What does '싸리 밭에 개 팔자다' mean?

Lespedeza, doesn't the sound of it seem cute? This tree is one of the trees that has been used usefully in Korea since ancient times. Thanks to that, there are many stories related to Lespedeza.

The flower language of Lespedeza is "Active love". Lespedeza is a deciduous shrub belonging to the Leguminosae family, and it is a small tree with a height of about 2 to 3 meters. This tree has been loved by people since ancient times for its various uses and beautiful flowers.

Lespedeza is a small tree, but it has many uses. Since ancient times, Lespedeza has been used as fuel and also widely used to make brooms. In addition, it has been used for various purposes such as sieves, baskets, hampers, winnowing baskets, rice straw ropes, fences, wickets, sewing boxes, shoulder poles, whips, torches, winnowing fans, winnowing baskets, walking sticks, etc.

Furthermore, Lespedeza is also used as food. In the past, it was used as a famine crop. The leaves and flower stalks can be boiled in boiling water and eaten as a vegetable, or the fruits can be ground into powder and eaten as rice cakes or noodles. In addition, the leaves or roots can be boiled and drunk or used as medicine. In particular, since it is a tree with many flowers, it is often used as a raw material for honey because bees gather a lot when Lespedeza flowers bloom. Although it falls short of acacia honey, when Lespedeza flowers bloom, you can hear a buzzing sound like a beehive just by going near it.

Lespedeza is also widely used as a medicinal herb. The medicinal name is Hyungjo (荊條), Hojiza (胡枝子), and Mohyeong (牡荊), and the leaves and branches are used as medicinal herbs. It mainly has the effects of relieving fever and diuresis, and it is said to be good for the lungs. Lespedeza can be seen as a remarkable tree that has greatly helped our ancestors by being used for various living purposes and as a medicinal herb. It's a tree that can't help but actively love.

Lespedeza flowers bloom in July and August, and they are reddish-purple and called raceme inflorescences. The small branches have dark brown color with bud hairs, but they gradually disappear. The leaves are composed of compound leaves with small egg-shaped leaflets. There are two types of Lespedeza, white Lespedeza and hairy Lespedeza. Hairy Lespedeza has densely grown hairs on the back of the leaves, making it look white.

Lespedeza has been widely used in daily life. For example, winnowing baskets, walking sticks, and arrow shafts made of Lespedeza have been used as practical tools for people for a long time. Also, wickets or sewing boxes and brooms made of Lespedeza were commonly seen items in daily life. Therefore, Lespedeza was commonly seen around us, and because of its usefulness, it has been closely used in daily life since ancient times.

There is also a proverb related to Lespedeza. The proverb "It's a dog's life in a Lespedeza field" means that it's a comfortable life, likening a dog lying in a cool Lespedeza field in the hot summer.

Also, in the Yangju area of Gyeonggi-do, there is a story related to Lespedeza. The story called "The Story of Bowing to Lespedeza" is a story about a man who, before taking up his post as the governor of the county, bowed to Lespedeza in gratitude to the magpie that helped him while he was diligently studying. There is also a place named Ssarigoge (Lespedeza Pass) because there are many Lespedeza trees on the pass. Also, Lespedeza can be found in Hanafuda cards. The July card, Hongssari, in Hanafuda/cards is said to be this tree. Currently, the Yut used when playing Yut Nori is made of birch, but in the old days, they used to play Yut Nori with Yut made of Lespedeza.

Also, measles was a serious illness during the Joseon Dynasty, and because they believed that this disease was a prank of a malevolent spirit, when someone got measles, they made a small horse out of Lespedeza and, on the 12th day of getting measles, chased away the measles demon, saying that it should go on the Lespedeza horse. So, "riding a Lespedeza horse" resulted in the ending of "chasing away." Isn't it interesting that Lespedeza is used in the words we use in our daily lives?

Lespedeza is a small tree, but it is a tree loved by many people for its usefulness and beautiful flowers. This was a story related to Lespedeza. Have a good day today. Thank you!