사마천(司馬遷)의 '복수(復讐)의 인문학'-《사기(史記)》〈오자서열전(伍子胥列傳)〉다시 읽기(2)

Abstract

This paper is designed to re-read Oh Jaseo Yeoljeon in the context of the history of discourse on revenge that has been fulfilled since the Pre-Jin(秦) period, and to re-establish it as an important text in Chinese revenge theory in the premodern period. This will be accomplished through two papers. This is the second of papers, which aims to analyze Sama Cheon(司馬遷)’s theory of revenge in Oh Jaseo Yeoljeon. Oh Jaseo Yeoljeon contains eight revenge narratives, seven of which are directly related to Oh Jaseo’s revenge, including avenging his father’s enemy. These seven revenge narratives are rich in revenge-related themes, such as “revenge causes additional harm”, “revenge triggers an endless chain of violence between the parties involved,” “revenge often leads to cruelty”, “revenge is a private revenge, but the revenge seeks to utilize public power or institutional devices”, and “revenge creates an ethical dilemma” ect. Based on these, Sama Cheon synthesized the revenge discourses carried out in previous periods and developed a revenge theory that can be called the “humanities of revenge”. By describing Oh Jaseo’s revenge in Oh Jaseo Yeoljeon as a representative case of revenge that exemplifies the humanities of revenge, Sima Qian was able to re-create Oh Jaseo as a master of revenge and make Oh Jaseo Yeoljeon an important text in the history of revenge theory in ancient China.