Human cultivates life along with the arts. By the reason, the arts of an age reflects its age and traditional culture of a country. And we have inevitable relationship with various artistic forms. Thus, human and the arts have developed continuously w...
Human cultivates life along with the arts. By the reason, the arts of an age reflects its age and traditional culture of a country. And we have inevitable relationship with various artistic forms. Thus, human and the arts have developed continuously while affecting each other, mutually depending upon.
Especially, the arts in Confucianism would applied to artistic world of an artist and his thoughts as it is in controlled emotion of internal contemplation regarding to disclosure of human emotion. As the arts to express mind and human nature, the arts in Confucianism emphasized learning, personality, and spirit of an artist, and put importance on view of moral human. From old times, a person who is good at poetry, calligraphy, and paintings had been called Samjeol(三絶). And it had been said that poetic sentiment, style of calligraphy, and meaning of paintings have something in common. So, ‘oneness of poetry, calligraphy, and paintings(詩書畵 三位一體)’ was called ideal beauty. One writes poem and draws painting fit to poem. One writes poem on painting. Or one draws painting while writing poem fit to the painting, and then, places the poem on the painting properly. This has a value in the level of oneness going beyond conception of order - which comes first.
Shin Saimdang was born in Chosun dynasty, the rigid Confucian society some 500 years ago. She not only held up as a model of Confucian ideals for a good wife but also was a respected artist who was excellent in poetry, calligraphy, and paintings. She could become such a figure because she is equipped with benevolence and virtue. Especially, to do calligraphy or to draw paintings, high personality should be equipped with first. This is possible only through deep academic grounding and continuous training. It is well known that Shin Saimdang was good at poetry. Furthermore, it can be known through extant calligraphy works and paintings that she was excellent in calligraphy and paintings like poetry.
The arts in Confucianism is to shape mind of heaven and earth into one's own mind based on principle of Saengsaeng(生生). Shin Saimdang drew grass and insect with mind of Saengsaeng(生生). This is possible with right recognition about all the beings and practice of high personality that can reach state of oneness of heaven and earth.
When we see paintings of Shin Saimdang, we can feel valuable life which breathes together with us. We cannot find out artificial beauty in the paintings where her desire was disclosed. This could be possible because she placed will on the truth told by Confucius, maintained virtue, depended upon benevolence, and played in the arts. So, her son Yulgok(栗谷) expressed her paintings in four letters, ‘All are elaborate and delicate[俱極精妙].’ And in the epilogues of Shin gyeong and Hong Ryang-han, she was praised ‘a person who entered into marvelous state by drawing paintings well[善畵而入神妙者].’
The author investigated artistic philosophy of Shin Saimdang focusing on her artistic spirit. For Shin Saimdang, the arts shaped ‘mind which gives birth to things’ and ‘mind to love the others and to benefit things’ into form. Her paintings expressed that all the beings in heaven and earth are alive together based on principle of Saengsaeng(生生). Saengsaeng(生生) means to know that birth and death of a living being is natural change of the nature. In such law of Saengsaeng(生生), there is no cease or violation. Therefore, beauty of the arts where heaven, earth, and human embrace all the beings and are in harmony with the beings, can be felt. Harmony makes all the beings place on their own position, disclose their own lights, and be committed to their own life. From paintings of Shin Saimdang, we can catch such appearance of harmony. Confucianism is human oriented thoughts but the thoughts are based on harmony with all the beings. In the point, it is thought that artistic works of Shin Saimdang have same context as harmony spirit in Confucianism.
She overcame social inequality of early Chosun and appeared as dignified female artist. Advantage in social position would help this. In addition, her own artistic aesthetic consciousness and background of thoughts would play a large role. She is now respected as not only an artist but also an benevolent wife with high virtue and personality. And as a good mother, she is modeled many women today. She could sublimate movements of grass and insect which are trifle beings, in artistic works. Such status of Shin Saimdang's artistic spirit would be great.