어촌 심언광의 「차이소경(次離騷經)」에 나타난 ‘초사(楚辭)’의 미의식

Abstract

This study examines the aesthetics of Cho-sa(楚辭), as referenced by Eochon(漁村) Sim Eon-gwang(沈彦光, 1487-1540) in his poem “Cha-IsoKyung(次離騷經).” Sim Eon-gwang was born into a family of hereditary literary officials and was raised with literary education before rising to fame as a poet. He lived during the reign of King Jungjong of Joseon. He was once a young bureaucratic writer who was dismissed for a moment’s mistake when he joined hands with the ruling forces to impeach the loyalists of the royal court and covet power. Eochon Sim Eon-gwang’s poem “Cha-IsoKyung” was modeled on “Iso(離騷)” of Ch’ü Yüan(屈原) and is a penitent piece of writing in which he sincerely regrets the injustices of the era and the mistakes of the court. This work combines rich and strange fantasies, hot passion, and mournful resentment and longing. The poem evokes a sense of passion and melancholy, an aesthetic sense that is characteristic of Chosa in southern China. The content was a truly grand definition of a plan to cultivate the virtues of a monarch, enhance national prestige, develop the spirit of bureaucrats, and distinguish right from wrong. As the work is strong and has experienced change, it is not seen as vulgar or skillful. Evidently, the language and writing of the country’s great period are distinguished from the declining end and the weakening temple. Were it not for Eochon Sim Eon-gwang, there would be no great work like this. The amazing literary talent of Eochon flutters like the wind, and his cheerful and generous repentance and spirit of grief flow high like clouds in the autumn sky. The arrangement that he created was extremely painful and just, covering a vast metaphor, which was a symbol of penance and resentment that stretched endlessly over the Korean territory, not just the Cho Dynasty. That beautiful expression overflowing throughout the 373-gu, 2,400-character giant feature-the amazing form and idea of Ch’ü Yüan’s Iso, reflecting the political reality of the time-was another “Iso” that repented the mistakes of our great Joseon scholar.