산암 변시연의 유림활동과『文苑』편찬

Abstract

This paper is a study on the life and activities of Sanam (汕巖) Byeon Si-yeon (邊時淵, 1922-2006) as a Confucian scholar, and the process of his publication of Munwon (文苑) and the criteria of its compilation. The starting point of this study is first, the recognition of the problem that the twentieth century was a time of great crisis in which the very foundation of Confucianism was shaken to its roots. The second motivation is the approach that studying the life and activities of a modern and contemporary Confucian scholar who lived through the shock of the century can be a starting point for a proper understanding of our current situation. Having experienced the loss of the precious documents and written resources from previous generations during the turbulent times of modern and contemporary history, Byeon Si-yeon decided to devote his life to collecting, organizing, and compiling documents on a large scale. In particular, over a period of 32 years from 1957, he compiled Munwon, which consisted of 67 volumes of complete collections and 7 volumes of sequels, totaling 74 volumes, featuring about 6,700 articles and 2,000 people. He presented 22 explanatory notes for the compilation of Munwon, which were discussed in the group of Confucian scholars (儒會) at Piram Seowon, which provides detailed information on the types of writing styles, selection criteria, procedures, and costs. He also published Records of People Who Participated in Munwon Publication (文苑同刊錄) about the personal information of people who participated in the publication of Munwon. And he released Munwon Publication Venue Visitor List (文苑刊所時到記) which is a record of about 48,500 people over 11 years and 7 months from June 1962 to December 1973. This is a source of information on the personal networks of modern Confucian scholars. He also left behind the Sanam Diary that he had written for 69 years, which is considered an important source of information on the lives of modern Confucian scholars.