退溪學在東亞文化史上的意義 = Cultural significance of Toegye Studies

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Toegye studies encompasses literatures as poems, lyrics, social scientific treatises on politics, economy and society, education theory, cosmology, calligraphy and philosophy. As he develops nascent Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism in China and takes effects on development of Japanese Confucianism, his distinctive Neo-Confucianism becomes flagship field. Accordingly, his Neo-Confucianism has so-called East Asian scale and perspective. Now studies responding modern request that needs East Asian Confucian culture may be those of Toegye from the light of modem significance. To begin with, we should see how Toegye created his Neo-Confucian philosophy perceiving East Asian culture in his own time and try to find modem `East Asian` or worldwide cultural significance. When rituals and five relationships as pre-modem norms should be discarded and ethics based on benevolence, virtues of four excellences, life-focused philosophy are recovered, Confucianism as new norms in harmony with natural world can be established. Philosophies stemmed from Toegye can be penetrated effectively especially into East Asian countries. Ethical items and morality are beneficial to cultural life in general. For promotion of these, interaction and mutual understanding among cultures including ritual propriety are necessary. Confucian austere art sensibility seen in Toegye`s poem, songs and lyrics is a refined combination of enduring Asian philosophy and art. In other words, both cultural tradition and accumulation and personal character with aesthetic sensibility are so important. The urge to achieve harmony with nature based on benevolence of mind-heart of commiseration should be developed further. If being cultivated from the light of mentioned above, his philosophy containing sources of cultural refinement has East Asian cultural significance.