A Study Of Aesthetic Culture In "Land"

Based on the sum-up of previous research findings, by utilizing research methods and theories including new historicism criticism, sociology in literature, interpretation of cultures, and traditional studies of authors and their works, this essay puts the author Park Kyung-lee and her work Land into a large context of modern and contemporary history of South Korea and its living environment, carefully observes the life experience, cultural experience of the author and her cultural mental state thus formed, analyzes her national view of history and her literature view step by step, illustrates the influence of this cultural mental state on the aesthetic idea of the author, sums up Land's aesthetic features, and objectively evaluates Park Kyung-lee's literary achievement and the position of Land in the history of literature.Firstly, tracing the line of the "cultural domination" and "assimilation policy" of Japanese imperialism, the 6.25 Korean War, and the development of capitalism in South Korea, this essay observes the historical and cultural atmosphere of the society at that time. Meanwhile it analyzes and illustrates the cultural psychology of Park Kyung-lee by taking her personal life experience as the target of observation. The misfortune fell upon Park Kyung-lee's family brought to her works the sentiment of "han(resentment)", which rose from a personal level to a national level by undergoing a thorough change during the 4.19 Revolution.Secondly, by taking the Park Kyung-lee's national view of history and her literature view as research subjects, this essay observes and studies the author's artistic motivation which was merely based on personal "han(resentment)" developed to an artistic activity that depicted the "han(resentment)" of the entire nation. Via such observation, the author's conscious anti-Japanese sentiment, and the unconscious residue of Japanese culture resulting from the Kominka education become perceivable. Though Park Kyung-lee's literature view is inevitably tinged with anti-Japanese sentiment and nationalism sentiment, it concerns more about life. By observing the path of Park Kyung-lee's literary writing, this essay illustrates Park Kyung-lee's aesthetic pursuit, which takes "han (resentment)" as aestneic bearock,"life" as aesthetic existence, "the true" as aesthetic soul, and "the distinguished and admirable" as aesthetic sublimation.Thirdly, this essay comprehensively analyzes the aesthetic features of the characters and images depicted in Land, and sums up its aesthetic style. One of the characters and images in question is represented with "han (resentment) ", while the other has risen above "han (resentment) ". In the work Land, "han (resentment) " as a common sentiment coexists with the life of a human being regardless of whether he is good or evil. For instance, much "han (resentment)" is accumulated due to being over-kind; for another, failure to restrain excessive desire leads to the birth of an "evil" person. The sentiment of "han (resentment) " can also be classified into different "han (resentment)" of the intellectuals on the public level and national level, which include the "han (resentnment) " of the Confucian scholars at the late phase of the Korean dynasty, the "han (resentment)" of the intellectuals at the Enlightenment Period, and the "han (resentment) " of the warriors that fought back "in search of their homeland" as they realized the change of times and national crises, such as Eastern Studies, Righteous Army War, and the Independent Movement. In addition, there are cases of personal "han (resentment)",such as "han (resentment)" that comes with birth right or personal status, "han (resentment)" that comes with unfruitful love, and "han (resentment)" that transforms to "evil"Fourthly, this essay analyzes and illustrates certain images from the work Land as well as their symbolized meanings, including the relict, the land, the portrait of Guan Yin, and other natural imageries. The "relict" image manifests a perseverant holding to life in an aesthetic sense, and represents the utmost harsh life experience of a woman that lost her husband in the early years and maintained the livelihood of the family as the family head. The "land" image symbolizes a maternal world of "unbounded forgivingness", which undoes hate on a universal level. Actually, such supreme maternity is the homage paid to (life by the author and shown to the readers. Besides, showing up often in Lqnd, the "cuckoo" imagery and the "trumpet creeper" imagery make up an atmosphere,and an artistic conception that shrouds the entire novel. Cuckoo is a strong echo that makes the whole Land shudder, and trumpet creeper is a magical flower in Land, which dots the novel, and reveals itself to none but those that have gone through all the hardships in life.The author's unique tactic of narration can also be found in Land. As to reproduce the folk culture at the time, the aesthetic narration of the novel brings prominence to traditional folk culture and folk manners, oral traditions and folklore. The way the story was told via the eyes and words of the public makes the unique historical narration style of Land.Finally, this essay observes and studies the aesthetic manner that advocates the harmony of nature and humanity, as well as the aesthetic manner that is about the appreciation of ugliness which centers on the reflection upon the evil of humanity. Through the display of the "han (resentment)" sentiment of various types of characters, this part of the essay clarifies the author's view to the world, which is the author's concrete confirmation of life thought. A positive inheritance of the traditional values can also be perceived in the work, which are the sentiment of "han (resentment)" the love of life, the tolerance of evildoing, and the belief in the punishment of the evil. In addition, while attempting to resolve the conflict between personal desire and social responsibility, the author not only raised an alarm on the self-interested greed and on the desire to dominate, but also questioned the institution and convention at the time. Her solution to overcome the difficulties mentioned above emphasizes the importance of free will and the point of view that for humans as living beings, infinite mercy and compassion are necessary for the maintenance of their dignity and equality.To "get hold of the literariness of Land, one must get hold of the nature in it "; Land is a "nature" itself which is one of the "imitations of the nature". Through the lives and "eyes" of the civilians, Land depicts the Korean history from the end of the old Korea till its liberation. As the title "Land" implies, there is imagery of "nature" in the novel. As Park Kyung-lee had personally experienced and witnessed the Japanese Colony period, the Korean 6.25 War, and the Capitalism Transition period, we can say that the narration in Land is a review of the past history from a modern viewpoint, and a reflection on "culture" when "nature" and "modern times" collided. In the context of modern ideology that consists of nation-state and the capitalist mode of production, Park Kyung-lee's viewpoint does not linger on either history or social reality or their correlation, but concerns more about human nature that transcends the existence just mentioned, or about the universality that transcends existence.To sum up, the significance of Land lies in that the critical thinking of "culture" was carried out from an aesthetic angle all along, in which it threaded together the Korean national traditional values such as the love of life, the tolerance of evildoing, and the belief in the punishment of the evil, and also in which through the display of the "han (resentment) "-tinged lives of the civilians, the very Korean "han (resentment) " sentiment was spread all over the ground of the entire novel, and the respect for life was escalated to an ecological and even a universal level. Park Kyung-lee's incisive probe into life and the aesthetic discovery of national culture, enable Land to be acclaimed as the "great tower of Korean national culture", to has affection as the headspring of national cohesiveness, and to make great contributions to the reservation and development of Korean national culture. In this sense, Land is in the top of Korean literature.