錦溪 李根元의 漢詩 一考

Abstract

Geumgye Lee Geun-won is a member of Hwaseo School who brushed up on his study under Hwaseo Lee Hang-ro, Jungam Kim Pyeong-muk, and Seongjae Yu Jung-gyo. Geumgye is one of Seongmunsamhyeon who studied under Yu Jung-gyo and was renowned for his virtue. This study focuses on the figure of Geumgye that is not so much known although research on Hwaseo School and Lee Hang-ro has made much progress. Particularly, this author considers Geumgye’s Chinese poems to figure out the characteristics of his works. According to the consideration of this study, the world of Geumgye’s Chinese poems can be summed up in three ways: first, some of his poems sing about the value of ethics and integrity, attitudes to make efforts to preserve the principles of Confucianism, and belief that such efforts will lead to the realization of Chunchudaeui. Second, some are about despair coming from the dark situations inside and outside despite the wishes and expectations for the ethical ideal. Third, some of his poems also talk about the healing of mental wounds and enlightenment within the embrace of nature being freed from the uneasy and disturbing historical situations. Hwaseo School’s ideology is also evaluated negatively as the insistence of extremely conservative force not being able to adapt to historical reality and cope with changes properly. However, their conservatism is equipped with value and genuine spirit in that it was a struggle to preserve national self-esteem and self-reliance before the invasion of foreign power.