This study aimed at finding out the intellectual capability of the writers in Nongam-group in the 18th century by examining the literary theory and criticism's fruit of Sabgyo An Seokkyeong, a literary man belonging to Nongam-group in the mid-eighteen...
This study aimed at finding out the intellectual capability of the writers in Nongam-group in the 18th century by examining the literary theory and criticism's fruit of Sabgyo An Seokkyeong, a literary man belonging to Nongam-group in the mid-eighteenth century. There were as various theories as disorderly social phenomena in the Joseon literary world before and behind the 18th century. Especially, through the influence of the books about the Ming-dynasty's literature and art that started to be brought in Joseon on a full scale from the late 16th century, there was a lively discussion on what a standard example was and what was learned by one.
Nongam-group, formed of Kim Changhyeob's brothers and his followers, made an important part in the stream of the literary world at that time. As accepting the logic of Han(漢)-party and San(山)-party eclectically, they had a scholastic tendency: a stress on practice in Daemyeonguiri(大明義理), the absolutization of Jujahak(朱子學), the flexible way of thinking about foreign relations, and so forth and offered in-depth discussions related to how to write, giving attention to the original value of literature. In particular, they assumed Beobdo(法度) as the definite rule in creation as well as the aesthetic characteristic that a writing have to pursue and tried to learn it though standard archaic texts.
Sabgyo, a literary man in Nongam-group, showed the literary theory based on the literary fruit of former writers as follows. Firstly, he agreed to the independent position of literature out of 'Mundohabil(文道合一)', the existing literary view of Sung Confucianism and regarded morality as the fundamental rule people should keep or everything connected with making real life affluent. Next, he appraised the archaic texts from Jin(秦) to Han(漢) and the proses of Ming's writers on the two bases of the Confucian scholarly ideology and the realization of the aesthetic of the literary works, grounded on the logic of Hangujeongmaek(韓歐正脈) based on archaic texts in Tang and Song. Third, Sabgyo saw Beobdo(法度) as the way to put Pyeonjangjagu(篇章字句) used in the standard archaic texts in practice and broke it into three parts of a style(體), a pattern(法), rhetoric(辭). To get them by experience, he set up the learning steps: ‘The Confucian Bible-archaic texts in the Tang and Song's age-the archaic texts in the Jin and Han's age’ and also intended to derive the ideal way to write. Finally, he showed a conception of Sinui(神意) to overcome the suspicion of mimicry which can originate from the process of realization of Beobdo(法度). This is to caution against that if excessively tied by a formal standard, writings' Beobdo is likely to overpower the original object delivering the subject.
Sabgyo developed various aspects of criticism in relation to putting Pyeonjangjagu(篇章字句) in practice through『Sabkyoyeohaklok』. It was written by him in his last days and he noted what An Jungkwan, his father, studied about the past writings of China and Joseon. Not only does it treat a plenty of works with criticism but its critiques for real works are logical and systematic. In his book, Sabgyo introduced the method of criticism: the presentation of general principles and coherence→the division into a volume or a chapter→the arrangement of a volume or a chapter, the application of a letter or a phrase, and the description of the dynamic change in strength and weakness→the composition of the end. For standard archaic texts, above all, he made himself understood general principles and coherence of writings and then analyzed the organical relation between each structural element in priority.
Besides, he put importance on the role of Hwalbeob(活法) when creating to prevent a work from being written monotonously. It could be ascertained that Hwalbeob(活法) was used generally to solidify the gist of an argument and to emphasis the tone of a sentence from examining what he showed as examples. His criticism offers the concrete theory in the realistic way to write as well as a regular criterion in appreciating and creating works in effect.
Considering all the above factors, Sabgyo faithfully succeeded to the literary tradition of the writers in Nongam-group formed of Kim Changhyeob's brothers. On the other side, he built up his own world in literary theory and ciriticism, which reflects all over the literary atmosphere in the mid-18th century. Moreover, his theory needs to be watched with interest because it becomes aware that it is closely connected with archaic-text-writers like Hong Seokju, Kim Maesun in the 19th century, including the literary men like Park Jiwon, Hong Daeyong in Bukhak-faction in the late 18th century.