Dasan Jeong Yak-yong’s ‘sang(象)’: Focusing on Linguistic Perception and Interpretational Structure of the Book of Songs

The purpose of this study was to examine Dasan’s perception of ‘sang(象)’ reflected in Dasan’s discussion on Chinese character, Classical Chinese interpretation, language conversion, etc., and based on this, was to identify Dasan’s perception of ‘sang’ reflected in his interpretation on the Book of Songs in a more three- dimensional way. Looking at the composition of the interpretational structure of Confucian Classics, the meaning of ‘sang’ appearing in Dasan’s interpretation of the Book of Songs and the Book of Change has several characteristics. First, Dasan’s thinking through the ‘sang’ corresponds to the part that can effectively confirm his imaginal thinking. Second, Dasan’s ‘sang’ as an interpretational structure of Confucian Classics can be regarded as one of the organic interpretational structures that penetrates the interpretation of Chinese Character and exegesis. Third, Dasan’s ‘sang’ as an interpretational structure of Confucian Classics contains both the strictness of the ancient texts pursued in the interpretation of Chinese Character and exegesis and the ‘tasty’ sensibility of the appreciation embodied by the ‘sang’. Among them, the ‘Sing things to compare things(詠物喩事)’ in the Book of Change closely intersects with the part mentioned as Bixing(比興) in the Book of Songs. Fourth, one of Dasan’s perspectives on Bixing, which Xing taken in the Book of Songs often simultaneously contains plural meanings(詩之取興多有兼含數意), can be understood in connection with the one-to-many correspondence in his perception of ‘sang’ in the Book of Change. From the above features, we can confirm that Dasan’s perception of ‘sang’ as an interpretational structure of the Book of Songs reflects Dasan’s unique aspect of thinking, that is to say, it is linked to his perception of ‘sang’ in the Book of Change, at the same time combining his analysis on Chinese Character analysis, understanding on exegesis, and perception on language conversion(translation).