2011)
of Minumsa Publishing Group, has been Lee's publisher since 1998, and also runs an online community site for the fans of Lee's works. After The Bird That Drinks Blood was completed, in January 2005 the publisher called for volunteer "reader editors" at the website, to come meet the author at the publisher's office where they could talk about their requests and ideas about how the book should be printed. The Bird That Drinks Blood was published in July 2005 in 8 hardcover volumes. Each volume's title is as follows:
, lekons and dokkebis
.
and The Bird That Drinks Blood, some readers wonder and hope that Lee would write the Bird series as a full tetralogy
, because of an old tale told by the legendary Kitalger Hunters in The Bird That Drinks Tears:
One part of the tale about the other two birds are told in The Bird That Drinks Blood:
Lee's fans voice their hopes online that Lee would at least write The Bird That Drinks Poison, if The Bird That Drinks Water isn't dramatic enough for a fantasy title. When asked about this in interviews, Lee denies any plans for another sequel on his part, saying "I don't know anything for now. I have no plans."
In a 2008 interview, when asked "we understand that writing the "Bird" series has not been finished. Please let us know your future writing plans," Lee answered laughing: "there are lots of rumors[...] About this 'Bird' series too. I never declared that I would write a series, but before I knew it, the new quartet or new saga has become the ambition of this typer's life. Well. If a story that I want to type comes up I will type it, if not I won't type it. I don't have any ambitious plan going 'I will type before I die!'"
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
: 피를 마시는 새 Peeru'l mashinuun saeh, abbreviated as 피마새 Pimasae) is a series of Korean fantasy novels by Lee Yeongdo
Lee Yeongdo
Lee Yeongdo is a Korean novelist known for his work in fantasy and science fiction genre. He is best known for his Dragon Raja series of fantasy novels which is also his debut work, serialised on an online forum from 1997 and published on its completion in 1998.At the time Dragon Raja was first...
. Set in the same world of Lee's previous work The Bird That Drinks Tears
The Bird That Drinks Tears
The Bird That Drinks Tears is a series of Korean fantasy novels by Lee Yeongdo...
, the stories depict clashes between absolute power
Absolute Power
Absolute Power may refer to:*Lord Acton's dictum, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely"*The power held by the sovereign of an absolute monarchy*Omnipotence, unlimited power, as of a deity...
and free will
Free will
"To make my own decisions whether I am successful or not due to uncontrollable forces" -Troy MorrisonA pragmatic definition of free willFree will is the ability of agents to make choices free from certain kinds of constraints. The existence of free will and its exact nature and definition have long...
with the backdrop of the Neo Arajit Empire (Korean
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
: 신 아라짓 제국) that's ruled over by flying capital Skywhere (Korean
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
: 하늘누리). The Empress Governheaven of the Empire secures the eternal empire against the Lekons and rebellious forces, but it is gradually revealed that behind the endless conflicts and confusion the Empress's ambitions and plots have played a major part as well. The story begins with four people; Jimen the Emperor Hunter and an one-eyed human girl Asil, whose dream of an independent nation of Lekons have been ruthlessly suppressed by the Empress, on whom they swore to wreak vengeance; the General-in-Chief Elsi who took the marches of a margrave
Margrave
A margrave or margravine was a medieval hereditary nobleman with military responsibilities in a border province of a kingdom. Border provinces usually had more exposure to military incursions from the outside, compared to interior provinces, and thus a margrave usually had larger and more active...
who formed a faction to defy the Empress, and Jeong U, the margrave's daughter.
Korean press has compared Lee's the Bird series to J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
works, in the aspect that Lee constructed languages and created geography, vegetation, and history that pans several thousand years. "Moreover, unlike Tolkien who set the virtual history simply as a mythical battleground of good and evil, in Lee's world the moving history, politics, industries and cultural background are constructed in such great detail that this another world feels real and urgent, and sucks you in." The Korean overtones of the world was also acclaimed. The ancient language of Arajit is based on the Proto-Korean language. The undefeated general Elsi enjoys a game of baduk while other characters enjoy traditional Korean folk games such as Ssireum
Ssireum
Historically, there have been other terms for "wrestling" in Korean used alongside ssireum, such as gakjeo , gakhui , gakryeok , gakgii , chiuhui , sangbak , jaenggyo ....
and Yut Nori
Yut
Yut Nori is a traditional board game played in Korea, especially during Korean New Year. The game is also called cheok-sa or sa-hee...
, and Jeong U dresses in what is similar to Hanbok
Hanbok
Hanbok or Chosŏn-ot is the traditional Korean dress. It is often characterized by vibrant colors and simple lines without pockets. Although the term literally means "Korean clothing", hanbok today often refers specifically to hanbok of Joseon Dynasty and is worn as semi-formal or formal wear...
and wears a binyeo in her hair. The Empire's system of rank and office is modeled after that of Silla
Silla
Silla was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, and one of the longest sustained dynasties in...
and Goryeo
Goryeo
The Goryeo Dynasty or Koryŏ was a Korean dynasty established in 918 by Emperor Taejo. Korea gets its name from this kingdom which came to be pronounced Korea. It united the Later Three Kingdoms in 936 and ruled most of the Korean peninsula until it was removed by the Joseon dynasty in 1392...
.
Serialization
As Lee's all multi-volume series, such as Dragon RajaDragon Raja
Dragon Raja is the first series of fantasy novels written by Lee Yeongdo, one of the most famous fantasy novelists in South Korea. The books chronicle the adventures of a 17-year-old boy Hoochie Nedval, his mentor Karl Heltant and his friend Sanson Percival, all of whom are from the poor town of...
(1998) and The Bird That Drinks Tears,(2002) The Bird That Drinks Blood was serialized on a serial
Serial (literature)
In literature, a serial is a publishing format by which a single large work, most often a work of narrative fiction, is presented in contiguous installments—also known as numbers, parts, or fascicles—either issued as separate publications or appearing in sequential issues of a single periodical...
forum of an online service provider
Online service provider
An online service provider can for example be an internet service provider, email provider, news provider , entertainment provider , search, e-shopping site , e-finance or e-banking site, e-health site, e-government site, Wikipedia, Usenet...
, Hitel, "from the Christmas of 2003 to Christmas of 2004, exactly a year." It is the last of Lee's works to be on the forum before Hitel's closure in 2007. It is also his longest work to date. (August 2011)
Publication
Golden Bough, an imprintImprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
of Minumsa Publishing Group, has been Lee's publisher since 1998, and also runs an online community site for the fans of Lee's works. After The Bird That Drinks Blood was completed, in January 2005 the publisher called for volunteer "reader editors" at the website, to come meet the author at the publisher's office where they could talk about their requests and ideas about how the book should be printed. The Bird That Drinks Blood was published in July 2005 in 8 hardcover volumes. Each volume's title is as follows:
- Volume 1: The Emperor Hunter
- Volume 2: The General-in-Chief of the Empire
- Volume 3: The Ruler of the Bloodshed
- Volume 4: The One That Wields Fire
- Volume 5: The Master of Balkene
- Volume 6: The Lekon That Walks in the Rain
- Volume 7: The One That Burns Self
- Volume 8: The One That Treads on The Sky
Races
The fictional world of The Bird That Drinks Tears is inhabited by four chosen people, four races with their own deity - humans, nagasNaga (The Bird Series)
Naga is a fictional sentient race based on the Asian mythology of Nāga that appear in the Korean fantasy novel The Bird That Drinks Tears and its sequel The Bird That Drinks Blood, written by a Korean writer Lee Yeongdo.-Physical Characteristics:...
, lekons and dokkebis
Dokkebi (The Bird Series)
Dokkaebis in the novel are hinted from the elf-like being often told in Korean traditional forktale and fairy tales.So they contain the nature from the original Dokkaebi characteristics...
.
Rumors and hopes for a Trilogy, or a Tetralogy
After The Bird That Drinks TearsThe Bird That Drinks Tears
The Bird That Drinks Tears is a series of Korean fantasy novels by Lee Yeongdo...
and The Bird That Drinks Blood, some readers wonder and hope that Lee would write the Bird series as a full tetralogy
Tetralogy
A tetralogy is a compound work that is made up of four distinct works, just as a trilogy is made up of three works....
, because of an old tale told by the legendary Kitalger Hunters in The Bird That Drinks Tears:
There are four brother birds.
Their appetites are all different.
They are the bird that drinks water, the bird that drinks blood, the bird that drinks poison, and the bird that drinks tears.
The one that lives the longest of them is the bird that drinks blood.
Then, which one would live the shortest?
It is the bird that drinks tears, because he drinks tears of others.
The bird that drinks blood lives the longest, because he drinks what is so precious that no one wants to shed it out of their body.
The body sheds tears on its own. How harmful it must be, for the body to shed it so?
One that drinks such harmful thing would not live long.
But it is said; the bird that drinks tears would sing the most beautiful songs.
The bird that drinks blood lives the longest, because he drinks what is so precious that nobody wants to give out.
But because he stinks of blood no one goes near.
One part of the tale about the other two birds are told in The Bird That Drinks Blood:
- Poison is the gentlest and water is the sharpest. If you give poison, one falls asleep; but if you pour water, one springs up.
The bird that flies the fastest is the bird that drinks poison, and the bird that flies the slowest is the bird that drinks water.
Lee's fans voice their hopes online that Lee would at least write The Bird That Drinks Poison, if The Bird That Drinks Water isn't dramatic enough for a fantasy title. When asked about this in interviews, Lee denies any plans for another sequel on his part, saying "I don't know anything for now. I have no plans."
In a 2008 interview, when asked "we understand that writing the "Bird" series has not been finished. Please let us know your future writing plans," Lee answered laughing: "there are lots of rumors[...] About this 'Bird' series too. I never declared that I would write a series, but before I knew it, the new quartet or new saga has become the ambition of this typer's life. Well. If a story that I want to type comes up I will type it, if not I won't type it. I don't have any ambitious plan going 'I will type before I die!'"