Tasan Chŏng Yakyong's view of calligraphy and art showed the aesthetic awareness of the middle way that was neither just pursuing Hyeongsa (形似: representation) nor leaning toward Saŭi (寫意: creative intention). His view superbly combined the spirits and forms. In the late-Chosŏn period that was in transition toward the modern era, Chŏng Yakyong tried to contain both the traditional ideal of original Confucianism and the possibility of the new way.
To understand this aspect of Chŏng Yakyong, one has to illuminate the broad sensitive leanings of him that dynamically operated in the back of his Confucius philosophy summarized as 'Kyeongsech'iyong (經世致用)'. To reveal his thoughts through this field of arts and senses seems very important in understanding his inner world deeply. In spite of this importance of his aesthetic theory of calligraphy and art, there have been not much works except on his literature theory.
Therefore this paper focuses on how Chŏng Yakyong creatively overcame the limits of the Confucianism of the late Chosŏn period and tried to solve the contemporary issues by returning to the original Confucianism of Sŏnchinyuhak (先秦儒學: literally, the Confucianism before the Qin dynasty). Based on this principle, he approved the practical reasoning of the 'original Confucianism' and represented the flow of the historical development by embodying the reform and transcendence of 'Sinagubang (新我舊邦)'. He tried to overcome the mannerism of the late Chosŏn period Neo-Confucianism by developing the original Confucianism like this. Though this paper would not mention the term 'Silhak (實學)' explicitly, he is the most representative 'Silhak' scholar given his thoughts that would penetrate this paper.
Chŏng Yakyong's worldview and view on humans had direct and indirect relationship with the 18th and 19th century Chosŏn society. This paper focuses on how he overcame the dualistic conflicts between 'his view on humans in the changing world' and 'his inheritance of the traditional view on humans'.
The characteristic of Chŏng Yakyong's views on calligraphy and art would reveal its true shape when considered in conjunction with the various artistic trends and philosophical contexts since the 18th century. It analyzes his inheritance and overcome of the Namin school that had influence on the directions of his calligraphic and artistic theory and considers the literary and artistic trends of the 18th and 19th century. By doing that it placed his thoughts in the intellectual context of the time and his views on calligraphy and art clearly emerged.
One can see this from Chŏng Yakyong's artistic leanings. In Sanchŏngachipuch'aun (山亭雅集又次韻), written by him at his age of 68 (1829), he wrote "I gave up to become the Samchŏl (三絶: master) of poetry, calligraphy, and art because I had no talents." Though here he deplored modestly that he could not become the master of poetry, calligraphy, and art, it rather showed the essential values that he put on poetry, calligraphy and art. His words in Kiyeron (技藝論) that says "how we could have a new artistic world if we ignore every calligraphers since Wang Xizhi (王羲之), by only celebrating his as the best" showed his universal relativism. His artistic leanings can be confirmed also by that he composed numerous poems of about 2,500 throughout his life.
The main concerns for this paper are on what grounds Chŏng Yakyong denied or overcame the various phenomenon of his contemporary art. And it then discusses the meanings of his views in the history of philosophy of art. It also deals with how these views grasped the essential value of each artistic genre, and how he thought the artists should create to implement the essential values. The comprehensive principle that penetrated his theory of calligraphy and art and discussions on other artistic fields is his aesthetics view of the middle way, Sinhyŏngmyohap, obtained through the returning toward the original Confucianism.
Chŏng's Sinhyŏngmyohap, in his aesthetic view of the middle way, can be characterized as follows;
Firstly, it focused on his unique interpretation of the theory of the middle way through the approach of intellectual history that revealed his returning toward the original Confucianism. This examination showed that the core concept of Chŏng Yakyong's artistic theory was the attempt to overcome the mannerism of the late Chosŏn period by returning to the original Confucianism. Chŏng Yakyong argued that the functions of literature and art did not lie in indoctrination but in satire and criticism. Chŏng's view of the middle way, Sinhyŏngmyohap, on humans is based on practice and the aesthetic world that combined satire and criticism.
Secondly, as the form-centered aesthetic criticism that was raised as the critique on the development of the spirit-centered aesthetic criticism was also strayed from the philosophy of the middle way, the foundational spirit of Confucianism, Chŏng Yakyong came to develop his aesthetics view of the middle way, Sinhyŏngmyohap. According to him, the principles of politeness and justice had to accommodate the Siŭi (時宜: the trends of the time) by the change of the time. He criticized the decadent phenomenon of the time that came into being by the slavish following of a certain calligraphers like Cho Maengbu (趙孟頫) and Han Ho (韓濩). With this reflection on the current status, his calligraphic theory and works had positive significance as being understood as the expression of his will to search for the new and independent calligraphic and artistic theory. From the 'cultural history perspective' of the late Chosŏn period, his aesthetic views can be seen to be developed through his Hyŏngsinron (形神論: theory on form and spirit)'s confrontation, competition, and harmony with that of Pak Chiwŏn. From this intellectual atmosphere, his aesthetics view of the middle way, Sinhyŏngmyohap, came into being.
Thirdly, this paper concretely explored how his aesthetics view of the middle way, Sinhyŏngmyohap, affected his philosophy and works of calligraphy and art and demonstrated that his thoughts and artistic world did not exist in separate values but made one value of a homogeneous and unified whole that cannot be separated from each other.
Through this, it shows that Chŏng Yakyong was a superb artist as well as a philosopher. He sharply criticized the works of the previous calligraphers with his deep understanding and discernment on calligraphy and art and presented a new way and virtues needed for calligraphy and art. He thus left a big footprint in the history of the late Chosŏn art. The analysis of his literary and art theory, overshadowed so far by his philosophical work, showed Mukyeguhyŏn (墨藝具顯, the implementation of calligraphic art) through Kowikŭmyong (古爲今用, using the old for the present) reflected on his aesthetics view of the middle way, Sinhyŏngmyohap.

茶山 丁若鏞(1762-1836)의 서화세계는 形似지향이 아니고, 그렇다고 寫意에 치우치지도 않는 神形妙合의 中庸的 審美認識을 보여준다. 조선후기, 근대사회로의 移行期에서 정약용은 神形妙合의 中庸的 審美認識을 토대로 本源儒學의 전통적 이상과 새로운 세계의 가능성을 서화세계에 담아내고자 하였다. 이를 통하여 정약용은 神중심적 심미인식에 의해 억압되어 왔던 것들을 복권시키고, 形중심적 심미인식에 의해 은폐되었던 것들을 드러내며, 심미활동에 알려지지 않은 것들을 창안해 낸 것이다. 이런 의미에서 정약용의 神形妙合의 심미인식은 진취적인 미적세계를 지향한다고 할 수 있다.
따라서 본 연구는 정약용이 어떻게 당시 성리학적 질서가 지니고 있는 한계를 극복하고, 先秦유학을 근원으로 당대의 새로운 심미인식을 구현했는지에 중점을 두고 진행되었다. 정약용은 本源儒學을 통해, 修身으로서의 초월의지를 드러내고 新我舊邦의 개혁을 체현시켜 조선후기 성리학의 매너리즘(Mannerism)을 극복하고자 하였다. 이러한 성리학의 매너리즘의 극복과정의 연장선상에 정약용의 심미인식인 神形妙合의 中庸的 문예인식이 자리 잡고 있다.
정약용의 중용적 문예인식의 특징을 다음과 같이 정리할 수 있다.
첫째, 본원유학의 회귀를 통한 중용사상의 재해석이다. 정약용은 神形妙合의 中庸的 인간관을 통해 심미세계의 핵심개념을 제출한다. 정약용은 문예의 기능이 풍자와 비판을 넘어 사회적 실천의 교화에 있다고 하였다. 또한 성인이 정한 예의지법은 시대의 변천에 따라 時宜에 맞게 변화시켜야 한다는 점을 밝히고 있다.
둘째, 神形妙合으로 문예미학사상으로 조선후기의 양대 편향적 매너리즘을 극복하고자 하였다. 神중심적 심미비평과 形중심적 심미비평이 유학의 기본정신인 中庸觀에 벗어나게 되자 정약용은 神形妙合의 中庸的 문예이론을 전개한다. 形似를 소홀히 여긴 神중심주의에 대한 비판, 神似를 소홀히 여긴 形중심주의의에 대한 비판을 통해 神形妙合의 中庸的 문예인식을 도출한다.
셋째, 정약용의 神形妙合의 中庸的 思想이 그의 서화사상과 서화작품 속에 어떻게 녹아 스며들어 있는지를 구체적으로 탐구하였다. 그의 사상과 예술세계가 별개의 가치로서 존재하는 것이 아니라 서로 분리될 수 없는 동질적이고 일체적인 가치를 지니고 있다. 정약용은 趙孟頫(1254-1322), 韓濩(1543-1605) 등 특정 서가의 書의 외양을 무비판적으로 追隨한 결과 露呈된 당대 서풍의 말폐적 현상에 대한 반성과, 篆書라는 서법의 출발점으로 돌아가 새롭고 독자적인 서예상을 모색하려는 의의를 지닌다고 할 수 있다.
이러한 연구 결과를 통해 정약용이 사상가이자 뛰어난 예술가였다는 사실을 확인할 수 있었다. 그는 서화에 관한 깊은 조예와 안목을 바탕으로 역대 서화가들의 작품을 날카롭게 비평함과 동시에 서화가가 갖추어야 할 덕목과 나아갈 방향을 제시함으로써 조선후기 서화 예술사에 큰 족적을 남겼다. 뿐만 아니라 본원유학의 회귀를 통한 中庸的 神形妙合이라는 핵심개념이 서화론를 넘어 다른 예술장르까지 일관하는 총체적 원리로 작용하여 문예미학 전반에 걸쳐 그대로 적용되고 있음을 볼 때, 그의 심미인식의 체계성과 통일성을 보여준다고 하겠다. 또한 그의 神形妙合의 논리가 예술의 본질적 가치가 어디에 있는지, 그 가치의 구현을 위해 창작은 어떻게 이루어져야 했는지를 해명하는 데 중요한 심미인식의 기준이라는 사실은 큰 시사점을 주고 있다.
정약용의 신형묘합이 ‘古爲今用’을 통한 ‘墨藝具顯’으로 드러나기 때문에 정약용의 시대질서에 대한 보편적 상대주의와 中庸的 神形妙合의 심미적 가능성은 현대의 심미인식에서도 여전히 유효하다고 하겠다.