물(水), 혹은 흐르는 세계(物)-고대 중국 제자백가에서 ‘물’의 담론과 상형적 사유-

Abstract

Water is the foundation of the human beings and nature and one of the academic reasons regardless of every cultural area. This research investigates how water has affected the East Asian thoughts and cultures by means of human environments and empirical objects. Particularly, it aims to experimentally discuss the characteristics of East Asian way of thinking among the contemplation for the water reflected in the pre-Ch’in philosophers and texts. Sarah Allan mentioned the ‘root metaphors’ that has existed in the ancient China and was noted. According to her, instead of metaphysical and transcendental notions, this Chinese thinking relies on the humane and natural phenomena through ‘root metaphors’ such as water, winds, and plants. This research agrees with what she mentioned and also, broadens her arguments, which induces the awareness of hieroglyphics and their traits and suggests hieroglyphic and the images-network thinking. This means that Chinese characters symbolized the images of experiences for the nature, combined with one another, and made new meaning. Like these multiplied processes of them, the East Asian thoughts similarly shows the unique ways of thinking. This images-network thinking interacted with experiences and thinking, reproduced the renewed Chinese characters, and further, established a high level of abstract expressive methods thereby integrating and thinking images. However, these ways of thinking very differ from the logic of ancient Greek. In this respect, it represents how the hieroglyphic or the images- network thinking influences the reasoning of humane and natural experiences and exemplifies several specific instances. Especially, detailed areas like the world, human being, and politics appear in terms of the images- network thinking and the images of water. Also, it deals with the imagination of water but it intends to reach the basis of the East Asian thinking.