조선후기 십승지론의 전개와 ‘살 곳 찾기’의 향방

Abstract

Ten lands where one could preserve one’s life from crisis and peril because these lands were absent of war and famine is the general definition of Shipseungji, which is frequent material in many prophetic books including the Jeonggamlok. The usual assessment of Shipseungji is that it was a product which projected that wishes of the people who were frustrated at the numerous foreign invasions and the unfair social reality, and it also occasionally introduced propitious sites from feng shui and the paradise of Joseon. This has been the amount of content that forms the network of meanings in Shipseungji up to now, and such a definiition and assessment fails to reveal the cultural-historical implications of Shipseungji theory in its entirety. In order to disclose the full account and significance of Shipseungji theory, the present dissertation examined the concept of Shipseungji, the background to its beginnings, its aspects of unfolding, and its posterior transformation. The results of this discussion can be summarized into three points. The first is that, from the very beginning, Shipseungji began as part of a strategy to induce the response and support of the people of the time regarding the Jeonggamlok. The "Gamgyeol" of Jeonggamlok, which can be referred to as the source of Shipseungji theory, intactly follows the typical reasoning of the so-called messianic motif whereby the sudden happening of an apocalyptic situation is heralded and the only way to survive is then instructed. Shipseungji is presented as a way to survive the crisis of terrible disaster resulting from foreign invasion, and choice of "Gamgyeol" which finds and organizes excellent refuges was an intelligent strategy that corresponded to amplified realistic fears by evoking the memory of war. The fact that the concept of Shipseungji had been distributed since the 17th century immediately after a war increases the persuasion of this argument. Subsequently, the Shipseungji motif became independent from "Gamgyeol" with the power it generated from the concentrated interest it drew from the people of the time and began forming its own articles. From the Lee Shim type printed on "Gamgyeol" to the list of Nam Sa-go type, and then again to the Pijangcheo type articles, it took a path of independent development. During this process, a clear tendency of expansion and materialization is the second result. By the 18th century, Shipseungji theory began to go beyond its boundaries. It widened its range beyond prophetic articles to unofficial historial stories, geographies, and encyclopedias, and interestingly this process accompanied change in perspective toward Shipseungji. In Haksanhanun or Taekliji, Shipseungji is introduced as a paradise containing know-how, which guarantees welfare and well-being, rather than a land of refuge and self-preservation. If in the past Shipseungji theory sought ‘survivable land’ against crises and peril, during this period, the people sought a ‘liveable land’ for a better life. The people’s interest in Shipseungji during the late Joseon period was constant and passionate as displayed. This continuous flow of Shipseungji theory eventually joins in with the movement of exploring livable land as represented in Taekliji, and hence, Shipseungji is an important clue for reading base of cultural history during the late Joseon period. The study was able to further widen the network of meanings of Shipseungji through the present discussion which reviewed the full account of Shipseungji theory and shed light on the interest in ‘finding a place to live’ during the late Joseon period, which originated from Shipseungji theory.