明淸小說에 나타난 死後世界에 관한 연구― <閙陰司司馬貌斷獄>을 중심으로

Abstract

Prior to inception of Buddhism in China, the Chinese lacked specific conception of after life like what modern people conceive as heaven and hell. However, they believed men return to some ethereal space, thus saw the rise of underworld ideas such as Huangquan(黃泉), Youdu(幽都), Taishan(泰山) as places where souls rest. After the arrival of Buddhism, concept of afterlife with concrete retributive aspect such as the “six great divisions in the wheel of karma”, and the “idea of retributive justice”, along with “hell view” fully developed. Furthermore, to emphasize the importance of doing good in real-life, terrorizing images of hell were exaggerated. However, from the Tang and Song Dynasties to Ming and Qing Dynasties, frightening images of hell became less prominent whereas its judgmental function was emphasized. The change becomes eminent as we compare Yinsi Sima Mao Duanyu, one of Ming Period’s Sanyan(三言), to the story of Zhaotai, a typical Six Dynasties’ work regarding hell. While the story of Zhaotai is a typical story of pilgrimage to the hell that illustrates the protagonist’s ordeal through hell and his reincarnation, Nao Yinsi Sima Mao Duanyu is about a character, though taken to hell at first, recognized for his exceptional qualities and appointed the king of hell, Yama’s deputy judge. Instead of focusing on the punitive nature of hell, the author illustrates a psychological reexamination of a conflict bound by karma, thus resolving characters’ inimical relationship through reincarnation. Through such means, a religious story on hell transforms into a story fraught with humanity. Moreover, compared to Six Dynasties works that mainly dealt with death itself, Ming and Qing novels portray death as a crucial narrative function in long stories. Shenmo Xiaoshuo, due to its topic, carries a considerable number of scenes of ghost activities, and depicts the underworld(冥府) quite often. On the other hand, Shiqing Xiaoshuo, which is set in real world society, utilizes death as a means to resolve conflicts and makes use of reincarnation to deliver the idea of retributive justice.