栗谷 李珥의 貢物ㆍ進上 개혁안의 영향과 한계 (Yi I's Reform Idea of the Tribute Tax System —It's Influence and Limitation in Choson Korea—)

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 한국사연구회
· 수록지 정보 : 한국사연구 / 144호 / 165 ~ 199페이지
· 저자명 : 이정철

초록

Yi I (1536~1584) is known as one of the most influential scholar-officials of the Chosŏn dynasty (1392~1910). The central government witnessed a series of reform programs proposed by Yi in his middle age, but it was in his twenties that he distinguished himself as a scholar. This feature of his 'balanced' career was also well recognized in the intellectual circles of his time and the following Chosŏn period as well. Interestingly enough, however, the vast majority of existing studies on Yi highlight his philosophical thought and overlook the importance of his life as a indefatigable reformer. They also tend not to deal with his idea and thought within the historical context of the 500-year dynasty. It is to be regretted that almost all existing studies have approached Yi without the serious consideration of the following questions: What did he want to change and how? Out of his reform proposals, what was eventually accepted later, and what were not? In the course of the adoption of his ideas by later generations, were his proposals revised or not, and if done, to what extent, and why? This paper is designed to provide answers to these questions.
Yi was not successful as a reform-minded official. His programs were not accepted even though none of them was radical. None of his proposals went beyond the boundary of classic Confucian statecraft. He found all of his solutions from the traditional way of statecraft to which his contemporaries were also familiar very well. His reform ideas and programs were indeed based on his insightful knowledge in Confucian statecraft as a scholar as well as his personal experiences as a high-ranking official. For this reason, once his diagnosis and solutions were proved to be accurate and effective, they were often discussed in the royal court generation to generation. With respect to a variety of tribute taxes, in particular, the majority of the reform proposals drawn up were no more than the duplicates of Yi's. Although his original plan was somewhat revised, therefore, the Uniform Land Tax Law (Taedong Law in Korean), which converted the tribute tax collected on a household basis to a land surtax on a landholding basis, was an aggregate product of Yi's original idea, efforts of later-generation officials who admitted of the effective value of his idea, and long-term court debates on this issue.
No thought and policy are free from the situation in which they first took shape and were employed. They evolve step by step through debate, adjustment, and trial and error. Yi's reform idea of the tribute tax system was also the case.

영어초록

Yi I (1536~1584) is known as one of the most influential scholar-officials of the Chosŏn dynasty (1392~1910). The central government witnessed a series of reform programs proposed by Yi in his middle age, but it was in his twenties that he distinguished himself as a scholar. This feature of his 'balanced' career was also well recognized in the intellectual circles of his time and the following Chosŏn period as well. Interestingly enough, however, the vast majority of existing studies on Yi highlight his philosophical thought and overlook the importance of his life as a indefatigable reformer. They also tend not to deal with his idea and thought within the historical context of the 500-year dynasty. It is to be regretted that almost all existing studies have approached Yi without the serious consideration of the following questions: What did he want to change and how? Out of his reform proposals, what was eventually accepted later, and what were not? In the course of the adoption of his ideas by later generations, were his proposals revised or not, and if done, to what extent, and why? This paper is designed to provide answers to these questions.
Yi was not successful as a reform-minded official. His programs were not accepted even though none of them was radical. None of his proposals went beyond the boundary of classic Confucian statecraft. He found all of his solutions from the traditional way of statecraft to which his contemporaries were also familiar very well. His reform ideas and programs were indeed based on his insightful knowledge in Confucian statecraft as a scholar as well as his personal experiences as a high-ranking official. For this reason, once his diagnosis and solutions were proved to be accurate and effective, they were often discussed in the royal court generation to generation. With respect to a variety of tribute taxes, in particular, the majority of the reform proposals drawn up were no more than the duplicates of Yi's. Although his original plan was somewhat revised, therefore, the Uniform Land Tax Law (Taedong Law in Korean), which converted the tribute tax collected on a household basis to a land surtax on a landholding basis, was an aggregate product of Yi's original idea, efforts of later-generation officials who admitted of the effective value of his idea, and long-term court debates on this issue.
No thought and policy are free from the situation in which they first took shape and were employed. They evolve step by step through debate, adjustment, and trial and error. Yi's reform idea of the tribute tax system was also the case.

참고자료

· 없음