著者

小川 晴久

出版者

東京女子大学

雑誌

東京女子大學附屬比較文化研究所紀要 (ISSN:05638186)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.50, pp.85-99, 1989

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Shin Chai-ho (申采浩) was a Korean journalist and national revolutionary who died in Rushun(旅順) prison in 1936. The year 1910, when his country was overthrown, divides his life into two distinct periods, the first being his time as a journalist, ardently fighting to prevent his country's downfall, and the second his time as a revolutionary refugee, fighting for the recovery of its independence. During both these periods he continued research into the ancient history of Korea. He criticized bitterly the "flunkeyist" view of history as found in "Sam-kuk Sagi" (三国史記), by the Confucianist Kim Bu-shik (金富軾), arguing that the true face of Korea would not emerge until the toadying attitude that the world revolves around China had been defeated. And he devoted all his efforts towards this end. Criticism of the Chinese world order was criticism of Confucianism. Nevertheless, he himself was a Confucianist until the age eighteen when he entered the Confucian university, Sung Kyun Kwan (成均館). How did he break away from Confucianism? Did he ever abandon it completely? Under the title of "Shin Chai-ho and Confucianism", this paper attempts to answer these questions. Two years before he entered university, the "Independence Association", a movement to promote national awareness, was founded with the purpose of promoting a spirit of self-goverment. This movement was at its peak when he entered university in 1898. He joined the Association and played an active part in its archives division, where he demonstrated his literary talents. During the storm of the people's movement he studied democracy and promptly abandoned Confucianism. A few years later he became a journalist, wielding his pen freely and vigorously as chief editor, the target of his criticism being Confucianism and Confucianists. But he did not totally reject the spirit of Confucianism. In his article "A Criticism of the Confucian world", written in 1909, a year before the fall of Korea, he stated clearly that the weakness of Korea was due not so much to belief in Confucianism as to the lack of proper Confucian practice. He insisted that Korea's hostile attitude towards the Western world should be replaced by one of watchfulness, that Korea should endeavor to display its true spirit by directing its efforts towards welfare and education of its people. In his "The Ancient History of Korea" (朝鮮上古史), written after the fall of his country, traces the source of the concept of "sonbi", used by Confucianists as a symbolof courageous scholar "sonbe" of the ancient Kokuryo(高句麗), but this concept which was fostered by the Confucianists continues to survive as a symbol in his history. There is no doubt that Shin denied and renounced Confucianism, but throughout this denial a typical Confucian thrust survives in his interest in nationalism and public welfare.