燕巖 朴趾源의 漢詩에 關한 한 考察

Abstract

Yeonam Park Ji Won did not have as much interest in writing poems as he did in writing prose. His poems number only 45, appearing in only 34 works. However, the literary aficionados during the Joseon period, who were experts on Chinese poems as an art form and who understood the aesthetic aspect of these poems, sporadically mentioned Yeonam's poems. This means that Yeonam's artistic expressions in his poems were unusual and extraordinary. This can be verified through a reading of his poems. Yeonam's poems can all be regarded as excellent. It is notable, though, that he did not enjoy writing the poem based on the prevailing rhythms and quatrains (called Geunchaesi), since he had an antipathy to the closure property of formalism. As is widely known, the rules in such Geunchaesi-style Chinese poems are founded on the linguistic and cultural conditions during a particular period in Chinese history, and these rules account for the beauty and aesthetic base that are a trademark of Chinese poems, all of which consider musicality important. These rules, however, could not have attracted the poet, who lived during the late Joseon period, a period that was totally different from the other periods in Chinese history in terms of its linguistic and cultural conditions. In short, Yeonam had a strong aversion to the closure property of the rules of classic Chinese poems, considering such rules prison bars that hinder freedom and creativity, andthus, the production of a thing of beauty. He clearly recognized these rules on rhythm in Chinese poems, but he resolutely tried to break free from such rules. He was thus able to leave behind several great works that manifest interesting irregularities. It is widely known that the late Joseon period was characterized by the desire of people to be natural and not artificial, and to break free from rules. As such, it can be surmised that it was not only Yeonam who exhibited this attitude towardsChinese poems. However, at that time, when most poets still blindly pursued the strict rules of Geunchaesi or Chinese poems based on rhythms, Yeonam bravely manifested his discomfort towards such rules and posed a big challenge to the norm then by refusing to create Geunchassi-style poems although he had great talent in writing poems. This should be considered important and meaningful to the history of literature. Although Yeonam's attitude towards Geunchaesi can be considered a very passive form of resistance to the prevailing norm then, passive resistance can be regarded as a great literary event in history. If Dasan Jeong Yak Yeong's "Joseon Poem Declaration' was a formal declaration, Yeonam's passive resistance to writing Geunchaesi, and his poems, which herald rebellion against the existing norm, can be said to have paved the way for such declaration to be put into action.