한국 한시에 나타난 ‘호랑이’의 형상화 양상 연구

Abstract

This study purposed to examine the pattern of tiger configuration in Sino‐Korean poems and to contribute to supplementing the traditional image of the tiger in Korea. Korea has been called ‘a tiger country’ from ancient times, and because of this the tiger became an animal symbolizing Korea. For this reason, the tiger was used as the mascot representing the 1988 Seoul Olympics, the greatest event since the foundation of the nation. Among people, the tiger had various images including a beast hurting people and domestic animals, a sacred being as the king of beasts, a personalize animal associable with humans, a spiritual being repaying kindness, and a symbol of exorcism and good auspice. In Sino‐Korean poems, on the contrary, the image of the tiger as an evil beast was very strong and it was occasionally depicted or caricatured as a spiritual being that admonished human lives. First, with regard to the image of the tiger as an evil beast, the reason that the tiger was configured as the image of an evil beast was that the Joseon Dynasty suffered disasters caused by tigers from its foundation to the fall. In addition, the literati’s perception of the tiger was based on the Confucian world view and ideas distinguished from the folk’s perception. In Confucian books, the tiger was described as the fiercest animal that humans might experience. When they worked as provincial governors, furthermore, the literati experienced disasters caused by tigers by themselves, and such experiences aggravated their view of the tiger. Second, with regard to the configuration of the tiger as a spiritual being, the biggest reason for the literati to see the tiger as a spiritual being different from the image of the tiger viewed by the folk was that the tiger was on the top of the food chain except man and its physical dignity with powerful claws, teeth, etc. evoked fear. Although the tiger was adored as a sacred divinity, however, it was not showed the image of a savior solving problems in human affairs. Third, with regard to the tiger as an admonition, the fierce nature of the tiger induced both its images as an evil beast and as a spiritual being. Such images were projected on human affairs and developed into the image of admonition. That is, the image of the tiger as a beast was identified with the image of an oppressive man of power, and various related proverbs were created including ‘a tiger with the waist broken,’ which is the warning that a man of power may lose his power overnight and have to beg for his life like a tiger that fell into a pit and thus became powerless. Various contents related to the tiger as a part of Korean traditional culture are drawing people’s attention in many different areas. However, the development of such contents should be preceded by research on the tiger in relevant areas. Studies on the image of the tiger observed in Sino‐Korean literature including poems, novels, and prose are very crucial for supplementing the image of the tiger as one of the symbols of Korean culture, and such studies may be made in future research.