조선 후기 화이론(華夷論)의 전개와 중화관의 충돌

Abstract

The primary goal of late Joseon intellectuals was to establish the identity of “Joseon Chunghwa” and fill the void left by the fallen Ming dynasty in China. However, this proved to be a challenging task for the kingdom located outside mainland China. Despite the efforts of the literati to bridge the gap between Joseon culture and the ideal Chunghwa by aligning its rites and institutions, the differences in geography and customs between the idealized China and Korea were evident.BRIn an attempt to provide concrete evidence of Korean Chunghwa, some intellectuals tried to prove that the Korean peninsula shared the geographical characteristics of mainland China. This trend in Korean geography and history was part of the larger effort to support the idea of Korean Chunghwa in late Joseon. However, when Western knowledge of the round earth was introduced and the belief in the geographic center of China was challenged, the idea of geographical-based Korean Chunghwa also faltered.BRAn alternative approach was the moral-based one. The idea was that if a society’s agents could reach their full ethical potential, then it would achieve cultural Chunghwa. Local customs and institutions were undeniable in Korea, but ethical behaviors could reach a universal value not limited by temporal or regional conditions. The Nakron school, which developed its theoretical position to subdivide the process of moral agency and expand the range of agents, especially advocated that the universal merit of reason and the human mind could be the basis for Chunghwa.BRHowever, the idea was met with controversy when applied to Qing China, as Qing could been also recognized as the rightful Chunghwa in the same way, which was highly opposed by Joseon literati. is disagreement is exemplified by the controversy surrounding Hong Daeyong, who rejected the geographical-based idea of Chunghwa in favor of the cultural one, causing conict among his friends and colleagues.