蛇梁鎭倭變과 退溪 李滉의 和親論

초록

T`oegye Yi Hwang, like other bureaucrats and intellectuals in the Early Chŏsun Dynasty, regarded Japanese, especially Waein[倭人] who occasionally invaded and plundered the southern region of Chŏsun, as inferior beings. He also denounced their assault on Saryang, a southern costal town in Chŏsun, as a brutal act. However, he insisted that Chŏsun government should accept their request for the restoration of friendly relationship between Chŏsun and Daemado, because he thought if their demand were not accepted by Chŏsun government, Waein in the Daemado would invade his country. This means that T`oegye advocated the restoration of peace and amity between Chŏsun and Daemado in view point of practical interests. A judgement based on interests usually conflicts with moral values of Neo-Confucianism. So he also tried to solve this problem by justifying his own assertion on the basis of Confucian values. The gist of what he said is as follows. Firstly, The safety of the people is more important than anything else in policy making. Wars threaten the safety and life of the people, therefore we should keep the peace of the world. Secondly, even though they are wild and inferior beings like beasts, all the peoples have their own manners and customs. So we must not enforce our manners upon Waein. Thirdly, the way a sage king runs the world is broad and tolerant. Accordingly, we should forgive Waein regretting their mistake and accept their request.

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