『周易』 損·益卦로 본 君子之道

• 영문명: Morality of a Man of Virtue as Expressedby the Trigram for Gain and Loss in the Book of Changes
• 발행기관: 원광대학교 동양학대학원
• 저자명: 이황(Hwang Lee)
• 간행물 정보: 『동양학연구』제11집, 207~231쪽, 전체 25쪽
• 주제분류: 인문학 > 역사학
• 파일형태: PDF
• 발행일자: 2015.02.28

국문 초록

The Trigram for Gain and Loss in the Book of Changes is concerned with revealing the issue of removing what is excessive or strong, and strengthening what is weak, one of the issues that permeate human affairs, through the Morality of a Man of Virtue. Such morality is called either the Morality of Gain and Loss, or the Morality of a Man of Virtue. Also, the Trigram stresses that a man of virtue should carry out such removal or strengthening in appropriate ways. The Book of Changes originate from troubles, and the Book is a guide that maintains the sacredness and the Nature’s Morality should be realized by humans. Confucius relates the nature’s morality and the nature’s law to a man of virtue: “a man of virtue should revere and fear these three: revere the nature’s law, revere great men, and revere the words of sacred men.” What are the nature’s law, great men, and sacred men? The nature’s law was not in fact conceived by Confucius: rather, the nature’s law conveys and realizes a type of transcendent meaning that ran through the Chinese tradition. Confucius put forward sacredness, benevolence and knowledge as ways to realize nature’s law, and understood them in the context of human troubles. That is, the nature’s law signifies reverence and sacredness: it is not an absolute being to be feared. Why do we call taking away from below and adding to above “the Trigram for Loss,” and taking away from above and adding to below “the Trigram for Gain”? Politically speaking, when the rulers exploit and appropriate the blood and sweat of the people they rule, it may seem like it is taking away from below and adding to above. However, in fact, the above also suffers when that happens. This is exemplified by the fact that the corruption of high officials was one of the most troubling issues in government, even during the years of Qing Emperor Qianlong’s reign. People are the foundation of a nation, and a nation’s well-being can be ensured only when that foundation is solid. In this sense, the loss suffered by the people is tantamount to the loss of the very foundation of governing. The meaning of ‘loss’ discussed in Gwaesa is very flexible: it incorporates all types of taking away, not just taking away from below. ‘Loss’ applies to all the people and areas in a nation or society, both below and above. This is the morality for all men of virtue. The Trigram for Loss conveys a crucial political idea, which proposed the way to address with the issue conflicts of interests between the ruler and his subjects. Today, it may be related to donation from the rich, or donation of one’s talent to the underprivileged living in the shadow. The Gwaesa for the Trigram for Loss was imbued with abstract meaning, which is that it is the most general way for a person, regardless or his class or social strata, to use the Trigram for Loss as a means of self-development. If one is faithful in taking away, his heart is sincere and he gains understanding and trust from other people. Taking away cannot be understood as either unilaterally good or unilaterally bad: the significance of taking away should be determined based on each case. Hyosa for six Hyo’s went further to specify that abstract meaning, detailing the contents of such morality of taking away in five areas. Hyosa for the Trigram for Gain stressed how a ruler should clearly establish the idea of how to add to the people and how the people should be added to. The idea of ‘Governing with Morality and Virtue’ put forward by the early Confucianism is likely to be related with this Trigram in a certain way. As Confucius himself maintains, the Morality of a Man of Virtue as expressed through the Trigram for Loss and Gain lies in practicing sacredness, benevolence and knowledge. While an arduous path awaits men of morality, it is certainly reachable by human efforts. It is the path to be taken by a man of morality, and the first virtue to be practiced is benevolence.

목차

Ⅰ. 서론

Ⅱ. 주역과 공자의 군자론

Ⅲ. 군자지도의 실천으로서의 손·익괘

Ⅳ. 결론

키워드

the Book of Changes a Man of Virtue Loss Gain