月谷 吳瑗의 學問과 思想

Abstract

This paper is to study the scholarship and ideas of Wolgok Owon (1700-1740). He was renowned for a learned person and spoke without reserve, and so called 'a authentic Confucian scholar'. He also took charge of the title called the Moonhyung which managed the enlightenment those days. He also understood the 'Sohak' is to establish the great foundation in mind without an easygoing way of thinking and so emphasized the importance of learning it step by step. He asserted that sincerity should be important in the method of learning and it be the first doing to get rid of the easygoing way of thinking and the true focus of learning should be to correct a cast of mind and the best way to learn the self-control spirit be to begin by the most interesting part. He always thought the poems such as 'Gookpoong' and 'Yiso' were the best and so 'Handang' was the best standard when poems were composed. Therefore, especially, he thought that it was most important to compose unaffected poems without the dexterousness. And He condemned the 'Don-oh' theory of Wang, Yang-myoung's and insisted that it be only to clarify the best logic by being taught to let people reach to the best achievement to the profound knowledge in consideration of their natural-born ability and knowledge. He said that the best answer to that was review the beginning of learning after being taught. As mentioned above, I think that the literature theory and statesmanship point of views and the Classical Canon of Wolgok's and so on can be guides to study the stream of the 18th century's ideas.