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영어

『Myongsimpogam』is a book about morality discussing a broad subjects from human behaviour to politics and is based on Confucian thought. It has been widely read not only in China, Korea, Japan and Vietnam, but also in Western countries like Spain. In particular, western missionaries were interested in Asian Confucianism and therefore translated it into their own language. It was first translated into Spanish by Christian missionaries who worked in Asia around 16th Century and they used it as material in their mission work. This translated version was given to the King of Spain at that time and then it spread around Europe. The Spanish version was made in 1592 and 1676 by different people and it had a big effect on Western society of that time. Here, I would like to examine the Spanish version, its characteristics and roles in the West, based on earlier research of its historical background and also on my own opinion.