A Study on Dasan’s and Jeungsan’s Ideas on Ideal Human Beings and Society

ABSTRACT

[Objective] This study aims to demonstrate that the religious-moral practical theories of Dasan and Jeungsan, which are distinct from rationalist theories, ultimately pursue the transformation of individuals and society. [Contents] Dasan and Jeungsan shared a focus on Sangje-centered moral cultivation for individual and social transformation, but their methods differed. Dasan emphasized moral practice based on his understanding of Sangje. In in his major work, Ilpyo Yiseo, he presented a direction for social reform by reflecting a unified order system connecting Sangje, the monarch, local officials, and the people. Jeungsan argued that individuals could become sages enlightened to the Dao through cultivation, asserting that the earthly paradise in the Later World, a world of Sangsaeng(mutual beneficence), would arrive through the Reordering Works of Heaven and Earth. [Conclusions] Dasan and Jeungsan both emphasized individual and social transformation through Sangje-centered religious moral practice, aiming to realize an ideal world. However, Dasan sought reform within the existing order, while Jeungsan envisioned a new world. Their different thoughts reflect the task and critical mind of the times in historical contexts.