• (The)Study of the Eastern Classic
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• no.70
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• pp.495-524
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• 2018

This study investigated the literary theory of Jang Jiyeon and his compilation consciousness of the historical biography, and based on this, the study examined the aspect and characteristic of the personage adoption of "Ilsayusa". To figure out the characteristic of "Ilsayusa", this study attempted to investigate the Jang Jiyeon's cognition on epic literature first. Jang Jiyeon had interest in the historical biography in his early days. But he clearly expressed the negative position about the novels which had been handed down from old times, mentioning about their harmful effect, even though they were in a big popularity. The good readings he thought was supposed to be helpful for person's work, study, personality and even the custom, so it is thought that the compilation of "Ilsayusa" was planned as a part of a usefulness to help readers' actual lives by summarizing Jang Jiyeon's philosophy as the form of a historical biography of personages who had actually existed. The direct motivation and the awareness of the problem to compile "Ilsayusa" could be confirmed by the postscript he left. Pointing that Joseon's policy of appointing persons of ability resulted in the loss of the nation, Jang Jiyeon paid attention to the classical scholars from low class, people from under middle class and the local figures in Hamgyeongdo and Pyeongando in the process of compiling "Ilsayusa". Along with this, a kind of a sense of duty that the old heritage must be examined by descendents was manifested as the compilation of "Ilsayusa". Through this, Jang Jiyeon tried to show the good model to the readers of "Ilsayusa" what the way of living would be for raising their volition and keeping the fundamentals. The tendency and characteristic of compiling personages in "Ilsayusa" could be sorted in a few ways as written below. First, it includes all kinds of all actually existed episodes while he was collecting various historical biographies published before. Second, it includes the new kinds of personages paying particular attention to figures of middle class and commoners. Third, it compiled the female figures in a great volume and described new model of woman. Fourth, for areas, it has episodes of all areas in the nation including Pyeongando and Hamgyeongdo. Thinking about all the discussion above, we could estimate that "Ilsayusa" is the definitive edition of these kinds of books which inherited all performances of the biographical literature in better way, which had been accomplished in 19th century.

• (The)Study of the Eastern Classic
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• no.37
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• pp.377-410
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• 2009

In the East Asian Confucianism society, Hakmun was aimed to bring human beings and nature into harmony, and to explore a unity between knowledge and conducts. For example, Neo-Confucianism aspired they could explain the human existence and society through a single concept of Iki(理氣, the basic principles and the atmospheric force of nature). In this philosophy, humanics and natural sciences had not been differentiated at all. The East-West cultural interchanges at the beginning of modernity caused a crack in the traditional academic concepts. Through the Hundred Days of Reform(變法自疆運動, a movement of Strenuous Efforts through Reforming the Law), the Western Affairs Movement(洋務運動) in China, Meiji Restoration(明治維新) in Japan, or Innovation Movements(開化運動) and the Patriotic Enlightenment Movement(愛國啓蒙運動) in Korea, the traditional meanings of Hakmun was degraded while it became a target of the criticism of the enlightenment movements. Accordingly, East Asians' perception of Hakmun rapidly began to change. Although there had been the Silhak(實學, practical science) movement in Korea, which tried to differentiate its conceptualization of Hakmun from that of Neo-Confucianism during the 18th and 19th century, the fundamental shift in meaning occurred with the influx of the modern Western culture. This change converted the ultimate objective of Hakmun as well as its methods and substances. The separation of humanics and natural sciences, rise in dignity of the technological sciences, and subdivision of learning into disciplines and their specialization were accelerated during the Korean enlightenment period. The inflow of the modern western science, humanized thought, and empiricism functioned as mediators in these phase and they caused an irreversible crack in the traditional academic thoughts. Confronting the western mode of knowledge, however, the East Asian intellectuals had to explain their new learning by using traditional terms and concepts; modification was unavoidable when they tried to explain the newly imported knowledge and concepts. This presentation focuses on the traditional concepts of 'gyeogchi'(格致, extending knowledge by investigating things) and 'gungni'(窮理, investigation of principles), pervasively used in philosophy, physics and many other fields of study. These concepts will mark the key point with which to trace changes of knowledge and to understand the way how the concept of Hakmun was converted into a modern one.

• (The)Study of the Eastern Classic
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• no.66
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• pp.331-362
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• 2017

The paintings of the Eight Drunken Immortals refer to the paintings based on an influential poem called "The Song of the Eight Drunken Immortals" by Du Fu, a Chinese poet from the Tang Dynasty. This poem is about the eccentricity of the Eight Immortals known for their love of drinking. The Eight Drunken Immortals have been widely appreciated among East Asian intellectuals, and their stories have also been translated into paintings. Greatly influenced by Li Gonglin's Painting of the Eight Drunken Immortals, people in China have the tendency to create similar scroll paintings, using contour drawing tools. Meanwhile, in Korea, the paintings of the Eight Drunken Immortals have been widely appreciated both as a type of visual art embodying the Drunken Immortals' taste for the arts and as a meaningful object conveying the people's wish for longevity and eternal friendship. According to historical records, the paintings of the Eight Drunken Immortals from the Ming Dynasty were drawn on eight-fold folding screens using a sophisticated ink wash painting technique. In the meantime, the Painting of the Eight Drunken Immortals appreciated by King Jeongjo from the Joseon Dynasty was a colored landscape painting with small human figures on an eight-fold folding screen. Since the recent discovery of Yi Han-cheol's Painting of the Eight Drunken Immortals on an eight-fold folding screen, it has now become possible to imagine how renowned artists such as Kim Hong-do and Kim Yang-gi would have made the narrative figure paintings. In particular, the story of Li Bai, one of the Eight Immortals, was the most famous one often told in the paintings. After the 19th century, there was even an entire panel of narrative folding screen made about Li Bai. As painting manuals and outline drawings were pervasively used, the narrative paintings on Li Bai were mass-produced among commoners. As you can see from this, the Eight Drunken Immortals have been visually represented as thirsty souls who are not disconnected from the world, as honest men of refined taste for the arts, and as protagonists of an object that conveys the people's wish for longevity and eternal friendship. In other words, the paintings of the Eight Drunken Immortals embody multiple undertones: as paintings based on Du Fu's poems and as narrative paintings on the Eight Immortals.

• (The)Study of the Eastern Classic
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• no.37
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• pp.441-471
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• 2009

Both in the East and the West, the most classical question in political philosophy was 'what is truly a good life?' 'Good life' and 'good politics' are thus essentially tied together. Mencius (孟子, B.C385-303/302) was not exception to this belief. It is not an exaggeration that his Mencius, the treatise that encapsulates his whole views, begins and ends with good life and good politics. He began with new definitions of good life and politics and the rest elaborates why they are so. This paper attempts to systematically approach to what Mencius thinks as a good life in terms of political thoughts. Confucius, his intellectual mentor, asserted that the most humane human life is a civilized life and it means to realize the value of 'Yin (仁: Grace)' and thus set his good life from previous ones. Mencius concurred that Confucius's explication of the good life was right. Moreover, he argued that to realize this, political practice should follow. The 'good life' for Mencius consists of 1) the life in which the ruler does not monopolize joy but shares it with people, that is '$Y{\breve{o}}mindongrak$(與民同樂)' or '$Y{\breve{o}}minhaerak$(與民偕樂)' and 2) the life, based on this political foundation, that pursues the life of 'Five Ethics (五倫)' in which each individual member of society has its share in it. Mencius discussed about 'Four Virtues (四德)', the essential goodness of human, confirmed by 'Four Clues (四端)' to talk about the possibility of realizing the good life. On the other hand, he devised the political device of '$YinJ{\breve{o}}ng$ (仁政: Gracious Politics)' as a practical tool for it. Furthermore, he asserted 'Good people theory (養民論)' as the first condition for the good politics, '$YinJ{\breve{o}}ng$' and 'Education of people theory (敎民論)' as the final one. As Mencius inherited Confucius effort for a good life with the theory of '$YinJ{\breve{o}}ng$', the so-called Zhuxi scholars inherited his as 'Sugichiin (修己治人: cultivate yourself and then order society)' after 1500.

• (The)Study of the Eastern Classic
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• no.49
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• pp.431-459
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• 2012

The purpose of this article is to compare and analyze the conventional expression of Hangul Ganchal in Cheosun Dynasty and Email. Conventional expression is used remarkably in introductions and conclusions. In introduction, it is used for addressing and safety greetings while in conclusion, it is used for closing address and closing words. In Cheosun Dynasty, an envelope of Ganchal only included the details of the receiver because the letter was genuinely delivered by someone who knew the receiver and the sender very well. An envelope of Ganchal is applicable to the screen of the internet which is used for emailing. In an email, we see the name of the sender and the title of the text and once we click the title, we are able to view the text. The difference between the Ganchal and the email was reflected on how the receiver's detail showed on Ganchal and the email show the sender's details. In a case of addressing in a letter while using the conventional expression, we can see how we use "To~" in humble term and " ~께" in a honorific term. We confirmed that the conventional expression has not yet settled in both of the Gnachal and email for the seasonal greetings. The safety greetings comprised with both of the senders' and receivers' latest updates. In Ganchal, this composition is well described conventionally, whereas in emails, only the receivers' latest news are written but the senders' latest updates are hard to be seen throughout the text. In Ganchal's closing section, the closing address and closing words were expressed conventionally. However, in the case of email; those were again hard to be found throughout. To conclude, in Ganchal the conventional expression was developed and placed in 16thcentury(Sun-eon) when there was a focus in our native language. In 17thcentury(Hyeon-eon), it stood still for a sometime and moved on to 19thcentury(Jing-eon) when there was a strong in fluence of Hangul Ganchal, which resulted in regression to the conservative expression. In general, we are able to confirm that the conventional expression is slowly disappearing.

• (The)Study of the Eastern Classic
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• no.71
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• pp.9-39
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• 2018

We considered the historical significance and the individual aspects of heroes that are reflected in the historical differences between men and women expressed in the old tales. To achieve this purpose, the paper selects , , , , and as text. Their characters were then catalogued into cultural heroes-Choi ChI-won, popular heroes-Jeon Woo-chI, family heroes-Chung So-jeo, pro-Japanese enlightenment hero-Ilneyomhong and Lee Hyung-kyung. He also tried to achieve his goal by describing the historical significance of the hero's type. China and Joseon were at odds with each other, so their relationship was uncomfortable. It is at the forefront of that concerns this issue. As he was a great writer of Silla, he was able to play a leading role with Chinese writers. We needed Choi ChI-won, a cultural hero, to express our pride that Joseon has a superior culture than China. Joseon was a Confucian society with a strong anti-semitic system. Accordingly, the people were persecuted by the aristocrats for all their centers, and this required a folk hero. He is the leader of the war. Jeon Woo-chI is a real folk hero who solves the people's grudge and wishes through doctoring. As women go back to the late Joseon Dynasty, they change the way women treat men after experiencing war. For this reason, there are novels about female heroes such as <江都夢遊錄>, <朴氏傳>, and <李學士傳>. I think the writer given hope to women who are upset by incompetent men even in their work at the time. Jeongsojeo is a leading hero in the family who is more active than the female lead who is faithful to old wives, but is responsible for helping her husband. Joseon goes through the 淸日 and 露日 wars and is at the center of Japan's prosperity. Japan is the Japan-Korea Treaty of 1905 after the Japanese Resident-General of Korea after heavy emphasis put on with the politics. At this time, he published pro-Japanese newspapers and published pro-Japanese novels to highlight pro-Japanese collaborators. It is Ilneyomhong and Yeoyongwoong.

• (The)Study of the Eastern Classic
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• no.50
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• pp.295-318
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to define the 'caligraphy as a modern concept of art. For this purpose, it was necessary to exclude the elements betraying 'the caligraphy as a pure art' in reference to 'autonomy' as an indicator of modernity in order to reflect on the current topology of the caligraphy in our age. Checking the current conditions facing the caligraphy from the pre-modern, modern and post-modern perspectives will clarify the current topology of the caligraphy and further exploring 'the caligraphy as a post-modern art concept. To this end, this study defines the caligraphy 'as a pure formative art' and thereby discusses it in terms of nature and form. In terms of nature, the caligraphy should be subsumed into a spacial art, but it has a nature of a temporal art created and appreciated over time. Hence, among the spacial arts, the painting is most similar to the caligraphy, while among the temporal arts, the caligraphy is most similar to such rhythmic (of high mobility) or performing arts as music and dance. Merely, the painting does not reveal the flow of time on the canvas, while music and dance leave no residual in terms of audibility and visuality. All in all, the caligraphy is sort of 'temporal-spacial art' like dance in that the visible letters express the artist's sense of life on the plane over time like music. In terms of form, this study compares the caligraphy with engraving, wood print and character design to define the caligraphy as a pure art concept. The caligraphy as a modern art concept, namely, the autonomy of the caligraphy is associated with legibility and meaning in addition to the question whether it is an applied or a pure art. The legibility and meaning of the characters are not only the essential elements of the caligraphy but also are the factors limiting its autonomy, which must be a paradox. All in all, the legibility and meaning of the characters must be the key criteria for determining the caligraphy as a practical art or literary art or as a pure figurative art. In this context, this study discusses the caligraphy as a pure art by comparing it with the spatial art 'painting' and the temporal art 'music.' It might be impossible to define the caligraphy or a genre of art as an autonomous art of self-perfection and categorical identity. Moreover, any attempt to define the caligraphy would fail to interpret the caligraphy appropriately. Merely, we are obliged to position the caligraphy in the process of localizing 'their modernity' and thereby, discuss how to respond to their scheme.

• (The)Study of the Eastern Classic
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• no.49
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• pp.187-223
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• 2012

This study is planned to research the ways and structue of Okdong's thinking, which are the foundation of his academic world, based on the collection of his literary pieces. This study became interested in Okdong Lee Seo because he with some strong stimulation and shock is considered as the turning point of his family's academic tradition. His family's academic tradition before Okdong had been famous for literatures of its members, such a tradition shifted toward Confucian classical studies. Especially, Okdong was the third elder brother of Seongho Lee Yik who represented the academia of the late Joseon period, and took an important role in forming Seongho's study. Okdong is considered to have built the basic structure of Seongho's study. It seems that in the process he transmitted their family's academic tradition whose focus got shifted from literature to Confucian classical studies. Thus, this study has the basic meaning as elucidation about the fundamental of Okdong's academic world. However, the larger meaning of this study is the verification of the fundamental structure of Seongho's study: Seongho's study stood on Okdong's study but overcame Okdong as an individual, and then became a academic standard of the late Joseon period. When the collection of Okdong's literary pieces is examined, it can be found that Okdong way of thinking rooted in the Confucian theory that human nature is originally good. Especially, Okdong maintained the li-qi dualism in which li and qi conflict against each other. For understanding and elucidating not-completely-good human mind, he understood li and qi within conflicting relationship. Okdong claimed that in order for a man to keep his life humane, the man should recover his moral completeness by cultivating his mind through sincerity and reverence. Okdong's goal was to build society and to realize human nature in accordance with the classical Confucian ideology of filial piety and respect and of loyalty and trust. Here lies the fundamental meaning of Okdong's way of thinking.

• (The)Study of the Eastern Classic
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• no.62
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• pp.37-65
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• 2016

This paper is to explain who are the authors of first-half 18th Century private prose YeonHangRok(燕行錄) written in Chinese Character and what are interest-oriented aspects of that books. As objects of study, 3 private prose YeonHangRok(燕行錄) written by No-Ron Jeon -Ju Lee's Family(老論 全州李氏) were chosen. Result of reading articles in their anthology, I found their consciousness about going to Beijing. : They aware of "The importance of YeonHang(燕行)" and when they run a mission, they take an attitude of 'observation and attention' to their experience. With that consciousness of YeonHang(燕行) in common, So-jae(疎齋), Il-am (一菴) and Hanpojae(寒圃齋) wrote their YeonHangRok(燕行錄) that mainly describe their direct experience. So-jae(疎齋) and Hanpojae(寒圃齋)'s categories of descriptions are specialized in 'Public Affairs' and 'mission', Il-am(一菴) has widened to the everyday cultures and people of Other cultures.

• (The)Study of the Eastern Classic
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• no.49
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• pp.39-71
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• 2012

This paper examines Jang Hyeongwang's cultural awareness and the way of practice by focusing on his spirit of humanities in relation to the understanding of territory and bibliographic materials. In fact, this starts from conflicting evaluations on Jang Hyeongwang's way of learning in the field of Korean history. Jang Hyeongwang emphasizes realization of humanity, which is considered as basic framework of culture. He claims the indivisibility of Dao(道) and culture(mun文) by arguing that almighty principle of Dao manifests itself through phenomena of culture. In other words, Dao is the root of culture and, at the same time, culture is the necessary element of making Dao valuable. Furthermore, he insists that realization of human culture is the gist of manifesting the pattern of nature. In this vein, the roles of human beings are so important in creating humanistic civilization. He considers all kinds of human affairs as the contents of humanistic culture, which are contained in six classics. Especially, He says that the moral is reality of human culture and that literature is a literal expression of humanistic spirit. Thus, he criticizes that there are literatures without moral practices. He pays a special attention to his indigenous culture. He links the cultural understanding of geography, which is the foundation of realizing humanistic spirit, to awareness of Korean territory and grasps the territory in the light of topography of geographic power. Thus, he defines it as "Central Field" which bears comparison with China (middle kingdom). With the positive understanding of his country, he insisted that Korean indigenous culture and custom are as much advanced as China and was so proud of the moral characters and norms that Korean people had formed so far. Moreover, Jang truly exhibited affection to Korean literature, which had formed through Korean history. Kim Hyu, one of his students, activates Jang's will to preservation of Korean culture. Over twenty years, Kim completed Collected Record of Korean Literatures(haedong munhon ch'ongnok 海東文獻總錄). Actually, he started the preparatory works for compiling them. We should keep in mind that this compilation was completed following Japanese Invasion of Korea in 1592. It means that he has cultural awareness of preserving Korean literal heritages. Hence, it can be evaluated as the results of the enhancement of national studies. We have seen that He truly highlights realization of humanistic spirit by insisting the practices of moral values. In fact, his mind is linked to genuine affection to Korean territory, culture and literatures. Such affection can be paraphrased as moral awareness of humanity and its practices. In conclusion, his humanistic spirit should be understood as strong belief on universality of human morality. His cultural awareness of homeland and the will to practices should be considered as cultural pride of Korean intellectual traditions rather than following Chinese culture blindly.