조선 유학자의 계몽의식과 양민(養民)의 문화적 발전 양상

Abstract

This paper builds on an argument about social reform by progressive Confucianists of the Joseon Dynasty in order to create the life-world of Anmin (to restore order and confidence for the people). And it is also associated with the Joseon’s Confucianists’ sense of enlightenment, that was, contributed to sublimating in literature intellectuals’ perception of the real problems during those times. Seeing from this aspect, irrational problematiques in actual life become not only criticized through literature functioned as a sort of the public sphere, but also dealt with workaround solutions in the literature activities based on their views to literature. Thus, such their literature activities mean more than criticism of reality. Furthermore, those activities reflect both existential uneasiness and contemporary attempts of the leading Confucianists to overcome social instability in the midst of the rapidly changing foreign situation, and preposterous ordering of the feudal social-status-system. Accordingly, this paper tries to examine a meaning of process of creating a new ideal society in literary works written by Heo gyun, Hong daeyong, and Park jiwon, concerned with their views to literature─such as attitudes towards scholarship as well as ways of studying. In this regard, the clerisy’s establishment of new values and ways of scholarship in order to solve real problems the Joseon society faces with becomes emphasized through expansion of very roles of the four classes─aristocrats, farmers, artisans, and merchants─with practical functionality of scholarship and restoration of academic purpose. To the extent that it refers to new perception of unconventional Confucianists towards the form and content of absurd life, and concurrently possibility of being transformed into new politics so as to resolve the problems, the zeitgeist of the progressive Confucianists, which is contributed to attempt reorganizing Anmin’s life-world anew, represents a sense of enlightenment of the Joseon’s Confucianists and at the same time cultural development of Yangmin (middle class).