근대시기 기독교와 유교의 영향관계에 대한 상호문화신학적 고찰 : 리하르트 빌헬름과 구홍밍의 교류를 중심으로

Abstract

The focus of this paper is the hermeneutical cycle between ‘what is the essence of culture’ and ‘what is the interpretation of culture’. The gap between cultural discovery and interpretation as ‘essentialist’ and the interpretation of culture as a thoroughly ‘current reconstruction’ is our concern. This study explores the intertwined religious and cultural exchanges between two thinkers, Gu Hongming and Richard Wilhelm, whose interactions remain important examples for understanding hermeneutical challenges and dilemmas between Christianity and Confucianism in the early modern period. Gu used Confucianism to criticize missionaries who lacked critical awareness of the imperialist colonial expansion of Western countries. Wilhelm promoted a Christian ‘cultural mission’ by trying to understand other religious cultures such as Confucianism and Daoism in conversation with Gu and as a way to critique institutional Christianity. Therefore, the formation of modern Confucian selfidentity and the self-critical attitude of modern Christianity are based on this interreligious dialogue. By looking at the interchange between Gu and Wilhelm we can also reflect on the origins of discussions on contemporary Confucian and Asian values. This will provide a better understanding of the formation of religious identity in East Asia and Europe, and promises to provide a crucial method for the field of intercultural theology in the future.