<天淵翫月>에 표현한 退溪의 和悅 연구

Abstract

Toegye stated that the pleasure derived from nature itself spontaneously led him to compose poems. The pleasure expressed in Toegye’s poems was one that cannot be attained through exploration but from spontaneity. This pleasure does not come from human avarice but from natural law. By extension, nature can offer sheer pleasure to people if they become free from the boundaries between human avarice and natural law. The purpose of the study is to analyze a Toegye’s poem, titled Cheonyeonwanwol. In this poem, a person’s mind covered with dust is likened to personal avarice, whereas the moon, which renews itself every night, symbolizes actively changing nature. Clearness and trueness represent perfection achieved in natural law, which is likened to a person’s mind without any avarice. Also, pursuing secular bonds in the mundane world is to seek human avarice. In the poem, a recluse stands for a person free from worldly avarice, mirroring the poetic narrator, Toegye himself. In sum, Cheonyeonwanwol expressed the pleasure that Toegye, who lived in seclusion, derived from natural law. Ultimately, Toegye teaches readers a lesson that individuals should throw away their avarice and discipline themselves, keeping away from secular bonds, in an attempt to seek natural law.