儒家 生命哲學의 淵源에 대한 고찰

Abstract

This writing is to study on the origin of the life philosophy in Confucianism. For this, I brought light on the fact that the thoughts of Jingtian(敬天), Tiandao(天道) and Tianming(天命) manifested by and the consciousness of suffering(憂患意識) of the people of Pre-Qin, and the long tradition of Chinese people that Tiandao and Tianming transpierced down and became Xing(性) came to be the basis of Confucian philosophy got to be the origin of the life philosophy in Confucianism. If Tiandao transpierces down and flows alive in a person’s body, this becomes the morality of subjectivity of the individual. If he keeps this with Self Discipline(敬, jing), he will become a saint like King Wen(文王). Accordingly, a saint stands for the person who keeps Tianming and copes with people, works, and heavens harmoniously. Because Confucius’s Ren(仁) in the late Spring and Autumn Period and Mencius’s Natural Goodness(性善) originated from this Tianming, the Ren(仁) representing Confucian thought can be said to be Xingming(性命: 生命). Such life philosophy in Confucianism became systemized and developed in the later Neo-Confucianism. Zhangzai’s Qi studies, Zhuxi’s Li studies, and Wang Shouren’s Xin studies representing Neo-Confucianism have the common feature that puts emphasis on the objective understanding of the heavenly way and the human way, and the awareness of the essence of human beings and the universe, but each of the schools differs in the way they represent to realize the essence of life. Zhangzai argued the Nature of Heaven and Earth(天地之性), Zhuxi argued the Mind of Living Beings of Heaven and Earth(天地生物之心), and Wang Shouren argued the realization of Renxin(仁心) of the Unity of All Things of Heaven and Earth(天地萬物一體). However, it is verified that their ultimate aim is the Unity of Heaven and Man(天人合一). Accordingly, it is known that the central structure of Neo-Confucianism is in the Unity of Heaven and Man through the embodiment of life essence. And it is verified that human activities themselves for the embodiment of life essence are the life nature that Neo-Confucianism aims for. Thus it is known that the life philosophy in Confucianism has the origin in the thoughts of Jingtian manifested by and the consciousness of suffering of the people of Pre-Qin, and the thoughts of Tiandao and Tianming that transpierced down and became Xing.