'泉水石'연구

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Chonsusok is a novel written in Korean alphabet. It was originally preserved in Naksonjae(楽善齋), library in the former loyal palace, and now removed to the library of the Academy of Korean Studies. Not the writer and the time of its creation but, whether it is an original Korean work is not yet known.

In this thesis, I have tried to examine Chonsusok as following. At first, whether it is an original Korean work or the translation of the Chinese is examined. Next, I have tried to analyze and appreciate the themes and techniques of it.

The existing studies on the novels preserved in Naksonjae are neglecting such fundamental problem, as to discerning if the work was originated during the Choson (Y1)-Dynasty. Someone investigated into the typology of the works to over-come such limits. Others abstracted Korean peculiarities from the texts for the same reasons. But the typological study has the limit of overlooking the individuality and the method of abstracting Korean peculiarities is not believable because the partial elements are able to revise in the process of translation or adaptation.

In this study, efforts are made to find out the proof that this novel was written during the Choson-Dynasty out of the total characteristics of the text, with an individual text as an object of analysis. Under the assumption that this novel was written during the Choson-Dynasty, I have tried to appre-ciate the theme of it in its social contexts.

Following methods are employed to give proof to the hypo thesis that this novel belongs to that time. 1) Examining the relationship of this novel to historical records of China.

2) Comparing this novel with other novels which altogether belong to those days.

The result of study on the relating between historical records of China shows that the Chinese materials in it are recomposed and reshaped rather than deeply interrelated to those materials. And the story of the same figure, found in Chinese Literature is very different from that of the text. And therefore it cannot be asserted that this text does not belong to the period of the Choson-Dynasty on the ground of having Chinese materials, it is to be presumed that the mat-erials were simply adopted in this story in case the signi-ficance which the reality of the materials has, is fully taken into account.

When understood in the category of the novels of the Choson-Dynasty, the content of this novel reveals itself to be different from Chinese novels being compared, in these res-pects: in the method of developing the events, in the aspects of conflicts of the figures, and in the world-view. It is, however, similiar, to the other novels written during the Choson-Dynasty and has its own speciality in it.

From such examinations is drawn the conclusion that the text was written in the period of the Choson-Dynasty and under such premise the novel is analyzed. In the analyzing of the novel, the theme was extracted from the two aspects of conflict and confrontation respectively represented, included in the text and from grasping the meaning which both side above have.

The result of such analyses reveals that the text has raised the meaning of secular world through the pluralistic and complicated lightening: it has described the dissolving process of mediaeval ruling orders and of dualistic ethical point of view in Confucianism: and it exibits the sprout in consciousness of common people by presenting the aspect of challenging the inequality.

If the writer is guessed at from the bearing of this novel, he is considered to belong to the learned Yangban class; For he is conscious of the crisis of his time, good at Chinese history, and familiar with court's life.

The different revision preserved in the National Central Library makes it possible to infer that the readers of this text might be not-educated common people, and the acts of the figures in text show that the readers of the book might be the women who lived in the court and the wives of the illustrious officials.

By the way, the time of creating is presumed to be the latter half of the Choson period when mediaeval orders were confused and the hierachy of status was brockendown.

After all Chonsusok is found to have the form of Yangban novel which approaches to the popular novel that has trans-ferred the focus of novel from trans-secular world to secular by emphasizing the meaning of the secular world. All these facts show that the consciousness represented in popular novel is also reflected in Yangban novel. And therefore Chonsusök is to be evaluated as having a pararell position to the popular novel and particular individuality in it's technique.