『열하일기』「일신수필」 서문과 동ㆍ서양 사상의 소통

Abstract

This paper offers an in-depth analysis of the prologue to Ilsin-Supil(馹汛隨筆), a chapter of Yeolha-Ilgi(熱河日記), from the perspective of “communication between Oriental and Western Ideas.” The author believes that the prologue reveals the efforts by Park Ji-won(朴趾源), writer of Yeolha-Ilgi and a well-known Silhak(實學) scholar of the late Joseon Dynasty, to independently embrace Western learning, in order to innovate Confucian ideas. In his prologue to Ilsin-Supil, Park argues that Confucianism, Buddhism, and Western learning are in mutual agreement, as they all urge learners to recognize the great world, which surpasses the limitations of ordinary experiences, with an open mind. In the travelogue that immediately follows the prologue, Park maintains that people should free themselves from a narrow viewpoint in order to understand development in Qing(淸) empire accurately. One can assume that Park placed the prologue, which urges a fundamental shift of thinking, in front of the chapter’s travelogue because its arguments would not be readily accepted by old-fashioned classical scholars of Joseon at the time. Interestingly, varying editions of Yeolha-Ilgi feature a partially revised version of the prologue to Ilsin-Supil, with a more critical tone towards Western learning. The fact that not only is the prologue to Ilsin-Supil incomplete but it was also revised to take a denouncing tone towards Western Learning indicates that Park’s efforts to pursue innovation of ideas through communication and exchange between Oriental and Western ideas gradually weakened. This is very unfortunate for the development of Silhak in the late Joseon dynasty.