| Shirak(Practical
Learning)
The large scale Japanese invasion of l592 and
the subsequent Ching raid in 1636 caused great social confusion
in the late Choson Dynasty, creating economic hardships for
the people. Neo-Confucianism, submerged as it was in debates
on theory and justice, did not have the capacity to solve these
problems. Thus, in response the demands of the period, a new
form of scholarship-Shirak or Practical Learning - appeared.
Exposed to the new learning of the west, Ching
(China) had developed a brand of positivistic and empirically
based scholarship. Influenced by this, Choson scholarship produced
a new trend of investigation which sought truth from concrete
reality. This we today call Shirak.
Shirak scholars endeavored to research practical
matters, dispel poverty, and reaffirm social order.
They also proposed to improve the livelihood
of farmers by reforming the land and tax systems while constructing
a strong and wealthy nation by stimulating commerce and manufacturing
as well as improving technology. Moreover, in order to preserve
our nation's self-reliance they strived to properly understand
the nation through research of the nation's history and geography
as well as the drawing of maps.
One representative scholar. Chong Yak-yong (pen-name
: Tasan) in contrast to the Neo-Confucianists, believed that
human nature is fundamentally good [n. b. this sentence is historically
inaccurate. Neo-Confucians such as Chu-t'zu believed in the
goodness of humanity's primal nature !]. He placed more emphasis
on the will to practice and act. |
