해창 송기식의 유교개혁론에 대한 소고

Abstract

Song Gisik(1878-1948) was one of the representative Confucians, who lived in the Late Chosun dynasty and Japanese Colonial Period, and he developed the Confucian reform theory in his book, Theories on Confucian Revitalizing Reform(1921).The concept of religion was considered to have a special power to enhance the political capacity of the state and to solidify its cultural cohesion, and it had become an important background for Song Gisik to establish Confucian reform theory of his own. Song Gisik considered Confucianism to belong to the category of religion, and further understood it as the most prominent religion of all religions. He asserted that Confucianism essentially consists of religious, philosophical, and modern scientific knowledge.His ultimate goal through the Confucian revitalizing reform was the Great Harmony(大同, Datong), the ideal of Confucianism, which Kang Youwei reinterpretated and gave a new context of meaning.Song Gisik thought that Confucius was the founder and also the highest priest of Confucianism. Furthermore, he firmly believed that Great Harmonious World(大同世界) would soon be achieved in the future, because he thought Confucius himself had predicted that it would come.