儒學은 기본적으로 인간의 사회적 존재됨에 주목하고, 그 실현에 진력하는 학문이다. 19세기 한말의 사회는 정치, 경제, 문화 기타 모든 분야에 걸쳐서 미중유의 혼란과 위기에 놓여 있었다. 艮齋 田愚는 우리 역사상 초유의 난세에 처하여 견디기 어려운 고뇌의 삶을 살았던 것으로 보인다. 그러면 그의 출처는 그렇게 비난을 받아야 마땅한 것일까? 그는 끝까지 ‘守道’로써 일관하였다. 그렇기 때문에 비난이 일어났는데, 간재가 외연의 행적과는 달리 후세 사람들로부터 정당하게 평가 받고자 했던 속뜻은 무엇이었을까? 그에 대한 儒學思想史的 자리매김은 이런 논의를 거치지 않고서는 오류를 면하기 어려울 것이다. 이상의 관점으로 간재의 ‘去之守義의 守道意識’과 ‘自靖의 出處觀’을 살펴보았다. 간재의 ‘去之守義의 守道意識’에서는 그는 단순히 난세를 피하여 자기 한 몸 깨끗이 살겠다고 숨어 지내는 것이 아니라, 죽음에 이르더라도 수도하며 살겠다는 의지를 표현하였다. 그는 유학자의 본분은 도의 수호와 실천으로 여겼음을 확인할 수 있었다. ‘自靖의 출처관’에서는 도를 지켜야 한다는 확고한 신념에서 비롯된 것을 확인할 수 있었다. 또한 수도하여 후일을 기약하고, 사회 기강 확립을 위한 근간으로 생각하였음을 확인 하였다. 본고의 이러한 말이 간재의 학문과 의리를 억지로 정당화 한다거나 굳이 옹호하고 과대평가하기 위해서가 아니라, 다만 한 사람의 학행과 인간을 이해하고 평가함에 있어서는 편협하거나 일면적인 것만을 기준으로 해서는 안된다는 것을 전제한다.

Jeon-woo (Gan-jae: penname, 1841～1922) is a representative Korean scholar who experienced the tragic collapse of Josun Dynasty during the Japanese occupationover the Korean peninsula. Facing the loss of national sovereignty and traditional values caused by Japanese annexation, intellectuals of the time had different ways of dealing with the national crisis. Considering the circumstance of the time, it is not difficult to assume that Geon-woo himself must have suffered from not knowing how to behave as a leading Confucian. There were, in fact, two different groups of Confucians in dealing with the Japanese occupation over the Korean peninsula: one was willing to fight against Japanese illegal invasion while the other wanted to keep themselves away from the world and willing to stay in an isolated Confucian world. Gan-jae chose the latter. There are two conflict views over Gan-jae’s retired life: one is positive and the other is negative. As one of Gan-jae’s supporters, Gork, Jong-sock (Myun-woo: penname) highly phrased his way of life, saying "There is no one who can be compared to Gan-jae in terms of his fidelity towards Confucius life." Another Confucianof his side, Lee, byung-do, also said that he (Gan-jae) never gave up his thoughts and Confucius way of life for the people’s criticism. Gan-jae, on the other hand, was also criticized by his opponents for not actively engaging in the political and social affairs of thetime. As for one of his critics, Hyun, Sang-youn described him as a deserter from the political world of the time, saying "As a leading Confucian of this time, it is his responsibilityto actively participate in the world and save his people from the national crisis. However, he chose to keep himself away from the world and willing to stay in an isolated island." Furthermore, another critic of Gan-jae, Kwon, Oh-young, denied all of his accomplishments as a Confucian, saying "He was only busy looking for his own interest as a scholar and didn’t care much about the national crisis." As seen above, there are conflicting views on his ways of dealing with national crisis. To know more about his thoughts on engaging in the real world, this study focuses on his life and the way he recognizes the world. Of course, there are different ways of interpreting his life. However, once we know more about his life and attitude toward engaging the real world problems, one can take a one big step to understanding his political conduct of his time.

• 羅鍾善(圓光大) | Na, Jong-Seon