조선후기 학자⋅관료의 부자관계와 정치자문 - 박세당과 박태유⋅박태보의 관계를 중심으로 -

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the letters that Se-dang Park (朴世堂, 1629∼1703) sent to his two sons, Tae-yu Park (朴泰維, 1648∼1686) and Tae-bo Park (朴泰輔, 1654∼1689), who were also Confucius scholars and government officials, and investigate what tips and advice he gave to his sons, in consideration of their father-son relationship when the father and the sons were scholars and government officials alike. All of the three passed Gwageo, the state examination of the Joseon Dynasty to appoint talented people to government posts, and they served as government officials afterward. In this regard, Se-dang Park was not only a father but also a senior politician to his two sons. Throughout the period of the Joseon Dynasty, it was not an unusual case that both the father passed Gwageo for literature and got appointed to a government post, and then the son follows his father’s footsteps. However, it was a rare case, as in the case of Se-dang Park and Tae-bo Park, that both the father and the son won the first place in Gwageo and then became powerful political figures in the era of political turmoil and transition. The letters the Se-dang Park sent to his two sons were published in Seogyejip, a collection of Se-dang Park’s literary works. As a result of analyzing those letters, it was found that Se-dang Park gave advice to his sons, as a father and Confucius scholar, concerning such issues of health management, refinement of personal attitudes and knowledge, and guiding principles of life. As a senior politician, he also advised on diverse matters including Chulcheo (the issue of whether to pursue political career or staying out of political position), Geolgun (request for relocation to a region close to the parents of the government official), Hopo (tax system to impose taxes by household), Munmyochulcheok (exclusion from the Confucius shrine), Dapheom (system of field investigation of harvest of the year) and Yeokma (government system to lend horses at stations as transportation for government officials), all of which were politically important issues at that time. Se-dang Park has been recognized as a person of Chung (忠, loyalty) and Shin (信, trust) based on his words and action, and such reputation could be confirmed in his letters to his sons as well.