This manuscript focuses on Shin Yu-han and Ogyu Sorai as the two representative figures of the 18th century Joseon and Japan that developed Qin-Han writings, and has compared and analyzed their literary works. The two writers have both argued that cla...
This manuscript focuses on Shin Yu-han and Ogyu Sorai as the two representative figures of the 18th century Joseon and Japan that developed Qin-Han writings, and has compared and analyzed their literary works. The two writers have both argued that classical prose should be built through repetitive studying and they have also both focused on narrative prose as the essence of classical prose and sentences. However, their styles differed in that while Shin Yu-han sought innovation as well as imitation, and argued that the subject’s inner world should be as vividly depicted as its external looks, Sorai emphasized imitation and plagiarism, and focused more on the detailed reproduction of the external looks rather than the inner world. This manuscript looks at whether these differences have actually been reflected in the literary works by focusing on the application method of the authentic precedents and the specific methods of recounting narratives. It seems that Shin Yu-han focuses on expanding the meaning of authentic precedents, while Sorai uses superficial and partial citations of prose, matters, and words. As for descriptions, while Shin Yu-han’s works show dramatic comparisons and fictional narration based on careful observation of and communication with the subject, Sorai’s works show vivid imitations based on experience and sensation. The contents covered in this manuscript represent just one example of how the style of Qin-Han Writings developed differently upon being introduced in both countries. This case study of Shin Yu-han and Sorai clearly shows how the discussion on recovering the aesthetic sense of Qin-Han writings developed differently in the Chosun Dynasty and Japan depending on the writers’ takes on the the communication with “classical” and the value of “sentences.”