아들에게 전하는 아버지의 목소리 - 조선시대 ‘戒子’類 考察 -

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to shed light on father-son relationships in the Gyeja-style poetry and prose in collections of works during Joseon and explore the meanings of such works in the Joseon society those days. In Joseon, fathers of noble families emulated the cases of wise men that left their sons words of caution such as Ju Hee and Ju Ryeom-gye and left Gyeja in various forms. The Gyeja-style works were consistently created in early Joseon and made a quantitative expansion in the 16th and 17th century, which was attributed to the trend of noblemen that tried to practice the Confucian life norms and rituals starting with themselves, their children, and their families during the time when the efforts to settle Neo-Confucianism down in daily life with the reinforced academic understanding of it. Reflecting the trend, the content of Gyeja was normative. Fathers put an emphasis on the roles of sons as ideal Confucian scholars and remarkable descendents in the voices of ancient sages and heads of household and reminded them of their messages in a clear and powerful manner through a commanding tone and an item-based description format. The Gyeja-style works, however, exhibit various aspects of father including serious fathers, human fathers getting angry and scolding explicitly, and kind fathers opening up their hearts and approaching their sons honestly. They opened a channel of communication with their sons by confessing that they were once young sons that worried their fathers and displayed their paternal love to wish that their sons would lead a better life, telling them "not to follow their steps." Their concerns and requests for their sons continued till their death, which resulted in many dying injunctions. In their dying injunctions, all fathers asked for a funeral that observed the decorum, household economy, and circumstances and made an earnest request for them not to embellish their lives. The resolute philosophy and determination for practice of fathers, who wanted to live as true Confucian scholars both alive and dead, became the driving force for the Gyeja works to be the language of communication to induce sympathy from their sons and their educational messages instead of remaining as their one-sided lectures and grumbles. The voices of fathers trying to teach their sons by approaching them first and showing their true hearts in Gyeja-style works have huge implications for the modern society characterized by the lack of communication and the absence of values.