고전을 ‘어떻게’ 읽을 것인가? : 經學史의 경험을 통해 본 현대 중국의 “讀經 論爭”

Abstract

This article explores the politico-social motives by which classics are created and disseminated in a society by reviewing China's "Dispute over Scripture Chanting" of 2004. People who try to take advantage of classics for political purposes claim that they are sacred texts, and through them we can envision a society's future. Others, however, do not concur with this privileged valuation of classics, condemning the political use of classics. 2004 saw the beginning of a movement in China called the "Scripture Chanting Campaign" in which Confucian texts were deemed Chinese classics, and embodied the future of Chinese culture with Jiang Qing as its central figure. Defenders of Scripture Chanting claim the Confucian classics are sacred books. Their opponents, by contrast, such as Li Ling of Peking University, maintain that they are nothing but old books, and therefore they should be studied as historical records rather than sacred documents. They neither deem the Confucian classics to be extraordinarily sacred nor agree that they are of great worth as symbolizing Chinese culture. There have always been disputes over the value of classics. These can be found in political confrontations everywhere in East and West : the political and Ideological conflicts over what makes classics and how to approach them. In retrospect, such conflicts have been long-standing issues in Chinese history. This article is a small attempt to explore the disputes over the value of classics, specifically the "politics of Classics: in the Chinese experience, and to better understand the revived "Dispute over Confucian Scripture."