南塘 韓元震의 深衣幅巾像

Abstract

韓元震(1682-1751)은 本貫이 淸州, 字가 德昭, 號가 南塘으로 漢陽의 於義洞 外家에서 태어났다. 그러나 8세부터 祖父를 따라 충청도의 結成(現 洪城)으로 내려가 南塘理 와 暘谷理 에 거주한 채 성리학 연구에 전념하며 당대의 지식인에게 주어진 역사적 과제를 해결하기 위한 철학적 기초를 확립하는 일에 평생을 바쳤다. 특히 독학으로 經學에 몰두하다가 21세 되던 1702년에 栗谷 李珥(1536-1584)와 沙溪 金長生(1548-1631), 尤庵 宋時烈(1607-1689)로 이어진 畿湖 性理學의 嫡傳이 바로 遂菴 權尙夏(1641-1721)에 있음을 알고는 黃 江 의 寒水齊로 찾아가 강론을 들은 뒤 정식 제자가 됨으로써 기호성리학의 嫡傳을 이은 湖學의 宗匠이 되었다.

Namdang Han Wonjin is the savant of Hohak (the school of Chungcheong-do Province) which genuinely inherited Noo-Confucianism of Giho (Chungcheong-do Province), the leader of the in-law government of the late Joseon period Han emphasized Hua-Yi distinction (Sino-barbarian dichotomy) and Cheoksa (the theory of rejecting heterodoxy) in particular. His ideology spreaded throughout Hongju culture area (South Western Chungcheong-do Province), and it had a great influence on the development of the Wijung Cheoksa (defending orthodoxy and rejecting heterodoxy) movement and the emergence of the righteous armies, or Uibyeong since the late 19th century, when the imperialist pillage moved into high gear with the western powers occupying Asia and forcing to open ports. As Han's works on Neo-Confucianism affected the late Joseon period, Han's portrait is also noteworthy in that it delineates how Sim-ui Bok-geon (attired in formal Confucian dress, with a top for exalted personage and a fmmal bandana) portrait - 1he most beloved form of Yuhyeon (eminent Confuscian scholar) portraits, including those of Song Siyeol and Gwon Sangha – was inhetited and proliferated since Neo-Confucianism became indigenous in the late Joseon era