한중일 언어권의 Deus, God의 수용과 크리스트교의 전개

Abstract

Among the cultures received from the West since modern times and translated into Korean, Japanese, and Chinese, no contrast as stark as in Christianity can be found. Different courses of development of Christianity in those linguistic areas are worth attention, given that the modern history of East Asia was made into being, somewhat with shock, by the impact of Western cultures and at the center of Western spiritual cultures had been Christianity. How did Christian cultures in those countries, where Chinese letters and traditions of Confucian and Buddhism are shared, take different courses of development? Without doubt, the beginning of the Christian cultures in Korea, Japan, and China can be identified in the introduction and conceptual development of “Deus” and “God”, both of which are “Yahwhe” translated into Latin and English respectively. The purpose of this paper is to delve into the following three questions : First, into what words did the people in the three countries try to translate “Deus” and “God” to facilitate their introduction and communication? Second, What are the religious concepts of “Shangti” in Chinese, “Kami” in Japanese, and “Hananim” in Korean, represented by the users of each language? Third, What does the difference in translation processes and conceptual meanings of the words translated in each language have to do with the cultural manifestations resulting from different courses of development of Christianity in Korea, Japan, and China?