This study can be traced to a question of which literary works were best to reflect classical scholars' ideas and the changes of literary features in the 18th century, when is called ' a spontaneous modern age'.
The early studies on 'Yeonhaenglok'(bo...
This study can be traced to a question of which literary works were best to reflect classical scholars' ideas and the changes of literary features in the 18th century, when is called ' a spontaneous modern age'.
The early studies on 'Yeonhaenglok'(books of travel to Ch'ing) mainly focused on particular works and particular writers. However, lots of 'Yeonhaenglok' share distinctive characteristics in respect of writers, themes and ways to write, reflecting the practical idea of 'bukhak'. They also have notable literary features. Recently, Some studies viewed 'Yeonhaenglok' as documentary literature or literary records of travel. The history of these new studies needs to be researched on.
This study, in particular, dealt with 'Yeonhaenglok' as 'travelers' literature' as some recent comparative literature studies have done. It is meaningful given that not enough studies have been done about 'Yeonhaenglok' because of the attitude of considering them as diplomatic documents.
ChapterⅡ dealt with the history of 'kyobing'(a diplomatic practise), which was the only way to travel to Ch'ing for Joseon' people, along with the writers who wrote 'Yeonhaenglok' after the travel. The Joseon dynasty and Ch'ing had a stable relations in the 18th century, when trade practises such as 'Nandubae' and 'Sanggo' were taking place and records of travel to Ch'ing had a significant effect on the Joseon society.
18th century's prose 'Yeonhaenglok' written in Chinese in the process of 'Kyobing' had evolved in three phases, factoring in their writers and other features. Firstly, 1700-1732, when the writers were chiefly classical scholars belonged to the Noron - Seoin faction. Many of them served as 'Samjeongsa' and were members of 'yookchang', a society based on the 'nocklon' idea. Secondly, 1737-1777. At that time, although there was no visible change in writers, the number of 'Yeonhaenglok' written in the form of 'jabjiche'(writing divided into classes according to the subjects) characteristically increased. Thirdly, 1778- the end of the 18th century, when lots of 'Yeonhaenglok' were written by scholars belonged to the 'bookhack' faction or not belonged to 'Samjeonsa'
Chapter Ⅲ researched into the things depicted in 'Yeonhaenglok' because they reflect the writers' thought on Ch'ing. This chapter also studied the meanings of images and metaphors created by the depicts. In the later
16th century, 'Yeonhaenglok' stuck to ideology, which is confirmed in works such as "Chochungy" by Heobong that kept their eye on things such as 'jeonghakcseowon' (a private school in Ch'ing) and Confucian shrines. However, 'Yeonhaenglok' written in the earlier 18th century paid attention to scenic spots and places of historic interest. When they wrote about the tombs of 'jeongnyeo'(women who led a chaste life) and the tomb of 'Yi jea'(a classical scholar in the Geryeo dynasty), which had ideological meanings, they mainly focused on the scenic beauty of the places. Earlier 18th century's 'Yeonhaenglok' panoramically described things that they saw in Ch'ing such as 'sisa' (a market place), architectures, foods, attire and daily commodities, confirming that the writers viewed Ch'ing as 'a lump of material civilization' not as a model of moral civilization. The writers particularly kept eye on Ch'ing's high class culture, translated in 'guldongseowha'(antics), along with popular culture such as 'whanhee'(a tightrope dancing) and 'yeonhee'(a dramatic performance), carried out in 'sisa'.
In the middle of the 18th century, there was no discernible change in the rage of things that 'Yeonhaenglok' dealt with. However, writers especially pay attention to 'structure' and Ch'ing's people, which shows that the writers saw Ch'ing as an object that they should systematically study on and a place where people were living in.
The 'Yeonhaenglok' written by 'bookhankpa' in the later 18th century succeeded to and developed the interests of earlier 'Yeonhaenglok''s writers. 'bookhankpa''s 'Yeonhaenglok' expressed special interests in bricks. They discovered constitution and permanence from bricks. 'Bak-Jiwon'(a scholar belonged to 'bookhankpa' and a representative writer of 'Yeonhaenglok'), who kept eye on things such as bricks that created the images of move and formation, pictured the emotions of people related to the places of historic interests where he visited. Yet, Ch'ing, which was described with the image of creation and flow by 'bookhankpa', became just an object of sightseeing in the 'Yeonhaenglok' written by non-'bookhankpa' such as Kim-Jeongjung and Lee-Jeahack.
Chapter Ⅳstudied the subtext of 'Yeonhaenglok' and how it had developed during the 18th century. This study is just contained within the representative works of each phrase because they had significant effect on other works in their times as a model of 'Yeonhaenglok'.
The development of the subtext was similar to the process of achieving 'seong'(誠:chastity). 'Jungyong'(a Classic of Confucianism) said 'seon'(善:goodness) should be chosen and done restlessly to realize 'seong', following the process of 'bakhak'(博學:wide knowledge) - 'simmoon'(審問:examination) - 'sinsa'(愼思:deep thought) - 'mungbyun'(明辨:a clear understanding) - ('dukhaeng'(篤行:practice)). In the Joseon dynasty, the process was viewed as the same to that of studying. Lee Whang(a scholar) applied the process to the curriculum of his private school named 'baerokdong seowon'. In conclusion, this development of subtext shows the fact that 'Yeonhaenglok' were written in the process of studying Ch'ing. Writers doubted whether Ch'ing deserved sinocentrism and they wrote 'Yeonhaenglok' in the process of researching into Ch'ing over the 18th century.
'No-Gajae' is a representative writer in the first phase. The subtext of his works can be condensed into 'yoo(遊;tramp)' and 'bakhak'(wide knowledge). His appetite for seeing Ch'ing' culture lies behind the subtext of 'yoo'.
The subtext of Hong-Daeyong, who represent writers in the third phase, is summarized into 'simmoon'(審問:examination). Given that, it is no wonder that he expressed interests in people who could be asked. He also payed attention to things that can be examined and analyzed, which differentiate him from writers who just enjoyed sightseeing in the first phrase.
Bak-Jiwon is a writer belonged to bookhankpa in the third phase. The subtext of his works does not exactly fall into the category of 'sinsa'(愼思:deep thought), 'mungbyun'(明辨:a clear understanding) that follow 'simmoon'. In fact, the subtext of his works includes the final stage of practice. Bak-Jiwon's 'Yeonhaenglok' show that it was Ch'ing' that he ultimately wanted to understand. Moreover, he thought that Ch'ing' had various aspects. At that time, Bak-Jiwon's trying to scope out Ch'ing' share with those of other writers belonged to 'bookhankpa'.
ChapterⅤdealt with the development of the ways to write 'Yeonhaenglok'. The beginning of the 18th century, writers' experiences during travel to Ch'ing' were recorded day by day in 'Yeonhaenglok' in the form of 'chookilgisa'(books to brief superior authority) and earlier 'Yeonhaenglok'. As writers came to be interested in sightseeing, they were written in the form of 'Sansuyoogy' and 'Noojeonggy'. At that time, 'Yeonhaenglok' were also written in the form of 'jabjiche(writing divided into classes according to the subjects) by some writers such as No-Gajae, Do-Gok, Lee-Uihyun, Lee-Uiman.
'Damhunyeongy'( a 'Yeonhaenglok' in the 18th century) was written in the form of 'Kisache', which is a collection of short writings that have separate titles. It could succeed to the form of "Dongwhanbongsa" by Cho-Hyun (already written in the form of 'Kisache') or develop the form of 'jabjiche'. Lee-Yap's 'Yeonhaengkisa' also showed the development of the form of 'Kisache', along with "bookhakui" in the third phase. The form of 'Kisache' enabled 'Yeonhaenglok' to deal with discussion with people and expression of emotion.
For bookhankpa, they tried to write 'Yeonhaenglok' in various forms as their travels to Ch'ing' were so important experiences for them. For example, there are "bookhakui" written by Pak-Jeaga in the way to memorialize the King, "ypuengy" written by Lee-Duckmoo in the form of a travel diary, and "yeondeajeayulick" written by Yu-Duckgong in dialogue with Ch'ing' people. To the contrary, Yeonhaenglok written by non-Bookhankpa had a tendency to be written in the earlier form of a travel diary. During the later 18th century, writers tried to wrote exact information in 'Yeonhaenglok', researching lots of books and official documents, which reflects the influence of china's 'Kosunghak'(a idea)
Chapter Ⅵ studied the meanings of 18th century's 'Yeonhaenglok' in the context of the history of Korean literature. Firstly, as prose 'Yeonhaenglok' were widely written, the number of poems decreased in the books of travel abroad. Before then, poem was predominant in the books. Secondly, 'Yeonhaenglok' reflected the idea of classical scholars belonged to the Noron -Seoin fraction and finally came to be 'bookhankpa's literature. Thirdly, the subtext of 'Yeonhaenglok' had coherently developed during the 18th century, having significant effect on the Joseon society. Forthly, 'Yeonhaenglok' were written in various forms of writing in Chinese such as 'illok', 'yougi', 'japgi' and 'pilgiche', contributing to the development of literature. The contribution is comparable with that of 18th century's 'Gomunlon' or other literary works.