조선후기 피지배계급의 집단적 목소리의 흔적을 찾아서 - 조선후기 한문 문헌을 중심으로 -

Abstract

Based on the documents of the late Joseon Dynasty, this paper examines the formation and distribution of public opinion among the ruled class of the Joseon Dynasty. The ruling class of the Joseon Dynasty had institutional mechanisms and cultural capital to publicize their collective voices on political and social issues, while the ruled class lacked such a thing. However, the ruled class of the Joseon Dynasty demonstrated the agency by devising an uninstitutional method of forming and distributing their collective opinions on political and social issues. The informal method of forming and distributing public opinion of the ruled class of the Joseon Dynasty can be divided into a linguistic dimension and a non-verbal dimension. The non-verbal dimension shows the resistant consciousness to exploitation of government offices, such as "refusal to farm" or "pulling out crops," through direct action. Examples of the linguistic dimension include "spreading rumors," "the reverse use of the tombstone," "nicknaming" and "calling sarcastically." This is an informal expression of resistance to the ruling order, instead of being unable to publicly express the resistant consciousness to the ruling order. In addition, the proverb is noteworthy because it compresses the collective voice of the ruled class of the Joseon Dynasty into simple and clear sentences. This paper focuses on the case where the proverb, which contains the resistant consciousness of the Joseon Dynasty's ruled class, is reflected in the Silhak discourse, and analyzes the resistant consciousness of the Joseon Dynasty's ruled class, while exploring what political thinking such as Jeong Yak-yong expressed in response to the collective voice of the people. Through the case of Jeong Yak-yong, it is confirmed that in Joseon society, the ruling class and the ruled class had a complex interaction that was not necessarily simplified even though they were in a dichotomous relationship of 'dominance/subordinance'.