인물이야기에서 부정적 이미지를만들어 내는 방식－『좌계부담』 속의 재상 정태화를 중심으로－

Abstract

This paper focused on Jeong Tae-hwa who was depicted negatively in the notes and unofficial tales written in the late Joseon period. Created the history of the Jeongs of Dongrae, the prestigious family producing the prime ministers for 7 generations, Jeong Tae-hwa served for 3 kings. He never opposed against kings’ wills and kept his power through the marriage with the royal family. He was widely known as the subject of impressive stories that he made such achievement because of his consistent modesty and unique sociability. However, <Jwagyebudam> with both features of pilgi(筆記) and yadam(野談) criticized that he became the prime minister by lies and betrayal kept his position using the improper methods. ① He was ratified by Kim Ryu, the incompetent meritorious container, while he used the illegal method in the civil service examination; ② He could be promoted by maintaining the conspiracy relationship with the prime minister Kim Ja-jeom who was incompetent and committed the treason; ③ He kept his official position by sacrificing Yi Gye, the local officer who followed his instructions; and ④ He kept the power of his family by continuously checking Yi Wan, his colleague and fellow soldier. <Jwagyebudam> depicted the life of Jeong Tae-hwa through four episodes above and criticized him by citing the poem criticizing the heartless attitude making a young concubine suicide. Such negative embodiment was the elaborate process to cover the existing image of Jeong Tae-hwa with negative image using the situations after the Manchu war in 1636 which continued during the reign of King Injo and King Hyeonjong regardless of whether it was true or not. Furthermore, it clearly demonstrates the longstanding practices in criticizing characters for creating new images by elaborately weaving facts and fictions.