姜靜一堂의 禮 담론－조선후기 女性知性史 서술의 일환으로－

Abstract

Kang, Jung-il-dang(1772~1832) defined courtesy as overcoming of personal desire from the perspective of heavenly principle without paying much attention to formality, and so differed from Chu Si who, although dividing courtesy as principle and formality, put equal emphasis on both sides. At the same time she did not confine courtesy to personal cultivation of mind by enhancing its social significance to be practised in the mutual relation between ‘me’ and ‘you’, and by rather focusing on its traditional principles. In this regard she has the distance from Chu Si and his Korean followers attempting to found the basis of confucian community with the unification of the formality. It means that she was interested in the everyday life's proprieties, and raised the questions concerning the useless or excessive formalities. Discourse on courtesy of Kang, Jung-il-dang ought to be duly evaluated because it was achieved through self-awakening that women should be considered not as simple practitioners of courtesy, but its conductors and criticizers.