晉州 道統祠의 출판 활동과 그 의의

Abstract

The Confucian intellectuals engaged in intellectual activities in various methods to pass through the difficult times at the end of Joseon and during the Japanese rule. One of good examples is the publication of all kinds of Confucian literary books in which a large number of intellectuals participated. On its extension line was the publishing activities of Gangwoo intellectuals around Dotongsa in Jinju those days. The alternative they found those days was Ahn Hyang. That is, they tried to establish the "continuous genealogy of Confucianism" from "Confucius through Zhu Xi to Ahn Hyang." Under the goal, they set up Dotongsa, published The Chronicle of Confucius, The Chronology of Zhu Xi, and The Chronology of Anja, and dispatched a man to Qufu, China to get a letter from the descendents of Confucius and thus earn public confidence in the nation. Thousands of Confucian scholars took part in the process, and Dotongsa expanded its scope even to China, thus obtaining the status of chapter of Gonggyohoi. A series of those activities represented an ambitious plan for the Gangwoo intellectuals, who were alienated by the political circles for many years, to secure fundamental legitimacy for their intellectual activities and also a new opportunity created by them. By doing so, they believed that they could grant legitimacy and reliability to their activities and further help the nation overcome the difficulties. Those days, people did not have favorable perceptions of "Confucianism," saying that it was not fit for the competitive age and could not function as a religion, having no religious power, and that a Confucian state would have corrupt politics and eventually fail to survive. In the situation of the times, they did not make an attempt at new approaches to Confucianism in the end and stick to only old things, either. In pursuit of continuity of "Confucius-Zhu Xi-Anja," they based their efforts on the fundamentalistic perspective of Confucianism and tried to search for plans to solve problems by embracing changes to the international order of the times in terms of method.