In our conventional society that Confucian idea was educational ideology, practicing courtesy was the curriculum and was the life of Confucian it self. So the man who didn't perform courtesy was regarded as beast that has no education in Lee Dynasty. ...
In our conventional society that Confucian idea was educational ideology, practicing courtesy was the curriculum and was the life of Confucian it self. So the man who didn't perform courtesy was regarded as beast that has no education in Lee Dynasty. They thought that human is really worth of him because he has a courtesy and they chose appearance among many courtesies as a priority.
This paper has a purpose to found the basis that enable today children to get right appearance through analyzing and considering on appearance with the basis of 「Sa So Jul」「So Hag」「Hae Dong so Hag」「Gye Mong Pyun」「Dong Mong Sun Seub」「Dong Mong Su Ji」「Gyug Mong Yo Gul」「Yang Jung Pyun」「Je Yang Log」and looked over their method to teach appearance.
After classifying demeanor and dressing to ten and analyzing on appearance, it can be summarized like following.
First, demeanors of feet have to be heavy. Step must not be rapid or arrogant.
Second demeanors of hands have to be polite. Use hands when working and gather hands overlapping when not working without negligence.
Third, demeanors of eyes have to be correct. Don't see evil, don't cast a side glance with rocking eyes or don't look around with rolling eyes.
Fourth, demeanor of mouth has to be static and calm with closed condition. Don't move mouth recklessly but say slowly thinking the practice when it is necessary.
Fifth, demeanor of voice has to be calm. You have to say comparing with environment with stable and cool manner and have to be polite. You have to avoid shouting or saying unsuitable for reason because they are impolite.
Sixth, demeanor of head has to be correct. Don't lean your head to one side, don't look back or don't cast your ears to listen.
Seventh, demeanor of breathing has to be even and makes no noisy.
Eighth, demeanor of sitting posture has to be erect, serious and grave and appearance of standing posture has to be erect and respectable. Don't lean one side, sit with your legs stretched. You have to stand in right direction but don't stand leaning something or supporting one leg.
Ninth, demeanor of face has to be grave. Your face has to be stern but you must not make flirting face or shameful face. But these faces are for general people and face for dutiful child has to be gentle and soft.
Tenth, wearing cloth, Korean hat and shoes were regarded as important as demeanor. So method to wear cloths has to be moderate in all of those and has to be perfectly dressed with neatness and simplicity was required in simple costume life to the limit of hiding naked body or protecting cold. Maintenance of costume was that it had to be washed or sewn whenever it was dirt or torn and you had to fold up after you undress. In the manner for cloths, it was imposed not to undress or tuck up because of hot weather, not to play trick with dressing or not to make cloths dirty with careful manner.
Synthesizing above appearance, there was a principle of respect when maintaining all parts of body. Feet have to be heavy, hands have to be polite, eyes have to be correct, mouth has to be prudent, voice has to be calm, head has to be straight, breathing has to be grave, the action of sitting and standing have to be upright, face has to be grave and dressing has to be neat, simple and moderate.
So the usual courtesy for appearance was respectful mind for body. Specially, it was a characteristic of conventional teaching method for appearance of child to train child to get respect and modesty through teaching dressing and demeanor method when he face adults.
And appearance was thought from early age, infant age, because it can't be habit if it is not begun from that age so it is hard to be revised. They admitted the placidity of infant so they have infant to keep the even trifle rule to prevent it from being bad habit.
These conventional rules for appearance might be relevant in that age when people was disengaged except busy season for farming and lived in group with the basis of family or relative but today is very different so it is hard to apply conventional rule to today. But respectful mind and careful attitude can be applied to any age because appearance has a basic sense in the aspect of courtesy to maintain order of relationships among humans, in the aspect of filial duty to maintain body that is took over from ancestor, in the aspect of health to use as vital power and care of health through restricting thought, feeling and behavior and in the aspect of reasonable character to make mind stable and make behavior right.
So the conventional appearance training can be regarded as respecting body with courtesy rather than external dressing. Confucian believed and practiced that they could be polite and relax according to order of mind and get the figure of saint naturally when they get right appearance, sincere mind and stable body action.
I guess that conventional appearance rule that considered external figure can make correct person, maintain health and further social order through correct internal figure with the base of respect can be applied to today child, and I believe that it is effective to train gradually from the unborn baby age through showing example as conventional society did.