‘辭達’에 대한 조선 중기 ‘문장 사대가’의 인식 비교

초록

The notion of Sadal(辭達), as mentioned by Confucius, came to be regarded by Neo-Confucian scholars after the Song dynasty as a central issue in the relationship between Do-hak(道學) and literary writing. In Joseon, discussions of Sadal were largely concentrated in the later period; however, by examining the Four Great Prose Masters of mid-Joseon, we can observe a foundational understanding of Sadal, which reveals that the discourse on this concept was beginning to diverge during the process of Neo-Confucianism’s dissemination in Joseon society. Shin Heum(申欽) regarded the value and function of prose as being on an equal footing with Do-hak, which stands in some contrast to the Song Neo-Confucian scholars who interpreted Sadal as affirming the primacy of Do-hak over literary expression. Yi Jeong-gu(李廷龜), as is evident from the assessment of his prose as ‘Yiseung-Sadal’(理勝辭達), placed greater emphasis on Do-hak than on the intrinsic value of prose. Jang Yu(張維) argued that prose, as the product of literary brilliance(文采), had to be combined with virtuous conduct in order for a person to become a cultivated gentleman embodying the ideal of munjil-binbin(文質彬彬). His understanding of Sadal may thus be defined as ‘mutual application’(相用), in which literature and Do-hak serve complementary roles. By contrast, Yi-Sik(李植), grounded in Neo-Confucian thought, interpreted Confucius’s notion of Sadal in alignment with Zhu-Xi(朱熹) and other Song Neo-Confucian scholars. While acknowledging the reality that individuals compose diverse kinds of prose according to their tastes and talents, Yi-Sik ultimately concluded that such expression must be guided by the Six Classics(六經), thereby understanding Sadal within the Neo-Confucian framework of ‘one principle, many manifestations’(理一分殊). Through the evaluations of Shin Heum and Yi Jeong-gu by Song Si-yeol(宋時烈) and Kim Chang-hyup(金昌協), we can see that a shift in the balance between ‘ornamentation’(修飾) in prose and ‘principle’(理致) in Do-hak had already begun in mid-Joseon. This divergence is likewise evident in Jang Yu’s and Yi Sik’s respective understandings of Sadal. The ways in which Shin Heum and Jang Yu interpreted Confucius’s notion of Sadal—by affirming the independent value of prose—can be understood as a continuation of the positive recognition of literature that had persisted since early Joseon. In contrast, the approaches of Yi Jeong-gu and Yi Sik, who understood Sadal through the absolute superiority of Do-hak, reflect a new trend that emerged as Neo-Confucianism gradually came to exert substantive influence within Joseon society. Thus, the discussions of Sadal among the Four Great Prose Masters of mid-Joseon reveal how shifts in the intellectual landscape of Joseon society influenced contemporary perceptions of the role and function of prose.

키워드