『萬國事物紀原歷史』의 성립 과정과 지식 체계의 특성

Abstract

In this paper, I traced the proceedings in editing, writing and publishing “Manguk- samul-giwon-Yeoksa”(a world history of beginning of things) and examined characteristics of its structure in which various subjects of knowledge described. This book dealt with beginning of things in 498 topics of 28 chapters, and was censored and published in 1909. Considering to its time of writing and range of interest, it could be estimated as an unusual work. But It is hard to find a previous research dealt with the proceedings of its establishment. In a sense it is impossible to find out details about this book’s publishing, for example author’s motive or plan, number of copies, influence over the day, because of the shortage of information to describe those things. In fact it could be inevitable to take indirect way for discussing these topics. So the examination of this paper was begun with discussing a problem around a identity of that work. To be more concrete, it was a discussing about the role of author, Jang Ji-yeon. He was a traditional intellectual and had no experience of studying abroad, so the question how he could completed that book in spite of these conditions was fairly brought up. After precise investigation on details, I could conclude that it is unfair to underestimate or neglect his contribution on that work. He collected and selected knowledge from a fair number of references including Seoguk-samul-giwon(origins of things in Western world) written by Nisimura Sigeki and Jeungbo-munheonbigo(增補文獻備考), and sometimes corrected errors. At least he had compared various informations and determined beginnings or origins of things in the world civilization actively. For further discussion on identity and subjecthood in that work, it can be an effective way to survey its characteristics of knowledge system expressed in the structure of that work. Because author’s purpose to write and edit that work would be come into view through the organization of description rather than described knowledge itself. In crude terms, it is proper to say that Jang Ji-yeon had intended a sort of yuseo(Book by category) reflecting change of times of course. So He had arranged affairs through an order not space but time by and large, and he had stressed and described natural science in detail. In fact there were odd or unnatural describing orders partially, those cases could be accepted as mistakes derived from limits of knowledge. On the other hand, we could explained the establishment of that work through the cultural context in the past tradition and the contemporary issues. In fact investigation into those contexts can be another significant topic, but it is more effective to deal it in prospective papers. So in this paper, a survey about those contexts throughout several works of the past and those days was brought up.