However, the view of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity based on earth, water, fire, and air, where the attribute of the fifth element as Heaven was maximized, and the view of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity based on Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, where the attribute of Earth (To) as land was maximized, collide head-on. Fortunately, during Matteo Ricci's time, the two views of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity maintained a cooperative relationship under the pretext of the theory of complementing Confucianism (Boryuron), but after Matteo Ricci, due to the Rites Controversy (Boryuron nonjaeng), the two views mutually rejected each other and rushed into a relationship of confrontation, eventually leading the East to face a crisis of civilization annihilation by the West, much like the Inca or Maya empires. The East could not overcome the limitations (Jeonheon) of Confucianism, and the West could not tolerate the East.
In particular, the question of whether the "Li" (理, Principle) of Taegeuk (Taiji) was a self-subsistent existence (substantia) emerged as the core issue between the two views of Heaven. In the Western formal view of Heaven, which explains change through substance, all things are created, so the "Li" of Taegeuk cannot be a self-subsistent existence; however, in the Eastern assimilative view of Heaven, which took charge of the operation of Heaven and Earth through the creation (Gaebyeok) of Heaven and Earth, the "Li" of Taegeuk is self-subsistent, so the two views of Heaven were bound to collide.
In response to Matteo Ricci's argument in The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven—which sought to clarify the Western substantialist position that "Li" (Principle) cannot subsist on its own by distinguishing whether "Li" is a self-subsistent existence (substantia) or an accidental existence (accidentia)—the Neo-Confucian scholar Sin Hudam replies in his Critique of Western Learning (Seohakbyeon) with the Eastern attributive logic that as much as Li and things (事物) are completely connected, if there is Li, there are things, and if there are things, there is Li.42)43)
The general populace, who had been favorable toward the West, also shifted to a negative stance regarding the Western view of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity after the Treaty of Beijing, when Western domination began in earnest. The East, suppressed by Western power, now required the liminality of a rite of passage and the revitalization of a new view of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity to counter Western power. Consequently, in East Asia, movements such as China's Yiguandao, the Taiping Rebellion, and the Xinhai Revolution arose, and in Japan, new religious movements like the Meiji Restoration and Tenrikyo either emerged or spread.
The place that reacted most sensitively to the collapse of the Yin-Yang and Five Elements view of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity was Korea, the most Confucianized of the three East Asian countries. Korea further developed the theory that Western Learning originated in China (Seohakjungwonron) and interpreted Western Learning from an Eastern perspective. The Korean version of Seohakjungwonron, starting from Seo Myeong-eung, passed through Jeong Yak-yong and Choe Han-gi, and then reached a critical turning point upon reaching Donghak Thought. Donghak Thought presents the harmony between the personal God of earth, water, fire, and air and the Principle-Deity (Ibeopsin) of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements through the liminality called Sicheonju (Bearing the Lord of Heaven).44)
In the case of the East, the creator of the realms of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity hides; instead, unlike the West, the realms of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity are divided by Heaven-Earth-Humanity and Yin-Yang, like in the I Ching (Book of Changes), forming an autonomous and coherent system of Spiritual Beings (Sinmyeong). Whereas in Western Learning (Seohak), other gods of the realms of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity disappear due to the monotheistic God, in Daoism, under the influence of the I Ching, the gods of the realms of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity function as an autonomous and coherent system called Yin-Yang. This connects to the Donghak thought of Johwa (Creation-Transformation), namely Muwiiwha (Spontaneous Transformation) and Cheonjigwisin (Heaven-Earth-Ghosts-Spirits).45)
After Seohakjungwonron (theory that Western Learning originated in China) was introduced to Joseon, a counterargument based on Yin-Yang and the Five Elements theory was raised against Ricci's criticism of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements. Seo Myeong-eung refutes Matteo Ricci's The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven using Shao Kangjie's (1011-1077) theory of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements. Meanwhile, Jeong Yak-yong (1762-1836) partially accepted Matteo Ricci's opinions and criticized Neo-Confucianism (Seongrihak), but this was in order to defend Eastern values. As such, before Donghak, the East-West debate on correlative thinking was becoming an important issue in the academic world at that time. "Donghak" (Eastern Learning) was born in the atmosphere of the times that emphasized the unique methodology of Eastern scholarship in response to "Seohak" (Western Learning).
For Easterners at that time, establishing East Asia's indigenous modernity was a matter of survival, beyond a matter of choice. The East, having realized Western power through the Opium War, sensed the danger that if it failed to establish indigenous modernity, Asia could also degenerate into a state of civilization loss, like Africa or the indigenous peoples of the Americas. Furthermore, for Easterners who had lived more diligently than Westerners, the shock from the West was not only a great material threat but also approached as a spiritual threat of demoralization, seeing all their efforts come to nothing.
During the imperialist era, Easterners faced a spiritual crisis of losing not only material well-being but also their identity, leading them to either uncritically accept Western Learning (Seohak) or rely on Eastern mysticism. Establishing indigenous modernity based on correlative thinking, the Eastern form of rationality, was increasingly becoming a core issue for East Asia's survival. Donghak was founded bearing a heavy task. Once the Donghak concept, based on the correlative thinking of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, was established, concepts such as 'Mugeukdaedo' (Great Dao of the Non-polar), 'Cheonjigwisin' (Heaven-Earth-Ghosts-Spirits), 'Sangwongap' (First Cycle of Sixty), and 'Dasi Gaebyeok' (Re-Creation) were newly established.
Mutual Antagonism of Views of Heaven
As the views of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity based on Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, and those based on earth, water, fire, and air collided, the mutual conflict (Sanggeukhwa) of the view of Heaven intensified. The two thought systems, Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, and earth, water, fire, and air, not only share similar ideal views of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity, but their patterns of mutual conflict (Sanggeukhwa) are also similar. In the worldview of earth, water, fire, and air, the ideal world falls into mutual conflict (Sanggeukhwa) as the three calamities (Samjae) of water, fire, and wind due to human sin; in the worldview of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, it falls into mutual conflict as the disorder of Yin and Yang (Eumyangnanjap) due to an incomplete world structure. Due to the East-West exchange that unfolded after Matteo Ricci, the mutual conflict (Sanggeukhwa) of the view of Heaven, denying God for different reasons, proceeds in both the East and the West.
The confusion in the East-West relationship between gods and humans that unfolded after Matteo Ricci began in the area of the theory of the soul's immortality after death.46) After Matteo Ricci, in the East, the Li-Qi theory (Igi-ron), which held that the soul also disappears as Qi dissipates after four generations (代), was doubted; and in the West, the idea that the world of God consists of one absolute God and a few angels was doubted. After Matteo Ricci, in the East, Yin-Yang and the Five Elements and the Cheonjisinmyeong (Spirits of Heaven and Earth) were denied, and in the West, an atheistic worldview, composed of numerous principle-deities (Ibeopsin) or mechanisms like in the East, was formed.47)
The difference in the modes of thinking between the East and the West is revealed in detail in Matteo Ricci's The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven and the debates surrounding it. By today's standards, the worldview of earth, water, fire, and air seems more similar to the view of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity based on Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, which Matteo Ricci criticized, than to the modern mechanistic view of science; however, as François Jullien pointed out, in its emphasis on substance in explaining change, the worldview of earth, water, fire, and air was closer to the modern mechanistic view of science.48) In fact, Ricci, despite the common attribute of the Eastern Yin-Yang and Five Elements view of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity being a science of correlative thinking, criticizes the Eastern Yin-Yang and Five Elements view of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity as an unscientific explanation because it explains change through attributes instead of substance.49)
As seen in the Rites Controversy (Boryuron nonjaeng), Catholicism rejected the Eastern worldview transmitted by Matteo Ricci, but secular society, on the contrary, welcomed it. Starting with Descartes, represented by "Cogito ergo sum," the West bleached its existing view of God and proceeded to construct a mechanistic worldview without God (神).50) On the other hand, in morality, theories emphasizing the Gospel over the Law (Yulbeop) expand. In other words, Calvin's predestination theory changes into empathy (Gonggam) in a society without God.51) Modernity converges into a new liminality. From a human perspective, this change in the view of God had been interpreted as a positive change, but today, with the problems of modernity maximized, it has become an occasion for reflection and a motive for seeking a new, alternative modernity.
In the mutually conflicting (Sanggeukhwa) Heaven-human relationship of "God is high, man is low" (Sinjoninbi), humans become beings who must leave the realms of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity through liberation (Haetal), renunciation (Talsok), or death to escape the suffering of birth, aging, sickness, and death. In the mutually conflicting view of Heaven, the Sinmyeong (Spiritual Beings) are also bound, each taking charge of their own boundary, becoming existences trapped within their own fields and domains in a state of misfortune/blockage (Bigeop). Humans, consequently, under the influence of their respective earth energies, give rise to different civilizations and conflict with one another. Furthermore, in the mutually conflicting Heaven, due to the disharmony of rain and dew (Uro), humans come to live in the suffering of the three calamities (Samjae) of water, fire, and wind. Mutual conflict (Sanggeuk) begets mutual conflict, and it becomes today's reality that Heaven-and-Earth and humanity fall into tragic confusion (Changnan) and transition to a state of annihilation (Jinmyeoljigyeong).
Liminality in the Siecheonju (侍天主) View of Heaven in Donghak Thought
The Siecheonju (侍天主) View of Heaven in Donghak Thought
When Neo-Confucianism's Principle-Heaven (Ibeopcheon) reached a stage where it could not solve the problems of the new era in East Asia, especially in Joseon society, Donghak presented a solution with a new view of Heaven: the Heaven above Heaven (Cheonoecheon), namely, the Heaven of the Non-polar (Mugeuk). Donghak seeks to embrace the learning of Seohak (Western Learning) within its view of Heaven. This is similar to how the Western invasion by the Mongols and Islam became the background for Western modernity. The new view of Heaven presented by Donghak, unlike Neo-Confucianism's Principle-Heaven, was direct communication with the Heaven above Heaven, namely, Cheonoecheon (天外天). The Cheon (Heaven) of Sicheonju (Bearing the Lord of Heaven) is the concept of Heaven as Cheonoecheon.
Donghak Thought emphasizes the concept of Cheonoecheon, which had not been highlighted in the existing views of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity, thereby promoting the indigenous modernity of the view of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity. In the theory of multiple modernities, modernity arises from encompassment (Tongseop) and liminality, which, as in Donghak Thought, reactivates the parts alienated in the existing view of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity, changing the hierarchy of the sacred and secular (Seong-Sok) to transition so that the secular can accommodate the sacred. Donghak Thought pursues a rearrangement of the sacred-secular hierarchy, experiencing the sacred in everyday secular life through direct communication with Cheonoecheon, and attempts liminality to solve existing, overlapping problems through "guarding the mind and rectifying the Qi" (Susimjeonggi).
Suun (Choe Je-u) expresses the direct communication with the 'Heaven above Heaven', which is different from the 'Heaven' of existing Neo-Confucianism, as Sicheonju (Bearing the Lord of Heaven). Suun invests all his capabilities throughout his life for direct communication with the 'Heaven above Heaven'. Suun, who had striven for nearly 40 long years, finally arrives at the 'Heavenly Master's Questions and Answers' (Cheonsamundap) in the Gyeongsin year (1860). The Donghak view of Heaven is established through the Cheonsamundap, the encounter with Sangje (the Supreme Ruler). It is said that Suun received the first revelation from Sangje on the 5th day of the 4th lunar month in 1860 (Gyeongsin year).52)
不意四月 心寒身戰 疾不得執症 言不得難狀之際 有何仙語 忽入耳中 驚起探問則 曰勿懼勿恐 世人 謂我上帝 汝不知上帝耶 問其所然 曰余亦無功故 生汝世間 敎人此法 勿疑勿疑 曰然則 西道以敎人乎 曰不然 吾有靈符 其名 仙藥 其形 太極 又形 弓弓 受我此符 濟人疾病 受我呪文 敎人爲我則 汝亦長生 布德天下矣
Unexpectedly in April, when my heart grew cold and my body trembled, so much so that I could not diagnose what illness it was nor describe it in words, there was some immortal's saying that suddenly entered my ear; startled, I inquired about it, and he replied, "Do not fear, do not be afraid. "The people of the world call me Sangje (上帝, the Supreme Ruler). Do you not know Sangje?" I asked the reason, and it said, "I also have no achievement, therefore I have brought you forth into this world to teach people this law. Do not doubt, do not doubt." I asked, "Then, shall I teach people with the Western Dao (Seodo)?" It replied, "No. I have a spirit talisman (Yeongbu); its name is elixir (Seonyak), its shape is the Great Ultimate (Taegeuk), and its shape is also Gunggung (弓弓, Bow-Bow). Receive this talisman from me and save people from disease; receive my incantation (Jumun) and teach people for my sake, then you too shall live long and spread virtue throughout the world."53)
Suun's Heavenly Master's Questions and Answers (Cheonsamundap) continued for about six months, and after pondering for about a year, Suun expressed this in detail in the Yongdam Yusa (Songs of Yongdam) and the Donggyeong Daejeon (Great Scripture of Eastern Learning). That is why Yi Don-hwa divides Suun's practice into the Heavenly Master's Questions and Answers period and the internal strengthening period. However, it is said that the Dowon Giseo (Record of the Origin of the Way), written after the Yongdam Yusa and Donggyeong Daejeon, contains passages describing Suun communicating with Sangje (the Supreme Ruler) multiple times thereafter, right up until his arrest.54)
It is said that the most characteristic feature of Donghak Thought in the history of modern religion, and furthermore in the religious history of all times and places, is that the founder's religious experience is expressed in great detail and over a long period. It is said that Islam is almost the only religion, like Donghak Thought, that begins with the founder's religious experience, while other religions, like Buddhism, begin with the founder's ascetic experiences, and thus records of the religious experience do not appear. Also, in Islam, the experience is expressed very briefly. The fact that Donghak Thought gained many supporters in a short period in Korean society, which was a deeply-rooted Confucian society, is largely because these detailed Heavenly Master's Questions and Answers inspired trust.55)
Donghak was established in the process of Suun interpreting the dialogues that took place during the six-month period of the Heavenly Master's Questions and Answers. In the "Nonhangmun" (On Learning), Suun first emphasizes the distinction from Western Learning (Seohak) as the epistemological background of Donghak. Suun proclaims that the Sangje he met is the Heaven above Heaven, integrating the heavens of East and West, and particularly insists that this Heaven is superior to the Heaven of Western Learning. Suun defines this based on the nature of "Learning" (Hak, 學). As seen in the title "On Learning," among all the world's civilizations that resisted Western imperialism, only Korea's Donghak uniquely took the epistemological theme of "learning" (Hakmun) as its main subject. The claim regarding the East—that the difference between East and West lies in the fundamental aspect of cognitive structure—first appears in Donghak's "Nonhangmun."
In the Donggyeong Daejeon's "Nonhangmun," Suun mentions that the West is analytical, changes its words according to the situation, and seems to believe in God but does not, thus ultimately falling into nihilism. First, Suun clarifies the difference between Donghak and Seohak with the words "Un jeuk il, Do jeuk dong, I jeuk bi" (運則一 道則同 理則非; "The fate (Un) is one, the Way (Do) is the same, but the principle (I) is not").
日與西道 無異者乎
Question: Is it no different from the Western Dao?
日洋學 如斯而有異 如呪而無實 然而運則一也 道則同也 理則非也
Answer: Western Learning (Yanghak) is similar to this but different; it seems like praying, but there is no substance.
However, the fortune (Unsu) is one, and the Way (Do) is the same, but the principle (Ichi) is different.56)
In the excerpt above, Suun is said to state that Eastern and Western learning have the same goal but are methodologically different. Bae Young-soon has summarized previous research on this topic. Bae Young-soon explains the differences in detail, stating that existing preceding studies did not clearly elucidate the differences among Un (運, Fate/Fortune), Do (道, Way), and I (理, Principle) as spoken of in Donghak. Bae Young-soon analyzes Sicheonju (Bearing the Lord of Heaven) through the correlative thinking of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity (Cheon-Ji-In), suggesting that in the phrase "Sicheonju Johwajeong Yeongsebulmangmansaji" (Bearing the Lord of Heaven, the Creation-Transformation is set; Eternally not forgetting, all things are known), 'Sicheonju' corresponds to Heaven (天), 'Johwajeong' to Earth (地), and 'Yeongsebulmangmansaji' to Humanity (人).
Bae Young-soon then applies Sicheonju to Un (Fate), Do (Way), and I (Principle), assigning Do (道) as 'Sicheonju' (侍天主), Un (運) as 'Johwajeong' (造化定), and I (理) as 'Yeongsebulmangmansaji' (永世不忘萬事知). Ultimately, it is said that the difference between Donghak and Seohak is that while Heaven and Earth are the same and one, the difference lies in the human principle (Ichi) of bearing the Lord of Heaven (Cheonju). Bae Young-soon is said to state that in Donghak, the Heaven (Do) of spring, summer, autumn, and winter is the same for both East and West, but the lands (運) of the East and West differ according to their Ki (energy/fortune).57)
The difference in principle (Ichi) between Donghak and Seohak is explained in Donghak as follows.
曰何爲其然也 曰吾道無爲而化矣 守其心正其氣 率其性受其敎 化出於自然之中也 西人 言無次第 書無皂白而 頓無爲天主之端 只祝自爲身之謀 身無氣化之神 學無天主之敎 有形無迹 如思無呪 道近虛無 學非天主 豈可謂無異者乎
"Why is it so?" "The Way (Do) I receive naturally enlightens the world according to the will of Haneullim (Lord of Heaven)." If each person guards their original mind, rectifies their Qi, and follows their innate nature (Cheonseong), thereby receiving the teaching of Haneullim, enlightenment will naturally be achieved. In contrast, Western people who believe in Western Learning (Seohak) have no proper order in their words and no clear logic in their writings. And they have no substance of serving Haneullim at all, but only pray for means for their own profit. Therefore, there is no wondrous state of the body uniting with spiritual energy (Yeonggi) and no true teaching of Haneullim; there is only form and no substance. It seems like they think of Haneullim, but they do not truly serve Haneullim. Thus, their Way (Do) is almost empty of content, and their religion does not serve Haneullim. How can one say there is no difference?58)
The above excerpt is considered the most difficult part of the Donggyeong Daejeon, and it is said the reason is that the target of criticism in the excerpt was mainly understood as Catholicism or Catholics; it is said that if the target of criticism in the excerpt is viewed as Westerners in general and Western learning as a whole, it becomes understandable.59)
In the excerpt above, Bae Young-soon is said to state that the decisive difference between Donghak and Seohak pointed out by Donghak is the "spirit of Qi-transformation" (Gihwajisin). Here, Gihwa (氣化, Qi-transformation) means the condensation of Heaven's Qi (energy) in the body. It means that Western Learning (Seohak) only prays to the Lord of Heaven (Cheonju) but lacks the incantations (Jumun) to spontaneously achieve Gihwa and lacks the training of "guarding the mind and rectifying the Qi" (Susimjeonggi). Just as Suun criticized the strict vertical division between priests and laypeople in Western Learning, he criticizes Western Learning here with the same logic for its lack of Gihwa.
It is said that what Suun actually took most pride in regarding the founding of Donghak was Susimjeonggi (guarding the mind and rectifying the Qi), and he spoke of this not only in relation to Western Learning but also in relation to Confucianism (Yuhak).60) Suun's view that the difference between Donghak and Seohak lies in the presence or absence of a training method was a penetrating insight into Eastern and Western learning. The renowned transpersonal psychologist Ken Wilber (1949- ), who is said to have integrated Eastern and Western spirituality, has also pointed out that the greatest weakness of Western thought is the lack of a cultivation theory (Suryangnon), even in systematic philosophies like German Idealism.61) Ken Wilber is said to state that the most urgent problem in modern thought is to redirect the Western epistemological approach to a cultivation-based (Suryangnon) approach.62)
The appearance of Sangje (the Supreme Ruler) in Donghak Thought was, from the standpoint of orthodox Neo-Confucianism (Seongrihak), an unusual and heretical phenomenon, belonging to the category of "extraordinary phenomena, feats of strength, disorders, and spirits" (Goeryeoknansin). Suun's Heavenly Master's Questions and Answers seemed even more unusual because Suun's lineage belonged to the orthodox line of Korean Neo-Confucianism. Although Suun's birth as the child of a remarried woman (Jaeganyeo), lower than an illegitimate son (Seoeol), was unfortunate, the scholarly lineage of his father, Geunam Choe Ok (近菴 崔鋈, 1762-1840), belonged to the orthodox line among the master-disciple lineages of Toegye Yi Hwang (李滉, 1501-1570). The appearance of Sangje was an unusual situation not only for Confucian scholars but also for the common people, yet surprisingly, Suun's Heavenly Master's Questions and Answers, in which he conversed with Sangje, was recognized regardless of social class. Donghak Thought overcomes this, supported by the many traditions of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism (Yubulseon).
Regarding the background of the wide acceptance of Suun's Heavenly Master's Questions and Answers, recent research points to the influence of Chinese Daoism, which was newly flowing in at the time of Donghak's emergence. In particular, the influence of Nandan Daoism (鸞壇道敎, Phoenix Altar Daoism) in the late Joseon period has been highlighted. This is attributed to the less-known transmission of Chinese Daoism today; it is said that due to the chaos of the Qing dynasty, many Qing Daoist masters entered Joseon, and at that time, the first Daoist group called "Musangdan" (無相壇, Formless Altar) was formed in Joseon. Even King Gojong went so far as to publish Daoist scriptures as a national project. It is said that the background allowing Suun's Heavenly Master's Questions and Answers to be recognized as questions and answers with Sangje included the changing atmosphere of Joseon society at that time, due to the transmission of Nandan Daoism.63)
The influence of Daoism on the establishment of Donghak also appears in the incantation training (Jumunsuryeon) and the Donghak Gasa (Songs of Donghak). It is said that Donghak could be accepted in a Confucian society due to the influence of Daoism, which was flowing in. Donghak Thought included Daoism, which encapsulated the traditional civilization of East Asia at that time. The "Donghak Gasa" can also be interpreted as "Gangpil" (spirit-writing) resulting from contact with Sinmyeong (Spiritual Beings). It is said that Jeungsan (Kang Il-sun) also revealed the three essences of East Asian intellect—namely, the three Ki (energies): the knowledge of Shao Kangjie (Gangjeol), the poetry of Li Bai (Yi Taebaek) and Du Fu (Dubo), and the eloquence of Su Qin (Sojin) and Zhang Yi (Jangui).64) In fact, Suun is later appointed by Jeungsan as the Jongjang (Patriarch) of the Later World's (Hucheon) Seondo (Way of Immortals), which is related to Daoism.65) This indicates that Donghak inherited the essence of Daoism. Jeungsan expressed this as Potae (Conception, 胞胎) in terms of the 12 Phases of Qi (Unseong), which is the function of Heaven and Earth (天地之用), and in concrete form, as "Johwa" (Creation-Transformation).66)
In Eastern thought, the view of Heaven (Cheongwan) is related to the method of cultivation (Suryeon). In the method of cultivation, the view of Heaven has a concentrated aspect. The biggest characteristic of Donghak cultivation was incantation training (Jumunsuryeon). Even from the standpoint of orthodox Neo-Confucianism, this was exceptionally accepted. Incantations (Jumun) were also partially adopted in Confucianism, as in the case of the 'Jeongyeok' (Correct Change) in Yeonggamudo (Chanting and Dancing) or the case of Sijo (Korean classical poem) recitation. "Incantations" (Jumun), while already widely used in Buddhism as Yeombul (chanting), were exceptional in the mainstream Confucian society of Joseon, but this very exceptionality caused Donghak to spread even more widely.67) In the case of incantation training, although it was a universal cultivation method of all times and places, also used in modern Western spiritual training, in Korea's case, it was first introduced into the self-cultivation of the general public by Donghak and was later widely used in new religions.68)
Confucianism also played a large role in the establishment of Donghak. Donghak is actually evaluated by Jeungsan as not having overcome the limitations (Jeonheon) of Confucianism. First, Donghak emphasizes the role of Ki (氣), which is also emphasized in Neo-Confucianism, as seen in the content of the representative incantation Sicheonju's case, "Jigigeumjiwonwidaegang" (至氣今至願爲大降; May the Ultimate Ki descend greatly now).69) Like "Dogijangjonsaburip" (道氣長存邪不入; When the Ki of the Dao is preserved long, evil cannot enter), Donghak was in a position to emphasize "Ki" (氣) more than "I" (理, Principle), but in that Donghak rarely contains content about Daoist Sinmyeong (Spiritual Beings) except for Sangje (the Supreme Ruler), it does not significantly deviate from the "Ki" at the Confucian level.70)
Suun's view of Sangje, which does not emphasize Daoist Sinmyeong, also does not largely deviate from the influence of the Confucian view of Heaven. Ahn Yoo-kyung is said to state that although Donghak emphasizes "Ki," the background of Donghak's establishment shows a connection extending from the establishment of "I" (理, Principle) originating from Toegye (Yi Hwang) to Dasan (Jeong Yak-yong). It is said that Donghak was possible in Korea largely due to Toegye's influence.71)
Overall, in Suun's understanding of Donghak, theoretical aspects such as the view of Sangje remain within the limitations (Jeonheon) of Confucianism, while in metaphysical (Hyeongiihakjeogin, below-form) aspects such as occult arts (Sulsu), Daoism was actively accepted. In fact, it is said that the power of "occult arts" (Sulsu) was also a significant factor in Donghak becoming widely known to the general public. Even in the Donghak Peasant Movement, one of the great strengths that allowed the movement to persist was the belief in occult arts.72)
That Donghak was, on the metaphysical level, within the Confucian canon, while on the physical level it was adept at the occult arts of Daoism, in fact served to reinforce Donghak's Confucian canonical character all the more. As appears in Hwang Hyeon's (黃玹, 1855-1910) Ohagimun (梧下記文), Donghak was indeed joined by people of various classes, whose purposes for joining were extremely diverse. Jeungsan highly esteemed Jeon Myeong-suk (全明淑, 1855-1895), who strove for the emancipation of the lowborn even while being a fellow Donghak participant, and he saw through the fact that many Donghak participants outwardly cried out 'supporting the nation and comforting the people' (boguk-anmin) while inwardly dreaming of becoming kings, marquises, generals, and ministers (wanghu-jangsang). Those who joined Donghak coveting such high station judged that they could fully achieve their dreams within a Donghak skilled in the occult arts. Yun Yi-heum therefore holds that to the general populace Donghak appeared as an expansion of the thought of the Jeonggamnok, and that it thereafter became a model for the new religions. 73)74)75)
The influence of Buddhism on the establishment of Donghak was indirect. The influence of Buddhism is limited to the connection that the place Suun took refuge was Eunjeogam (hermitage), and that Donghak's incantations (Jumun) are similar to Buddhist chanting (Yeombul). The Donghak Peasant Movement also began to first activate when the Jeopju (local leader) Son Hwa-jung (1861-1895) removed the book written by Yi Seo-gu (1754-1825), which was inside the stomach of the Maitreya statue at Seonunsa Temple. However, beliefs in past lives and ancestors, such as the law of karma (Inyeonbeop), were not emphasized in Donghak, so the Haewon (Resolution of Grievances) thought, like that in Daesoon Thought, did not appear in Donghak Thought either.
What greatly influenced the establishment of Donghak, besides Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism (Yubulseon), was Yin-Yang thought. Yin-Yang thought can also be included in the broad category of Daoism, but if considered separately, Donghak does not largely deviate from the Confucian Yin-Yang view, like the Heaven-Earth view appearing in the I Ching (Book of Changes) thought of Confucianism, that "Heaven and Earth are Gwisin (ghosts/spirits), and Gwisin are Heaven and Earth." Although Donghak began by emphasizing the Heaven outside of Heaven, criticizing Western Learning (Seohak) and Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism (Yubulseon) and trying to transcend them, Donghak Thought, which failed to introduce concepts like Sinmyeong (Spiritual Beings), still does not largely deviate from Confucianism. This was a somewhat different character from the Yin-Yang view of Daesoon Thought, which emphasizes Sinmyeong.
It is said that Donghak was established not only against the ideological background of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism, but also due to the influence of the fear of foreign powers and the resulting nationalist sentiment at that time, leading to the appearance of a consciousness of resistance against Western aggression during the port-opening period in the thoughts of Suun and Jeungsan.76)
I, too, was born in the East and received it in the East; so, although the Way (Do) is the Way of Heaven (Cheondo), the Learning (Hak) is Eastern Learning (Donghak).77)
Donghak expands from opposition against Japan to opposition against the West. It is said that after Donghak, the concept of "East" (Dong) changed from meaning Korea in relation to China to meaning the East (Orient) in relation to the West. However, Donghak, which began with the concept of "Hak" (Learning) as a social movement like "Seongrihak" (Neo-Confucianism), is said to have become internalized during the Japanese colonial period.78)
At the time of Donghak's establishment, the Donghak leaders' perception of the international situation was limited to the scope of China. The Donghak gasa (songs) show great hostility towards Japan, and this is also close to the Confucian convention of interpreting the world with China at the center.
Ultimately, Suun's understanding of Donghak is formed against the background of his turbulent life history, profound learning, and pure heart, as well as the influence of nationalism from the Jeonggamnok, the will to abolish the caste system, and ignorance of the international situation. This background of establishment also has a significant impact on the subsequent development of the Donghak Peasant Movement. Donghak emphasizes gi (energy/spirit) rather than i (principle/reason) compared to Daesoon Thought, and Kim Ji-ha states that compared to Donghak Thought, Daesoon Thought emphasizes daily life.
The Donghak view of Heaven emerges as a solution within the conflict between the Western view of Heaven, which emphasizes the transcendent Heaven (Cheonoecheon, Heaven beyond Heaven) and does not emphasize the immanent Heaven divided into Heaven and Earth, and the Eastern view of Heaven, which emphasizes the immanent Heaven divided into Heaven and Earth and does not emphasize the transcendent Heaven (Cheonoecheon). The indigenous modernity of Donghak's view of Heaven, in this solution, reorganizes the sacred and the secular, encompassing and transcending the views of Heaven from all times and places (East, West, past, present). Donghak's view of Heaven attempts to accommodate the strengths of Eastern Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism (Yubulseon) to the fullest, while also seeking to embrace the merits of the Western view of Heaven. This duality possessed by Donghak's view of Heaven was previously termed panentheism by Kim Kyoung-jae and others. However, the existing panentheistic view has a shortcoming in that its background of emergence has not been sufficiently revealed through its connection with modernity.79)
Modernity was a matter of science in the West, but for Easterners, it was a matter of survival—whether or not to face ethnic cleansing. Today, the issue of modernity is discussed at an academic level, but at that time, modernity involved the problem of survival. Furthermore, today modernity has expanded beyond being an Eastern problem to become a problem of human extinction. The view of Heaven in Donghak Thought, established with difficulty, is revealed in various aspects.
Aspects of Liminality in the Siecheonju (侍天主) View of Heaven
At a time when indigenous modernity was needed, Donghak first proposed the concept of 'Mugeukdaedo' (Great Dao of the Ultimate Void) as a new view of Heaven. 'Mugeukdaedo' is related to the Heaven above Heaven, that is, the primordial universe. This can be compared to how Western modernity, in the situation of East-West conflict involving the invasions of Islam and the Mongols, developed into a new view of Heaven, namely atomism. Donghak's view of Heaven, which encompasses and transcends the Eastern and Western views of Heaven through the Cheonoecheon (Heaven beyond Heaven), repeats the phylogeny (phylogenesis) manifested in the Eastern and Western views of Heaven as ontogeny (ontogenesis). This shows the indigenous modernity of liminality, which is achieved by rearranging the boundaries of the sacred and the secular.
My body trembled violently; outwardly a numinous energy made contact, and inwardly words descended as teaching. I tried to see it but could not see it, I tried to hear it but could not hear it, so my mind grew all the more strange and doubtful. Composing my mind and rectifying my energy, I asked, “Why is it so?” [He] replied, “My mind is precisely your mind [吾心卽汝心]. How could humans know this? They know Heaven and Earth but do not know the gods and spirits, yet the gods and spirits too are I. You have reached the infinite, boundless Way; cultivate and refine it, compose writings to teach people, and rectify the Law and spread virtue, and I shall cause you to live long and to shine throughout the world.” I too cultivated and pondered it for nearly a year, and found that there was nothing in it that was not a natural principle. So, on the one hand I composed an incantation, on the other a method for receiving the numinous energy [降靈, descent of the spirit], and on the other writings for not forgetting the Lord of Heaven (Cheonju); the procedure and method of the Way amounted to nothing more than the twenty-one characters [of the incantation]. 80)
The passage above is the part describing the time when Suun received the Boundless Great Dao (Mugeuk-daedo). What the 'Boundless Great Dao' is, and why Donghak can be expressed as the 'Boundless Great Dao,' appears clearly in the passage above from the Donggyeong Daejeon, “Nonhangmun.” The part expressing Donghak as the Boundless Great Dao also appears several times in the Yongdam Yusa, but the passage above is the most detailed. 81)
Mugeuk (Ultimate Void) refers to the state even before Taeguek (Supreme Ultimate), which is the state before Yin and Yang were divided, and thus it is related to the primordial universe. From the perspective of the view of Heaven, it corresponds to the Heaven beyond Heaven, the Cheonoecheon. Therefore, Mugeukdaedo signifies the Dao of the Heaven beyond Heaven, surpassing existing Neo-Confucianism, which claimed to reveal the principle of Taeguek, Seohak (Western Learning), which claimed to reveal Cheonju (the Lord of Heaven), or Buddhism, which sought to realize the substance of the universe. Accordingly, as in the excerpt above, "You have reached the infinite and boundless Dao," Mugeukdaedo becomes the 'infinite and boundless Dao'.
The reason the Boundless Great Dao becomes the 'infinite, boundless Way' is explained in the passage above by “My mind is precisely your mind [吾心卽汝心].” Here, “my mind (osim 吾心)” is the mind of the “heaven above heaven,” that is, the heaven-beyond-heaven (cheonoecheon), while “your mind (yeosim 汝心)” is the human mind represented by Suun. This means that the mind of the heaven-beyond-heaven—that is, the mind of the Limitless (Mugeuk)—becomes precisely the human mind. Since this says that the mind of the heaven-beyond-heaven, which is the origin of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity, is the same as the human mind, it means that humanity's status in the cosmos becomes that of a being whose mind communes with the Limitless; hence it becomes the “Boundless Great Dao.”
The most significant difference between the conventional Mugeuk and Donghak's 'Mugeukdaedo' regarding the view of Heaven is the first appearance of 'Mugeuk', or Sangje (the Supreme God), who communicates directly with humans, as seen in the Cheonsamundap (Q&A with the Heavenly Teacher) and Gangpil (divine brush). Furthermore, in the early Cheonsamundap, Suun continuously doubted Sangje's intentions and pressed his own arguments, thereby conversely gaining Sangje's trust. Donghak's view of Heaven, as a Mugeuk that communicates directly with humans, appears as a view of Heaven that harmonizes the Eastern assimilative view of Heaven and the Western formal view of Heaven without conflict.
In the case of the East, 'Mugeukdaedo', in its very name, first typically manifests the tradition of Mugeuk-Taeguek-EumyangOhaeng (Yin-Yang and Five Elements), which is representative of Eastern correlative thinking. This aligns with the Eastern assimilative view of Heaven. The expression 'Mugeukdaedo, unprecedented in myriad ages' can be seen as meaning the completion of correlative thinking. Furthermore, the expression 'Mugeukdaedo' is also an expression that Donghak Thought inherits the correlative thinking of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism (Yubulseon), which developed as religions in the East.82) In reality, Yubulseon is based on the correlative thinking of the unity of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity, and there have been preceding studies suggesting that Donghak's representative Sicheonju thought is a form in which Yubulseon, having developed in the direction of internalizing the absolute being, matures into a transcendent Heaven.83)
Next, the case of the Western formal view of Heaven appears in Donghak's concept of 'Muwiyihwa' (natural transformation without action). "Muwiyihwa," used for the first time in Donghak, can be thought of as a concept linking Daoism's "Muwijayeon" (naturalness without action) and Seohak's "Johwa" (creation/harmony). Muwiyihwa has the significance of connecting the harmony within the realms of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity, known as the harmony of Yin and Yang, to the harmony of the Cheonoecheon (Heaven beyond Heaven) that connects the Creator and the Three Realms. Donghak revitalizes the concept of the personalistic Cheonoecheon as a Josaengja (Creator) who emphasizes the concept of creation within harmony. Suun, when interpreting the incantation, explained that 'Johwa' (creation) means 'Muwiyihwa' (natural transformation without action), and 'Jeong' (determination/fixation) means 'Hapgideok' (uniting with its virtue) and 'Jeonggishim' (fixing one's mind).84)
It is said that the differentiating point between Donghak's view of Heaven and the traditional Eastern view of Heaven is the concept of "Johwa" (creation/harmony) that appears in Sicheonju. Johwa was a core keyword in Donghak Thought, a key theme that transcended the Eastern view of Heaven to connect the Eastern and Western views of Heaven.85)
Johwa (harmony/creation) appears in various forms in traditional Eastern and Western thought. First, etymologically, it is an abbreviation for creation (changjo) and evolution (jinhwa); this appears variously as principles of being (doem) and becoming (saengseong), preservation and creation, and Yin and Yang. Second, in actual religious terminology, it appears as the harmony of Yin and Yang, the Johwasinjang (Harmonizing Divine Generals) of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, and so on. In Daesoon Thought, both Donghak Thought's 'Jakran' (disruption) and Daesoon Thought's 'Chiran' (alleviation/governance) are called Johwa, and it is said that the original name of the Johwaju (Lord of Creation), corresponding to the Creator in Seohak, was 'Gucheon Daewon Johwajushin' (Great Primal Lord of Creation of the Nine Heavens).86)87)
In the case of the West, "Harmony" was a key theme in the Bible, signifying "peace." In the Bible, harmony was a symbol of Heaven, meaning "order" and "peace." In Seohak and Eastern Daoism, harmony was also emphasized as an attribute of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity; however, the harmony of Seohak was a harmony of analytical thought, while the harmony of Daoism was a different harmony of correlative thinking. Anthropology has understood new combinations of opposing elements, such as harmony, as liminality, which signifies boundaries, but Donghak Thought connects the two types of harmony with a new correlative concept of harmony. The harmony of Donghak Thought appears distinguished as 'Sicheonju', 'Muwiyihwa', 'Cheonjigwisin' (Heaven-Earth spirits), and 'Naeyushinryeong Oeyugihwa' (Indwelling Divine Spirit, Externalizing Qi-transformation). These four types of harmony are concepts that connect the existing harmony of Daoism and Seohak; they are views of Heaven, but from the perspective of the transcendent Heaven, they correspond to the nature of Heaven and Earth, and thus can also correspond to the view of Earth.88)
First, "Johwa" (harmony/creation) appears in Donghak Thought in the form of 'Muwiyihwa' (natural transformation without action).89) Looking at 'Muwiyihwa', it is said that Suun summarized the core of Donghak as 'Muwiyihwa'. Suun calls Donghak 'Muwiyihwa', and explains that Muwiyihwa refers to the entire harmonizing action of the divine Earthly Gi (energy), and that if one guards the mind, corrects the energy, follows one's innate nature, and receives the teaching, harmony emerges from within naturalness.90) He says the Cheonju (Lord of Heaven) he revered is the divine spirit (Shinryeong) of Gihwa (Qi-transformation) that presides over all things in the universe, and the god he received acts through the harmony of Muwiyihwa and is omnipresent everywhere in the world.91) He states, "Gi (energy) is Heoryeongchangchang (vacuous, spiritual, and vast), involved in all affairs, commanding all affairs, a single primordial Gi (Honwonhan Ilgi)."92)
Donghak's connection of East and West through Muwiyihwa is a process of attempting to mediate the dualistic opposition between tradition and modernity through liminality. In fact, it is said that Sangje as the Creator in the Eastern tradition, revealed in the Shijing (Book of Odes), shares five personalistic attributes with the Creator in the Book of Psalms in the Bible. Among these, phrases revealing the attribute as Creator are said to be clearly evident in Chinese classics through the Shuowen Jiezi (Explaining Graphs and Analyzing Characters) and the Shijing.93)94)95)
Even after his communion with the personal Heavenly Spirit (cheollyeong), Suun, connecting it with Daoism, explains the teaching of the Lord of Heaven (Cheonju) in terms of the impersonal harmony and motion-principles of nature. When asked how Suun's experience differed from Western Learning (Yanghak 洋學, Seohak), he added that the heavenly fortune (cheonun 天運) is the same and the Way of Heaven (cheondo 天道) is the same, but that their principle [理] is different. The difference of principle that Suun mentioned can be seen as pointing to a difference in the method of learning—that is, a difference of 'learning (hak 學).' 96)
Suun's Cheonsamundap (Q&A with the Heavenly Teacher) also, conversely, allows one to guess the reason why Heaven chose Suun. Like Jesus who defeated the devil's temptations, Suun rejected all of Sangje's suggestions proposing realistic success, and even refused success through the existing Yubulseon (Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism). The Donghak concept of Sicheonju (Serving the Lord of Heaven) is based on this background of sincere dialogue with Sangje. This relationship of trust expanded to the belief, during the Donghak Peasant Movement, that participants in the Donghak Peasant Movement could even block bullets.97)
The reason Suun's Cheonsamundap could gain the trust of others was that Heaven chose the most problematic figure, like Suun, as the person through whom to reveal itself. Heaven appeared to Suun, a very intermediate being who was neither the existing establishment nor the lower class.
Suun was the most unfortunate Homo sacer that era could produce at the time. Although Suun had a father who was the most outstanding scholar in the most orthodox Neo-Confucian lineage, he had to live with the status of a descendant of a remarried woman (Jaeganyeo), lower than an illegitimate son (Seoja); furthermore, after his father passed away and even his house burned down, Suun had to wander the country to maintain his livelihood. Eventually, even wandering proved too difficult, and Suun returned home. People actually placed more trust in the fact that the one to whom Heaven appeared was a being like Suun. Although Suun was unfortunate, he also possessed an extraordinary nature no less than his father's, and he even had the ho (style name) 'Boksul', meaning he was skilled in divination arts (Sulsu).98)
The difference between Donghak Thought's concept of harmony and the Western one is that it is a harmony of correlative thinking. In addition to preceding studies showing that the correlative thinking displayed by Donghak's Sicheonju thought, as a continuity and change of tradition, is more clearly revealed in the tradition of Yubulseon (Confucian, Buddhist, Daoist) thought, preceding studies from an epistemological perspective are also active. There are many preceding studies on the continuity and change of the epistemological aspects of correlative thinking in Donghak Thought, so an overview can first be examined through an analysis of those preceding studies.
To examine the preceding studies on correlative thinking in Donghak Thought, it is necessary to first understand the definition of correlative thinking. Correlative thinking, represented by Yin-Yang and the Five Elements (Eumyang Ohaeng), is correlative thinking that uses the term sanggwan (correlation), meaning parts are mutually related; however, the connection of parts to parts, and ultimately the connection of parts within the whole, can be called an organismic theory that views the whole and parts unitarily, or a holistic theory, or a holographic (Jeonshikjeok) perspective that examines parts from the viewpoint of the whole. In other words, correlative thinking, if defined broadly, includes organismic thinking or holographic (Jeonshikjeok) thinking.
If Eastern thinking, or correlative thinking, is expanded to include holographic theory (Jeonshikron) or organismic theory, the preceding research on Donghak from a correlative cognitive perspective expands into very extensive research both domestically and internationally. Having examined overseas cases earlier, if we look at the domestic cases, we can mention, in a narrow scope, the research of Lee Chang-il, who translated and introduced correlative thinking to Korea. Although not actively applied to Donghak Thought, Lee Chang-il's research introduced to Korea the main Western methodology for studying Eastern thought—that research on Eastern thought must primarily be approached through correlative thinking—and analyzed the philosophy of Shao Kangjie (So Gang-jeol), which greatly influenced Donghak Thought, using the methodology of correlative thinking.99)
Although Donghak, through the term 'Gaebyeok' (Great Opening/Creation), seems to advocate an ideology disconnected from East Asian tradition, the definition of Donghak presented in Donghak Thought—as seen in "Nonhangmun" (Discussion on Learning), the text where the term 'Donghak' first appears—defines Donghak as a learning based on Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, which is a representative theory of correlative thinking. In fact, Shao Kangjie, the Yin-Yang and Five Elements theorist of Neo-Confucianism, who was identified by theorists of correlative thinking as a representative theorist of correlative thinking, is also noted as a thinker who had a great influence on Donghak Thought.100) The term 'Dasi Gaebyeok' (Re-Creation/Re-Opening) in Donghak Thought was also a term widely used by late Joseon intellectuals who were under the influence of Shao Kangjie.101)102)
If expanded to holographic theory (Jeonshikron) or organismic theory, pioneering domestic research on the correlative thinking manifested in Donghak Thought was conducted by Kim Sang-il. Kim Sang-il defines Donghak as 'New Western Learning' (Shinseohak) and interprets Donghak as a pioneering Eastern version of Whitehead's process thought. Afterward, Kim Sang-il names Eastern thought "Han Philosophy" (Hancheolhak) and expands Eastern thought to fractal science, theoretically developing the characteristics of Donghak's correlative thinking in comparison with the entirety of past and present Western thought.103)
In the East, the most representative term in which 'creative transformation' (johwa) appears is Sicheonju (Bearing the Lord of Heaven). Donghak's view of Heaven, which appears as the Eastern Boundless Great Dao and the Western 'non-doing and self-transformation' (muwi-ihwa), is synthesized in Sicheonju. Sicheonju is especially the concept representing the view of Heaven in Donghak Thought. As appears in Donghak's representative incantation “Sicheonju Johwajeong,” Sicheonju is the foundation of creative transformation. Researchers who have studied the commonalities between Donghak and Neo-Confucianism hold that the johwa of Donghak's Sicheonju is, in content, similar to johwa in the Neo-Confucian sense, and that it is the concept encompassing Donghak's other phrases “gihwa” and “muwi-ihwa.” In Donghak's “Nonhangmun,” 侍 (si, 'bearing') is glossed as “having the divine spirit within, the qi-transformation without, and each person in the world knowing this and not departing from it (內有神靈, 外有氣化, 一世之人, 各知不移).” This means that all people in the world realize that the meaning of “Sicheonju” is to possess a divine-spirited mind and a qi-transforming body, and maintain that state—that is, all alike return to unity (gwiil 歸一) in the creatively evolving [造化] substance [體], namely the “utmost qi (jigi).” Therefore Sicheonju is precisely the returning of all to one body (donggwi-ilche) and is “creative transformation (johwa).” 104)105)
In that Sicheonju is precisely immanent transcendence, Donghak Thought shares methods of cultivation with existing Confucianism and Daoism. However, Donghak Thought, unlike Confucianism, substantivized the Ibeop (Principle-Law) similarly to Daoism, and unlike Daoism, a personal God, the Creator, appears. In the johwa (harmony/creation) of Donghak Thought through "Sicheonju," a "hidden God" appears, unlike in Confucianism or Daoism. In Donghak Thought, the aspect of creation is emphasized from the perspective of East-West convergence, more so than in the Daoist tradition where only the aspect of evolution within johwa was stressed.106)
The common point "Sicheonju" shares with Seohak (Western Learning) is not only the appearance of a personal God but also the scene of encounter with that personal God. Regarding this, researchers emphasizing the commonality with Seohak say that Suun's Cheonsamundap (Q&A with the Heavenly Teacher) is similar to the experience of the Apostle Paul. It is said that in the past religious experiences of Koreans, there were no cases of directly encountering God like Suun did. From this point, Donghak's Cheonju (Lord of Heaven) is also evaluated as having been influenced by Christianity. However, Suun explains that he harmonized immanent transcendence, an Eastern method of self-reflection, with the traditional Korean belief in God (Haneunim).107)
The indigenous modernity apparent in Donghak Thought's view of Heaven is the communication between the Cheonoecheon (Heaven beyond Heaven) and the human mind, and from this, the rearrangement of the sacred and the secular, namely, the emergence of a trans-boundary liminality. In terms of political and social thought, this also means the rise in status of making a commoner (sangnom) into an aristocrat (yangban), and the rise in status of the Earth and Humanity, which had been neglected in the relationship of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity. Donghak's view of Heaven, which encompasses and transcends the Eastern and Western views of Heaven through the emergence of the Cheonoecheon, repeats the phylogeny manifested in the Eastern and Western views of Heaven as ontogeny, showing indigenous modernity through liminality.
Indigenous Modernity of the Johwajeong (Creation is Determined) View of Earth (Jigwan)
The Western Material (Jillyojeok) View of Earth (Jigwan)
The view of Earth (Jigwan) also changes depending on whether the view of Heaven (Cheongwan) emphasizes the transcendent Heaven (Cheonoecheon) or the immanent Heaven divided into Heaven and Earth. From the perspective of the transcendent Heaven, Ji (Earth) becomes an expression encompassing all of Heaven-and-Earth as divided from Heaven-and-Earth; and in the Western substance-oriented ontological worldview, which does not regard Heaven-and-Earth as the immanent Heaven of Yin and Yang, Heaven-and-Earth, especially the Earth, becomes a material existence where form is realized.
The Western material view of Earth differed depending on whether it regarded the transcendent Heaven (Cheonoecheon) as Idea, as the One God, or as materialistic reason. Today's material Western view of Earth, which regards the transcendent Heaven (Cheonoecheon) as materialistic reason, has become an atomistic worldview.
Until the emergence of the modern atomistic worldview, which held that all things are composed of atoms and molecules that cannot be broken down further, the West, as seen in the case of Matteo Ricci, also engaged in the ontological correlative thinking of Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind (Jisuwhapung); however, the difference between the Western correlative worldview of Jisuwhapung and the Eastern correlative thinking of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements (Eumyang Ohaeng) was, as Jesuit priests like Matteo Ricci discussed, that Jisuwhapung was correlative thinking based on substance, whereas Eumyang Ohaeng was correlative thinking based on attributes.108) The atomistic worldview was a theory that maximized the substantialist attributes of Jisuwhapung (Earth, Water, Fire, Wind) through analytical methods.109)
Thales' worldview that "the origin of all things is water" is a representative example of substantialist correlative thinking, explaining all things through the substance of "water." Afterward, Empedocles' four-element theory was expanded, and the four-element theory was accepted by Plato and Aristotle, constituting the Western worldview up to Matteo Ricci. Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind (Jisuwhapung) were also applied in Plato's world of Ideas and Aristotle's theory of Form, forming a system where the fifth element, existing amidst the four elements, balances the other four.110)111)
Although Empedocles introduced Jisuwhapung, it had already been transmitted as a common worldview of the Indo-European language family before him; Jisuwhapung also appears in the cosmology of ancient Indian Brahmans, and the Buddhist worldview that inherited this is also composed of Jisuwhapung. Jisuwhapung (Earth, Water, Fire, Wind) even influenced China, becoming the Chinese theory of the Three Calamities (Samjae) of Water, Fire, and Wind. In the worldview of the Abhidharmakośa-śāstra, where the Buddhist view of the heavenly realms appears, the world is depicted as an existence floating on the wheel of Jisuwhapung (Earth, Water, Fire, Wind), and above it, "Geumgangsan" (Diamond Mountain), also called "Cheorwisan" (Iron Encircling Mountain), defends the center of the universe, and above that center, Mount Sumeru exists, forming 28 heavens. This Jisuwhapung view of the heavenly realms combines with the Chinese Daoist view of the Three Powers (Samjae) to become 36 heavens, and it also appears in the later Daesoon Thought's view of the heavenly realms.112)113)
What allows Jisuwhapung (Earth, Water, Fire, Wind) to be connected to the Western correlative theory of the views of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity is the correlative principle inherent in Jisuwhapung. Another commonality that appears throughout the Indo-European language family is the tripartite functional system, which was revealed by Dumézil. Dumézil revealed that the background for the development of the Indo-European mythology's tripartite functional system into the European views of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity is that the tripartite functional system and Jisuwhapung (Earth, Water, Fire, Wind) are composed of the same principles of ascent and descent.114)
Dumézil states that in the anthropological structure of the Indo-European imaginary, the religious function of the upper level, the military-political function of the middle level, and the production-aesthetic function of the lower level appear in the views of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity. Dumézil revealed that the three functions of the three goddesses appearing in the Trojan War of Greco-Roman mythology—Hera (religion), Athena (politics), and Aphrodite (production)—are the same as the Mitra-Varuna-Aryaman structure of Indian mythology. The tripartite functional system also appears in a structure similar to the Buddhist Three Realms (Samgye) of Kāmadhātu (Realm of Desire), Rūpadhātu (Realm of Form), and Ārūpyadhātu (Realm of Formlessness).115)
Jisuwhapung (Earth, Water, Fire, Wind) and the tripartite functional system originated in Central Asia and widely influenced both East and West. That influence also appears in East Asia's Samjae (Three Powers) of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity. The Eastern Three Realms (Samgye)—namely, the Heavenly Realm (Cheongye), Earthly Realm (Jigye), and Human Realm (Ingye)—which are based on the Heaven-Earth-Humanity Samjae, are similar to the Western tripartite functional system in spatial division, but differ in that they emphasize "attributes" rather than "substance." Although they are the same "Su" (Water) and "Hwa" (Fire), the "Su" and "Hwa" of Jisuwhapung and the "Su" and "Hwa" of Eumyang Ohaeng (Yin-Yang and Five Elements) being different is a difference of substance and attribute. Therefore, if the two systems are compared, the functions of "Su" (Water) and "Hwa" (Fire) may appear opposite to each other.
The Western material view of Earth, in the sense that the form of the Heaven beyond Heaven (transcendent Heaven) is realized, contributed to the development of modern material civilization. However, the Western material view of Earth, biased toward matter, completely collapsed the divine realm system (Shinmyeongchegye) of the new universe, becoming a catalyst that instead led the world to the brink of annihilation and became the starting point of the crisis of modernity.
The Eastern Condensational (Eungchukjeok) View of Earth (Jigwan)
Unlike the Western material view of Earth, which appeared differently as a material view of Earth according to the attributes of the Heaven above Heaven (transcendent Heaven)—such as Idea, the One God, or materialistic form—the Eastern condensed view of Earth appears in three different ways according to the transcendent Heaven, the immanent Heaven divided into Heaven and Earth, and the role of the Cheonjishinmyeong (Spirits/Gods of Heaven and Earth).
First, when Heaven (Cheon) is seen as the transcendent Heaven, Earth (Ji) encompasses all of Heaven-and-Earth, and Heaven-and-Earth, as the concept of Earth relative to Sangje (the Supreme God) who is the transcendent Heaven, appears as Shinmyeong (Divine Spirits) who execute Sangje's will of Cheonjihwayuk (Transformation and Nurturance of Heaven and Earth) by dividing the roles. At this time, Heaven plays the role of assimilation, and Earth plays the role of condensation, so Earth becomes the existence that realizes the Gi (energy) of Heaven and Earth as form, or a vessel (Gi). In Yeokhak (I Ching studies), this has been expressed as Geon (Heaven) and Gon (Earth). As the roles are divided, the shin (spirit/god) of Heaven takes on the role of assimilating, and the shin of Earth takes on the role of condensing. However, since the Shinmyeong (Divine Spirits) who perform those roles are appointed from Heaven, traditionally, the shin of Heaven has been described as Cheonshin (Heavenly God), the shin of Earth as Jigi (Earthly Spirit/Indicator), and in the case of humans, In'gwi (Human Spirit/Ghost).116)
Today, the Samjae (Three Powers) of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity and Eumyang Ohaeng (Yin-Yang and Five Elements) establish a common theoretical system and emphasize "attributes" more than "substance." Yin-Yang, Samjae, and Ohaeng (Five Elements) each express the relationship between Heaven and Earth from different perspectives. In the case of Yin-Yang, it is further divided: on one hand, there is Yin-Yang as a material concept of Earth, similar to the West, which includes a formal transcendent Heaven and an immanent Heaven-and-Earth; on the other hand, similar to the East, it is divided into the assimilative Heaven, which emphasizes the immanent Heaven, and the condensed Earth. On the other hand, Samjae (Three Powers) has the aspect of integrating both these Eastern and Western views of Heaven. That is, the transcendent Heaven, the immanent Heaven, and the immanent Earth gather as three to form the Sam-Taegeuk (Triple Supreme Ultimate) Samjae. Ohaeng (Five Elements) becomes an expanded concept where this Yin-Yang and Samjae meet, the Samjae view becomes Yin-Yang, and Yin-Yang becomes the Samjae view. If the origins of the three thoughts are traced, it appears that the three thoughts met from different starting points. It is not clear from which side Jisuwhapung (Earth, Water, Fire, Wind) and Eumyang Ohaeng (Yin-Yang and Five Elements) influenced the other, but in their mutual relationship, the thoughts of Yin-Yang, Ohaeng, and Samjae arose, and they appear combined in the aspect of attributes.117)
Since the Eastern Heaven, Earth, and Humanity (Cheon, Ji, In) involve ontogeny repeating phylogeny, Geon-geon Gon-sun (Heaven is strong, Earth is receptive), which explains the relationship of Heaven and Earth, means that Earth's condensation includes Heaven's assimilation. Traditionally, the Eastern Way of Gon (Earth, 坤道) appears in detail in the Yeokjeon (Commentaries on the I Ching).
Supreme indeed is the Originating Power of Kun (坤元, Earth)! All things owe their birth to it, and thereby it obediently continues the Way of Heaven (天道). The thick virtue of Kun (坤), which bears all things, is without limit; embracing, broad, brilliant, and great, it causes all things to attain to full prosperity. 118)
In the excerpt above, Earth appears, through the action of Gon, as the action of a vessel and form that condenses the Gi (energy) assimilated by Heaven. From the perspective of Lee Young-ran's interpretation of liminality, this is Heaven (1) developing into Earth (1+2) through liminality.119)
In traditional East Asian mythology, the division of the Heavenly Realm (Cheongye), Earthly Realm (Jigye), and Human Realm (Ingye) appears originating from the Gonggong (共工) clan, who were the most civilized people during the Yao and Shun era.120) According to artifacts and records, it is said to appear from the Warring States period. Like the underground civilization gods (Jihamunmyeongshin) appearing in Daesoon Thought, the Gonggong clan, the first civilized people of East Asia, appears in mythology as underground gods (Jihashin).121) The appearance of civilization gods underground stems from the correlative thinking that views Heaven and Earth correlatively.
The Earth viewed from the perspective of the immanent Heaven is much more related to life and its importance is magnified, compared to the Earth viewed from the perspective of the transcendent Heaven. Pungsujiri (Feng Shui) and Jesa (ancestral rites) were icons of traditional culture. In ecology, the Earth is emphasized as being as important as Heaven today. Pungsujiri, which can be called the indigenous geography of East Asia, was the traditional East Asian view of Earth, and this appeared in Eumyang Ohaeng (Yin-Yang and Five Elements) as the importance of To (Earth), which signifies the center of Eumyang Ohaeng. The reason correlative thinking is important in the views of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity is that correlative thinking provides the basis for Sangsaeng (mutual beneficence/coexistence). The importance of the Earth occupies a major part of the Sangsaeng-oriented views of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity. In particular, the rise in status of the Earth, which had more capability but a lower status—namely, Jeongeumjeongyang (Correct Yin and Correct Yang)—becomes central also for the Haewon (resolution of grievances) of humanity, that is, Sangsaeng. The great difference between Donghak Thought's 'Dasi Gaebyeok' (Re-Creation) and Daesoon Thought's 'Samgye Gaebyeok' (Creation of the Three Realms) also lies in Sangsaeng. Daesoon Thought's Samgye Gaebyeok discusses Sangsaeng, and for Sangsaeng, it discusses Haewon. Haewon is possible through the Shinmyeong (Divine Spirits), and Sangsaeng is achieved through Haewon after the balance of Yin and Yang status is achieved.
In the traditional East Asian view of Earth, the importance of the Earth appeared in the term represented by the word Cheonji (Heaven-Earth). Representatively, Cheonwonjibang (Heaven is round, Earth is square) does not refer to the erroneous claim of the geocentric theory (Cheondongseol), which was revealed by the heliocentric theory (Jidongseol), that the sky is round; rather, it can be said to be an abbreviation for "Cheondojiwiwon Jidojiwibang" (The Way of Heaven is called Round, The Way of Earth is called Square), referring to the one-dimensional nature of "Ju" (duration), which represents time, and the two-dimensional nature of "U" (expanse), which represents space. The Heaven of the Juyeok (I Ching) is called "Geon" (乾), and this "Geon" (dry) represents the dry attribute of time, which performs the "Sae Eul" (乙, second heavenly stem) action.122)
Samcheon-Yangji (Three Heavens, Two Earths) is a core concept of the Juyeok, meaning Heaven moves by the principle of 3 and Earth by the principle of 2. The Juyeok has understood Heaven, Earth, and Humanity (Cheonjiin), which symbolize nature, as the family relationship of father-mother-son, and has abundantly created propositions contrasting the attributes of Heaven and Earth, corresponding to father and mother. Samcheon-Yangji (Three Heavens, Two Earths), Cheonwon-Jibang (Heaven Round, Earth Square), Cheonjang-Jigu (Heaven lasting, Earth enduring), and Cheondo-Jideok (Way of Heaven, Virtue of Earth) all indicated that the father-Heaven signifies Sam (Three), Won (Round), Jang (Lasting), and Do (Way), and the mother-Earth possesses the attributes of Yang (Two), Bang (Square), Gu (Enduring), and Deok (Virtue). The complex-system interpretation of Cheonjiin (Heaven, Earth, Humanity) and psychoanalysis can be said to be almost similar to the Oedipus Complex. The Sam-su Bunhwa (three-number differentiation) system, as a complex-system understanding of psychoanalysis, can be seen as a part of fractal aesthetics, and the symmetry possessed by the Sam-su Bunhwa system was a fundamental proposition of Greek aesthetics.
In traditional thought, Earth played a role as one axis of the correlation with Heaven and Humanity. Traditional thought was understood as theology or mythology rather than as indigenous modernity, but there was a movement to understand it as indigenous modernity through Daejonggyo (Great Ancestral Religion) and others. The three-number differentiation system is a system that views all things as a complex-system expansion of the three components: Heaven, Earth, and Humanity.123) The three-number differentiation system has been recognized as the common inner structure of all things in the West as Kant's three-element system, Freud's father-mother-son, Father-Son-Holy Spirit, and in the East as the Cheon-Ji-In system. The three-number differentiation system is common to both East and West from the perspective of the symmetry possessed by the Oedipal structure.124) The three-number differentiation system integratively illuminates the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.
Jeong Jaeseo states that Chinese mythology is an anti-Oedipus mythology, distinct from Western mythology. In Christian theology, Cheon-Ji-In (Heaven-Earth-Humanity) theology is emerging as a theology that emphasizes not only the role of the father but also the roles of Earth and Humanity.125) The opportunity to integrate the emphasis on the roles of Earth and Humanity in ecological theology, etc., with existing theology appears in the Dangun myth and the Cheon-Ji-In thought, which is Korea's unique three-number differentiation worldview.126) However, since Cheon-Ji-In theology is also a Christian theology without a Daoist view of divine beings, it cannot go so far as to claim that the god of the Earth is a god like a mother.127) Heo Ho-ik mentions Yoon Sung-bum, Kim Kwang-sik, Park Jong-chun, Yu Dong-sik, Lee Jung-yong, Lee Eun-sun, and Seo Nam-dong as theological researchers related to Cheon-Ji-In theology.128) Kim Heup-young, with similar logic, requests a shift from existing theology—Logos-centered theology emphasizing the father, Praxis theology centered on the mother—to a desirable theology, Do (Tao)-theology emphasizing the universe-Christ, which emphasizes the third party.129) Lee Eun-sun, as a feminist scholar, sometimes interprets the characteristic of Korean theology, along with Hwang Pil-ho, as the gajong (adding religion) of Cheon-Ji-In.130)131)132)133)134)135)136)137)
The concept of yin-yang, which allows Taegeuk (Supreme Ultimate) to be understood as a complex-system scientific concept of creation and preservation principles, was first proposed by the Chinese philosopher Mou Zongsan, who studied Eastern philosophy ontologically. He states that while Western philosophy understands a personal God through the concept of 'substance' (實體), Chinese philosophy understands the Way of Heaven (天道) through the concept of 'function' (作用). He says that when viewed from the perspective of such function, Geon-won (Creative Principle of Heaven) is the principle of creativity, and Gon-won (Receptive Principle of Earth) becomes the so-called principle of preservation. Since Daesoon Thought states that Taegeuk originates from the circle (Won), this aligns with Mou Zongsan's view of Taegeuk as the function of circular motion, and since it views all things as complex-system circular motion, it can be said that it viewed Taegeuk as the basic principle of a complex system. It can be said that symmetry, asymmetry, and supersymmetry arise from circular motion.138)
Unlike the West, which views Earth as the material for form from the Heaven-beyond-Heaven, the Eastern view of Earth, as the place where the practice of the transcendent Heaven's creative transformation is condensed, did not regard Earth as an object of domination and conquest like the West, but rather regarded it as an object of worship, as in Pungsu-jiri (Geomancy). However, as Neo-Confucianism excluded the transcendent Heaven, the Eastern Earth was relegated merely to the partner of the immanent Heaven, and Eastern correlative thinking became fixed. As Western substantial thinking had a tendency to strengthen the keynote of sanggeuk (mutual conflict), the two views of Earth came to clash in the modern era.
The Collision and Mutually Overcoming Conflict (Sanggeukhwa) of Eastern and Western Views of Earth (Jigwan)
The Clash of Views of Earth (Ji-gwan)
To Easterners who regarded Earth as an object of worship, Westerners who treated Earth as material came as a great shock. The two forces, which had been mutually balanced, rapidly tilted toward the West after Matteo Ricci. The East-West clash regarding the view of Earth appeared largely in two stages. The first was the worldview clash presented by the material view of Earth based on the transcendent Heaven, which appeared in Matteo Ricci's The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven (Cheonju Sil-ui), and the second was the material clash that occurred when the West, having retreated from the East after the Boryu-ron (Supplementary Confucianism) debate, reappeared with weapons.
First, looking at the worldview clash, it was a clash between the ontological worldview presupposed in the Western material view of Earth and the condensational view of Earth inherent in the Eastern view of Earth. Although the Eastern I-Gi-ron (Theory of Principle and Material Force) was the closest ideology among Eastern thoughts to Aristotle's ontology, it collapsed under Matteo Ricci's criticism because Aristotle's four-element theory (earth, water, fire, wind) and four-cause theory seemed to explain God logically well at the scientific level of the time.139) At the scientific level of the time, the Eum-Yang O-Haeng (Yin-Yang and Five Elements) theory and the I-Gi-ron, which did not separately recognize substance, became illogical theories according to Aristotle's theory.140)
When compared with the West's earth, water, fire, and wind, the relationship between To (Earth element) and Mok-Hwa-Geum-Su (Wood-Fire-Metal-Water elements) in Eum-Yang O-Haeng is a part where East and West clearly differ.141) The West's earth, water, fire, and wind also had a fifth element, ether, which played the same role as the To (Earth element) of the East's Eum-Yang O-Haeng. However, the West's fifth element was a separate existence from earth, water, fire, and wind, like the monotheistic God, whereas the To of Eum-Yang O-Haeng was different in that it was an immanent existence that, while being a separate existence, also operated together with Wood, Fire, Metal, and Water.142) Shao Kangjie's (Sogangjeol) Eum-Yang O-Haeng relationship between divine beings and humans is re-examined later because it could simultaneously accommodate the transcendent Western relationship and the immanent Eastern relationship between divine beings and humans.
When Matteo Ricci criticized Eum-Yang O-Haeng, he argued that, unlike earth, water, fire, and wind, the Eum-Yang O-Haeng theory could not be interpreted by Aristotle's four-cause theory.143) The four-cause theory was regarded as the most rational Western theory for explaining the universe until the 17th century, when Matteo Ricci lived. Although Matteo Ricci was also a top-level scientist of his time, his criticism of Eum-Yang O-Haeng was not from the standpoint of atomism, but from the theory of earth, water, fire, and wind, which, from today's perspective, does not seem much different from Eum-Yang O-Haeng.144)145)
To the contemporary Eastern intellectuals who first encountered an ontological view of nature after Buddhism, earth, water, fire, and wind, although a correlative way of thinking, came as a great shock, enough to lead to the collapse of their worldview. The biggest problem in the Eastern acceptance of Western Learning (Seohak) was the issue of ancestral rites. For the West, the Rites Controversy was a matter of the Holy See's stance, but the newly emerged Eastern followers of Western Learning had to believe in Western Learning at the risk of their lives. The clash of worldviews seemed to result in an Eastern victory due to the prohibition of Western Learning.
The next material clash appeared rapidly around the time Su-un founded Donghak (Eastern Learning). China's defeat to the West, such as in the Treaty of Beijing, was a shock as if the sky was falling. As vividly depicted in Lu Xun's (1881-1936) The True Story of Ah Q, the shocked Chinese people, fearing they would face ethnic cleansing under Western rule, reached a state of schizophrenia, akin to "spiritual victory." China faced the experience of Heaven collapsing once again, just as the feudal system of the Zhou Dynasty collapsed during the Warring States period. It was like the situation where all Americans had to tremble at the threat of Russian nukes when the Soviet Union sent a rocket to the moon. It is said that Su-un was able to learn about Western information early through his wandering life. In the Yongdam Yusa (Songs of Yongdam), there are parts that well describe the clashes of that time. Accordingly, indigenous modernity emerged as a very urgent issue in the East.
The Mutual Conflict (Sanggeuk-hwa) of the Heaven-Earth Relationship
The change in the views of Heaven and Earth also changed the traditional Heaven-Earth relationship. First, in the case of the West, Matteo Ricci's introduction of Eastern culture led to the introduction of the East's immanent views of Heaven and Earth into Western civilization, which consisted of transcendent views of Heaven and Earth, resulting in the rapid development of science and technology. Eum-Yang O-Haeng, originally devised to explain the attributive relationship of Heaven and Earth, crossed over to the West and was applied to the natural sciences explaining substantial relationships, bringing about the development of science and technology. In the West, after Matteo Ricci, new scientific concepts different from Aristotelian science, such as mass, element, volume, gravity, and velocity, were introduced, rapidly applied to science and technology, and society quickly became capitalist.146)
Although material civilization developed as immanent Heaven was introduced into science and technology, in the case of the West, the Heaven-Earth relationship, represented by the fifth element and earth, water, fire, and wind, rather degenerated into a sanggeuk (mutual conflict) relationship between the monotheistic God and all things. Subsequently, the Heaven-Earth relationship becomes even more characterized by sanggeuk (mutual conflict) with an atomistic worldview, where even the correlative attributes of earth, water, fire, and wind have disappeared. Modern science removed the attributes of earth, water, fire, and wind from the views of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity under the pretext of objectivity, but from the aspect of sanggeuk (mutual conflict), objectivity can also be seen as a pretext.
In the case of the Heaven-Earth relationship, the sanggeuk-hwa (mutual conflict) of the earth-water-fire-wind Heaven-Earth relationship appears as cheonjon-jibi (Heaven revered, Earth base) towards the monotheistic God. In the Western concept of earth, water, fire, and wind, Heaven corresponds to the fifth element, and Earth corresponds to earth, water, fire, and wind. At the time earth, water, fire, and wind appeared, the fifth element was the central element connecting the existing earth, water, fire, and wind, as seen in the movie "The Fifth Element." This fifth element was replaced by reason, namely material and profit (財利).
The West's fifth element is similar in role to the East's 'To' (Earth element) concept, but the West is different in that, unlike the East, the fifth element is a transcendent solid (three-dimensional entity). The West developed more than the East by recognizing the solid (three-dimensional entity) through the concept of the fifth element. However, the problem is that the West failed to connect this fifth element back to being immanentized as a plane, but rather remained fixed in the solid (three-dimensional entity). As the fifth element combined with Christianity, the fifth element became fixed as transcendence.
In the case of the West, the sanggeuk-hwa (mutual conflict) of earth, water, fire, and wind appears as particle theory. Earth, water, fire, and wind, deprived of their status as divine beings, are now relegated to components like atoms and molecules, placed under human domination. The relationship between Heaven and Earth becomes jeolji-tongcheon (severed from Earth, communicating with Heaven), their mutual relationship is severed, humans seek to dominate, and Heaven and Earth, renamed as nature, become beings that take revenge on humans, as described in ecology.
The Eastern Heaven-Earth relationship, which rejected the Western transcendent Heaven, also rapidly became fixed. The Heaven-Earth relationship, with the transcendent Heaven excluded, became fixed as the element of liminality was omitted. The classic Eastern Heaven-Earth relationship, represented by cheonwon-jibang (Heaven round, Earth square), cheonmun-jiri (astronomy and geography), etc., becomes characterized by sanggeuk (mutual conflict) through the cheonjon-jibi (Heaven revered, Earth base) and yangjon-eumbi (Yang revered, Yin base) Heaven-Earth relationship.147)
The traditional Eastern Heaven-Earth relationship of Eum-Yang O-Haeng is also excluded by the worldview of eogeum-jonyang (suppressing Yin, revering Yang) and yangjon-eumbi (Yang revered, Yin base), despite the situation of jijon (Earth revered) where divine beings are enshrined on Earth. The Heaven-Earth relationship was a horizontal corresponding relationship, as in the concepts of I-reum-i-ryang-ji-wi-do (One Yin and One Yang is called the Dao), cheondo-jideok (Heaven's Way, Earth's Virtue), and cheonwon-jibang (Heaven round, Earth square), but as history progressed, the cheonjon-jibi (Heaven revered, Earth base) relationship became formalized. In the East, although it was known to be the era of jijon (Earth revered) according to the concepts of sinbong-eo-cheon (divine beings enshrined in Heaven) and sinbong-eo-ji (divine beings enshrined on Earth), the jijon divine beings enshrined on Earth were relegated to objects of fortune-seeking (gibok), known as myeongdang (auspicious sites).
In the case of the East, the progression of sanggeuk-hwa (mutual conflict) as cheonjon-jibi (Heaven revered, Earth base) is, contrary to the case of earth, water, fire, and wind, attributed to the forgetting of the Sangje (Supreme Ruler) concept due to the immanentization of To (Earth element). In the case of the Eum-Yang O-Haeng views of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity, the sanggeuk-hwa (mutual conflict) Heaven-Earth relationship appears as the substantialization of To (Earth element). The To (Earth element) concept of Eum-Yang O-Haeng, which originally signified both Heaven and Earth, becomes characterized by sanggeuk (mutual conflict), the concept of Heaven fades, and it is relegated to the concept of Earth. The exact opposite sanggeuk-hwa (mutual conflict) to that of the West, where the fifth element was extremist as the monotheistic God, unfolds in the Eum-Yang O-Haeng Heaven-Earth relationship. As seen in the Baopuzi's To-geuk-su (Earth overcomes Water), To (Earth element) in Eum-Yang O-Haeng is a core element, like the yin-yang of the five elements. This materialization of To-geuk-su (Earth overcomes Water) is only converted into revitalization in Daesoon Thought.148)
Liminality in the Johwajong (造化定) View of Earth in Donghak Thought
Donghak Thought's Johwajeong (Fixing the Creation-Transformation) View of Earth (Ji-gwan)
In accordance with Donghak Thought's emphasis on the transcendent Heaven, Donghak Thought also shows a view of Earth (Ji-gwan) different from the existing view of Earth. If Heaven is assumed to be the Heaven-beyond-Heaven, i.e., the transcendent Heaven, then Earth appears as the existing Heaven-and-Earth, i.e., the object of the transcendent Heaven's creation-transformation, the existence of muwi-ihwa (non-acting transformation) and gihwa (material force transformation). Therefore, in Donghak Thought's view of Earth, the meaning of Earth is not clearly revealed, and concepts such as johwa (creation-transformation), muwi-ihwa (non-acting transformation), and gihwa (material force transformation) are emphasized.
While Donghak Thought's view of Heaven (Cheon-gwan) began with the cheonsa-mundap (conversation with the Heavenly Master), Donghak Thought's view of Earth (Ji-gwan) is gradually formed as Su-un's deep contemplation and experience follow after the cheonsa-mundap. Su-un's extensive experience and knowledge fuse with the cheonsa-mundap and become established as the view of Earth (Ji-gwan).
In reality, the establishment of Donghak Thought was influenced not only by the West, namely Western modernity, but also by the immanent development of Eastern thought. While the external environment surrounding Donghak Thought was as such for the establishment of Donghak's indigenous modernity, internally, there was an influx of Nandan-doggyo (Luantan Daoism), etc., established in modern China. It has been studied that the influence of Daoism was emphasized not only in the formation of the view of Heaven (Cheon-gwan) but also in the view of Earth (Ji-gwan).
Looking at this in detail, it can be divided into the influx of Tongsin Daoism (通神道敎, Spirit-Communicating Daoism) and Naedan Daoism (內丹道敎, Internal Alchemy Daoism). The existing Daoism introduced to Joseon was Naedan Daoism, focused on cultivation, as seen in Bukchang Jeong Ryeom's (北窓 鄭磏, 1506-1549) Yongho Bigyeol (Secret Teachings of the Dragon and Tiger) or Gwon Geuk-jung's (權克中, 1585-1659) Juyeok Chamdonggye Juhae (Commentary on the Book of Changes and the Triplex Unity). However, after the Imjin War (Japanese invasions of Korea, 1592-1598), faith in Guan Yunchang (Guan Yu) was introduced, and the Okchu Bogyeong (Precious Scripture of the Jade Pivot), which was banned in China, became widely spread through shamanism and other channels, leading to the widespread dissemination in Joseon of Tongsin Daoism and Nandan Daoism—Daoism that communicates directly with gods through incantations and talismans—as opposed to Naedan Daoism. Tongsin Daoism, which emphasizes communication with gods, and Nandan Daoism, which has a name related to talismans, have different names but share the commonality of emphasizing gods compared to Naedan Daoism. Chronologically, Naedan Daoism was introduced earlier than Tongsin Daoism. While Naedan Daoism was primarily transmitted to the yangban (nobility), Tongsin Daoism influenced the masses. The introduction of these two types of Daoism into the Neo-Confucian-centric Joseon society was not widely known, but they had as much influence on the intellectual society of the time as Seohak (Western Learning). It is also said that many Daoist masters migrated to Korea from China during the chaotic period of the Qing Dynasty.
The newly introduced Daoism showed a new development in Joseon in connection with Western Learning (Seohak). At that time, as appears in the records of foreigners who came to Joseon in the late Joseon period, the people of Joseon had lost all hope and, their will to labor exhausted, most of the populace had given up on work. At the 'Haemi International Catholic Shrine,' one of Korea's representative Catholic sites, there are many graves of common people who were martyred, such as the 'Yaso (Jesus) graves.' Since it was a time when, for the common people, death was better than life if only it were guaranteed, the communicative Daoism of Nandan Daoism and the Lord-of-Heaven faith of Western Learning won great response from the common people.
The traditional value system centered on Neo-Confucianism, which had been accumulated over a long time, faced a crisis, and Joseon society as a whole was facing an identity crisis. In Joseon's case, an identity controversy arose as Cheonju Sil-ui (The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven) and Seohak Jungwon-ron (Theory of Western Learning Originating from China) were accepted simultaneously. As seen in the case where Yeonam Park Ji-won (朴趾源, 1737-1805), while serving as the county magistrate of Myeoncheon in 1798, persuaded and leniently released Catholics, the Neo-Confucian intellectuals of the time were well aware of the methodological differences between Seohak (Western Learning) and Donghak (Eastern Learning) and had much interest in Seohak.
Accordingly, the newly introduced Daoism attracted attention as a response to Seohak (Western Learning). The influx of Nandan Daoism also explains why some segments of the yangban class accepted Donghak's rituals of incantations and spiritual talismans, which were unconventional for the time, without significant resistance. Even during the Donghak period, groups centered around some yangban that independently practiced cultivation related to Nandan Daoism also appear in the later denominational histories of Donghak or Daesoon. In the end, Donghak is an ideology presented amidst the clash of Eastern and Western worldviews, as the harms of Western modernity were exposed, and with the aim of saving the endangered East.
If the background of Donghak Thought's establishment includes the Eastern origins of Western modernity, the influx of Nandan Daoism, and the prevalence of Seohak (Western Learning), then in terms of correlative thinking, the conceptual establishment of Donghak Thought appears largely in the order of Donghak (Eastern Learning), Mugeuk Daedo (Great Dao of the Ultimate Void), Cheonji Gwisin (Heaven-Earth Ghosts-Spirits), and the Dasi Gaebyeok (Re-Opening) of the Sangwon-gap (First Cycle). Although much preceding research has been conducted on the establishment of Donghak in chronological order, not much has been done regarding the order of conceptual establishment, making it somewhat difficult to grasp the outline of Donghak Thought. The history of concepts is particularly important when comparing the two ideologies.
Looking at the order of conceptual establishment above, first, in the case of 'Donghak,' preceding research explains the reason Su-un adopted the term "Donghak" from two main standpoints. First, it is said to be represented by the meaning of Donghak (Eastern Learning) as opposing Seohak (Western Learning), and second, by the stance of Donghak as integrating Eastern and Western learning.149)150)151)
Although Daoism's influence was significant in the background of the establishment of Donghak's view of Earth, the actual establishment of the view of Earth occurred with the development of Donghak Thought after Su-un's year-long contemplation following the cheonsa-mundap (conversation with the Heavenly Master). The development of Donghak Thought, examined in relation to the establishment of indigenous modernity, appears largely in four stages. The first stage is when the cheonsa-mundap (conversation with the Heavenly Master) disappears and he writes at Eunjeogam (Hermitage of Seclusion); the second stage is when he only teaches the method to avoid siseok (execution); the third stage is the one leading to the Donghak Peasant Revolution after Su-un's death; and the fourth stage is the transition to Cheondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way) after the failure of the Donghak Peasant Revolution.
If the establishment of Donghak Thought was from the mystical experience on April 5, 1860, to Eunjeogam, then the development of Donghak Thought can be said to be from after Eunjeogam to the establishment of Cheondogyo. The Donghak Gasa (Donghak Songs) are established from the cheonsa-mundap (conversations with the Heavenly Master) and Su-un's writings up to his arrival at the Daegu governor's office (Daegu Gamyeong) in 1864, as well as the memories of Choe Si-hyeong and the Donghak followers regarding lost materials. In Daesoon Thought, it is also said that Su-un was receiving the Cheonmyeong (Heavenly Mandate) and Singyo (Divine Teaching) during this period. It is said that Su-un, after attaining the words of the Lord of Heaven (Cheonju) for himself on the 15th day of the 9th month of the Gyeongsin year (1860), no longer needed to have the cheonsa-mundap (conversation with the Heavenly Master).152) It is said that it was from this time that Su-un was encouraged by Sangje (the Supreme Ruler) to propagate the Way (podeok), proclaimed "Donghak," and began writing the Donggyeong Daejeon (Great Eastern Scripture) and Yongdam Yusa (Songs of Yongdam).153) Consequently, the later Donghak heavily reflected Su-un's thought.
In the Jeon-gyeong, it is said that Su-un's understanding of Donghak Thought, which developed subsequently, was initially an excellent understanding containing the three gi (energies)—the knowledge of Shao Kangjie (Kangjeol), the poetry of Li Bai (Ibaek) and Du Fu (Dubo), and the eloquence of Su Qin (Sojin) and Zhang Yi (Jang-ui)—but unfortunately, as it failed to overcome the limitations (jeonheon) of Confucianism, the Cheonmyeong (Heavenly Mandate) and Singyo (Divine Teaching) were inevitably withdrawn.154) In reality, on the 28th day of the 10th month of the Gyehae year (1863), after having a dream at his birthday banquet, Su-un only came to hear the method of avoiding arrows through the cheonsa-mundap (conversation with the Heavenly Master).155) It is said that upon parting with Choe Si-hyeong, Su-un could no longer even know the method to avoid arrows, and Sangje's assistance was cut off. Su-un was arrested in Gyeongju on December 20, 1863, by Jeong Un-gu (鄭雲龜), a seonjeon-gwan (royal envoy) sent by the royal court. It is said that Su-un actually did not expect his own arrest at this time at all. In the Dowon Giseo (Record of the Origins of the Way), which contains the content of Choe Si-hyeong's meeting and Q&A with Choe Su-un, there is the following record.
Before long, the 28th day of the 10th month arrived, marking his 40th birthday. "Although the Teacher (Seonsaeng) originally felt uncomfortable holding banquets" (including Sinsa), the disciples secretly prepared and arranged a large feast at the Yeongdeok-jeop (gathering place). The Teacher, upon receiving the feast table, picked up his spoon and chopsticks and said, "The world shall call me Cheonhwang-ssi (Mr. Heavenly Emperor)." Cheonhwang-ssi refers to the first emperor who opened the era of culture from the pre-cultural era. It is interpreted that the Great Divine Teacher (Daesinsa) claimed to be Cheonhwang-ssi in the sense that he himself had opened a new world again. After the feast table was cleared, the Great Divine Teacher (Daesinsa) received lectures (gang) one by one from the disciples on the <Heungbiga> (Song of Rising Joy) and then told them about a strange dream he had a few days prior. "In the dream, the killing energy (salgi) of the sun shone, then turned into fire and drew the character in (人, person) on my thigh for a long time. When I woke up and examined my thigh, a purple mark remained, and it did not fade for three days. After that, there were no more teachings from Sangje (the Supreme Ruler)."156)
The mention of Cheonhwang-ssi (Heavenly Emperor) appears in Daesoon Thought in connection with Geumsan Temple. It is a coincidence that the cheonsa-mundap (conversation with the Heavenly Master) ceased from the day he said he would be called Cheonhwang-ssi. It is also said that Su-un boasted that if one practiced Donghak cultivation, one would tong (attain enlightenment/mastery) within three years, and these parts are related to the limitations (jeonheon) of Confucianism.157)
From Eunjeogam, Su-un began to leave records of the Yongdam Yusa (Songs of Yongdam) and the Donggyeong Daejeon (Great Eastern Scripture), and various places in the Yongdam Yusa and Donggyeong Daejeon state that Su-un's recording work was done in a half-dreaming, half-awake state, similar to the cheonsa-mundap (conversation with the Heavenly Master). If so, like the Jeon-gyeong phrase, "The three gi (energies) are revealed in the Donghak Gasa (Songs)," it means that the Yongdam Yusa and Donggyeong Daejeon also contain much content of the Cheonmyeong (Heavenly Mandate) and Singyo (Divine Teaching). Donghak Thought researchers refer to the Donghak from 1860 to 1864 as early Donghak. The Daesoon Thought related to the Donghak Thought, as claimed by Daesoon Thought, extends up to early Donghak.158)
Whereas the indigenous ideologies of most colonized countries end up as the ideologies of minority groups, Donghak Thought developed into a new religious movement of the general public. The establishment period of Donghak was a perilous situation for the baekseong (common people) who were ignorant of the international situation, so Donghak became an important opportunity to gather the baekseong who had nowhere to rely on.
Donghak Thought developed into a peasant movement in Gobu, which was suffering the most severe exploitation at the time. At that time, Donghak's jeopju (local leaders) were distributed throughout the country, and when the Gyojo Sinwon Undong (Movement to Exonerate the Founder) occurred and the influence of the Donghak religion became known to the world, it became an object of suppression and, at the same time, an opportunity for vitalization.
Donghak Thought's view of Earth (Ji-gwan) is acquired as a result of Su-un's continuous cultivation, as seen in Su-un's comment criticizing Seohak (Western Learning) for believing in Sangje (the Supreme Ruler) without the "gihwa-ji-sin" (spirit of material force transformation). Just as Heaven and Earth all correspond to Earth (Ji) from the perspective of the transcendent Heaven, human cultivation also becomes the domain of johwa (creation-transformation) and gihwa (material force transformation), so Donghak Thought's view of Earth (Ji-gwan) is established by Su-un's continuous cultivation.
The change from the Eastern view of Earth (Ji-gwan), which regarded the given land as the view of Earth, to a view of Earth verified through cultivation was a groundbreaking change for its time. In a Confucian society where only the king could receive the Earth's gi (energy) and perform rites to the Earth, the view of Earth (Ji-gwan) that common people could communicate with the transcendent Heaven through cultivation becomes the starting point of indigenous modernity, where the boundary between the sacred and the secular is reorganized.
Liminality Aspects of the Johwajeong (Fixing the Creation-Transformation) View of Earth (Ji-gwan)
The Western modernity's view of Earth (Ji-gwan) and Donghak Thought's view of Earth (Ji-gwan) appear in mutually opposing aspects. The Western modernity's view of Earth (Ji-gwan) starts from the heliocentric theory, which is moved by the immanent Heaven, breaking from the geocentric theory, which is moved by the transcendent Heaven. In the heliocentric theory, the action of the immanent Heaven takes precedence over the will of the transcendent Heaven. The heliocentric theory, stating that the Earth rotates, not the Heaven, is called a Copernican Revolution and brought about a change that overturned all existing values. Values previously believed to be determined according to God's providence were all subjected to doubt. Sociologically, the heliocentric theory became the theoretical foundation of modernity, with the meaning that the person who works is more important. Donghak Thought also presents the Earth, presided over by the Lord of Heaven (Cheonju), not as the subsidiary nature of the past cheonjon-jibi (Heaven revered, Earth base), but as an existence of life that must be served like the Lord of Heaven (Cheonju).159)
Furthermore, in Donghak Thought, Earth is interpreted as the action of the transcendent Heaven. In Donghak Thought, where the transcendent Heaven is newly emphasized, the concept of Earth from existing Eastern thought is expanded to the entire action of the transcendent Heaven's johwa (creation-transformation), gihwa (material force transformation), and muwi-ihwa (non-acting transformation). Therefore, compared to the view of Earth (Ji-gwan) in existing Eastern thought, the life-thought (saengmyeong-sasang) is prominent in Donghak Thought's view of Earth. Accordingly, Donghak has attracted attention in later generations as a life-thought and an environmental-thought.
As Donghak is re-examined as a life-thought, Donghak's emphasis on Earth is also re-examined. Today's Korean organic farming method originated from Donghak Thought's Earth-centered thought. However, in Donghak Thought itself, the mention of Earth is not emphasized. Here, Donghak refers only up to early Donghak, so only early Donghak will be considered. What is considered Donghak are the Donghak Gasa (Donghak Songs) and Su-un Gasa (Su-un's Songs).
Heaven and Earth are also gwisin (ghosts-spirits), and gwisin are also yin-yang; how could the worthy gentlemen (hyeon-in gunja) know this, not knowing it as such (Yongdam Yusa, Dodeokga - Song of Morality).160)
The above example, when applied to Earth, means that Earth is elevated to a yin-yang relationship with Heaven. The yin-yang of the Book of Changes (Juyeok) did not emphasize the expression gwisin (ghosts-spirits), thus concealing the importance of Earth. In reality, in Donghak, the first person Su-un propagated the Way (podeok) to was his wife, who symbolized Earth, and he made cherishing women's rights the beginning of Donghak cultivation. The above example from Donghak Thought has hitherto been studied as an expression of the Neo-Confucian view of Earth (Ji-gwan), mainly due to the influence of traditional thought. Although Donghak did not overcome the limitations (jeonheon) of Confucianism, if we infer from the concepts of "jigi" (ultimate energy) and "Mugeuk Daedo" (Great Dao of the Ultimate Void), the view of Earth (Ji-gwan) in Donghak Thought shown in the above example implies the concept of "Ji-gye" (Earthly Realm), similar to Daoism.161)
Although it has been much emphasized that Donghak commonly implies Daoist elements such as yeongbu (spiritual talismans) and incantations, it has not been emphasized that Donghak also implies the Daoist view of Earth (Ji-gwan). Although Donghak's concept of the view of Earth (Ji-gwan) did not expand to the Ji-gye (Earthly Realm) by applying divine beings, it implied that possibility due to the influence of Daoism, which accommodates the Ji-gye. The above expression "Heaven and Earth are gwisin (ghosts-spirits)" is a concept that also appears in Neo-Confucianism, but in Donghak Thought, which accommodates Daoism, it can be interpreted as expanding beyond the Neo-Confucian concept to the Daoist concept of the Ji-gye (Earthly Realm).
The Daoist concept of the Ji-gye (Earthly Realm) implies the infinite expansion of the yin-yang concept. The infinite expansion of the yin-yang concept signifies a polytheistic system. The Daoist view of Earth (Ji-gwan) implies a polytheistic system (多神體系). However, although it is called polytheism, the Hindu polytheistic system and the Daoist polytheistic system are distinguished from the Hindu polytheistic system in that they have the consistency of the infinite expansion of the yin-yang principle. The Hindu polytheistic system also has room to be interpreted as an infinite expansion of the Indo-European traditional three-function system.
Therefore, the above expression "Heaven and Earth are also gwisin (ghosts-spirits)" is a phrase showing that Donghak Thought's view of Earth (Ji-gwan), like its view of Heaven (Cheon-gwan), shows a view of Earth different from Seohak (Western Learning), possessing the principles of the divine-being realm wherein the Daoist bureaucratic system is inherent. The above example shows that Donghak Thought's view of Earth (Ji-gwan) is a new view of Earth, different from the dry view of Earth (Ji-gwan) of materialistic Seohak (Western Learning) which excludes spirit, and also different from the Neo-Confucian view of Earth (Ji-gwan) which moves only according to the system of ibeop (principle-law).
Furthermore, the view of Earth (Ji-gwan) in Donghak Thought shown in the above example shares the commonality with the Daoist view of Earth (Ji-gwan) in being an infinite expansion of yin-yang, but it is different from Donghak Thought in that the Daoist view of Earth (Ji-gwan) does not emphasize the principle according to the Heaven-beyond-Heaven. Donghak Thought's view of Earth (Ji-gwan), which emphasizes the Heaven-beyond-Heaven, emphasizes the variability of the view of Earth (Ji-gwan) compared to the Daoist thought's view of Earth (Ji-gwan). While the Daoist thought's view of Earth (Ji-gwan) emphasizes the lawfulness according to the principle of geon-gon (Heaven-Earth), Donghak Thought's view of Earth (Ji-gwan) emphasizes the variability by the Heaven-beyond-Heaven. Furthermore, Donghak Thought, in its concepts of Sicheonju (Serving the Lord of Heaven) and jigi (ultimate energy), shows that Earth is also a world that follows the principle of the Lord of Heaven (Cheonju), and thus is a harmonistic view of Earth (Ji-gwan) that can respond to the human who practices Sicheonju.
Donghak Thought, which defined the Earth as a total system of divine spirits (Sinmyeong) following the command of the Heaven above heaven, Sangje, further re-established the center and periphery of the Earth. Donghak Thought implies that the center of the Earth could be Korea, where Sangje appeared, by designating Korea as the location of the Myeongdang (propitious site). This is expressed as Myeongdang, and Myeongdang expands into the issue of Sojunghwa (Minor Sinocentrism) and Daejunghwa (Greater Sinocentrism). In Neo-Confucianism, the Myeongdang was China, and there was an ideology of Korea as Sojunghwa (Minor Sinocentrism), but Donghak emphasized that Korea is the Myeongdang. The content of Donghak's view of Earth, like its view of Heaven, was very innovative, but its value was hidden, and that value is clearly revealed in Daesoon Thought's view of the Earthly Realm (Jigyegwan).
Aspects of Liminality in the Animistic (鬼神論的) Heaven-Earth Relationship in Donghak Thought
Donghak's view of Heaven, which first provided the idea of "serving Heaven," has received the most attention in Donghak Thought. Prior research on the characteristics of Donghak Thought's view of Heaven is largely divided into formal aspects and content-related aspects.
In terms of formal aspects, Donghak Thought's view of Heaven is represented by the view of Heaven-and-Earth based on the traditional Yin-Yang theory that "Heaven and Earth are Gwisin, and Gwisin are Heaven and Earth." The identity of Heaven-and-Earth and Gwisin mentioned in Donghak Thought is the same in expression as the identity of Gwisin and Heaven-and-Earth spoken of in Confucianism, but there is a significant difference in whether the Heaven-and-Earth of the concept is the transcendent Heaven or the immanent Heaven. As the concept of Heaven (Cheon) in Donghak Thought expands to Cheonoecheon (Heaven outside of Heaven), the existing concepts of Heaven-and-Earth and Gwisin are also newly repositioned. Expressions emphasizing the identity of Heaven-and-Earth and Gwisin as the transcendent Heaven appear variously in Donghak Thought.
In Donghak Thought, the concept of Gwisin, which was previously used only as the immanent Heaven, is first applied to the transcendent Heaven.
They know Heaven and Earth, but they do not know Gwisin (spirits/gods); that Gwisin is also Me.162)
(知天地而無知鬼神, 鬼神者吾也)
In the above excerpt, the meaning of "that which is called Gwisin is also I" shows that the term Gwisin, known only as the action of Yin and Yang, i.e., as the Heaven within Heaven-and-Earth, is actually by the action of the Heaven outside of Heaven, the Cheonoecheon. In Donghak Thought, Gwisin as the Cheonoecheon gives spirit (Simnyeong) to the human mind, offering hope that humans are beings who can escape the Heaven-and-Earth filled with suffering. This concept of Gwisin as Cheonoecheon is also used as a criticism against Seohak (Western Learning), which knows only the Cheonoecheon and not the immanent Heaven.
"They speak as if they see Sangjenim (the Supreme God) in the Okgyeongdae (Jade Capital Terrace) in Heaven; setting aside the principles of Yin and Yang (Eumyangirchi), is this not just empty talk (Heomusijiseol)? The Mugo (sorcery) affair of the Han dynasty has been transmitted to our East, and what every household reveres is, by every name, a Gwisin. Look at this kind of perception! That Heaven and Earth are also Gwisin, and Gwisin are also Yin and Yang; since they did not know this, what is the use of examining the scriptures (Gyeongjeon)? Since they did not know the Dao and virtue, how could the worthy scholars (Hyeoningunja) know?"163)
In the above excerpt, "They speak as if they see... is this not just empty talk?" is a criticism that Seohak's view of Heaven—which knows the Cheonoecheon but lacks the concept of the immanent Heaven divided into Heaven-and-Earth—lacks the Yin-Yang principles of the immanent Heaven through which one experiences the actual workings of Heaven, and thus can only be making empty claims of baseless wishes. On the other hand, Donghak Thought claims to have presented an integrated perspective capable of penetrating the content of the scriptures by adding the Cheonoecheon view of Heaven, which was lacking in the East, onto the foundation of Eastern thought that valued the immanent Heaven.
Here, Seohak is compared to the Mugojihwa (sorcery catastrophe) of the Han dynasty, which deluded the people by emphasizing power over principle. Mugo refers to an effigy resembling a human body, made of straw, wood, or other materials, for sorcery. The Mugojihwa refers to the incident where countless people died due to Emperor Wu of Han's intervention in the prince succession issue using Mugo. In conclusion, it is said that Seohak, which emphasizes only the transcendent Heaven without the immanent Heaven, will, like Mugo, lead to empty results.
"The movement of a person's limbs, this too is Gwisin;"
"The mind's workings between good and evil, this too is Giun (energy/spirit);"
"Speaking and laughing, this too is Johwa (creation-transformation)."164)
The above excerpt shows that Gwisin as the Cheonoecheon is an entity that also acts upon everyday things (Ilyongsateul) where substance is primary, thereby accommodating the Western view of Heaven as well. Furthermore, the Giun and Johwa connected after Gwisin ultimately show that Gwisin, Johwa, and Giun are the same action.
Compared to Sicheonju, Donghak's Yin-Yang view of Heaven-and-Earth (Eumyangcheonjigwan) has not received attention. Donghak Thought's Yin-Yang view of Heaven-and-Earth has been regarded as a Confucian view of Gwisin (Yugyojeok Gwisinsangwan) due to a tendency within Donghak Thought to follow the precedents of Confucianism. However, the Yin-Yang view of Heaven-and-Earth presented by Donghak Thought was a different concept from the Confucian Heaven-and-Earth-Gwisin view, in that it was a Cheonoecheon's view of Heaven-and-Earth. However, in Donghak, which lacked the concept of Sinmyeong (divine spirits), the Yin-Yang-Heaven-and-Earth view was not sufficiently explained, and it is explained concretely in Daesoon Thought, which includes the concept of Sinmyeong.
The change in the view of Heaven into a transcendent heaven—the 'heaven above heaven'—also transforms the Heaven-human relationship and the Earth-human relationship. Through these altered Heaven-human and Earth-human relationships, autogenous modernity becomes all the more pronounced. Calvin's doctrine of predestination, identified as the harbinger of Western modernity, is representative of the change in the Heaven-human relationship. The doctrine of predestination is said to have laid the cornerstone of modernity—salvation through effort rather than salvation through priests—and Weber called this the Protestant ethic that became the origin of capitalism. The Heaven-Earth and Heaven-human relationships presented by Donghak Thought negate the 'physical nature' (gijiljiseong) of the older Li-Qi theory, in which there was discrimination between yangban and the lowborn. Donghak Thought seeks to take only the strengths from among the Eastern and Western Heaven-Earth and Heaven-human relationships.
The Heaven-Earth relationship in Donghak Thought was expressed in various places as a Gwisin-ron (ghost-spirit/god theory)-based Heaven-Earth relationship. In the case of Cheonjigwisin (Heaven-Earth Ghosts-Spirits), Cheonjigwisin becomes another element that differentiates Donghak from Daoism and Seohak. Cheonjigwisin, unlike in Daoism, means Cheonju (Heavenly Lord) in Donghak Thought, and unlike in Seogyo (Western Religion), it also means immanent transcendence. First, looking at the case where it means a transcendent being, it states Gwisinjaoya (鬼神者吾也, That which is Gwisin is I), specifying Gwisin as the Cheonju, saying "Gwisin is none other than Haneullim (God)." However, this Gwisin is soon depicted as immanent transcendence in various ways. "My mind (of the Cheonju) is none other than your mind (Osimjeugyeosim)," "The mind of Heaven is none other than the mind of man (Cheonsimjeug-insim)," "The movement of a person's hands and feet, that too is Gwisin." It is depicted as such.165)166)167)
Traditionally in the East, it is said that Zhu Xi (朱子, 朱熹, 1130-1200) concisely summarized the principled identity of Heaven (Cheon), Gwisin (ghosts-spirits/gods), and Sangje (Supreme God). "When referring to its manifest form, it is called Heaven (Cheon); when referring to its presiding aspect, it is called Je (帝, Sangje); and when referring to its operational aspect, it is called Gwisin." It is said that even in the Ibeopcheon (Heaven as Principle) of Neo-Confucianism before the emergence of Donghak Thought, the rudiments of a view of Sangje were visible.168)169)
Cheonji (Heaven-and-Earth) as Gwisin in Donghak Thought, unlike Zhu Xi's Gwisin in traditional Neo-Confucianism, included the meaning of Cheonju (Heavenly Lord) in addition to the meaning of Yin and Yang. In Donghak Thought's Gwisin, the meanings of a personal god and a god of principle (Ibeopsin) appear simultaneously.
The concept of Heaven-and-Earth as Gwisin, which includes the meaning of Cheonju as it appears in Donghak Thought, provides an anti-structural property of liminality to the Cheonjonjibi (Heaven revered, Earth debased) relationship of Heaven-and-Earth. Following the Heaven-Human and Earth-Human relationships changed through Sicheonju, Sicheonju also changes the Heaven-Earth relationship through Johwa (creation-transformation/harmony). All things and all affairs (Manmulmansa), represented by Heaven and Earth, are integrated into Jigi (Ultimate Gi).
The Gwisin-ron-based Heaven-Earth relationship revitalizes the Cheonjonjibi Heaven-Earth view of Cheondojideok (Way of Heaven, Virtue of Earth) into the traditional, equal Heaven-Earth relationship of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements. Accordingly, Suun first chose his wife as the subject of his propagation, practicing the harmonized Heaven-Earth relationship of Donghak Thought through a Jeongeumjeongyang (correct Yin, correct Yang) marital relationship, unseen in the Neo-Confucian marital relationship. Following Suun's precedent, Donghak followers made it their first practice to convert the ancient human relationships, such as those between husband and wife or father and son, which were based on the Yin-Yang relationship of Eogeumjonyang (suppressing Yin, revering Yang), into Jeongeumjeongyang relationships.
The Gwisin-ron-based Heaven-Earth relationship manifests as the practice of Muwiyihwa (spontaneous transformation). Muwiyihwa was a new concept that simultaneously implied the Muwijayeon (spontaneous nature) based on Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, and the Western Johwa (creation) concept of the four elements. Muwiyihwa was also interpreted in Donghak to mean Naeyusillyeong Oeyugihwa (spirit dwelling within, Gi transforming without), which is a detailed expression concretizing the Johwa concept appearing in Sicheonju. If viewed from the relationship of cheonjonjibi (heaven revered, earth base), sillyeong (divine spirit) and gihwa (materialization/qi-transformation) are also in a hierarchical relationship of noble and base. By serving the Cheonju (Heavenly Lord) who is transcendent above the three realms (samgye), the hierarchical relationship transforms into an equal yin-yang relationship, which can be seen as the meaning of naeyu sillyeong oeyu gihwa (divine spirit within, materialization without). Muu-i-ihwa (effortless transformation) thus develops to signify, in Donghak thought, a state where the harmony of muu-i jayeon (effortless nature) is practiced within the mind through the internal-external relationship of sillyeong and gihwa. While muu-i jayeon was interpreted as the harmony of yin-yang and the five elements in yin-yang and five elements thought, as the yin-yang and five elements became mutually conflicting (sanggeuk), muu-i-ihwa was emphasized in Donghak thought to add the concept of liminality that transforms this conflicting relationship.
Indigenous Modernity of the Yeongsebulmang (Eternal Non-forgetting) View of Humanity (In-gwan)
The Western Developmental (成長論的) View of Humanity
In the Western views of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity, which look at the world from bottom to top, Humanity, amidst the evolving Heaven and Earth, aims for growth. In the Western tradition that aims for substantiality, Humanity was an individual who focuses on salvation to ascend from Earth back to Heaven after losing paradise in Heaven due to original sin, evolving from a struggling human like Prometheus who realizes the ideals of the Idea in the material of the Earth. In the modern era where God has disappeared, Western Humanity, as a solitary existence separated from Heaven and Earth, becomes a phenomenological growth theory pursuing success alone in a differentiated world, that is, an existential human being.
Unlike Eastern Humanity, whose sense of duty to participate in the creative transformation (hwa-yuk) of Heaven and Earth within a close relationship with Heaven and Earth led to a preoccupation with anxiety (uhwan-uisik), the West prioritized an existential consciousness directly related to the Heaven-beyond-Heaven over an anxiety consciousness related to Heaven and Earth. Western original sin thought, unlike the Eastern theory of inherent evil (seongak-seol), also did not prohibit humans from instrumentally manipulating nature.
The Western growth-oriented view of humanity has been studied in mythology and psychology. In mythology, the Western growth theory has been studied focusing on individual growth, like the hero's cycle. Scholars like Campbell sometimes interpret all world myths as hero myths. The East, unlike the West, prioritizes the growth of Heaven and Earth, namely the Cheonji-jiyong (Function of Heaven and Earth) of Cheonji-hwa-yuk (Creative Transformation of Heaven and Earth)—such as potae-yangsaeng-yokdae-gwanwang-soebyeong-sajang (conception, nourishment, bathing-girding, capping-flourishing, decline-sickness, death-burial)—even for the same growth.170) Western psychology, stating that the Western modern view of humanity has hitherto been biased towards negative views of humanity, such as psychoanalysis or behaviorism, emphasizes growth more with a growth-oriented view of humanity. Eastern psychologists evaluate that Western views of humanity, such as psychoanalysis, which sees all human desires as transformations of sexual desire, or behaviorism, which sees them as material desires, are self-affirmative views of humanity compared to the East.171)
The Western view of humanity is expressed concentratedly in the growth-oriented view of humanity and the recent posthumanism view of humanity, which is its reflection. The growth-oriented view of humanity is the view of humanity in existentialist psychological theory, which views human desire positively and approaches it focusing on the inner spirit, in contrast to behaviorism and psychoanalysis, which viewed human desire negatively and took a technology-oriented approach. According to the growth-oriented view of humanity, human desire is not negative, but humans simply have various needs. The growth-oriented view of humanity is a general term for theories of the view of humanity (In-gwan) that emphasize the growth aspect, assuming that human needs are latent in stages and that these needs appear developmentally from lower (下級) ones to higher ones. The growth-oriented view of humanity presented a view of humanity aiming for self-realization-based problem-solving based on the theory of inherent goodness (seongseon-seol), in contrast to the classical view of humanity aiming for technology-centered problem-solving based on the theory of inherent evil (seongak-seol). Theories of the view of humanity included in such growth theories include Maslow's (A.H. Maslow) hierarchy of needs theory, which appeared in the mid-1940s and later formed the basis of growth theory, as well as McGregor's (D. McGregor) Theory X and Theory Y, Herzberg's (F. Herzberg) two-factor theory (二要因理論), Allport's (G. W. Allport) trait theory, and Argyris's (C. Argyris) immaturity-maturity theory, presented in the 1960s.
Posthumanism is based on the 4th Industrial Revolution, and the 4th Industrial Revolution is also interpreted as the industrial revolution of the self-realization stage spoken of by the growth-oriented view of humanity.172) Furthermore, it is sometimes said that existentialism is finally being achieved in the posthuman era and aligns with the future prospects spoken of by Korea's new religions.173)
The positive view of humanity presented by the growth-oriented view of humanity, in contrast to the existing seongak-seol (theory of inherent evil)-based psychological view of humanity, appears, in Maslow's case, as affirmation of desire, growth, and the world, respectively. First, in the case of desire, Maslow affirms desire by stating that the self-actualization need, which appears after all lower-level needs are met, is an individual's yearning for self-enhancement and the desire to realize everything one possesses as potential.
Second, it affirms growth. Maslow regarded the lower four needs in the hierarchy of needs—the 'lower' needs of physiology, safety, belonging, and esteem—as all being 'deficiency motives' that arise from the lack of some external condition. The operation of such deficiency motives generally follows a 'tension-reduction model.' By contrast, the highest need, the need for self-actualization, is a 'growth motive' that seeks one's own growth. This “arises from being (being) itself rather than from a state of deficiency, and pursues an increase of tension rather than a reduction of tension. Hence it is called a 'being motive,' which, by pursuing distant goals connected to the innate impulse to realize the individual's potential, enriches life by broadening experience and thereby increases the joy of living.” 174)
Third, it affirms the world. Maslow criticized the psychopathological aspect of the human being emphasized by psychoanalysis—the first force in American psychology of the time—as well as the mechanistic aspect and the reductionistic, deterministic worldview emphasized by behaviorism, the second force; and he pursued self-actualization while respecting the human potentiality of the individual, grounded in the subjectivity and wholeness of the human being as an integrated being. Pursuing and understanding the truly human nature of the human being, and orienting toward a world that contributes to human growth and happiness, Maslow's psychological theory made him an idol of the young people of that time. 175)
It is said that the positive attributes of humans asserted by Maslow are attributes very opposite to the attributes of humans that posthumans can replace. The reason posthuman is very shocking to human society is that machines have surpassed humans in calculation ability, which corresponds to instrumental reason, among reason, which had been regarded as an attribute representing humans that machines could not replace. However, the more artificial intelligence was studied, the more Moravec's paradox appeared: humans have intelligence opposite to artificial intelligence, so what humans are good at, artificial intelligence is bad at, and what humans are bad at, artificial intelligence is good at.176) This Moravec's paradox, through the Chinese room argument by the critical posthumanist Searle (John Searle), revealed the limitation that even artificial intelligence, which passed the Turing test and was determined to be intelligent, is difficult to regard as having human intelligence like posthumans.177)178)
In the posthuman era, humans must now focus on the intelligence that humans do better than machines for co-evolution to be possible, and the representative one among them pointed out is human growth intelligence. Coincidentally, the Eastern relationship between divine beings and humans also has the characteristic of organic humans and mechanistic divine beings. The reason humans came to have growth intelligence differently from machines is that because survival was the goal for humans for a long time, human intelligence was not artificial narrow intelligence specialized in specific parts, but had the property of artificial general intelligence, which developed slowly but evenly across all fields. Growth intelligence, which can form symbols and communities to achieve self-development, has attracted attention as an intelligence unique to humans.179) Indeed, humans have made existential efforts to exist for tens of thousands of years, and in that process, they were positive beings who developed intelligence through numerous symbols that artificial intelligence cannot imitate and came to have the motive for self-realization. Humans finally came to achieve self-realization as individuals from the group.180) Maslow's 4-stage growth process can be compared with the gwanwang (capping-flourishing) of Daesoon Thought and the potae (conception) of Donghak Thought.181)
The Western growth-oriented view of humanity led modern scientific and technological development and achieved various social developments, but the dogmatic development of humans, excluding Heaven and Earth, paradoxically led humanity to the verge of annihilation due to the betrayal of Heaven and Earth. The Western view of humanity, which has loosened the reins of desire but has no way to tie them again, came to need a new alternative modernity.
The Eastern Transformative Contact (接化的) View of Humanity
Unlike the West, which emphasizes the Heaven-beyond-Heaven, the East emphasizes the role of Humanity in connecting the Heaven-within-Heaven, that is, the Heaven and Earth of the immanent Heaven, and the space between Heaven and Earth. Accordingly, the Eastern view of humanity has a grafting (jeophwa) characteristic in which correlative thinking is prominent. Regarding correlative thinking, which enables understanding of the Eastern view of humanity, follow-up research in modern philosophy has been conducted by Shim Gwang-hyeon and others since Kim Sang-il. The Eastern grafting view of humanity, due to the nature of correlative thinking, appears prominently in Korea's aesthetic characteristics among Korea, China, and Japan.182)
Shim Gwang-hyeon defined the characteristic of Korean culture as fractal, compared it in detail with Western postmodernism, and then applied it to Korean culture in general. Shim Gwang-hyeon states that the Eastern science, which says that the same structure repeats today, is expressed in a word as a fractal structure, and also says that the Hallyu (Korean Wave) receives global support because all cultures have the most fractal characteristics in the world based on Eum-Yang O-Haeng (Yin-Yang and Five Elements).183) The Eastern grafting view of humanity is well revealed in the fractal characteristics.184)
The fractal theory, from fractal meaning a part, is the theory that the structure of the whole appears in the structure of the part, meaning that no matter how complex the universe is, like a computer, it is a repetition of the same structure, just like the repetition of 0 and 1, such as yin and yang. The Eastern Eum-Yang O-Haeng, which states that the Eum-Yang O-Haeng structure of Heaven is also in Earth and in Humanity, so if one knows the Eum-Yang O-Haeng structure of Humanity, one can know Earth and also the principles of Heaven, is a typical fractal theory. This has been expressed as ichi (principle) in the East, and the Eastern grafting view of humanity is that humans possess the ichi of Heaven and Earth simultaneously, so humans are beings who can and must participate in the creative transformation (hwa-yuk) of Heaven and Earth.
The Eastern grafting view of humanity shares the commonality with the Western growth-oriented view of humanity in that it views human abilities highly, but what is different is that in the East, Heaven and Earth are not objects on which human abilities must be realized; on the contrary, human abilities are gifts from Heaven and Earth, and humans are beings who must repay the grace to Heaven and Earth. Since the Heaven and Earth of the East were not material and form but assimilation and condensation that creatively transformed all things, the Eastern intellectual's anxiety consciousness (uhwan-uisik) that one could not match and participate in the creative transformation efforts of Heaven and Earth took precedence over the existential consciousness of individual growth.
With the modernization of the West, the Eastern grafting view of humanity was dismissed as a pre-modern object of enlightenment even by Eastern intellectuals, but today it is being re-evaluated in various ways according to East-West exchange. First, the researcher who expanded the East's correlative thinking to the level of Western cognitive psychology is Choi In-cheol. Choi In-cheol, in joint research with Nisbett, cognitively and psychologically proved the correlative perception of Eastern thought, creating a field of study in this area. By them, it has also been proven through psychological experiments today that the East and West are represented by collectivism and individualism.185)
The person who actually expanded Choi In-cheol's research to Eastern psychology is Cho Gung-ho. Cho Gung-ho showed that the Eastern cognitive system, which grasps the part from the whole, also influenced human psychological ethics, creating a system of Confucian psychology different from the West in the East, especially in Confucianism.186) In reality, the East has emphasized holistic moderation rather than professionalism.187)
The researcher who expanded correlative thinking linguistically and pedagogically is Cho Ok-gu. Cho Ok-gu explains the traditional Eastern Cheonjamun (Thousand Character Classic) education, which starts learning from 'Haneul Cheon Tta Ji (Heaven Sky Earth Ground),' and the Western-style modern education, which starts learning from 'Yeonghui-ya Cheolsu-ya (Names),' as differences in Eastern and Western cognitive systems, suggesting that Eastern correlative thinking can be an alternative science to modern civilization.188)
Existing senior scholars such as Lee O-young also joined in proposing theories of Donghak's correlative thinking against Western analytical thinking, but the person who synthesized these theories and comprehensively explained the correlative thinking system is Park Jae-ju. Park Jae-ju has comprehensively organized it, centering on Whitehead's thought.189)
According to the East's generative thinking, which thinks from top to bottom, in correlative thinking, Humanity's position in the universe becomes an existence that grafts (jeophwa) with Heaven and Earth, as an existence possessing all the attributes of Heaven and Earth. Therefore, Heaven and Earth come to need Humanity for the mediation of Heaven and Earth, and bestow upon Humanity the most outstanding gi (energy) from Heaven and Earth.
The gi of Eum-Yang O-Haeng flows into the midst of Heaven and Earth; the outstanding becomes Humanity, and the dregs become things. Among the outstanding, the outstanding become saints and sages; among the outstanding, the dregs become foolish people and unworthy people.190)
Humans, born from the grafting (jeophwa) of the gi (energies) of Heaven and Earth, have the duty, along with Heaven and Earth, to participate in Heaven and Earth's creative transformation (hwa-yuk) of all things. Heaven and Earth creatively transform (hwa-yuk) Humanity with Seong-Gyeong-Sin (Sincerity, Reverence, Faith), and Humanity becomes an existence that repays this with Seong-Gyeong-Sin.191)
Only those who practice utmost Sincerity (誠) under Heaven (天下) can fully realize their own Nature (性); if they can fully realize their own Nature, they can fully realize the Nature of other people. If they can fully realize the Nature of other people, they can fully realize the Nature of things; if they can fully realize the Nature of things, they will be able to assist the Creative Transformation (化育) of Heaven and Earth (天地). If they assist the Creative Transformation of Heaven and Earth, they participate (in the Creative Transformation of Heaven and Earth) along with Heaven and Earth.192)
In the above example, the grafting (jeophwa) human is an existence that has received the gi (energies) of Heaven and Earth respectively, this is called Nature (性), and appears as an existence that returns this Nature to Heaven and Earth by fulfilling it with Sincerity (誠). Ames and Hall, who have translated Eastern thought through correlative thinking, translate the Doctrine of the Mean (Zhongyong) as 'Focusing on the Familiar,' and say that the Sincerity (誠) of Heaven and Earth, when interpreted from the Western substantial worldview, should be interpreted as the Creativity spoken of by the philosopher of postmodernity, Whitehead, in his process thought. It is said that Whitehead also commented on this.
In all philosophic theory there is an ultimate which is actual in virtue of its accidents. […] In the philosophy of organism this ultimate is termed 'creativity.' […] In monistic philosophies […] this ultimate is God, who is also termed by the name 'the Absolute.' In such monistic philosophical schemes, the ultimate is unjustifiably allowed a final, 'eminent' reality that transcends every accident. From this point of view, the philosophy of organism seems much closer to the philosophical schools of India and China than to the thought of West Asia or Europe. 193)
When Sincerity (誠) is interpreted as creativity, Heaven and Earth's saeng-in (giving birth to humans) is also creativity, and what humans return is also creativity. In grafting (jeophwa), the concept of creativity becomes core. The Eastern grafting view of humanity pursued harmony with nature and did not pursue excessive development, but it became fixed in correlative thinking, entered a fixed state of forgetting the thinking before correlative thinking—that is, the Heaven-beyond-Heaven—and rejecting new things, thus failing to respond properly to Western criticism like that of Matteo Ricci. Accordingly, only after the shock from the West did the East come to seek indigenous modernity.
From the perspective of Lee Young-ran's liminality theory, following heaven (1) and earth (2, 1+2), the human (3, 1+2, 1+2+3) is a being capable of changing beyond the human into a third existence (1+2+3=1′), and this liminal aspect of changeability becomes the jeophwajeok characteristic of humans. Because humans possess the yin and yang bestowed by heaven and earth—namely the hon (spiritual soul) and baek (corporeal soul)—they can change themselves, and thus can become a ji-in (one who knows) capable of recognizing the performance of transformative nourishment (cheonji hwayuk) staged by the universe. Furthermore, humans must reach the stage of being performers themselves in the universe. In the indigenous modernity's view of humanity, which was prompted by the shock from the West, liminality prepares for the realization of the ideal view of humanity.
The Clash and Mutual Antagonism of East-West Views of Humanity in Modernity
The Clash of Views of Humanity
The Eastern and Western views of humanity already contained many problems even before the East and West interacted. As the Eastern and Western views of humanity developed independently, the shortcomings of each view of humanity also became prominent. First, in the case of earth, water, fire, and wind, as the fifth element became monotheized, the divine-being system of earth, water, fire, and wind first disappeared in the West. In the weakened earth-water-fire-wind views of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity, the divine beings of earth, water, fire, and wind are mistreated and ousted, and the Heaven-Humanity relationship is privatized into a contractual relationship between the monotheistic God and humans. Humanity is relegated to the status of a sinner before the monotheistic God, becoming an existence that must repent and be saved, attaining a status where they can only go to paradise after death. In the East, as correlative thinking solidified, the discrimination between yangban (nobility) and sangnom (commoners) intensified. This encountered an opportunity for change through East-West exchange.194)
Like the economic law that bad money drives out good, as the East and West interact, they exchange strengths, but the shortcomings in their views of humanity become more prominent. As the East and West interact, the West's transcendent-oriented view of humanity first changes to an immanent-oriented view of humanity. The West, having learned from Matteo Ricci that an ethical human society is possible even without a transcendent God, no longer desires God's salvation, and God's place is replaced by material.
The clash of Eastern and Western views of humanity occurs from the imperialist period, which arose after the West, having achieved modernity through Eastern thought, cultivated national power through the policy of buguk gangbyeong (rich country, strong military). As the East and West clash, the Heaven of earth, water, fire, and wind—which was originally the mediator of earth, water, fire, and wind as the fifth element—loses its attribute as an immanent god and appears as a transcendent god. To the transcendent monotheistic God, Earth is provided as an object of domination and conquest that humans can enjoy, and the East also corresponds to this.
The Eastern and Western views of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity, unlike their superficial differences, also share a common origin when tracing back to antiquity. In the case of the 36 Heavens, which also appear in Daesoon Thought, they also appear in the Daoist 36 Heavens view, which is related to the common pre-Buddhist East-West origin of the views of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity. It is said that the Daoist 36 Heavens view, which appears in the Daoist Lingbao (Spiritual Treasure) scriptures, is related to the Buddhist 28 Heavens view, which appears in the Abhidharmakośa-śāstra. The Buddhist 28 Heavens view is vertically divided into the Desire Realm (yokgye), Form Realm (saekgye), and Formless Realm (musaekgye), and the Daoist 36 Heavens are said to also be distinguished by the meaning of horizontal division in the four cardinal directions (East, West, South, North), but the Buddhist 28 Heavens are also said to be related to the 28 lunar mansions (constellations) of astronomy, like Daoism.195) The Abhidharmakośa-śāstra, where the Buddhist 28 Heavens first appear, is a Hinayana scripture regarded as Buddhist teaching, but the Buddhist 28 Heavens theory is considered a legacy of the Indo-European trifunctional system, which predates the establishment of Buddhism, and this is said to originate further back from common East-West astronomical thought.196)
The trifunctional system is a theory stating that in both the myths and social organizations of the vast region spanning ancient India and Europe, where a common language was spoken, a system of classes appeared, similar to Cheon-Ji-In (Heaven-Earth-Humanity): the religious class like Heaven—Brahman; the warrior (戰士) class like Humanity—Kshatriya (Chal-lijong, 刹利種); and the producer class like Earth—the Vaishya-Shudras lineage. In fact, Dumézil, who first discovered the trifunctional system theory, investigated ancient cultures in over 50 languages and stated that the trifunctional system commonly appears in the Trojan War depicted in Greco-Roman mythology and in Hindu mythology. In fact, the Trojan War of Greek mythology is said to have been a war among Aphrodite, symbolizing production and beauty; Hera, symbolizing religion; and Athena, symbolizing politics. In India's case as well, Mitra of the Maitreya lineage, who also appears in Buddhism, governs religion along with Varuna, and Vajra, the god of lightning who appears in the Geumgangsan (Diamond Mountain) lineage, governs politics along with Indra.197) It is said that the reason the Abhidharmakośa-śāstra, which is said to be Buddhism's unique teaching, includes pre-Buddhist teachings is related to the process of Mahayana Buddhist doctrines, which conflict with Hinayana Buddhism, being accepted into Buddhism.198) According to Sasaki Shizuka (佐佐木閑), who is renowned as a scientific interpreter of Buddhist scriptures, the scope of what could be accepted as Buddhist was greatly expanded through two Buddhist councils, as appears in King Ashoka's inscriptions. Therefore, Geumgangsan (Diamond Mountain), which plays a major role in the Buddhist view of the Heavenly Realm that also appears in Daesoon Thought, is structured to form a trifunctional system with Vajra, the god of lightning in ancient Indian mythology.199)
If the Buddhist trifunctional system has a temporal vertical character, in the case of the Chinese views of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity, which were changed by ancient East-West exchange, the Samjae-gwan (Three Powers view) appears more prominently as the spatial arrangement of Cheon-Ji-In (Heaven-Earth-Humanity). The Daoist 36 Heavens view of the Heavenly Realm internally includes the Buddhist 28 Heavens view of the Heavenly Realm. In the case of the East Asian views of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity, where spatial arrangement is emphasized, the driving force of the Samjae (Three Powers) circulation also appears as the seungbu (victory/defeat or contest) between ancestors and descendants rather than the reincarnation of individual karma.200) Therefore, in East Asia, the views of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity mythologically appear with the Gonggong-jok (Gonggong tribe), a representative civilized tribe, as the underworld civilization god, and the underworld god appears as its relic.201)
In Seohak (Western Learning), Catholicism, the Euro-Indian trifunctional system is also reflected in its views of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity. Zoroastrianism, often said to be the origin of the Abrahamic religions, also emphasizes the post-mortem Heavenly Realm and the Court of Judgment (Myeongbu), based on the trifunctional system originating from the god Mithra, who is the origin of Maitreya.202)
Although the Western views of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity, represented by the trifunctional system, and the Eastern Samjae-gwan (Three Powers view), represented by Cheon-Ji-In (Heaven-Earth-Humanity), share common points, the two views of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity show differences in the method of distinguishing the creator of the three realms from the three realms, in addition to the difference in emphasis on time and space. The Western views of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity, compared to the Eastern Samjae-gwan (Three Powers view), have the creator continuously intervening, and in Seohak (Western Learning), the gods of the Heavenly, Earthly, and Human realms even disappear, becoming a monotheistic system. On the other hand, in the Eastern Samjae-gwan (Three Powers view), the creator appears as a hidden god (Deus absconditus). Sangje (the Supreme Ruler), who appears in Donghak Thought and Daesoon Thought, simultaneously manifests the attributes of the East's hidden god and the West's monotheistic God, thus appearing as a similar part to Seohak (Western Learning) and Daoism.203)
The common origin inherent in Eastern and Western views of humanity becomes the background for forming the view of humanity of indigenous modernity as the East and West interact. The Eastern view of humanity, buried in correlative thinking, also finds an opportunity for change through the intervention of the transcendent Heaven, and the West also finds an opportunity to re-establish the East's immanent Heaven, which it had materialized.
The Mutual Conflict (Sanggeuk-hwa) of the Heaven-Humanity (Cheon-In) and Earth-Humanity (Ji-In) Relationships
As the East and West develop individually, the Eum-Yang O-Haeng (Yin-Yang and Five Elements) and earth-water-fire-wind views of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity become characterized by sanggeuk (mutual conflict) in different directions, but the two thought systems become sophisticated. In the Eum-Yang O-Haeng (Yin-Yang and Five Elements) worldview, the Heaven-Humanity relationship shifts from the personal Heaven-Humanity relationship of the Classic of Poetry (Shijing) and the Book of Documents (Shujing) to the ibeop (principle-law)-based Heaven-Humanity relationship of good-evil distinction of King Tang and King Jie; during the Warring States period, the Eum-Yang (Yin-Yang), Samjae (Three Powers), and O-Haeng (Five Elements) thoughts are theoretically combined, and later, with the introduction of Buddhism, the three realms (samgye) of the Heavenly Realm, Earthly Realm, and Human Realm, where ibeop (理法, principle-law) is substantiated, are completed in Daoism.204) The transcendental divine-being system completed in the Okchu Bogyeong (Precious Scripture of the Jade Pivot) also weakens, and the immanent yin-yang relationship between humans and gods fades.205)206)
Looking at the Western relationship between divine beings and humans before Matteo Ricci, prior to the clash of Eastern and Western views of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity, the Western relationship between divine beings and humans was a structure where there was an omniscient and omnipotent monotheistic God, the absolute God, who presided over all affairs of the universe; below him were angels who performed the monotheistic God's work only in special cases; and human souls existed in heaven and hell. The West had forgotten the Heaven-Earth divine beings (cheonji sinmyeong) who operate nature, but the East had the advantage that the existence of the forgotten divine beings was remembered. The Western monotheistic God, influenced by nomadic culture and wheat farming, was an existence that could do everything arbitrarily without specific laws, rather than presiding according to laws like the East's Sangje (Supreme Ruler), and angels, unlike the East's divine beings, were also not beings specially in charge of specific areas of unique duties. Therefore, the greatest sin of humans and angels was not the failure to perform duties in their own unique areas, as in the East, but disobedience to the arbitrarily changing commands of the monotheistic God. In the West, the authority of the monotheistic God was oppressive but firm.207)
The traditional Western Heaven-Humanity relationship, which presupposes a transcendent god, is presented by Western thought, represented by Christianity. Christianity, which expressed itself in Aristotelian terms, also presents the model of the transcendent being as Aristotle's fifth element model. Aristotle's god is an existence that observes from a position transcending the circulation of earth, water, fire, and wind, like the fifth element of the earth-water-fire-wind cosmology.208)
Heaven, the fifth element of earth, water, fire, and wind, which was originally the mediator of earth, water, fire, and wind as the fifth element, loses its attribute as an immanent god and appears as a transcendent god. In the case of the West, approaching the modern era, the earth-water-fire-wind cosmology retains only the character of substance and excludes the correlativity of earth, water, fire, and wind. Accordingly, human arrogance also doubles in accordance with the monotheized cheonjon (Heaven revered).
Not only the Heaven-Humanity relationship but also the Earth-Humanity relationship becomes characterized by sanggeuk (mutual conflict). In the West, Earth was material and an object of domination, but after East-West exchange, it is now relegated to an object of manipulation, manipulated by immanent science and technology. In the case of the East, Earth's role in the Heaven-Earth relationship becomes fixed, and it is relegated to an existence that only follows Heaven's instructions.
The Heaven-Humanity relationship, regardless of East or West, was originally a sangsaeng (mutual beneficence) relationship. In the case of the West, the human world is the place where the Idea is projected, and God creates humans in His own image. In the case of the East, the Human Realm was a place for cultivation to go to a higher place in the divine-being realm. However, as the Heaven-Humanity relationship and Earth-Humanity relationship become characterized by sanggeuk (mutual conflict), the development of the Heavenly Realm through the Human Realm stops, and the creative transformation (hwa-yuk) of Heaven and Earth is suspended. Furthermore, chaos accelerates throughout the universe, and it enters a state of near annihilation. Accordingly, a rearrangement of the sacred and the secular, namely, the liminality aspect of modernity, is requested in the Heaven-Humanity and Earth-Humanity relationships.
Liminality in Donghak Thought's View of Humanity as Yeongsebulmang (Eternal Unforgetting)
Donghak Thought's Yeongsebulmang (Eternal Non-forgetting) View of Humanity (In-gwan)
The change in the view of Heaven (Cheon-gwan) due to the intervention of the transcendent Heaven brings about changes in the view of Earth (Ji-gwan) as well as changes in the view of Humanity (In-gwan). Just as the concept of Earth changes to the concepts of johwa (creation-transformation) and gihwa (material force transformation) due to the transcendent Heaven, and Earth's status rises, becoming equal to Heaven's status, Humanity is also elevated to an existence that can communicate the same mind with the transcendent Heaven—'Osim-jeug-Yeosim' (My Mind is Your Mind)—and Humanity's status is elevated to an existence of the same class as Heaven and Earth.
Donghak Thought's view of Humanity (In-gwan), like its view of Earth (Ji-gwan), is gradually revealed as Donghak Thought develops. As Donghak Thought develops, Su-un's attitude toward Donghak Thought changes. It continuously changes through the cheonsa-mundap (conversation with the Heavenly Master) and podeok (propagation) activities, martyrdom (sundo), and after martyrdom. Donghak Thought's view of Humanity (In-gwan) changes especially around Su-un's martyrdom.209)
Although Choe Su-un, the founder of Donghak, disappeared as expected on the execution ground after daring to return to Gyeongju, which was close to suicide, the embers he scattered began to revive through the efforts of Choe Si-hyeong after countless hardships. Choe Si-hyeong revives the memories of the Yongdam Yusa (Songs of Yongdam) and the Donggyeong Daejeon (Great Eastern Scripture), which Su-un had painstakingly left behind but had all disappeared, and restores them with the help of his colleagues. The Yongdam Yusa and Donggyeong Daejeon restored by Choe Si-hyeong are distributed throughout the country, and Donghak revives in the form of the Donghak Peasant Movement. Jeungsan (Kang Il-sun) likens this to Chiyou (蚩尤) and says that the jakran (disruption/rebellion) of Donghak began.210)
The Donghak Peasant Revolution Movement became an unprecedentedly large movement in the history of Korean peasant revolutions and seemed to succeed, but it brought about Japanese intervention, turning into the greatest tragic movement instead. However, the will of Sangje (the Supreme Ruler) revealed in Donghak is widely promulgated, leaving hope. The surviving Donghak followers participate again in new religions or various movements that are transformations of Donghak.211)
Donghak can be said to be the earliest new religion to appear among the new religions. The influence Donghak had on new religions, based on the research of some new religions, reaches as far as the Unification Church. This is because mentions related to Donghak also appear in Won Buddhism and the Unification Church. Donghak is also the field most researched by intellectuals during the revival period of new religions since the 1980s. On the other hand, the claims of the new religions are contrary to the claims of Donghak. In the new religions after Donghak, it is generally claimed that Donghak was a prelude for the appearance of the new religions after Donghak. The claims of Donghak and the new religions after Donghak can be understood by examining the common doctrinal systems between them. Among the doctrinal systems of Donghak, the doctrinal system held in common, especially with the new religions after Donghak, is the circularity of correlative thinking.212)
If the influence of Donghak on the new religions after Donghak is controversial, then the influence of existing religions on Donghak becomes an issue. The relationship between Donghak's doctrinal system and existing religions is one of the main research tasks for Donghak researchers. However, although the issue of affinity between Donghak and Confucianism, Daoism, and Christianity has been much studied, it has not yet been much studied from the aspect of correlative thinking, which is the circular attribute of Donghak's doctrinal system.
Donghak, like Seondo (Way of the Immortals), formally uses talismans and recites incantations, but internally it has the system of Neo-Confucianism, such as boguk-anmin (protecting the nation and securing peace for the people), chunghyo-yeol (loyalty, filial piety, fidelity), and Seong-Gyeong-Sin (Sincerity, Reverence, Faith). It also shares the term Cheonju (Lord of Heaven), which is the same as in Seogyo (Western Religion). Like Daesoon Jinrihoe's evaluation of Donghak, Donghak is summarized as having advocated Seondo (Way of the Immortals) but failed due to the limitations (jeonheon) of Confucianism.213)
The circular doctrinal system of Donghak, which has been re-evaluated centered on the Donghak Society since the 1980s, is the Sam-Taegeuk (Three Supreme Ultimates) system shared not only by Donghak but also by most new religions. While Donghak, in its organized religion period, has the circulation of correlative thinking as its core doctrine, the unique views of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity appearing in Donghak's doctrinal system have not been well studied.214)
The circularity of correlative thinking, which has been highly evaluated in Donghak so far, was the part of the egalitarianism of the Donghak Peasant Movement, which is an external circulation, rather than an internal evaluation of the doctrinal system. Donghak claims that the circulation appearing in the new religions after Donghak is the influence of Donghak, but since it shares the Sam-Taegeuk (Three Supreme Ultimates) tradition that appears in common with Donghak, it is difficult to see the correlative thinking that appears very diversely after Donghak as the influence of Donghak.215)
It is said that the Buryeon-giyeon (Not so, yet so), which appears at the very end of the Donggyeong Daejeon (Great Eastern Scripture), corresponds to the change in human status and the proof of God's existence in Donghak when viewed in the overall context of the Donggyeong Daejeon. The Donggyeong Daejeon focuses on emphasizing the thought of Sangje (the Supreme Ruler) who gave the revelation to Choe Su-un, rather than Choe Su-un's thought. In fact, in the Dowon Giseo (Record of the Origins of the Way), which Haewol (Choe Si-hyeong) wrote about his conversations with Su-un, it is recorded that Su-un had continuously received teachings from Sangje, and after Sangje's teachings ceased, he foresaw his own death and was very anxious.
Donghak after Choe Su-un also shows discontinuity with Choe Su-un's Donghak. Within the Donggyeong Daejeon or Yongdam Yusa, the early period and the later period are also sometimes evaluated differently. As there is discontinuity even within Donghak, it can be seen that Donghak and other new religions are very distant.
Lee Kang-oh's data on new religions focuses mainly on the mergers and divisions of religious orders, paying attention to the commonality of doctrinal systems rather than the differences. The reason Donghak sees the new religions after Donghak as the influence of Donghak is that the figures who believed in the new religions after Donghak were mainly Donghak party members. Donghak party members are active in Southern Buddhism, Won Buddhism, etc., after the failure of Donghak.
The Donghak doctrinal basis for Donghak's claim that the new religions after Donghak are the influence of Donghak is that Donghak also synthesized the three religions of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. However, there is little Buddhist influence in Donghak, and although it recites incantations and uses talismans, it also does not emphasize the world of divine beings, including ancestral spirits (seonryeongsin), in which respect it still largely does not deviate from the confines of Confucianism.216)
It can be said that Donghak's emphasis on the circulation of correlative thinking came after the March 1st Movement in 1919, when Donghak reorganized its theoretical system as new religions emerged after Donghak. Due to Japan's policy of suppressing religions without a doctrinal system, Donghak, centered around Lee Don-hwa, set out to establish a doctrinal system.217)
The Liminality Aspect of the View of Humanity in 'Never Forgetting through Eternal Ages' (Yeongse-bulmang 永世不忘)
The aspect of the Donghak view of humanity, whose status was elevated by the transcendent heaven (choweolcheon), appears differently through its early and later periods. In the early angelic Q&A (cheonsamundap), the elevation of human status to a position capable of "serving the Heavenly Lord" (Si-Cheonju) was due to Su-un's arduous efforts.
Just as the Jeon-gyeong (Daesoon scriptures) mentions that those who participated in the Donghak Peasant Movement outwardly advocated boguk-anmin (protecting the nation and securing peace for the people) but inwardly harbored ambitions of becoming "kings, nobles, generals, and ministers" (wanghu-jangsang), anyone in difficult circumstances is prone to materialism, but Su-un, like Jesus, rejects even heaven's proposals. For Su-un, who had endured all sorts of hardships for over 40 years, the temptation of material wealth was ineffective, much like it was for Lü Dongbin. After continuous tests and Su-un's fasting protest, Sangje reveals the elevation of human status to Su-un, stating, "My mind is your mind" (osim jeuk yeosim).
However, in the end, even in the later period, Su-un fails to fully grasp the meaning of "my mind is your mind." Even though human status was elevated to a position capable of serving Sangje through Si-Cheonju, Su-un fails to fully understand its meaning, unable to overcome the precedents (jeonheon) of Confucianism. Su-un resolves human problems through buryeon (not so) and giyeon (so it is). "What is difficult to understand is Buryeon (not-so), and what is easy to understand is Giyeon (so-it-is)." If Giyeon is the world that can be understood and experienced by human reason, Buryeon is the world that cannot be understood or experienced by human reason. In that case, Buryeon corresponds to Ri (Principle), Do (Dao), Ilsim (One Mind), and Cheon (Heaven). However, what is important here is that Buryeon and Giyeon are not dichotomous opposites. 'Osim-jeuk-Yeosim' (My mind is your mind) is understood to the extent that one can reach the ultimate reality through experience, just as one realizes the truth beyond experience through experience and gains enlightenment from the things before us. While Buryeon-Giyeon is sometimes understood by Donghak scholars as an excellent epistemology, it was an understanding somewhat distant when compared to Daesoon Thought's Dotong-Jin'gyeong (attaining the True State of Unification with the Dao).218)
The Donghak view of humanity as Yeongse-bulmang (eternal remembrance) differed from Seohak (Western Learning) in two major ways. First and foremost is the abolition of discrimination between priests and believers. Donghak thought criticizes the strict distinction between priests and believers in Western Learning. Donghak thought highly valued the fact that Western Learning viewed humans more equally compared to Confucianism, Buddhism, or Daoism, but it strongly criticized the class-like difference between priests and believers. A prominent feature of Donghak's Yeongse-bulmang view of humanity, in terms of the history of religious thought on humanity, is that it did not distinguish between priests and believers within the scope of "Si-cheonju" (Bearing God). Consequently, in Donghak thought, the distinction between believer and priest disappears, much like in the non-church movement (Mugyohoeju) of figures like Ham Seok-heon today. This becomes the significance of the Jeopju (regional leader) system, a characteristic of the Donghak view of humanity. If the Western Reformation abolished the privileges of the Catholic priest, Donghak thought abolished even the privileges of the Protestant minister.
The second characteristic of the Yeongse-bulmang view of humanity, distinguishing it from Western Learning, is the difference between "Gakja-wisim" (each acting for oneself) and "Gakji-buri" (each knowing and not moving). Whereas Western Learning primarily emphasized the superficial religious characteristic of Cheonju (the Lord of Heaven) as an external being, Donghak's Si-cheonju strongly exhibits the characteristic of a deep religion where Cheonju is internal. Therefore, the method of practice also, in the case of Western Learning, as Weber pointed out, manifests as a form of faith in "Gakja-wisim," where the proof of salvation is worldly success, as in Calvinism. This became the foundation of Western modernity. However, in Donghak thought, since the proof of salvation lies within, it resides in "Gakji-buri," a moral practice of spontaneously implementing internal, reflective ethics.
If the characteristics of the Donghak view of humanity, contrasted with Western Learning, appear as the abolition of discrimination between priests and believers and an emphasis on reflective ethics rather than secular success, then the characteristic of the Donghak view of humanity, contrasted with Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism, appears as an emphasis on the microcosmic human being. In later Donghak, this is expanded to the term "In-nae-cheon" (Man is Heaven), but in early Donghak, the view of humanity is strictly that of a human being within Heaven and Earth. However, through Si-cheonju, the human being becomes an existence capable of participating in the Cheonji-hwayuk (transformation and nourishment of Heaven and Earth) according to Cheonju's Muwi-ihwa (spontaneous transformation) through the practice of "Naeyu-sinryeong Oeyu-gihwa" (having divine spirit within and energetic transformation without).
The difference in the views of humanity between Donghak thought and Daesoon Thought arose from the difference in whether the scope of "Naeyu-sinryeong Oeyu-gihwa" could be expanded to "In-nae-cheon." Donghak thought, which later developed into Cheondogyo, expanded the scope of "Naeyu-sinryeong Oeyu-gihwa" to "In-nae-cheon." Consequently, Daesoon Thought, which defines humans merely as beings participating in Cheonji-hwayuk, is sometimes criticized as a pre-modern ideology. The view of humanity in early Donghak thought is actually developed more concretely in Daesoon Thought.219)
The Donghak view of humanity is expanded into the term "earthly paradise" (Jisang-cheonguk), which manifests when the Si-cheonju-practicing humans of Donghak gather. In later Donghak, "earthly immortal" (Jisang-sinseon) is understood not as a result of the interaction between the human realm and the earthly realm as seen in early Donghak, but as a person who has attained the enlightenment of Si-cheonju. The term "earthly paradise" built by the gathering of "earthly immortals," while in early Donghak it implied a rise in the status of the earth due to the change in the status of heaven and earth from Cheonjon-jibi (heaven revered, earth base) to Cheonjon-jijon (heaven revered, earth revered) through their mutual interaction, is depicted in later Donghak as a world of indigenous modernity built by the gathering of Si-cheonju-practicing humans. The concept of the earthly paradise in early Donghak is, rather, reinterpreted in Daesoon Thought.
The transcendent Heaven (Chowol-cheon) of Donghak thought, revitalized from the immanent Heaven (Naejae-cheon) of Eastern thought, brought about great changes not only to the view of earth (Jigwan) as Muwi-ihwa but also to the view of humanity. The human being in Donghak thought is elevated to an existence that communicates directly with the transcendent Heaven. Consequently, the sacred-secular relationship was reorganized, and the common people sometimes interpreted this as a rise in status that allowed them to become "kings, marquises, generals, and ministers" (Wanghu-jangsang). As indicated by the expressions "earthly paradise" and "earthly immortal," the initial intention of Donghak was to overcome the traditional limitations (Jeonheon) of Confucianism, but that intention was not fully realized. The Donghak view of humanity repositioned the sacred-secular relationship and provided the motivation for the common people to participate in the liminality of modernity, thereby laying the groundwork for indigenous modernity.
Liminality Aspects in the Cheon-In (Heaven-Human) Relationship of Naeyu-sinryeong (Having Divine Spirit Within) in Donghak Thought
While much research regards Si-cheonju and Gaebyeok (Great Opening) as the core characteristics of Donghak thought, research on "Jhwa" (Harmony/Creation), which connects the two concepts, is rare. Jhwa, the result of Si-cheonju, has been variously interpreted in Donghak thought as Gihwa (energetic transformation) and Jigi (utmost energy). Although the concept of Jigi is new, if it is considered within the extension of the concept of "Gi" (energy), the most characteristic concept that distinguishes Donghak thought from existing Western Learning or Neo-Confucianism is "Jhwa," and it can be said that Naeyu-sinryeong is this Jhwa applied to the human interior, while Gihwa is it applied to the exterior of individual daily affairs. This Jhwa manifests as Sinryeong (divine spirit) in the Heaven-human relationship, and as Gihwa, Muwi-ihwa, and Jhwa (Creation) in the Earth-human relationship.
In Donghak thought, which emphasizes the Heaven above Heaven, the view of earth is also transformed by the Gihwa action of Sangje (the Supreme God); therefore, the relationship between Heaven and humanity is transformed into a relationship of Naeyu-sinryeong.
The "Jhwa" of Si-cheonju manifests as Naeyu-sinryeong, overcoming the Sinjon-inbi (God revered, human base) relationship of Western Learning's monotheistic Heaven-human view. Unlike the strictly separated monotheistic God of Western Learning, the Sangje of Si-cheonju revives the state of Cheonin-habil (union of Heaven and human), which had been discarded, as seen in 'Osim-jeuk-Yeosim'. Although the Heaven above Heaven intervened in Donghak thought, unlike in Western religion, it also included the concept of Cheonji (Heaven and Earth) as the Heaven within Heaven, allowing even ordinary believers to connect with the Heaven above Heaven through their minds. Thus, Donghak communicated with the Heaven above Heaven, but unlike Western religion, it resulted in a Heaven-human relationship without hierarchy between priests and believers, which consequently also changed the relationship between society and the individual.
In Donghak thought, there was no discrimination based on the Gi endowed by Heaven between yangban (aristocrats) and sangnom (commoners) as in Neo-Confucianism, nor was there a difference between priests and believers as in Western religion; the status of humanity was elevated to an existence where believers, too, could have the same mind as the Heaven above Heaven. Accordingly, the liminality aspect of indigenous modernity, where the boundary between the sacred and the secular is repositioned, is achieved in the Heaven-human and Earth-human relationships of Donghak thought.
Liminality Aspects in the Ji-In (Earth-Human) Relationship of Oeyu-gihwa (Having Energetic Transformation Without) in Donghak Thought
The concept of "Jhwa" (Harmony/Creation) was also a key characteristic of nature at the time of Donghak thought, but Neo-Confucianism primarily emphasized the characteristic of human society called Beomjeol (norms and etiquette) and did not emphasize the characteristics appearing in the Jhwa of nature. Compared to Beomjeol, which is the orderly change in human society, the Jhwa of nature is a concept related to the creativity that gives birth to new life; Joseon society at the time of Donghak overflowed with Beomjeol, but the culture that could foster Jhwa and creativity was suppressed by Confucianism.
It was not only Neo-Confucianism that suppressed Jhwa, which means creation and evolution; in the eyes of the traditional Joseon people of the time, Western Learning was the same. The suppression by the monotheistic God of Western Learning, which dismissed ancestral rites as superstition and maintained a strict hierarchy between priests and believers, approached as an authoritarianism that surpassed Neo-Confucianism. Thus, society faced a situation requiring a new anti-structure and needed a new ideology to harmonize this.220)
Jhwa (Harmony/Creation) was always a process of resolving the contradictory problems of opposing elements. Like the harmony of Yin and Yang or the harmony of the new and the old, Jhwa always presupposes opposing elements. In the anthropology of religion, the concept closest to Jhwa is that of liminality. Derived from the word 'Limen,' meaning threshold or boundary, liminality was the word meaning the boundary point of opposing elements commonly appearing in most rites of passage studied by the anthropologist Van Gennep. For example, a rite of passage like a wedding ceremony includes rites such as a honeymoon or Dongsangnye (groom-handling ritual), which are periods of anti-structural deviation between the time before marriage and after marriage. Indeed, on the main gate where daily rites of passage always occur, there was Janus with two faces in the West, and the Taegeuk (Supreme Ultimate) in the East. The Taegeuk and Janus signified the allowance of deviation at the boundary point—that is, Jhwa (Harmony).
The fact that Si-cheonju came to mean Jhwa (Harmony/Creation), or liminality, was largely due to the Heaven-human relationship of Sinjon-inbi (God revered, human base), where Sangguk (mutual conflict/overcoming) was maximized at the time. At that time, the common people (Sangmin) were considered beings full of turbid Gi from the Neo-Confucian perspective and sinners from the Western Learning perspective, but through Si-cheonju, they were provided the liminality to "bear" Sangje.
The change in the Heaven-human relationship that began with Si-cheonju—that is, the liminal Heaven-human relationship—expanded throughout society, centering on Donghak. Consequently, the relationship between earth and people—that is, the relationship between the earth-based society and humans—changed. It is said that Donghak was early on referred to not by "believing" but by "doing," manifesting as the practice of anti-structural actions of the communitas, the anti-structural society brought about by liminality. As creativity and "Jhwa," which were scarcely respected during the Neo-Confucian Joseon Dynasty, came to be respected, the treatment of women and children, the most oppressed groups in the Joseon era, began to be "opened" (Gaebyeok).
The rise in the status of earth and humanity, brought about by the change in the view of Heaven due to the intervention of the transcendent Heaven in Donghak thought, caused an anti-structural aspect of liminality to appear in the traditional Earth-human relationship. In Neo-Confucianism, if the yangban, endowed with the clear Gi of Heaven and Earth, guarded the realm of the sacred (聖), the common people (baekseong), endowed with the turbid Gi, were positioned in the realm of the secular (俗); however, a change occurred with the elevation of human status. Now, the common people also secured the religious justification to become "kings, marquises, generals, and ministers," leading to an indigenous repositioning of the sacred-secular.
Looking closely at the Earth-human relationship, compared to Heaven, which resembles the nature of Hon (spirit-soul) and can move freely, the attributes of Earth—which resembles the nature of Baek (body-soul), has form, and is heavy in nature—meant that even in the East, as seen in Eogeum-jonyang (suppressing Yin, venerating Yang) and Yangjon-eumbi (Yang revered, Yin base), Earth was an existence that approached humans as confinement. As in the term Cheonmun-jiri (astronomy and geography), Earth in the East was an existence that restricted daily life for humans with material laws, much like the Ibeop (principles) of natural science. In the West, of course, Earth was the place to which humans were banished from the Garden of Eden, and in Buddhism too, Earth was a hotbed of suffering.
The Jhwa (Harmony/Creation) emphasized by Donghak thought also brought change to the traditional relationship between Earth and humans. Because Donghak's Si-cheonju "bears" Heaven, it opened a new Heaven, and through "Dasi Gaebyeok" (Again, Great Opening), Donghak thought created a new Earth-human relationship.
Donghak thought seeks to change the role of Earth, which was forbidden in the past, through the Jhwa of Si-cheonju. In Donghak thought, the Earth-human relationship cycles into the Ho-sijeol (Good Times) that follows the Ha-won-gap (Last 60-year cycle). The Earth-human relationship is represented by Ingeol-eun-jiryung (great personages are spiritual energy of the earth), and eminent sages and virtuous scholars (Myeonghyeon-dalsa) convert to become Donghak believers.221)222)
In Donghak thought, Earth, through Dasi Gaebyeok, becomes a place that can be an earthly paradise and where one can become an earthly immortal. On the earth "opened" by Donghak—the Eastern Learning, where the principles of the earth are different—Donghak thought also gains the strength to overcome Western Learning. Donghak grants Korea the strength to overcome the West, in place of China which was defeated by the West, giving birth to a new nation. The power of the East, manifested in Donghak thought, enables the overcoming of the "vicious Western enemy" that invaded China, through the oath of Daebodan (Altar of Great Gratitude).223)
The change in the Heaven-human and Earth-human relationships also brings about a change in the perception of human status in society. As seen in the interrogation of Jeon Myeong-suk, the catalyst for the Donghak Peasant Movement aligns with the project of "the whole country becoming yangban." This appears in the Jeon-gyeong as follows.224)
Because Jeon Myeong-suk, when he rose up, held the intention to make sangnom into yangban and to make the lowly (cheonin) noble, he fared well after death and became a judge in the Myeongbu (Realm of Judgment) of Joseon.225)
Donghak thought further possessed an egalitarian ideology that made the participants of the Donghak Peasant Movement dream of gaining office, aiming for all citizens to become officials. However, the participants' latent desire to become "kings, marquises, generals, and ministers" was still inherent, making Donghak thought an incomplete state of Yoksok-budal (more haste, less speed) for realizing an earthly paradise. It is said that the image of Koreans in the eyes of foreigners at the time was one of having lost the will to work. In a situation where their harvest was taken even if they worked, the path to becoming "kings, marquises, generals, and ministers" was the most realistic. In fact, the Jeon-gyeong states that the reason many Donghak participants actually joined was to pursue becoming "kings, marquises, generals, and ministers."
Upon entering the twelfth month, Sangje completed various Gongsa (Works) and embarked on the Gongsa to adjust the Yeokdo (degrees of rebellion/adversity). Gyeong-seok, Gwang-chan, and Nae-seong left for Daeheung-ri; Won-il left for Shin Gyeong-won's house; and Hyeong-ryeol and Ja-hyeon left for Donggok. Sangje spoke to the remaining Mun Gong-sin, Hwang Eung-jong, and Shin Gyeong-su, saying, "Gyeong-seok's Seong (Sincerity), Gyeong (Reverence), and Sin (Trust) are so profound that I considered using him differently, but since this is a matter he himself requests, it cannot be helped," and added, "Originally, Donghak's advocacy for Boguk-anmin (protecting the nation and securing peace for the people) was merely a cry for the work of the Later World, but their hearts each desired to become 'kings, marquises, generals, and ministers,' and tens of thousands were dragged away and killed without achieving their desire. Their grievances soared to the heavens, and if those divine beings were left as they are, the governance of the Later World would fall into adversity (Yeokdo) and become chaotic; therefore, I was in the process of appointing a leader for the Haewon (resolution of grievances) of those divine beings, and Gyeong-seok's mention of twelve empires (十二帝國) means he has volunteered for it. His father was a high-ranking leader in Donghak and was captured and killed, and he himself also served as a Donghak Chongdae (representative leader), so from now on, I have attached all the Donghak divine beings to Gyeong-seok; from this seat, the Haewon of the 'kings, marquises, generals, and ministers' shall begin," He said, writing on a piece of paper, forbidding outsiders from entering, and saying, "Watch in the days to come. The expenditure of money will greatly increase, and the number of people will also be greater than in the Gabo year (1894). They must be set free so that there will be no hindrance in the Later World," He concluded.226)
The passage above shows that most of the people who took part in Donghak outwardly cried out 'supporting the nation and comforting the people' (boguk-anmin) while inwardly scheming to become kings, marquises, generals, and ministers (wanghu-jangsang). The Earth-human relationship of Donghak Thought, which has the character of 'outward qi-transformation' (oeyu-gihwa), expanded in various directions.
Autogenous Modernity and the Revitalization of Order (治亂) in Daesoon Thought
The Indigenous Modernity of the View of the Heavenly Realm (Cheon'gye-gwan) based on Insin-gangse (Divine Incarnation in Human Form)
The view of the Heavenly Realm (Cheon'gye-gwan) as the view of Heaven (Cheon'gwan).
The change in Donghak Thought's Trinitarian Cosmology of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity, caused by the intervention of the transcendent Heaven (Chowolcheon), is revitalized in Daesoon Thought through the Insin-gangse (divine incarnation in human form) of Sangje (the Supreme God). If Donghak Thought's transcendent Heaven merely appeared in the human world, in Daesoon Thought, it directly descends into a human body. The formation process of Daesoon Thought's view of the Heavenly Realm (Cheon'gye-gwan) appears more clearly in the following passage, which summarily explains the emergence process of Donghak Thought.
When Sangje resided in Gucheon (the Ninth Heaven), the Sinseong (Divine Sages), Buddhas, and Bodhisattvas appealed that without Sangje, the chaotic Heaven and Earth could not be rectified; therefore, He descended to the Cheongyetap (Heavenly Revelation Pagoda) in the Great French Nation of the West, looked over the Three Realms, made a great tour (Daesoon) of the world, and then stopped in the Eastern Land, residing in the Golden Maitreya Statue at Geumsan Temple on Moak Mountain for thirty years, during which He bestowed the Heavenly Mandate (Cheonmyeong) and Divine Teaching (Singyo) upon Choe Su-un to establish the Great Dao; however, in the Gapja year (1864), He withdrew the Heavenly Mandate and Divine Teaching, and in the Sinmi year (1871), He decided to descend into the world Himself.1)
The transcendent Heaven first appeared in the human world in Donghak Thought, but when humans could not understand its will by its appearance alone, it finally descended in human form. The background for this was the situation where the material-centric Western modernity, introduced by Matteo Ricci, had brought about the Cheonha-jinmyeol (annihilation of the world). Among modern East Asian thoughts, it is difficult to find any, other than Daesoon Thought, that transcended nationalism to warn of the crisis of human extinction posed by Western modernity. Sangje's Insin-gangse also brought about a total change in the views of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity, just as the appearance of the transcendent Heaven did in Donghak Thought.
Now I have reconstructed Heaven and reconstructed Earth, arranging the Dosu (Heavenly Degrees) watertight, so a new order will open as each reaches its limit. Also, I will have the divine beings (Sinmyeong) enter and exit people's insides to correct and use their constitutions and characters; this is because even a wooden stake, if endowed with Gi (energy), can become useful. Only favor the foolish, the poor, the lowly, and the weak; be careful of all sins arising from the mind, mouth, and will; and do not create Cheok (grievances or karmic debts) with others. Those who are rich, noble, wise, and powerful will all be caught by Cheok and pulled out like bean sprouts, because it is difficult for a place filled with old, stagnant Gi to handle great fortune (Unsu). The floors, rooms, and storehouses of the rich are filled with killing energy (Salgi) and disaster.2)
In Daesoon Thought, the transcendent Heaven is referred to as Gucheon (the Ninth Heaven). Gucheon descends in order to newly fix the Heaven and Earth that have functioned thus far. The reason for not fixing Heaven and Earth from Heaven, but being born directly as a human to fix them, is that only by being born as a human can He see the state of Heaven and Earth from a human perspective. Gucheon, who divided Heaven and Earth at the beginning, now becomes a human and transforms into an existence that reconstructs the Heaven and Earth He Himself made.3)
One day, Sangje said to the Jongdo (followers) who were gathered, "The old Heaven only oversaw affairs that killed people." "Hereafter, all daily necessities will become scarce, making it impossible to survive, so it must be reconstructed now," He said, and conducted a Gongsa (Work) for three days. After finishing the Gongsa, Sangje said, "I have barely made it possible to sustain life, but the able-bodied men will not be able to fill their stomachs, and the sound of their hunger will reach Gucheon."4)
The change in the view of Heaven (Cheon'gwan), where the Heaven that had been regarded as the ultimate existence in existing religions becomes the "old Heaven" from the perspective of the Heaven above Heaven, is revealed through the Insin-gangse of Gucheon. The solution of changing the structure in the face of chaotic times is thus presented by Gucheon. Here, Gucheon does not pursue a 'Dasi Gaebyeok' (Again, Great Opening) that renews the existing Heaven, as in Donghak Thought, but aims for 'Hucheon Gaebyeok' (Later World's Great Opening) through a method of reconstruction, or "tearing down and fixing." The form of revitalization, in which the modernity of the view of Heaven is revealed by Gucheon, appears as the Cheonji-gongsa (Work of Reordering Heaven and Earth), which reconstructs and remodels Heaven and Earth. The Gongsa of reconstructing Heaven begins with the Myeongbu (Realm of Judgment).
Sangje said, "In the Seoncheon (Former World), all human affairs and things were governed by Sangguk (mutual conflict/overcoming), causing grievances to accumulate and form knots, filling the Three Realms; thus, Heaven and Earth lost their constant way (Sangdo), giving rise to all sorts of disasters, and the world became tragic." "Therefore, I intend to rectify the Dosu of Heaven and Earth, harmonize the divine beings (Sinmyeong), resolve the grievances of all time, and establish the Seon'gyeong (Immortal Realm) of the Hucheon (Later World) through the Dao of Sangsaeng (mutual beneficence), thereby saving the people of the world." "In all matters, great or small, the grievances must be resolved starting from the Sindo (Dao of Gods/Divine Beings)." "First, if the Dosu is firmly established and harmonized, that will become the foundation, and human affairs (Insa) will be accomplished spontaneously." "This is precisely the Samgye-gongsa (Work of the Three Realms)," He said to Kim Hyeong-ryeol, and He began a part of it, the Myeongbu-gongsa (Work of the Realm of Judgment).5)
In the passage above, the meaning of "if the Dosu is firmly established and harmonized, that will become the foundation" is to newly change Heaven and Earth, which are the root of all things in the universe. The difference between the appearance of the transcendent Heaven in Donghak Thought and the Insin-gangse of Gucheon in Daesoon Thought lies in the difference of whether the transcendent Heaven has substance. It is through Insin-gangse that the transcendent Heaven possesses substance. The rise in the status of Earth and Humanity, brought about by the transcendent Heaven, expands through the substantiated Insin-gangse, and finally, the views of Earth and Humanity also come to possess substance. Sangje's Insin-gangse signifies that humans and the transcendent Heaven become beings capable of communicating not just in mind but also in body, and Earth also achieves an elevation in status as an existence from which Sangje can emerge.
When Gucheon, after His Insin-gangse, seeks to reconstruct Heaven and Earth, the Sinmyeong who operated the existing Heaven and Earth appear. Consequently, in Daesoon Thought, the Heavenly Realm (Cheon'gye), Earthly Realm (Jigye), and Human Realm (In'gye), which are composed of the divine realm (Sinmyeong-gye) and do not appear in Donghak Thought, emerge. Therefore, the characteristic of Daesoon Thought's view of Heaven is represented by the term Cheon'gye (Heavenly Realm) within the Samgye (Three Realms). The following passage shows that Daesoon Thought uses the term Samgye to mean the Heavenly Realm, the Earthly Realm, and the Human Realm.
That Samgye-gongsa is precisely the Gaebyeok (Great Opening) of the Three Realms of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity; and this Gaebyeok is not a matter of following what others have made, but is newly made, so it did not exist in the past, nor does it exist now; it is not inherited from others, nor is it a matter of Unsu (fortune/destiny), but is solely a matter that must be brought into being by Sangje.6)
In the passage above, the term Gye (界, Realm) in Cheon'gye (Heavenly Realm) and Samgye (Three Realms) is a term contrasted with Jae (才, Calamity/Talent/Material) as in Cheon-Ji-In Samjae (Three Talents of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity). Samjae (三才) has the meaning of three great materials, ingredients, or talents. In the passage above, the Gye (界) of Samgye (Three Realms) is the Gye (界) of Segye (World, 世界); the difference between Samjae and Samgye is that Samgye expresses a complex and diverse internal world, i.e., a system, like the divine realm (Sinmyeong-gye), more so than Samjae. Based on this system of divine beings, the Samgye of Daesoon Thought differs from the existing Samjae in that dynamic and present changes occur simultaneously among Heaven, Earth, and Humanity.
The Samgye of Daesoon Thought is different from the Samgye of Buddhism, which only means the Heavenly Realm. Although Buddhism is the religion in which the term Samgye was first clearly used in Eastern religions, the Buddhist Samgye refers to the Heavenly Realm composed of the Desire Realm (Yokgye), Form Realm (Saekgye), and Formless Realm (Musaekgye), so it is different from the Samgye of Daesoon Thought, which includes the Heavenly Realm, Earthly Realm, and Human Realm. The Samgye of Daesoon Thought is closer to an expression emphasizing the internal system within the Cheon-Ji-In Samjae.
In Buddhism, Samgye (Three Realms, trailokya or triloka) refers to the Desire Realm (Yokgye), Form Realm (Saekgye), and Formless Realm (Musaekgye), but the Buddhist concept of Samgye was influenced by the traditional Indian three worlds, and the Samgye before that is said to have originated from astronomy common to both East and West. Although Daoism also refers to Heaven, Earth, and Humanity as Samjae, Daesoon Thought is the first case to definitively express Samgye as the Heavenly Realm, Earthly Realm, and Human Realm.
The Trinitarian Cosmology of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity can be called Cosmology in English. If Segye-gwan (worldview) is "worldview" and Uju-gwan (view of the universe) is "Universe theory," then the Trinitarian Cosmology of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity as Cosmology is closer to "anthropocentricity" or an anthropocentric cosmology in English, and is somewhat different from "Astronomy," which is a nature-centric cosmology. The view of the Three Realms (Samgye-gwan) is also close to anthropocentricity.
In the establishment of Daesoon Thought's view of the Heavenly Realm, stepwise changes do not appear, but it is divided into the view of the Heavenly Realm before and after the Cheonji-gongsa, and the view of the Heavenly Realm is clearly revealed according to the stage of explaining it. Therefore, the establishment of Daesoon Thought's view of the Heavenly Realm can be examined through the process in which it appears. In Daesoon Thought, the view of the Heavenly Realm appears starting from Su-un's Cheonsa-mundap (conversation with the Heavenly Master). The "Yesi" (Prophecies and Illustrations) section of Daesoon Thought expresses it as follows.
Sangje's will—to reconstruct the Dosu of the Former World, open the path of Unsu (fortune/destiny) for the eternal Immortal Realm (Seon'gyeong) of the Later World, resolve all grievances resulting from Sangguk (mutual conflict/overcoming) in the Former World, and save the people of the world through the Dao of Sangsaeng (mutual beneficence)—has already been widely proclaimed to the world.7)
In the text above, what is meant by "widely proclaimed" ultimately signifies Donghak Thought, for which Jeungsan (Sangje) bestowed the Heavenly Mandate (Cheonmyeong) and Divine Teaching (Singyo). Although Donghak Thought spread like wildfire in a short period, it was during the later period of Bocheongyo and Mugeukdo that Jeungsan's thought became more widely known to the world. Therefore, from the text above, it can be understood that Daesoon Thought regards Donghak Thought as Jeungsan's thought. Through the passage above from the "Yesi" section of the Jeon-gyeong, it can be seen that Daesoon Thought interprets Donghak's view of Heaven—expressed in the phrase "Heaven and Earth are Gwisin (spirits/ghosts), and Gwisin are Yin and Yang" and the statement that "Sangje is called Gwisin" which appear in Donghak Thought—as being the same as Daesoon Thought's view of the Heavenly Realm (Cheon'gye-gwan).8)
If the view of Heaven in Donghak Thought, represented by the phrase "Heaven and Earth are Gwisin, and Gwisin are Yin and Yang," partially reflected the substance concept of Gwisin among the attributive views of Heaven in the East, in Daesoon Thought's view of the Heavenly Realm, the concept of Sinmyeong (divine beings) as substance appears in a very detailed aspect within the system called "Gye" (Realm). If the Cheonsa-mundap was decisive in the establishment of Donghak, in the case of Daesoon Thought, the following passage shows in more detail that the harm from modern civilization, which began with Matteo Ricci, was the decisive background for Sangje's Insin-gangse.
One day, Sangje said to Kim Hyeong-ryeol, "The Westerner Matteo Ricci (Yi Madu) came to the East and tried to establish an earthly paradise, but he could not achieve his goal because the deeply rooted corrupt customs of Confucianism could not be easily reformed." "However, he opened the boundary between the Celestial and the Subterranean, allowing the divine beings (Sinmyeong), who had firmly guarded their respective regions and could not cross over to each other, to come and go; and after his death, he took charge of the Munmyeongsin (Divine Beings of Civilization) of the East and went to the West to open the Un (fortune/destiny) of civilization." "From this, the subterranean divine beings (Jihasin) emulated all the wondrous methods (Myobeop) of the celestial and bestowed them upon the human world." Saying, "All the cultural products of the West are patterned after the models of the Heavenly Kingdom," He spoke, "That civilization is biased toward materialism, fostering human arrogance, and ultimately, from its attempt to shake the Heavenly Principle (Cheonri) and conquer nature, it endlessly commits all sins, diminishing the authority of the Sindo (Dao of Gods); therefore, the constant way (Sangdo) of the Heavenly Dao and Human Affairs (Insa) was violated, the Three Realms (Samgye) fell into chaos, and the source of the Dao was severed; consequently, all the primordial Sinseong (Divine Sages), Buddhas, and Bodhisattvas gathered and appealed to Gucheon (the Ninth Heaven) about this Geobaek (great calamity) of humanity and the divine realm (Sinmyeong-gye)... I revealed the Jesedaedo (Great Dao for Saving the World) to Choe Je-u, but as Je-u was unable to overcome the traditional limitations (Jeonheon) of Confucianism and clarify the true meaning of the Great Dao, I finally withdrew the Heavenly Mandate (Cheonmyeong) and Divine Teaching (Singyo) in the Gapja year (1864) and descended in the Sinmi year (1871)."9)
Daesoon Thought explains that due to the crisis of modern civilization brought about by Matteo Ricci, the Sinseong, Buddhas, and Bodhisattvas requested the Insin-gangse of Gucheon Sangje, and accordingly, He bestowed the Heavenly Mandate and Divine Teaching upon Su-un, but as there were no results, He directly descended Himself. The ills caused by Western modernity, brought about by the encounter between East and West, become the background for the establishment of Daesoon Thought's view of Heaven.
The sacred-secular repositioning and the liminality of correlative thought, which were raised by Donghak Thought, are achieved through the revitalization by Daesoon Thought. Daesoon Thought refers to this achievement as Gaebyeok (Great Opening), which integrates the principles of all things, and also as Seosin-samyeong (Mission of the Spirit of the West), by which all things ripen. The Sinmyeong were beings who cultivated and nourished humanity as Heaven and Earth, in accordance with the command of Gucheon, the Heaven above Heaven.10) The reason Daesoon Thought's view of Heaven can perform Gaebyeok and Seosin-samyeong is that the concept of Sinmyeong, which was not seen in Donghak Thought's view of Heaven, is introduced.11)12)
The reason Daesoon Thought, unlike Donghak Thought, could involve Sinmyeong is because of Sangje's Insin-gangse. Unlike Donghak Thought, which remained in the form of revelation, Daesoon Thought, through Sangje's Insin-gangse, provided the opportunity for Sinmyeong to intervene by entering and exiting the human mind. In Donghak Thought, the human being is elevated to an existence capable of communicating with the Heaven above Heaven, but now is elevated to an existence into which Gucheon descends. This is the Insin-gangse of Gucheon, and Daesoon Thought's view of Heaven is thus characterized by Insin-gangse. Insin-gangse therefore completes the sacred-secular repositioning and liminality initiated by Donghak Thought.
The Incarnational (人身降世) View of the Heavenly Realm (天界觀)
The aspect of Daesoon Thought's view of the Heavenly Realm is summarized by Sangje's Insin-gangse and the subdivision of the view of the Heavenly Realm. Daesoon Thought's view of the Heavenly Realm is subdivided into: Gucheon (the Ninth Heaven), the Heaven outside of Heaven-Earth-Humanity where Sangje resides; the Heaven that is part of the Heaven-Earth-Humanity division, presided over by the Cheonji-sinmyeong (Divine Beings of Heaven and Earth) who received Sangje's mission; and another Heaven where the Seollyeongsin (ancestral divine beings) reside. This is first revealed in a dialogue with the Jongdo Kim Song-hwan.
One day, Kim Song-hwan asked Sangje, "Is there another Heaven above Heaven?" Sangje replied, "There is." Again, he asked, "Is there another above that one?" Sangje replied, "There is again." He answered in this manner nine times and then said, "Know only that much." Sangje later commented on him, saying he was Mansa-bulseong (a person who accomplishes nothing).
From the passage above, it can be understood that Daesoon Thought's view of the Heavenly Realm is composed of more than nine overlapping heavenly realms. That Daesoon Thought's view of the Heavenly Realm is divided, first, into Gucheon (the Heaven outside of Heaven) and the Heaven of Heaven-Earth-Humanity (which cultivates and nourishes all things according to Sangje's command), is shown in the following passage.
Noeseong (Thunder Sound) means the Heavenly Command (Cheonryeong) and the Sound of Benevolence (Inseong). Thunder (Noe) is formed by the combination of the two Gi of Yin and Yang. Noe (Thunder) is the Che (Body/Substance) of Seong (Sound), and Seong is the Yong (Function/Use) of Noe; it divides Heaven and Earth, causes the Cheon'gi (Heavenly Gi) and Jigi (Earthly Gi) to ascend and descend through the changes of motion, stillness, advance, and retreat; and signifies the growth, generation, transformation, dominion, and nourishment of all things.13)
The passage above shows the background in which Heaven and Earth are generated by Gucheon (the Ninth Heaven). It explains the 'Nwehseong' (Thunderbolt) portion among the divine titles of 'Gucheon Eungwon Nwehseong Bohwa Cheonjon Kangseong Sangje,' the object of faith in Daesoon Thought. First, in the phrase 'dividing Heaven and Earth,' it shows that Heaven and Earth were divided and created by Sangje through the Thunderbolt. Second, 'causing the energy of Heaven (cheon-gi) and the energy of Earth (ji-gi) to ascend and descend' shows that the principle by which the heavenly and earthly realms foster all things through mutual ascent and descent was intended by Sangje. Third, 'making all things grow, and generating, transforming, governing, and nourishing them' shows that Heaven and Earth were not only created by Sangje but are also being harmonized (johwa) by Him.
The reason Daesoon Thought's view of the Heavenly Realm must be constructed complexly is that the operation of Heaven and Earth must be very systematic. The following passage shows the role and function that Heaven, in Daesoon Thought, performs by Sangje's command.
Sangje said in a place where the Jongdo were gathered, "Even the croakers caught in the Chilsan sea are caught in the net after the person who will eat them is designated; farming is also the same, bearing fruit after the person who will eat it is designated." "There will be no starvation," He said.14)
This example shows that the nurturing of heaven and earth, including the fortunes of humanity, is determined by the operation of heaven and earth conducted by the Shinmyeong (divine beings). Heaven determines even the number of croakers caught in the Chilsan sea. The view of the Three Realms in the above example is similar to the parallel universe theory in modern science, which posits that other universes identical to the one we live in can exist.15)
In Daesoon Thought, Heaven and Earth itself, which determines all such human affairs, is also harmonized by Sangje. In Daesoon Thought, the process by which the Cheonji-sinmyeong (Divine Beings of Heaven and Earth) preside over the operation of Heaven and Earth appears as follows.
One day, Sangje said to Kim Hyeong-ryeol, "Presiding over the great authority of the Three Realms (Samgye-daegwon), I intend to open the Hucheon Seon'gyeong (Immortal Realm of the Later World) by opening Heaven and Earth through Jhwa (Creation/Harmony) and widely save the sentient beings who have fallen into the sea of suffering (Gohae)," and also said:
"Now, facing the Malse (End Times), the Mugeuk-daeun (Great Fortune of the Ultimate Infinite) is about to open,"
"Be careful in all matters, do not create Cheok (grievances/karmic debts) with others, and distance yourselves from sin,"
"Participate in the Cheonji Gongjeong (Public Court of Heaven and Earth) with a pure mind."
So He spoke, and He opened Hyeong-ryeol's Sinan (divine eye) and had him observe the Hoesan (gathering and scattering) and Cheongryeong (receiving commands) of the divine beings.16)
From the passage above, it can be seen that the Cheonji-sinmyeong receive Sangje's Heavenly Mandate (Cheonmyeong) through Hoesan. However, this Cheongryeong and Hoesan are possible through the effort of the utmost Seong-Gyeong-Sin (Sincerity, Reverence, and Trust) of Heaven and Earth. Even to raise wind and rain, Heaven and Earth exert immense effort.
After finishing these words, He said to Gong-u, "It takes limitless Gongryeok (effort/merit) to raise wind and rain through the Jhwa of Heaven and Earth, so there is no way to know anything without Gongbu (study/practice) in all matters." "It is said that even with talent like Jeong Buk-chang, he only learned the affairs of the world after entering the mountains for three days," He instructed.17)
In the passage above, the fact that it takes limitless Gongryeok even to raise wind and rain shows that the Heavenly Realm is composed of a complex system. Therefore, Heaven can also become an "old Heaven," and it can be newly changed to become a "new Heaven."18)
One day, Sangje said to the Jongdo (followers) who were gathered, "The old Heaven only oversaw affairs that killed people." "Hereafter, all daily necessities will become scarce, making it impossible to survive, so it must be reconstructed now," He said, and conducted a Gongsa (Work) for three days. After finishing the Gongsa, Sangje said, "I have barely made it possible to sustain life, but the able-bodied men will not be able to fill their stomachs, and the sound of their hunger will reach Gucheon."19)
The passage above shows, first, that the Heaven divided by Sangje, when it grows old, can become a stale Heaven. Second, it shows that when the Three Realms fall into disorder, they can reach a state of collision in which they try to kill one another. Even Heaven must be torn apart and reformed, and this too is intended by Sangje. 20)
The view of Heaven that appears in Daesoon Thought shows a view of Heaven that Powol (embraces and transcends) the existing view of Heaven, which was that of Heaven as the ultimate existence. Unlike the modern Western view of Heaven, which completely denied the existing view of Heaven by saying "God is dead" and denied the existence of Heaven itself, Daesoon Thought presents the view of Heaven with the concept of Gajong (adding a religion/lineage), which acknowledges the existing Heaven but replaces the old, worn-out Heaven with a new Heaven. Through this, the existing concept of Heaven, involving the Cheongryeong and Hoesan of the divine beings, is also inherited without being discarded. As a view of Heaven where the Western transcendent Heaven mutually harmonizes with the Eastern divine beings as substance, Daesoon Thought repositions the sacred-secular relationship, and by bringing the sacred into daily life, it completes indigenous modernity and develops into indigenous postmodernity.
Revitalization of Eastern and Western Views of Heaven in the View of the Heavenly Realm based on Divine Incarnation (Insin Gangse)
Revitalization of Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist (Yu-Bul-Seon) Views of Heaven in the View of the Heavenly Realm (Cheon'gye-gwan) based on Insin-gangse
Daesoon Thought's view of Gucheon as Heaven, substantiated through Insin-gangse, also presented an integrative reinterpretation of the detailed aspects of the East Asian view of Heaven. The difference between the Yu-Bul-Seon (Confucian, Buddhist, Daoist) views of Heaven appearing in Daesoon Thought and Daesoon Thought's view of Heaven lies in the difference in the interpretation of 'Earth' (To) among the Yin-Yang and Five Elements (Eum-Yang O-Haeng) principles shared by Yu-Bul-Seon and Daesoon Thought.
And Sangje said one day, "I am Maitreya." "The six-jang (approx. 18m) golden statue in the Maitreya Hall (Mireuk-jeon) at Geumsan Temple holds the Yeouiju (Cintamani pearl) in its hand, but I hold it in my mouth." And Sangje showed the Jongdo his lower lip, and there was a red spot there; Sangje's face resembled the Golden Maitreya Statue of Geumsan Temple; there was a round Baekhoju (white curl pearl) between his eyebrows; and the Jongdo saw the character Im (壬) on his left palm and the character Mu (戊) on his right palm.21)
In the example above, "the character Im (壬) on his left palm and the character Mu (戊) on his right palm" shows the typical form of To-geuk-su (Earth overcoming Water), as the right hand is placed over the left hand in the Daesoon Thought's meditation posture.
Togeuksu (Earth overcoming Water) is described in the 『Pobakja (Baopuzi)』 as the concept that the five elements (Ohaeng) can be compressed into two elements: Earth (土) and Water (水). Here, Water represents Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind (Ji-Su-Hwa-Pung) when speaking of them, and Earth corresponds to the fifth element. In the Hado (River Chart), the five elements also existed simultaneously with the fifth element separated, like Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind; however, as correlative thought centered on attributes became conflict-oriented (Sangguk) in the Nakseo (Luo Scripture), the fifth element was incorporated internally, leaving only the immanent gods while the transcendent gods became hidden and nominal. From this, Eastern power became standardized, and the traditional authority (Jeonheon) of Confucianism strengthened.22)