• (The)Study of the Eastern Classic
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• no.32
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• pp.159-187
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• 2008

This article aims to investigate the change of theories of reading and its historical meaning in the later Joseon period. Three scholar who left major theories of reading are mainly analyzed for the sake of it. Park, Se-chae(1631-1695) was a Neo-Confucianist who had the theory of reading named Dokseo-Gungliron(讀書窮理論). It was totally based on the scheme of Neo-Confucianist instruction and concentrated on mastering the moral principles with relishing the sentences of the Confucian Canons. Jeong, Yak-yong(1762-1836) was a Practical learning scholar and then criticized the moral-centric theory of reading of Neo-Confucianism. He valued much of the Confucian Canons but also focused on erudite reading so as to enlarge practical knowledge. Hong, Gil-ju(1786-1841) was a stylist and presented a severe criticism against Neo-Confucianist theory of reading as much. He thought that what we could realize with reading are the principles of the individual, not of the whole. The change of theories of reading in the later Joseon period as above reveals us the fact that the intellectual history of that period was in the process of dynamical change.