The purpose of this study is to examine how aesthetics based on the ideas of ‘ri’, ‘do’ and ‘eui’, which originated from the philosophies of Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and the Zen sect, influenced ‘jeonsin’ and ‘euigyeong’ aesthetics found in <Mongyu Dowondo> painted by Ahn Gyeon in the early Joseon period, and artistic backgrounds behind which the influencing factors were formed. <Mongyu Dowondo> has the aesthetic characteristics of ‘jeonsin’ and ‘euigyeong’, respectively based on the idea of ‘ri’ from the circles of yuantihua in the North Song period and that of ‘eui’ from the circles of literary painting. In other words, the traditional landscape painting shows an aesthetic fusion of the ideas of ‘ri’ and ‘do’ from Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and the Zen sect. The Confucian idea of ‘ri’ was the starting point of the vision of nature that oriented unity between heaven, earth, nature and man. In the North Song Period, the vision of the universe or universal ontology from neo-Confucianism and the artistic spirit of ‘ri’ fused with each other, forming the aesthetics of ‘jeonsin’. The aesthetics of the Zen-sect, or that of ‘sim’ often implied in literary painting greatly contributed to the aesthetic spirit of ‘saeui’.
This study first clarifies the Confucian visions of nature and the universe both of which made the biggest contribution to the aesthetics of <Mongyu Dowondo>. Next, the study considers the aesthetic characteristics of universal ontology from neo-Confucianism of the North Song period, Taoistic vision of nature in the South Song period and artistic spirits reflected in a later variation of that ontology. Furthermore, this study investigates ‘saeui’ aesthetics based on Kwak Hee's ideas of ‘won’ and ‘ri’, which were the key to aesthetics dominant in the North Song period, and ‘saeui’ aesthetics of literary painting, to which the Zen sect of the Win period contributed.
This study conducts a few analyses in the following. Noting that Confucian aesthetics created ethical ontology and the visions of nature and the universe, all of which were based on the idea of unity between heaven, earth, nature and man, and that universal ontology from neo-Confucianism since the period of North Song influenced the idea of enormous space, suggested by the Geobi school of the same period, and then landscape painting, above all, the study analyzes the visions of nature and the universe from Confucianism and neo-Confucianism. By the way, the vision of the universe was changed by the period of South Song when neo-Confucianism of North Song gave way to Taoistic aesthetics whose vision of nature and spirit of art, both of which were based on the idea of the above mentioned unity, removed the idea of enormous space. In addition, the study analyzes Taoism-based aesthetic characteristics and art spirits since contrasts between truth and falsehood and between existence and nonexistence, found in the vision of the universe, had lots of effects on the creation of paintings. Finally, this study investigates the aesthetic characteristics of ‘jeonsin’ and ‘saeui’ since <Mongyu Dowondo> has aspects of ‘euigyeong’ aesthetics, associated with the aesthetic sense of ‘won’ as the key to North Song’s art theory-based aesthetics and has aspects of ‘saeui’ aesthetics in which the idea of ‘eui’ from the theory of literary painting, influenced by the Zen sect-based aesthetics of the Win period, reflected.