A SEARCH FOR A DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE CONFUCIAN 'SINCERITY' AND THE CHRISTIAN 'REALITY': A STUDY OF THE NEO-CONFUCIAN THOUGHT OF LEE YULGOK AND THE THEOLOGY OF HEINRICH OTT (CHINA, EUROPE)

Although separated in time and place, is a dialogue possible between Lee Yulgok and Heinrich Ott? This is what this study will attempt to find out. Ours will be an attempt to bridge the diachronical and diatopical gap through a creative hermeneutics. Our attempt to establish a dialogue between Yulgok and Ott should not be based simply on a few 'concepts' drawn from Yulgok and Ott. Instead, we have to take the entire thought-systems of Yulgok and Ott in order to open a possibility of a cross-cultural dialogue.; For both Yulgok and Ott, the non-dualistic approach is essential to the formulation of their thoughts. In his formulation and interpretations of Bonhoeffer's theology, Ott's attempt to establish a non-dualistic approach poses a possible solution to the conflict between the theologies of K. Barth and R. Bultmann.; In comparison, Yulgok tried in his own way to contribute a non-dualistic way of thinking for the Confucian tradition through his own creative and critical interpretation of Chu Hsi.; In order to be engaged in a fruitful dialogue between Yulgok and Ott, we need to establish a 'point of contact' through which the dialogue between Confucian philosophy and Christian theology may take place. This 'point of contact', in the case of the dialogue between Yulgok and Ott, is 'sincerity' (ch'eng or sung) and 'reality' (Wirklichkeit).