A Study on Grievance-resolution for Women in Daesoon Thought: Focusing on Choi Song-sul-dang, a Female Writer from the Early 20th Century

Abstract

This study is a novel attempt at a fusion of female-authored Chinese poetry and Daesoon Thought. Notably, this has style of fusion has never been attempted in classical literature studies or in studies on Daesoon Thought. This study will also clarify the the key concept of grievance-resolution ( 解冤 haewon) in Daesoon Jinrihoe through comparison with classical works. Choi Song-seoldang’s poetry that was composed in the early 20th century, contemporaneous the emergence of Daesoon Thought, is analyzed here via the concepts of ‘tranquility ( 平 pyeong)’ and ‘harmony ( 和 hwa)’ under the framework of grievance-resolution for women. An effort is made to find a point of progression towards familial harmony ( 家和 gahwa) and Mutual Beneficence ( 相生 sangsaeng). Resentment ( 恨 han) the perspective of a woman was expressed in her works such as Wang So-gun’s Resentment ( 昭君 怨 sogunwon), Self-Report ( 自述 Jasul), and An Original Rhyme of Song Seol-dang ( 松雪堂原韻 Song Seol-dang Won-un). Works such as Wishes on the First Day of New Year ( 元朝祝 wonjochuk) and A Spontaneous Poem ( 偶吟 Ueum) expressed the contents of wishing for familial peace. In the process of trying to resolve the grievances ( 冤 won) of her family, Song Seol-dang faced limitations, and felt resentment ( 恨 han) for her inability to become a man. She strived her whole life to embody ‘tranquility’ and ‘harmony’ as both are crucial components of achieving familial harmony. This thesis has an important significance in terms of academic expansion via the convergence of literature and ideas. In terms of Daesoon Thought, it is meaningful to examine concepts and literature within a context of fusion because this goes beyond research that focuses only on theory or ideology. It is also meaningful to confirm aspects of Daesoon Thought through the life and culture of the still traditional early modern era and to reveal how it still has the present-day significance that transcends time.