君子의 길과 栗谷 李珥의 삶 - 『戴禮管見』을 중심으로

Abstract

I always had the following problems in study Confucianism. Is Confucian value still needed in the 21st century? Is the value of studying Confucianism valid in the future society of mankind? In order to answer the above questions, in Confucianism, I studied and organized the image of ‘the saint(聖人)’ and ‘Man of Virtue(君子)’ as “Internal cultivation of Natural and moral truth(道問學)” and “Honoring Moral Nature(尊德性)”. Based on these, I tried to study the man of virtue’s conduct(君子行) in the studies and life of Yulgok(栗谷) Yiyi(李珥. 1536~1584). He is a representative Confucian scholar of the Joseon Dynasty. To this end, first of all, the saints and man of Virtue were identified through the classics of Confucianism. Specifically, it was confirmed that the most important conditions for becoming ‘the saint(聖人)’ and ‘man of Virtue(君子)’ are “internal cultivation of Natural and moral truth(道問學)” that explores truth and morality, and “Honoring Moral Nature(尊德性)” that pursues moral practice. Next, Yulgok's man of value's conduct was studied from the perspective of internal cultivation of natural and moral truth. Yulgok devoted himself to the study throughout his life, studying Confucianism, Buddhism, and Zen deeply, breaking academic bias. Next, Yulgok's man of value's conduct was studied from the perspective of internal cultivation of natural and moral truth. Yulgok devoted himself to the study throughout his life, studying Confucianism, Buddhism, and Zen deeply, breaking academic bias. Furthermore, it was revealed that it has contributed a lot to the development of Neo-Confucianism by deeply studying major problems of Neo-Confucianism such as the theory of “all penetrating li and defining qi(理通氣局)”. Finally, the man of virtue's conduct was reviewed through Yulgok's natural cultivation of natural and moral truth. Yulgok was very practical and ‘impartiality(公明正大)’ in political and social practice. He did not flatter power, strongly rejected hereditary politics, revealed the evils of clique, and advocated ‘the theory of compounding(調劑論)’ to implement the politics of policy of pacification. In particular, in preparation for the Japanese invasion, they insisted on ‘maintaining one hundred thousand soldiers(十萬養兵)’ and actively tried to protect the lives of the state and people. To sum up, the value of Confucianism can be confirmed in the 21st century in Yulgok's practice of ‘the man of virtue’s conduct’, and such 'the man of virtue’s conduct' can be an alternative to solving modern social problems.