<동명왕편(東明王篇)>의 서술 체계와 인물 형상

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to review the creative motivation through the preface of Dongmyeongwangpyeon[The Epic about King Dongmyeong of Goguryeo] and reveal the distinct features of description system and characters. The most important mention in the preface is that the story of King Dongmyeong was not a nonsense but a historical fact that realized the mandate from heaven. This is a clue to the fact that the creative motivation of Dongmyeongwangpyeon is to represent the sanctity of King Dongmyeong more effectively. Divinity, evil spirits and illusions all are events that can not be understood by human knowledge, but divine events are (1)historical facts made by the mandate from heaven, (2)things done under the purpose of the benefit of the whole world. Li Gyubo seems to have created his own description and expression system of Dongmyeongwangpyeon by modifying the contents of Old History of Three Kingdoms in order to effectively grant such sanctity to King Dongmyeong. The preface of Dongmyeongwangpyeon is composed of the story of ancient Chinese Emperors, who received the Heavenly Order. In the last part, the events taken place by two emperors of Han dynasty are mentioned. In the main chapter, the actions of Haemosu and Jumong, which are similar to those of Chinese saints, are specifically embodied in detail. The description system like this is the result of the intention to prove that the act of King Dongmyeong was actual historical fact and sacred act based on the Heavenly Order by citing or associating the sacred case of China recognized as history. In Dongmyeongwangpyeon, (1)Haemosu is described as the recipient of the mandate from heaven, (2)the story of him has as much detail as Jumong’s, (3)Yuhwa is described as sacred mother, and (4)Yuri’s story is introduced to the minimum. As a result, it has the narrative structure that the Haemosu’s actions for inheritance and Jumong's founding a new country through the help of Yuhwa is logically connected, thus creating the effect of justifying the sacredness of the establishment of Goguryeo.