한국한문학이 지닌 다층성의 한 구현, 통속성

Abstract

The modern concept of popularity refers to what is easily comprehended and unsophisticated for the sake of interest. But it is likely to be hard to discuss popularity in classical Chinese literature, since the concept has not been developed yet. In premodern period, as literary works were in most cases composed in a literary style with poetic rhymes, it was nearly impossible that they gained popularity among the ordinary people. Furthermore, as intellectuals attached greater importance to the study of Yi(義) and Li(理), and the realization of the Confucian ideology, the literary works that pursued rhetorical embellishments and the preparation for state examination were considered low and degrading. Thus, the works that depicted the life of the common people in detail or expressed one’s personal sentiment could only be estimated properly when they were related to the study of Yi and Li. But in late Joseon period, as the intellectual class began to be divided into several groups, poor scholars who shared daily life with ordinary people endeavored to write without hierarchical and political notion. They were neither scholars with official post who were in charge of national documents, nor tasteful writers who belonged to literary societies. Their works can be estimated to be popular compared to those composed by intellectuals that give priority to the literature of manage state affairs(經國文章) and the literature of decoration of nation(華國文章). But it is also possible to say that their works have pure literary characteristics in their own way. They introduced irregular hanmun in their works which was widely spread in the daily life, while at the same time using expressions of traditional written language. In this article the popularity in classical Chinese literature in late Josen period was surveyed in three aspects; ⓐhaving close connection to daily life of ordinary people, without hierarchical and political notion of traditional literature. ⓑintroducing irregular hanmun escaping from the old styled written hanmun. ⓒadapting poetic hanmun without rhymes, escaping from the regular style of poetic rhyme. The popularity emerged in late Josen period is different from the modern concept of popularity that is connected to commercialism, replicability and crudity. But it is also possible to say that it represents another characteristics of popularity in respect of persuing of the new aesthetic value of real life.