This article examines a thesis by Namdang, a Confucian scholar in Chosŏn Korea, on the natures of humans and non-human living beings, using Zhu Xi’s li (理) - qi (氣) theory. Regarding the sameness or difference between li and qi, Zhu Xi formulated different opinions in his early and later life and was also at times inconsistent in his works of a certain period. To a certain extent, Zhu Xi’s thoughts lacked coherence, which led to subsequent debates. In seeking to develop Zhu Xi’s li-qi theory, Namdang put forward his original thesis of Trichotomous Nature, which significantly enriched Zhu Xi’s ideas. The “nature transcending the appearance of things” (K. ch’ohyŏnggi 超形氣) refers to a pure xing (K. sŏng 性; nature), concerned with only li without considering the influence of qi from the perspective of a unitary source (K. irwŏn 一原; one source). At this stage, everything shares the same li and xing. The “nature originated from temperament” (K. in’gijil 因氣質) demonstrates the shared nature for the same species as well as the difference in nature across species, thus being an endowmentdependent li. At this stage, for the same species, they share the same li, qi, and xing, while for varying species, there is a difference in li, qi, and xing. The “nature mixed with temperament” (K. chapkijil 雜氣質) considers the xing of pure qizhi (K. kijil 氣質; physical temperament) in which all creatures differ. It is thus a concept that demonstrates the particularity in all things, with varying differences in li, qi, and xing.
목차
Abstract 1. ZHU XI’S THEORIES ON THE SAMENESS/DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LI AND QI 2. NAMDANG’S LI-QI THEORY 3. NAMDANG’S THEORY OF TRICHOTOMOUS NATURE 4. CONCLUSION REFERENCES
키워드
NamdangZhu Xili-qi theoryThesis of Trichotomous Naturenatures of humans and non-human living beings
저자
XING LIJU [ A deputy director of the Centre for Korean Studies, Fudan University, China. ]
first author
LIN XI [ An assistant dean of IAS-Fudan, Fudan University, China. ]
Corresponding author
한국연구원은 1970년 5월 한국 민속의 각 분야에 걸친 자료의 수집과 학술적 연구를 목적으로 '한국민속연구소'로 출발하였다. 그 후 1973년 5월 연구 분야를 확대하며 민속뿐만 아니라 한국학 전반에 걸친 연구를 위해 '한국학연구소'로 개편하였고, 다시 1989년 3월 한국의 국제적 위상의 부상과 함께 한국학 연구의 중요성이 높아짐에 따라 '한국학연구원'으로 확대, 개편하였다. 한국학연구원은 한국학 전반에 걸친 연구를 통해 지역과 민족문화 발전에 기여하며 한국학의 세계화를 위해서 학술활동을 강화하고 나아가 내·외국인에 대한 한국문화 교육을 담당하고자 한다.