취미수초翠微守初의 변려문 연구

Abstract

Chwimi Sucho was a 17th century Joseon monk widely known among Confucian scholars, as well as the Buddhist community. His literary works consisted mostly of poetry but also a few pieces of prose. Although small in quantity his prose is noteworthy because his pianliwen, poetic prose combining four-character and six-character lines, was excellently reviewed. Composing pianliwen is challenging because it requires the use of previous examples and events, structure of couplets, and each character must be aligned in tone and rhythm. Due to its tendency to stress form more than meaning, this prose style was often shunned by Confucian scholars. However, the Buddhist community, which performed many rituals and ceremonies, regarded the pianliwen style greatly, and many Buddhist texts, such as commentaries, ridge beam scrolls and epitaphs, were composed in this style. Chwimi’s pianliwen stands out in its fine structure and non-monotone changes, and his use of previous examples is unique. He employed noted pianliwen that had been passed down, and utilized unique precedents not found elsewhere. Distinctive expressions seen in the works of Pyeonyang Eongi(鞭羊彦機), who was a little older than Chwimi and belonged to another Buddhist lineage, also appeared in Chwimi’s works. Although no evidence can be found about any friendship between these two monks, their friendship can still be deduced based on the facts that they shared distinctive expressions not found elsewhere, and they both wrote pieces upon their parting with Beomnyeon(法蓮). As can be seen, an understanding of previous examples and events can help us understand an author better in terms of the literature they read and their inclination and interests in reading.