양명심학의 눈으로 본 기대승의 경세론

Abstract

The study of Go-bong, within the scope of Neo-Confucianism (theory of Principle-Energy and Mind-Nature), is different from Wang Yangming’s study of mind. But its viewpoints of cultivation such as the explanation that ‘investigation of things’ (格物) is ‘doing the Good and abolishing the Evil’ (爲善去惡), the appreciation of ‘the way of Mean’ (中道) and ‘the way of Contingency’ (權道) etc. share many common points with Wang Yangming’s theory of mind. Then what about the administration theory (of the study of Go-bong)? This paper is aimed at clarifying the similar points between the study of Go-bong and Wang Yangming’s theory of mind through a comparison between Ki Dae Seung’s administration theory and the latter. While the two philosophers have different starting points (Ki Dae Seung starts from the Principle (理) and Wang Shouren from the Mind (心)), both of them appreciate the Mind. The main reason can be found in the very administration theory. The ultimate goal of Wang Shouren’s theories of ‘unity of knowing and acting’ (知行合一說), ‘fulfilling the innate knowledge of the Good’ (致良知說) and ‘being close to the people’ (親民說) etc. is the unity, the sympathy and love between men, and the peaceful and happy life of all human beings. Ki Dae Seung puts out a statement about ‘fostering the people’ (生民) and ‘reassuring the people’ (安民) through the role of the King. The foundation of this statement can be seen in the concept of ‘humanness’ (仁) as the nature of living things, and the ‘sense of concern for others’ (惻隱之心) as the apparence of the humanness. The ‘four beginnings’ (四端) in his opinion are the various ways to reveal of the humanness. The King must regard the people’s heart as his own heart, and thus make the people live in peace and happiness. To do that, the King must become a ‘subject of algesia (痛覺)’ who feels the pain of the people as his own pain. The true kingship way (王道) is making the people prosperous and happy, and after that cultivating them. It is called ‘reassuring the people at first and then cultivating them’ (先安民 後敎化). It can be said that this viewpoint of Ki Dae Seung, according to which ‘reassuring the people’ and ‘fostering the people’ are appreciated first in comparison with ‘cultivating the people’, has many similar points to Wang Shouren’s theory of ‘being close to the people’. Ki Dae Seung does not strictly deny the ‘benefit’ (利). He does deny the ‘private benefit’ (私益) which is the pursuance of selfish advantages, but affirms the ‘common benefit’ (公益) which is the regard of ‘righteousness’ (義) as the benefit, or the pursuance of the public benefits. That is the method of ‘symbiosis’ (共生) and ‘living together’ (相生). The role of the country, namely the realization of the common benefit, is giving the prosperity and peaceful life to the people. With the King, the most important point is the love for the people, but this love only is not enough. The King must realize the equality for the people (均民), it means he must give the benefits fairly to the people. That is originated from the good handling of the property (of the country). For a good politics which aims at the wealth and the peace of the people, both ‘the love for the people’ (愛民之心) and ‘the good handling of the property’ (善處財用) are necessary. Fostering the people and reassuring the people are both originated from the warm heart of the King toward the people. And the activities aimed at the wealth and peace of the people are also originated from the heart of algesia. In Ki Dae Seung’s viewpoint, the heart / the Mind (心) does not mean what mentioned in the Study of Yangming but in the study of Zhuxi. The Mind in Wang Shouren is the subjective and active mind of each person, based on which the people can become the subjects of ‘clarifying the bright virtue’ (明明德) and ‘being close to the people’ (親民) on their own and the masters of their own lives. However, the Mind in Ki Dae Seung, similar to the study of Zhuxi, is the mind of the King and the scholar-bureaucrats. That is the Mind which contains the Principle (理) as the social standards, and which has to obey those standards, and realize the benefit (利) to the society. The people are heteronomous existences which have to accept the care (from the rulers) through the governance progressed by that Mind of the King and the scholar-bureaucrats. They can be seen in his argument that “the sage (聖人) is the mind or all the world” and the King’s care of the people.