단국대 연민문고에는 연암 박지원이 면천군수로 재임하면서 작성한 면양잡록 6책(2,3,4,6,7,8)이 결본 형태로 소장되어 있다. 그중 제8책에는 1801년에 흉서 사건의 주모자로 사형에 처해진 윤가기의 시 10수가 단구관집이라는 제목으로 수록되어 있다. 본 연구에서는 위와 같이 연암이 면양잡록에 윤가기의 시를 정선해 놓은 것에 주목하고, 이 책에 수록된 윤가기의 시 10수의 내용과 그 의미를 살펴봄으로써 지금까지 베일에 가려져 있던 윤가기 문학의 특징을 규명하였다.
윤가기는 「촉석루」에서 세 장군과 논개의 충절로 표상되는 진주성 전투를 떠올리며 태평성대를 희구하였고, 「만하루월야」에서 천하가 안정되기를 바라는 사대부의 이상을 노래했으며, 통제영과 한산도를 방문하여 지은 시 4수를 통해 이순신이 왜구에게 대승했던 현장을 답사하면서 호연한 기상을 펼쳤다. 이는 평생에 걸쳐 성인지학을 익히고 실천하는 과정을 통해 축적된 호연지기가 경세의지로 표출된 것이다.
또한, 윤가기는 「관루월야」에서 단성에 부임해 한 해를 마감하며 느끼는 지방관의 고독감을 평담하게 노래하고, 「안의공작관」에서 연암이 안의현감을 지내면서 세속적 이욕에서 벗어나 신선처럼 살아가던 탈속적 삶을 생생하게 묘사하였다. 이는 서얼 출신이라는 신분적 한계를 극복하고 지속적인 심성수양을 통해 무한한 욕구를 절제함으로써 천지의 기와 내아의 기가 하나 된 중화의 성정이 시로 발현된 것이다.
연암이 안의현감으로 재임하면서 편집한 小集들은 정조에 의해 불시에 있을지도 모를 문집을 올려 보내라는 명에 대비해서 만든 自選集이다. 정조는 당시 이봉환이 창시한 ‘초림체’와 이덕무 등이 창시한 ‘검서체’를 서얼 출신 관료의 시로 단정하고, 이들에게 치세의 중화의 음을 지닌 시를 짓도록 하였다. 연암은 당시 서얼 문인들의 시 중에서 윤가기의 시가 성정지정을 노래한 중화의 음을 보여주고 있다고 보고, 순정한 시를 올리라는 정조의 명에 대비해 그의 시 10수를 면양잡록에 수록하였다는 점에서 그 의미를 찾을 수 있다.
The Miscellanies of Myeonyang, Myeonyangjabrok沔陽雜錄, were written by Yeonam燕巖 Jiwon Park朴趾源. He was the magistrate of Meonyang county, today's Cheonan, when he edited this collection. Dankuk University has the collection in its Yeonmin library as some volumes were missing from the set. Only six volumes(Vol. 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8) of the set are in th library at present. Ten pieces of Kagi Yoon尹可基's poems were recorded in vol 8 of the collection by the title of Dangukwangip丹邱館集. Yoon was arrested and executed in 1801 as the mastermind of the scandalous letter affair. In this study I noticed Yeonam's specific purpose to sort out Yoon's poems, examined the contents and meanings of them carefully, and disclosed the literary characteristic of Yoon who had been hidden in a veil of mistery until now.
Yoon had aspiration for a peaceful reign in 「矗石樓」, reminding the battle in Jinju Castle which was emblematic for the Loyalties of the three generals and Nongae論介. In 「Manhaloo moonlight挽河樓月夜」, he sang a dignitary's ideal for the peaceful reign of the country. He enlivened his spirit through the four poems written in Tongjaeyeung and Hansan island, the very places General Soonsin Lee李舜臣 had gained great victories against Japanese soldiers. These were representations about the will of national administration and relief gained by his magnanimous spirit he had been accumulating through the process of learning and practicing the philosophy of the sages of old for life.
Moreover, in his poem 「kwanloo moonlight官樓月夜」, he simply sang his feeling of loneliness of the local official at the end of a year, in his another poem “Aneui Duke hall” he vividly expressed and highly praised Yeonam's unworldly life like it of an anchorite who disregarded worldly fame and gain when Yeonam was in the position of the head official of Aneui district. These poems manifested Yoon's moderate character that was combined the energy of heaven and earth with the energy of his inner self by overcoming the limit of his social position as an illegitimate son and exercised great moderation and self-controlled the unlimited desire through sustaining cultivation of the mind and body.
During the term of office in Aneui district, Yeonam collected some pieces of his own works and made them small books to prepare for King Jeongjo正祖's untimely order to offer literary collections. In those days, King Jeongjo considered ‘Cholimche椒林體’, the literary style which was created by Bonghwan Lee李鳳煥 and ‘Gumseoche檢書體’, another literary style which was started by Deukmoo Lee李德懋 and his learned friends as the coarse and sophisticated poetry styles that were made by lonely and stiff subjects and bastards, and asked them to build the pure and rightful poems with the moderate voice for the reign. Yeonam judged, among the literary figures born out of wedlock, only Yoon expressed the right path of virtue with the moderate voice for the reign in his poems. In terms of this, I can say it has a world of meaning that Yeonam put the ten poems of Kagi Yoon into Myeonyangjabrok in case of Jeongjo's order to offer him pure and refined poems.