조찬한의 「칠각(七覺)」에 대하여

Abstract

This paper presents an investigation into Chilgak by Jo Chan-han, a literary figure in middle Joseon. Accepting the creative method of "Chilche(七體)" standardized since Chilbal by Maeseung during Han, Chilgak highlights Jo's literary competence to a remarkable degree. "Chilche" works share several common features including Q&As between two main characters, eight paragraphs, seven materials, and content development of confirming that the last one is right after the wrong six preceeding it. Jo's Chilgak is also based on these features and describes a process of "Master Baeksil" helping "Hyeondongja" that has turned his back on the world by enticing him with seven elements including "pompous, righteous, and vigorous youth," "general and prime minister," "good writer," "truth of Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu," "truth of eternal life like a Taoist hermit with miraculous power," "Buddhist truth," and "Confucian truth." While putting an emphasis on the values of Confucian truth, the work exhorts by innuendo those who are devoted to heresy in pursuit of honor. There are many points demonstrating that Chilgak accepted Maeseung's Chilbal, Jo Shik's Chilgye, and Jang Hyeop's Chilmyeong: it cited some words and phrases from these works, provided similar expressions to the movements of characters in these works, and copied these works in the scene description in the beginning and the arrangement method in the end. Chilgak is, however, no simple copy of these works. First of all, it has overwhelmingly more pages than the three works. It also provides multiple questions and answers in the last paragraph and accordingly places greater emphasis on "Confucian truth," thus differentiating itself from the three works in the one question, one answer format. In terms of materials, it shares some common materials with the three works such as "chivalrous fighter" and "prime minister," but adopts a completely different viewpoint of the objects. In terms of topics, Chilgak leads readers to the bright ideas of "Confucian truth" instead of going into government service at the royal court unlike a majority of Chilche works whose topic is a hermit making it in the world since Chilgyeok by Bu-ui. In Chilgak, the character that is being persuaded makes more colorful reactions and more intense refutation than his counterparts in the three works. Chilgak was edited chronically as a style distinct from "Sa" and "Bu" in Hyeonjujip, thus presenting "Chil" as an independent style in the history of Korean literature. In addition, it was created in the genre that received no attention from literary figures, thus broadening the domain of creative Chinese literature in Korea.