조선중기 서인계 문인의 정치적 불만과 문학적 대응 - 玄洲 趙纘韓의 경우 -

Abstract

It was a time of confusion in the middle of the Joseon Dynasty due to external wars and internal party strife. The political conflict got worse despite the politicians of the time needed to unite in order to manage this confusion. Under this circumstance, the Seoin writers who went through political problems expressed their complaints inside the literature they created. This study aims to look into a part of political complaints and literary response through the writings of Chan-han, Jo(趙纘韓, aka Hyun-ju(玄洲), 1572 to 1631). Chan-han, Jo was a writer from the declined Seoin organization. Suffering many problems under a troubled political situation of party strife, he expressed his disillusionment with the political reality and his anger towards the instability in literary ways. Sometimes he disclosed the dark side of the political reality with a stinging satire, and sometimes he called for an improvement of the irrational system with a flexible insinuation. On the former, a strong message of criticism towards hypocritical behaviors of the politicians who tried to rise to power using the weaknesses of their opponents, and the high officials who acquiesced in them, was included in his writings. On the latter, he strongly suggested a solution for political innovation describing that competent people should be appointed to high positions in fair ways. His writings clearly show his political complaints towards the unstable political reality of the time as one of the angry Seoin officials, and also his literary response to manage the affairs of the dynasty as a noble writer.