송대 유가 사대부들이 제창한 ‘戒殺’의 의미

Abstract

Confucian literati in the Song Dynasty advocated the concept of Jiesha(戒殺), a moral precept that prohibited the killing of animals. Jiesha was a religious ideal but also a concept that literati adapted to deal with changing aspects of society. Due to rising urban affluence during the dynasty, there was suddenly an increase in the consumption of meat and a spread in the destruction of the natural environment, leading to dwindling animal populations. At the same time Jiesha was enthusiastically advocated by Buddhists as the first of the Ten Precepts(十戒). Basic differences in Buddhist and Confucian understandings of the relationship between humans and animals produced divergence in their interpretations of the concept of Jiesha. Buddhists hoped to ease animal suffering while Confucian strived to maintain animal populations. Through an examination of representations of animal cruelty and eradication, this paper considers the meanings of Jiesha developed by literati in essays and poetry. It shows that the employment of this concept is crucial to our understanding of shifts in the ways Song elites viewed animal life as they engaged with and attempted to regulate a changing environment.