포은 정몽주의 생애와 그의 학문관 - 출생지와 그의 춘추의리 사상을 중심으로-

Abstract

This paper investigates the birth of Poeun Jung Mongju and his sense of home. Needless to say, Poeun is the incarnation of Jeoleui (節義: integrity) in the five thousand Korean history since Dangun and a great scholar considered to be the founding father of Dongbang-yihak(東方理學: Korean Confucius Studies). Yet in the retrospective fervor of veneration, two regions, Pohang and Youngcheon, competitively claim themselves as his birthplace to create even antagonism between them. Therefore, this paper explores the circumstances of his birth and the meaning of home from the work of ancient sages and looks into Poeun's sense of home through his poems. Especially the following two sections show that he actually cherishes both Pohang and Youngcheon as his home. The first is "Rice thriving in the Youngju field; Delicious fishes in the O River; Thus I have two that I need there; Yet I cannot sing a home-coming song." The second part is "The color of grass is green without end in the thousand li (the unit of distance, 4 km); The moonlight would be bright on both homes." Where his hometown is becomes a problem only to contemporary eyes. It is a problem for us descendants but did not matter at all to Poeun. If the matter should still be settled only for us, it would be right to see Pohang as his home.