명말 화본소설 ‘三言’의 宗族 이야기와 宗族 인식 - 불멸의 세계로서의 종족과 관련하여 -

Abstract

The ideology and lifestyle of the Clans permeated the Ming Dynasty society like air. Political instability and socioeconomic liquidity increased in the Ming Dynasty. Securing the social safety net has become the most important task for everyone. The state power sought to ease restrictions on the people's right to perform ancestral rites and expand clan ethics to the foundational society. Various clans were activated, ranging from the Emperor's or gentry's clans to the common people's clans below. There were at least 62 cases in which key terms related to clan were used in Sanyan, accounting for more than half of the total 120. This was the result of reflecting the spread of the ideas of clans and its need. Looking at Sanyan as a whole, the space of the mortal world and the immortal world were set. The lives of people living in the mortal world are ultimately combined with the immortal world through causality. This composition was similar to the world of clans connected by 'ancestors - I - descendants'. In Sanyan, life in a world of eternal immortality and immortality was set as the the highest value. However, Sanyan declared that it was virtually impossible to reach this. Sanyan emphasize the realistically possible acquisition of 'Fu(福)'. Among the 'Fu(福)', there are "many descendants", government posts, property, health, and longevity. These were all key elements of forming and maintaining a clan. The best way to achieve 'Fu(福)' was also to practice, do good deeds, and build merit. These were all in accordance with causality and were important virtues for clan formation and development. From the first story of Sanyan, in return for his good deeds, it cited cases of passing the test and promotion, becoming rich, acquiring offspring, and the couple's happily aging together, and presented cases of death, disgrace, and extinction for evil deeds. In Sanyan, the clans was an organization and a world of faith that combined the mortal world and the immortal world. People believed that when their ancestors died, they became ancestors and protected their descendants. People believed that descendants could be blessed and protected by continuously performing ancestral rites. People believed that without descendants who performed ancestral rites, they would become wandering ghosts who could not receive ancestral rites even when they died. As a result, securing descendants became the most important task for everyone. As a countermeasure against this, Sanyan presented the form of a novel, such as making a concubine, making a son-in-law, making an adopted son-in-law, and sharing a grandchild. The tomb was a space where the remains of ancestors could be preserved and regularly remembered. A shrine is a space where ancestors' portraits or memorial tablets are enshrined and they live together on a daily basis. These were all material bases that perpetuated the clan. Sanyan clearly stated that maintaining these stable is a pending issue that protects ancestors and perpetuates the clan. Even in Sanyan, the tomb was described as a symbol of forming a new clan. The writers of Sanyan placed these ideas of clan and stories of clan in the composition of many of the 120 novels. Through this, the story development was urgent and interested. In addition, they tried to fulfill their will to "awake the world" through this.