2013, Vol., No.70

Meeting the Panchen Lama in Yŏrha ilgi - A Critical Reading of Pak Chiwŏn’s Account of the 1780 Chosŏn Embassy to Chengde -

Koo, Bumjin | 2013, (70) | pp.3~60 | number of Cited : 20

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In 1780 a Chosŏn embassy led by Pak Myŏngwon was invited to visit Chengde, or Yŏrha, and honor Qianlong’s seventy-sui birthday. A detailed record of this embassy is provided in Pak Chiwŏn’s Yŏrha ilgi, where Pak describes the encounter between the Chosŏn emissaries and the Panchen Lama in great detail. To date, Pak’s Yŏrha ilgi has been read as a faithful historical record and a disinterested account of the Chosŏn emissaries’ experiences in Chengde. However, when we compare Pak’s account with various other historical records of his time, it becomes clear that Yŏrha ilgi is far from an objective account. The famous account of the statues of Buddha is a case in point. Pak Myŏngwon and his fellow emissaries received the statues from the Panchen Lama as gifts. They interpreted the statues as gifts given upon Qianlong’s orders. Consequently, they decided to carry them all the way back to Chosŏn where they were severely criticized for violating the strict Neo-Confucian injunctions against Buddhism. Pak’s Yŏrha ilgi was written in defense of Pak Myŏngwŏn’s actions in the face of this political criticism. In Yŏrha ilgi, Pak argues that the encounter with the Panchen Lama took place under circumstances far beyond Pak Myŏngwŏn’s control. A close reading of Yŏrha ilgi alongside other historical documents reveals that Pak Chiwŏn deliberately blurs the line between eyewitness account and second-hand report by leading his readers to confuse the date of a significant event in which Qianlong met the Panchen Lama in public. As a minor figure who was not endowed with diplomatic powers, Pak Chiwŏn was absent from many of the events he reported on. Yŏrha ilgi should not be read at face value, as if it were an objective historical record, but in historical context alongside other historical documents.

Problems in interpretation of Menzi 3.2 - Focusing on the relation of yanㆍxinㆍqi -

Chang, Wontae | 2013, (70) | pp.61~102 | number of Cited : 5

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The interpretations of Gaozi告子’s Unmoved Mind不動心 can be classified into three kinds. (1) The interpretation of ZhaoQi趙岐and SunShi孫奭, (2) the interpretation of ZhuXi朱熹 and of followers of ZhuXi, and (3) the interpretation of LiuJiuyuan陸九淵 and of followers of LiuJiuyuan. In the interpretation of ZhaoQi and SunShi, the earliest of these, there are many problems for coherently understanding Mengzi 3.2, so after the Song Dynasty, followers of their interpretations were rare. The interpretations, among these three, influential up to the present are (2) and (3). (2) ZhuXi and the commentators who were influenced by him regarded Gaozi as a Taoist or a thinker who had a similar opinion to the Taoists. According to their interpretations, Gaozi succeeded in mind being unmoved by keeping mind from the influence of yan言 and qi氣. On the contrary, Mengzi approached this problem with an active attitude, and he thought that mind can be lead to the state of being unmoved with help of zhiyan知言 and yangqi養氣. (3) LiuJiuyuan and the commentators who were influenced by him regarded Gaozi as a Mohist or a thinker who had a similar opinion to the Mohists or Xunzi implicitly. According to them, Gaozi thought that one can succeed in mind being unmoved by bringing principles or doctrines contained in yan into mind. Contrary to Gaozi, Mengzi thought that mind is the only source of ethical principles, so one could make his/her mind unmoved by focusing on mind. In (2)’s point of view, Gaozi was a thinker who focused on mind. However, in (3)’s point of view, Gaozi was a thinker who focused on yan. From these opposite interpretations, one things we can recognize is that each interpretation aims at the other. Thinkers and commentators who follow (2) see thinkers and commentators who follow (3) as Gaozi’s successors, and vice versa.

The Usage of Time in Ancient China

Jinmook Choi | 2013, (70) | pp.103~144 | number of Cited : 2

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From Indian Fig Tree to Eggs of the Green Lacewing - The Legend and Religious Context of Udumbara -

KANG, Sung Yong | 2013, (70) | pp.145~181 | number of Cited : 0

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The occurrence of the Buddhist wonder, a small flower called ‘u-dam- ba-ra’(우담바라), which seats itself on unimaginable places, such as a stony or metallic surface or even the finger of a Buddhist monk, has long caught the public’s attention. The Korean u-dam-ba-ra is not a flower but, in fact, the small eggs of the green lacewing(Chrysopa intima MacLachlan) which hangs in the air from silk stalks. An attempt is made in this article to clarify the historical origin of this belief in the Buddhist wonder embodied in the misunderstood insect eggs. The historical origin of this miraculous Buddhist flower is a species of Indian fig tree, namely udumbara(Ficus racemosa Linn). The mystification of the Indian udumbara flower already happened in the Buddhist traditions of India itself, but the misconception of the green lacewing eggs for the udumbara flower seems to have been formed in East Asia. The complex biological, ecological and religious contexts of the multilayered mystification of an Indian fig tree into the far eastern yōutánbáluó(優曇跋羅) are surveyed on the basis of Indian original text materials. The botanical peculiarities of the Indian udumbara reserving the status of the symbol for the vitality and fertility was already recognized in the Vedic traditions of ancient India. Later in the early Indian Buddhist traditions, the image of the udumbara was shifted from that of their impossibility to that of their rareness. This is basically due to the fact that fig flowers are kept inside the syconium, the result of which the flowers are not visible at all from the outside, and the ‘(false-)fruits’ are grown up on the trees. Such an extraordinary impression is reflected in the Chinese name of the fig fruit, i.e. wúhuāguǒ(無花果, the fruit without flower). Additional botanical and partly relevant zoological features of Indian udumbara, such as the pollination by specified fig wasps, were taken into consideration to give an answer for the question of why the udumbara alone out of the numerous fig tree species in India was elevated to the symbolic status of rareness meaning the immeasurably high value justly comparable to the appearance of the Buddha in this world.

Childbirth Impurity and Female Impurity in Premodern Japan - With focus on Japanese classical texts -

Lee, Misuk | 2013, (70) | pp.183~216 | number of Cited : 3

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A Study on “Gahyunsangok” and Sangchon’s Image of Retirement in Gimpo

전재진 | 2013, (70) | pp.217~256 | number of Cited : 0

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This essay was about “Gahyunsangok”(Song of Gahyun Mountain) that is included in Gobiyougo, a manuscript in the collection of Dankook University Museum. Although little is known about the author or the time that the song was created, we can surmise that it is a record of Joseon nobility, through the evidence of the custom in which descendants wrote down their ancestor’s biographies. The ‘Song of Gahyun Mountain’ appears to have a particularly close relation to Sangchon Sin Heum who was a government official and famous poet. He was a minister during King Seonjo’s reign and he was given the order to protect Prince Youngchang after the death of King Seonjo. But Prince Gwanghae who was step-brother to Youngchang became king and Sinheum was ousted from officialdom for his actions of protecting Prince Youngchang. He went back to the area of his ancestor’s tomb after being expelled from officialdom and his main concern became the Book of Changes for living in Gahyun Mountain. His attitude towards life was to know the order of the heavens and to follow it naturally. This special quality of such a life can also be found in the ‘Song of Gahyun Mountain’. The speaker of the poem talks about his free life at Gahyun Mountain and how he was satisfied by himself. In addition, the ‘Song of Gahyun Mountain’ is similar to “Banggahaeng”, a poem by Sin Heum. Especially, the introduction of both works share a common feature, such as the paragraph “small town and sky in Gahyun Mountain...” And there is also the common fact that both the speaker of the poem and Sin Heum have an interest in the Book of Changes, are are concerned not with posterior changes but native changes. This was a special phenomenon in the Joseon period and not common tendency. Such an analysis on the song of Gahyun Mountain presented in this paper will act to compliment and enhance studies on the work of Sin Heum, and the cultural contents of Gimpo, Gyonggi Province.

A Review on Lee Kwang-su’s Project of Nation Reformation

Choi, Ju-han | 2013, (70) | pp.257~295 | number of Cited : 14

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The composition of DongMyung and Sukjun Park Han Yeong’s “SukRimHanHwa”

Minheejoo | 2013, (70) | pp.297~323 | number of Cited : 5

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A Study on the Double Suicide Motifs in the Works of Lee Sang and Dazai Osamu

Go Hyeon Hye | 2013, (70) | pp.325~380 | number of Cited : 4

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Joseon and Her Perception of the Reality of Taiwan in the Japanese Colonial Period through Inspection

Han, GilRo | 2013, (70) | pp.381~415 | number of Cited : 6

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The major place for inspection (sightseeing) for Joseon people in the Japanese Colonial Era was ‘The mainland, Japan’. Parties joining in inspection visits focused on strong ties with Japan and felt a sense of belonging for ‘Japanese things’ rather than ‘Korean things.’ While touring, they discovered Japan and became imprinted with the power and status of Japan. In 1920, a new place of inspection emerged which was ‘Colonized Taiwan.’ To show off the colonization model of Japan that was Taiwan both locally and internationally, the Japanese Government General of Taiwan held a fair to celebrate the 20th anniversary of administration in 1916. With this event, the Koreans began to inspect Taiwan in earnest. In the cultural governance era, the inspectorate consisted of Japanese senior government officers and some Koreans who cooperated with them. The top officers in the Japanese Government General reviewed the performances of Taiwan critically, which was 15 years ahead of Joseon, and examined the feasibility of colonization in Joseon based on these accomplishments. They checked the superiority of the colonized countries and tried to find methods of management in the Colonial Era, to seek ways of smoothly assimilating the Koreans into Japan. On the other hand, the Koreans in the inspection team had similar identities with the Japanese but they were eager to be Japanized more than anyone else. In addition, they compared the fulfillment of Taiwan with Korean’s deficiency and inferiority, and stressed that the Joseon which lagged behind had to learn from Taiwan. They considered that ‘their tradition’ was the reason of the absence of the Japanese cultures that Taiwan had, and agreed with assimilation and enlightenment. In their inspection reports, the official and personal reviews were mixed. In writing reports, the Japanese concentrated on the assimilation of the colonized countries and Japanese imperialism represented by ‘the Mainland Extension Policy’. On the contrary, Korean inspectors tried to stress the importance of Japanese ruling for modern enlightenment as well as the appropriateness of assimilation, ‘expression of cooperation’ and ‘logics of self-denial’. For Japan, both Korea and Taiwan were ‘the incomplete examples of colonization’ and the places where the experiences in each country could be shared to expand Japanese imperialism.

Perspectives of Du Fu’s Life and Poetry

김종서 | 2013, (70) | pp.419~438 | number of Cited : 0

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A Study on the Ultimate, Communication with the World - A Review of Ahn Dae-hoe’s The Poetics of the Ultimate–24landscapes of poetry -

고연희 | 2013, (70) | pp.439~452 | number of Cited : 1

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Michael Lynch’s Praise of, or Apology for, Reason

Bai-Hyoung Park | 2013, (70) | pp.453~463 | number of Cited : 0

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Peter J. Bräunlein’s Passion/Pasyon (2010) and ‘Sacred Pain’

Jeong Hwa Choi | 2013, (70) | pp.465~488 | number of Cited : 0

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Journal Central

Journal of Humanities, Seoul National University 2023 KCI Impact Factor : 0.89

2013, Vol., No.70