『대학 』의 성격규명에 대한 일고찰* ― 박학과 대인지학 ― = A Investigation on the characterization of The Great Learning

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study examines the characterization of The Great Learning aligns with the usages found in the Doctrine of the Mean and Mencius, while focusing primarily on the Analects.
The Great Learning was originally a chapter of the Book of Rites. Commentators of the Han and Tang dynasties stated that the text was titled "Great Learning" because it describes "Broad Learning"—the completion of learning—thereby enabling one to engage in politics. However, in the Analects, "Broad Learning" is merely one of the various methodologies and only one element among others such as steadfast will, earnest questioning, reflection on things at hand, clear discrimination, and earnest practice. Therefore, the direct correlation between Broad Learning and "Virtue," the main theme of The Great Learning, is not significant. In contrast, Zhu Xi separated The Great Learning from the Book of Rites and defined it as the "Learning of Great Men". He described it as a text that outlines the rules for teaching people at the Great School, instructing them in the principles of investigating things, rectifying the mind, cultivating oneself, and governing others.
In short, the "Learning of Great Men" is the pursuit of methods to perfect oneself through the cultivation of virtue -realizing the virtue of the Mandate of Heaven through Reverence- and to rectify and perfect others. It is the learning of how to inherit and realize "Reverence for Virtue," the profound and great principle by which King Wen, King Wu, and the Duke of Zhou of the Zhou Dynasty governed the world.