구운몽의 종교성과 정치적 담론

Abstract

There are various meanings of the classics of different nations, and there are probably many different ways to explore the present meaning of the classics. When searching the representative classics of Korea in a literary aspect, I believe that Kim Man-joong's novel <Kuunmong(The Cloud Dream of Nine)> should be the subject. This is because this work was written by a person who rose to the highest position as a prose writer in the Joseon Dynasty and because it is the creation of a scholar who showed deep thought through vast reading experience. Furthermore, the writer Seopo Kim Man-joong provided the king with advice and remonstrance in politics with the kings Hyunjong and Sukjong, which resulted in his exile on three separate occasions. He was a literary man that expressed these situations in the key themes of his works. Despite this, in the history of classic literature while <Kuunmong> is praised as a masterpiece that represents Korea, the true value of this classic has not been properly proven. Such limitations in the research history is that compared to the novels written in the Joseon Dynasty, this piece has much deeper thought and themes. This paper examines the classical values created by <Kuunmong> and also studies it from the perspective of religion and political discourse. The religion seen in <Kuunmong> shows the harmony of the beliefs of Buddhism and Taoism, including the ethics and morality of Confucianism. The Buddhist belief in <Kuunmong> is narrarated through the story of the teacher Grand Priest Yukgwan giving his student Seongjin the realization of the reason of nothing for Mahayana Buddhism through the text 'Keumganggyeong'. In other words, in <Kuunmong>, in the temple erected at Yeonhwabong at Hyeongsan, China the main character Seongjin experiences Zen through a dream after 10 years of training and acquires realization through this. <Kuunmong> expresses the allegorical case of the addition of politics from a religious meaning that makes the special dream of Seongjin, the in-depth theme. Thus, in the complex theme of this story, it is required to analyze the political discourse based on the religiousness of <Kuunmong> in order to reveal its inner theme. The theme that the author wanted to express through <Kuunmong> was his critical view of the political cases on the king of the time. Despite this, because the political situation did not allow the author to express his political perspectives directly, he had no choice but to speak of it in an indirect way.