程順則의 『六諭衍義』와 서민교육

Abstract

In 1388, the founder and emperor Hongwu of the Ming dynasty published and proclaimed 『Gyomin Bangmun』, a book of rescript style that aimed to enlighten the public. One of the sections of that book is 「Yukyu」. And 『Yukyu Yeoneui』 , published by Fan-hung as a scholar of the Ching nation, is a book that provides explanations of all the items of 「Yukyu」. In 1708, the explanatory book was introduced to Yugu by Jeong Sun-chik who was the then scholar and politician of the kingdom. He thought 『Yukyu Yeoneui』 would be not only good to teach Chinese to people of Yugu that was a tributary state of China, but also suitable as a means of grassroots education to purify the customs of the kingdom. In Yugu, however, 『Yukyu Yeoneui』 played a role as moral guides more than Chinese language instructions. For his efforts to educate the general public with the guides based on profound affection for people, Jeong Sun-chik was fully recognized by people of Yugu to be called as ‘saint of Nago’. In the meantime, 『Yukyu Yeoneui』 was presented from Yugu to Satsuma and then to Tokugawa Yoshimune, the 8th shogun of the Edo shogunate regime. Youshimune made the then distinguished scholars to create a more brief explanatory version of that book. Following the move, 『Yukyu Yeoneui』 was distributed as a text for education and morals across Japan through its educational establishments like Beongyo and Terakoya, greatly influencing grassroots education by the Edo shogunate regime.