어떤 인물이 남긴 문학작품과 그의 삶에 대한 기록을 읽을 때, 그것이 담아내지 않은 혹은 담아내지 못한 행간 사이의 의미를 이해하고자 한다면, 그가 살아간 시대의 배경 속에 놓고 파악할 필요가 있다. 어떤 인물이 선택한 사회적 참여나 은일적 처세를 어떻게 이해할 것인가라는 문제를 해결하기 위해 그 시대의 상황이 과연 어떠했는지가 분명하게 설명되어야 하며, 그런 시대 속에서 그 인물이 선택한 처세는 정당한 것이었는가를 평가해야 할 것이다. 이 글은 이와 같은 문제의식을 바탕으로, 박내오가 살아간 시대적 상황 속에서 그의 은일적 삶이 가지는 의미를 살펴보았으며, 그 연장선에서 지리산 유람에 나타난 그의 의식과 지향이 무엇이었는지를 짚어보고자 했다. 지리산 유람에 나타난 박내오의 의식과 지향을 살펴봄으로써 그의 내적 정체성이 남명학파에 가깝다는 사실을 이해했다. 이러한 박내오에 대한 이해를 바탕으로, 18세기 강우지역의 인물 가운데 남명학파로 거론되지 않은 인물들을 새롭게 발굴하고 연구할 필요성이 제기된다.

The culmination of the culture in the Josun Dynasty was reached in the academic achievement of Sik Jo (pen name, Nammyung : 1501 - 1572). His work marked a moral boundary in academia at that time. When we consider his great fame, it was natural many scholars and his followers make him their scholastic and behavioral model. These followers formed the Nammyung School and they took active parts in politics in and out of government service until King Sunjo and Gwanghaegoon. But the execution of Inhong Jung (pen name, Rae-Am : 1536-1623), leader of the Nammyung School and mentor of Gwanghaegoon, served as a momentum for decentralizing the school at the time of The Enthronement of King Injo subsequent to dethronement of King Gwanghasgoon in 1623. Hongdo Ha (pen name, Gyumjae) then acted on behalf of the school when the school had lost its cohesion. The year 1728 witnessed the Moosin Year Disturbance led by Heeryang Jung, which was one of the loud cries raised by confucian scholars to regain the positions they had held before the Enthronement of King Injo. Moreover the Noron Party. the group of followers of Siyul Soug and also the party in power, forced the Namin Party, another party in this area, to support it, while it prohibited the Namins from taking any state examinations by law after the Moosin Year Disturbance had been subdued. The Noron Party designed to attract the Namin Party to their side by disturbing its cooperation with the Soron Party, the followers of Jung Yoon, a disciple of Siyul Song's. With the Noron Party's intricately planned policies and efforts, most pepole in the Namin Party in this area became part of the Toegye School in the end. This paved the way for combining the right side and the left side of the Nakdong River as a natural result. There were few eminent scholars or government officials in high positions from the right side of the Nakdong River. In the meantime many scholars had come to stand by either the Noron Party or the Toegye Schoo. But the majority of Confucian scholars' respect for Nammyung had not faded away and his books were still being published. King Jungjo finally granted Nammyung a Royal Oration for the Sacrificial Rite in 1796 and conferred government positions on his descendants after over a century of persecution. The royal edict triggered the revival of the scholastic trend in this area and built a promising foundation for thriving academic achievement in the 19th ecntury.