Abstract
Toegye Yi Hwang (1501–1570) is the most renowned Neo-Confucian thinker of Korea’s Joseon dynasty. The first three sections of this chapter describe his early life, the violent “literati purges” that preceded and extended tragically into his early career, and his career in office, from which he sought retirement only to be recalled repeatedly. The fourth section looks into the primary sources, the books from which he became steeped in the learning of the Cheng-Zhu school of Neo-Confucian thought. His own major written works are briefly described. The fifth section is devoted to the most famous controversy in the history of Korean Neo-Confucian thought, the Four-Seven Debate, which originated between Toegye and a younger scholar, Gobong (Gi Daeseong). This is followed by a section of description and analysis of the work that is considered his masterwork, the Ten Diagrams on Sage Learning. A brief conclusion sums up his contribution and imprint on Korean Neo-Confucian thought.
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Notes
- 1.
For a detailed account of the first three purges, see Wagner (1974).
- 2.
Sarim, literally “forest of literati,” is a collective reference to scholar-officials, and in the Korean context it takes on strong connotations of moral righteousness, or the body of morally upright officials united in opposition to the corrupt.
- 3.
I have followed the translation of government posts and offices established by Wagner, comprehensively listed in Wagner (1974): Appendix A, 125–133.
- 4.
Village Contracts (hyangyak/xiangyue 鄕約) are said to have been originated in China by Lu Dajun (1031–1082), but it was Zhu Xi who further developed and championed this institution. They were pacts made by local communities and enforced through community-based organizations designed to order conduct in the various aspects of village life, with Confucian morality and values furnishing the essential structure and content.
- 5.
Zhu Xi 朱熹 (1130–1200) is considered the great synthesizer who selected and united the various currents of the Song dynasty Confucian revival into a coherent and powerful system of thought and spiritual cultivation. The brothers Cheng Hao 程顥 (1032–1085) and Cheng Yi 程頤 (1033–1107) were prominent among his sources, hence the designation of his school of thought as the “Cheng-Zhu” school. This was the body of thought considered “orthodox” in that it was the reference point for the civil service examinations. Korea is noteworthy for its almost exclusive adherence to the Cheng-Zhu school, while in China during the Ming dynasty the Lu-Wang school championed by Wang Yangming 王陽明 (1472–1529) rose to great popularity.
- 6.
In 1592 and again in 1597 Korea was devastated by large-scale Japanese invasions that were finally beaten off only with the assistance of Ming armies.
- 7.
Dohak was a term for the morally earnest, self-cultivation oriented current of Neo-Confucianism, in contrast with the kind of learning aimed at the civil service exams and advancing to high office.
- 8.
This is the reason his disciple Kim Seongil (金誠一) offers for Toegye’s precipitous departure (Yi H 1958b [3] 12a); although it is not mentioned elsewhere, it is a plausible explanation of an act otherwise quite at odds with Toegye’s character.
- 9.
Zhen Dexiu was one of the key figures in the transmission of Zhu Xi’s learning. His best known work, the Daxue yanyi 大學衍義 (Extended Meaning of the Great Learning), became a constant fixture in the education of rulers in China and Korea. For an excellent discussion of Zhen Dexiu, the Extended Meaning, and the Classic of the Mind-and-Heart, see DeBary 1981: 67–126.
- 10.
See discussion below in Sect. 6 on Ten Diagrams on Sage Learning.
- 11.
The Xingli daquan was the product of a large compilation project carried out under imperial auspices directed by Hu Guang 胡廣 (1370–1418). First published in 1415, the Ming emperor had it presented to the Korean ruler in 1426.
- 12.
See Toegye’s remarks in his preface to his recension of Zhu Xi’s letters, the Juja seo jeoryo (The Essentials of Chu His’s Letters) Yi H 1975.
- 13.
Gi’s courtesy name was Myeongeon 明彦 and his pen-name was Gobong 高峰. He passed the civil service examinations in 1558. One of the best minds and most broadly and deeply learned of his generation, he became a leading exponent of sarim concerns at court. He served as Headmaster of the Confucian Academy and Censor General, but his promising career was cut short by illness and he died just 2 years after Toegye.
- 14.
For an annotated English translation, see Kalton 1988.
- 15.
For an English translation of the debate correspondence between Toegye and Gobong, and between Yulgok and Ugye in the second round of the debate, see Kalton et al. 1994.
- 16.
Zhou Duni (1017–1073) was one of the founders of the Neo-Confucian movement. His most famous work is the Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate (Taijitu 太極圖), which was taken up by Zhu Xi as a foundation for his metaphysics. Toegye makes it the first chapter of his Ten Diagrams.
- 17.
- 18.
Toegye presents this view in his remarks at the end of Chap. 5.
- 19.
See his remarks at the end of Chap. 5.
- 20.
Zhang Zai (1020–1077) was the uncle of the Cheng brothers and his Western Inscription made a critical contribution to the Neo-Confucian movement by establishing Confucian ethics on a metaphysical foundation.
References
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DeBary, Wm. Theodore. 1981. Neo-Confucian Orthodoxy and the Learning of the Mind-and-Heart. New York: Columbia University Press.
Kalton, Michael C. 1988. To Become a Sage. New York: Columbia University Press.
Kalton, Michael C. et al. 1994. The Four-Seven Debate. New York: SUNY Press.
Wagner, Edward W. 1974. The Literati Purges: Political Conflict in Early Yi Korea. Cambridge MA: East Asian Research Center, Harvard University.
Yi, Hwang 李滉. 1958a. Toegye jeonseo 退溪全書 The Complete Works of Toegye. 2 vols. Seoul: Seonggyungwan Daehakkyo Daedong Munhwa Yeonguweon. 1958, photo reprint.
Yi, Hwang 李滉. 1958b. Toegye seonsaeng eonhaegnok 退溪先生言行錄 Record of the Words and Deeds of Master Toegye. In Toegye jeonseo 退溪全書, B, pp. 786–881.
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Zhou, Duni 周敦頤. 1975. Tong shu 通書, Penetrating to the Book of Changes. In Xingli daquan 性理大全, Great Compendium of Neo-Confucianism [2] 37a.
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Kalton, M.C. (2019). Toegye: His Life, Learning and Times. In: Ro, Yc. (eds) Dao Companion to Korean Confucian Philosophy. Dao Companions to Chinese Philosophy, vol 11. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2933-1_7
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