許筠의 艶情詩에 대하여

Abstract

Today the learned circles of Korean literature witness the fierce confrontation between the view to understand Heo Gyun’s literature in the intrinsic growth history of Korean literature and the perspective to understand it under the influence of Ming Dynasty literature. The latter perspective is further divided into two theories; one finds the influence in the Uigo school represented by Qianhouqizi, and the other in the Gongang school. With the controversy growing heavier in the circles, this study set out to examine the specific meanings and subjects of Hoe’s poetry and shed light onto the trends of his literature. A look at his poems reveals that the poet paid attention to the suppressed lives of his contemporary people due to his adversity, which also explains why the sentiment of “resentment” became the major sentiment of his poetry. He saw that the suppressed lives of his contemporary people as well as himself were caused by the life force oppressed by the medieval political system or moral norms of neo-Confucianism. Thus he paid attention to life issues and took deep interest in the full recovery of human’s life force. He was positive about the cardinal desire shared among people, emphasized natural personality, and focused on spiritual freedom that’s the premise of all as attempts to liberate the suppressed humanity those days. He discovered a way to save his contemporary people in the liberation of humanity. His literature of such nature is the product of his unique thoughts derived from his life experiences and the doctrines of Wang Yangming.