淵齋學派의 사상과 민족운동

Abstract

The Yeonjae-school refers to the group of disciples of Song Byeong-seon(宋秉璿) and his brother Song Byeong-soon(宋秉珣). They cultivated many students through lectures in Chungcheong Province as well as Cholla and Kyungsang area. Song Byeong-seon criticized Buddhism and Catholicism as heresy. In addition, he proposed Wijeongcheoksaron(Thought of Defending Orthodoxy and Rejecting Heterodoxy) through several appeals to the king. He believed that the country would be ruined if Tao(道) was lost. He thus insisted on Wijeongcheoksaron to save the country. Song Byeong-soon distained himself from the bureaucracy and devoted himself to study, in particular, he highly praised Sojunghwaron(Sinocentrism) of Song Si-yeol(宋時烈) and strongly advocated the theory. He also argued that the Treaty of 1876, signed with Japan, marked the beginning of the invasion and objected to it. Song Byung-seon and Song Byung-soon refused to accept ranks several times and lived as a Confucian scholar. When the Treaty was enforced by Japan in 1905, Song Byeong-seon met King Gojong and demanded for the execution of ‘Five Traitors’ and the abolition of the treaty. After knowing that his will would not be accepted, he committed suicide for the country. Song Byung-soon also appealed to the king, asking for the execution of the ‘Five Traitors’, the uprising of Confucian scholars, and the abolition of the treaty. In 1910 when the country is annexed, he attempted to commit suicide, but he was restrained by his disciple, not to fulfill his desire, in 1912 he finally committed suicide after refusing Japan’s ‘Eunsageum’(‘恩賜金’). Song Byung-soon Brother’s suicide for the country influenced on his disciples, and many of them fought against the Japanese imperialism. Among them, Park Byeong-ha and Lee Ju-whuan committed suicide like master, some of them participated in Righteous Army struggling against Japanese army, and most of them retreated to the countryside, carried on the teacher’s education and cultivated his students.