Finding the origin of life-centrism in East Asia, especially a longevity, you can find a harmony of the nature and mankind in Ancient Chinese myth and rarity about a idea of afterlife. In Chinese important trend, Confucianism and Taoism, their attitude to life shows a life-centrism. Confucianists' final aim at life is remaning their name in real life, so they don't care about afterlife. They put emphasis on the immortal fame and the happiness, comport in life. Taoists think the lifespan is the absolute objective because they believe the penalty for faults is lifetime shortening.
The Ten Traditional Symbols of Longevity is a group of the long life stuff symbolize the longevity. The first record of them appeared in the royal paintings in Goryeo Dynasty. These symbols used in the folding screen, windows and doors in palace and expand to ordinary people because of the development of commerce after the 18th century. After that, symbols have widespread popular support so appear in the folding screen, woodcraft and embroidery.
The Ten Traditional Symbols of Longevity describes the hermit's world, it contains the real organisms of sky, underwater and land. Symbols are the combination of objection to life, desire of longevity and transcendence in life. They show us the concentration of real life.

Ⅰ. 머리말
 Ⅱ. 유교문화권의 현세중심 관념
  1. 중국 고대 신화에 나타난 죽음의 형태
  2. 유교의 생사관념
  3. 도교의 공과(功過)관념
 Ⅲ. 십장생 문양
  1. 십장생문의 흐름
  2. 공예품에 나타난 십장생문
 Ⅳ. 맺음말

• 정혜란(숙명여자대학교 박물관 학예사) | Jeong Hyeran