In the Western World, the 'formality' is a reasonable framework, and its value is justly evaluated. On the other hand, in the East Asia, the 'formality' is reminded as a strict Confucian morals in the traditional society, and tends to be negatively ev...
In the Western World, the 'formality' is a reasonable framework, and its value is justly evaluated. On the other hand, in the East Asia, the 'formality' is reminded as a strict Confucian morals in the traditional society, and tends to be negatively evaluated. However, 'excess' of formality is the essence of modernity regardless of western or eastern worlds. The East Asian formality should be re-evaluated from the modern context. This research team conducted the research as follows. (1) Introduction; we reflected some problems in East Asian interpretation about the 'modernity' from the 'mutual culture-philosophical' viewpoint. Besides, we reviewed existing studies discussing the East Asian modernity. The research about the East Asian modernity needs to be chanced from the contents-centering one as a software to the formality-centering ones as a hardware. (2) Korea; The modern meaning of Yaehak theory(learning about manners) in Joseon Dynasty was analyzed centering Horkheimer's philosophy. Further, our team investigated about the modernity in the human understanding theory of Jeong Yak-Yong, a famous scholar in Joseon Dynasty. Additionally, our team examined the relationship between the Yae(禮, manners) of Confucianism and Korean modernization. And from an art-philosophical viewpoint, we reflected the meaning of modern formality emerged in King Jeongjo's Revivalism(復古主義) Literature Policy and modern features of some literary painters, who were from the middle class(中人) in Joseon. (3) China; we insistently researched the matter of 'formality' centering the neo-Confucianism(朱子) theory. Then we tried to interpret the relationship between righteousness and profit in the theory Lee Gu, a chinese scholar in the North Sung age, and the Yaeron (Manners Theory) from the key word of modernity. Finally, our team dealt with the meaning and limits of enlightenment in China in modern times in the contexts of 'democracy' replacing the 'Yaegyo(Manners Education) and the 'science' dismantling the 'Confucianism'. (4) Korea-China; our team considered the fact that Yae(manners) accompanies the natural law factor and the modern positive law factor together. The 'excess of formality' shown in Yaechi Juoui(Politics by Manners, 禮治主義) should be evaluated from the same context as the suppression of formal rationality happened in the western word in modern area. (5) Japan; we studied the stratified features in the methodology of modernization shown in Japanese 'Whahon Yangjae(Japanese Soul, Western Skills, 和魂洋才). The 'Whahon Yangjae' method in Japanese modern times was the principle integrating Japanese traditional, universal concept and European modern universal concept at the same level. And we stated the fact that Japanese traditional 'essence' and Western modern 'formality' were embedded in the concept 'Gukhak(National Theory, 國學)' of modern Japanese times. Finally, we critically re-evaluated Japanese modern age from the viewpoint of 'nationalization of instincts'