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The Meaning of Cheongun-silok(天君實錄: the Annals of the Cheongun) as a Narrative of ‘Embodied Mind’

  • The Research of the Korean Classic
  • 2024, (67), pp.35-69
  • Publisher : The Research Of The Korean Classic
  • Research Area : Humanities > Korean Language and Literature > Korean Literature > Korean classic prose
  • Received : October 15, 2024
  • Accepted : November 17, 2024
  • Published : November 30, 2024

Lee Chae-Eun 1

1서강대학교 인문과학연구소

Accredited

ABSTRACT

As a way to understand the narrative meaning of psychological novels and their effects in detail, this paper tried to read "Cheongun-silok" by paying attention to the concept of "body," not the concept of "mind," which had been attracting attention in psychological novels. "Cheongun-silok" carries on the tradition of psychological novels, but it is safe to call them "body novels" and used the human material body as the basis for the composition of the person, space, and plot. This narrative composition was possible amid a rich combination of knowledge about the two dimensions of the mind: the mind as a material organ that sends blood throughout the body and controls the flow of energy, and it was revealed that it was expressed as an observational discourse based on interest in the body as a material in the transition to a material-centered society in the 19th century. As a physicalized narrative of the mind, "Cheongun-silok" has a receptive effect that leads to strong self-directivity and reflection. This is the cause of deriving a playful effect as well as an effect that helps a realistic understanding of the abstract and ideological mind cultivation theory. In this respect, "Cheongun-silok", a psychological novel that is a 'physicalized narrative', is clearly created by accepting the theoretical method of understanding the mind achieved by the ancestors in the scriptures of Confucianism, but that is not all. Here, as the creation and enjoyment of the narrative, the contents of the party's observation and experience of Confucian scholars themselves living with a material body are reflected together, and concerns about the way they live as 'rational animals' in the changing social environment are included. Moreover, in terms of its narrative acceptance, it is meaningful as a complex text that conveys not only lessons but also laughter and fun.

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