일제강점기 조선시대불교사 연구의 동향과 성격

Abstract

Under the Japanese Colonial Rule, our study on Korean Buddhism history became to embark with the advent of Korea Study Movement(國學運動) in order to overcome the dismal situation of colonialization. Futhermore in the transition from the Chosun Dynasty(1392-1910) to the modernization period of Korea, the restoration of study on Korea buddhist history was result in korean intellectual's lamentation in those days, because it had no general books which dealt with systematically a historical course of korea buddhism, including the introduction of buddhism in korea and modern korea buddhism. Although we might trace into historical pieces of the past Korea buddhism, it was not proved that our buddhism can restore the its identity or its pride. Above all, research on buddhist history in Chosun Dynasty under Japanese rule had no outstanding ideology and prominent figures in Korea buddhist circle, unlike the early Buddhist times and the Goryeo period (918-1392). But intelligential persons in those days sought to find legacy of our Buddhist history and tried to not only systematize but also restore our Buddhism. Although Buddhist history in Chosun dynasty might be dark history in comparison with previous periods, it can be described as a suppressed period or a period of alienation just as it was. On the one hand Such scholars as Dacahashi Tooru(高橋亨) had described Chosun Buddhism as a humble history, and on the other hand, he theorized that Japanese buddhism and The Temple Ordinance(寺刹令) brought into the rise of Korea buddhism. But Buddhist history of Chosun inspired Korea people to take pride on the basis of historical facts. For example, it lauded Seosan Daesa(西山大師) and Samyeongdang(泗溟大師)'s patriotic feeling to overcome national crisis. Through their spirit, Chosun Buddhism prepared Korea people their spiritual armament of "independent spirit" under the Japanese rule. In those days, even Japanese scholars did not only study the Buddhism Scripture Translation, which published during the kings Sejung(世宗)'s and SeJo(宣祖)'s rule, but also had intended to seek cultural history's value of Chosun buddhism.