18세기 玄風 道東書院 院位田 경영의 ‘中正’한 가치추구

How Literary Academies (書院) Applied Confucian Ideas to Management and Administration During the 18th Century Choson Dynasty -A Case Study on Dodong Seowon(道東書院)-

글은 조선시대 서원에서 지양했던 학문의 가치가 서원 경영에도 적용되었을 가능성을 검토하는데 목적이 있다. 이를 위해 도동서원의 강학공간인 ‘中正堂’이 핵심가치를 담고 있다고 보고, ‘中正’의 의미를 추적했다. ‘중정’의 근거는 『중용』에서 확인되며, 그 함의는 경영에 있어서의 적시성과 정확성으로 가정했다. ‘중정’의 가치는 서원경영의 핵심인 院位田의 경영 사례 분석에 적용되었다. 이를 위해 『잡물전장기』와 『전답수정기』에 대한 문헌적 분석은 물론 원위전에 대한 경영 원리를 추적했다. 18세기에 형성된 이들 자료에는 중정의 원리인 적시성과 정확성을 견지하고자 한 노력이 반영되어 있다. 도동서원은 창건당시 鄭逑에 의해 제시된 ‘중정’의 가치를 학문적 영역뿐만 아니라 원위전의 사례에서와 같이 제때에 정확하게 자산을 관리하는 경영 지침으로도 적용했다.

This article examines what aspects of Confucianism had an impact on the governance of literary academies as well as scholarly studies. Dodong Literary Academy, also known as Dodong Seowon or Dodong Private Academy, was established in 1607 and its name board bestowed by the Choson government. The main lecture hall is called ‘Chung Jung Hall (中正堂)’, which represents the academy’s goal. The Chinese characters ‘Chung Jung (中正)’ were selected from the Doctrine of the Mean (中庸) by Jeonggu (鄭逑), who planned and designed the academy. The values and meanings of these characters refer to situational and accurate governance, which were adapted from the academy’s scholarly goals. By the 18th century, literary academies were on the verge of demolition and disposal by the government, as too many academies were established and were keen to obtain financial support from the political powers. Against this background, the administrative members of Dodong Seowon (道東書院) endeavoured to sustain and stabilise their management by adopting the concepts and values of ‘Chung Jung’. They took over its miscellaneous affairs, including its land records, and figured out its exact land information in consideration of this changing situation. The two main historic documents analysed in this case study are Miscellaneous Things Taking Over Documents of Dodong Seowon (道東書院雜物傳掌記) and The Land Registry Modification Book of Dodong Seowon (道東書院田畓修正記). These documents reveal how the administrative members of Dodong Seowon applied Confucian ideas to scholarship and management. The case of Dodong Seowon suggests a possibility to explore other potential examples.