Books of the Oksan Branch of the Yeoju Yi Clan

The Books of the Oksan Branch of the Yeoju Yi Clan comprise the following. Iryun haengsildo (1539) is among the earliest copies known to be held in Korea and is a valuable resource for examining Confucian thought and ethical views of the Joseon period. Its illustrations, Korean-language glosses (eonhae), and the printing record at the end of the volume are also important materials for research into the development of Joseon-period woodblock printing and into the history of the Korean language and bibliography. Yeoeo pyeollyu (1542) was compiled by Jo In-gyu, a scholar-official of King Jungjong's reign who had served as provincial governor, while he held the post of Jeonhan in the Hongmun-gwan (Office of Special Advisers); he classified parallel prose written in lines of four and six characters into twenty volumes by genre. The copy held by the Oksan branch consists of two volumes in two books, containing the jo (edicts, volume 1) and gye (memorials, volume 11) sections. The presentation record on the two inside-cover pages of the first volume allows the printing date of this copy to be established. Daejeon Husongnok (1543) is a code of law compiled by gathering royal instructions and rulings issued over roughly fifty years, up to 1542, following the enforcement of the Daejeon Sokrok. There is a presentation record on the reverse of the cover. Hwanghwajip (1546) combines the poetry and prose of the Ming Chinese envoy Wang Hak, who entered Joseon in the second month of 1546, the first year of King Myeongjong, as an envoy bearing sacrificial offerings and a posthumous title, together with the harmonising poems of the reception official Jeong Sa-ryong and others. It carries a presentation record and is an important resource for the study of Korea-China diplomatic history as well as Sino-Korean literature and bibliography. Guinrok (1550) was compiled by Hoejae Yi Eon-jeok (1491–1553) while he was in exile in Ganggye; gathering together all the major statements on ren (仁, benevolence), the core concept of Confucius's thought, and adding his own views, it occupies an important place in the study of Joseon Neo-Confucianism. Jammyeong (compiled around 1547) is Yi Eon-jeok's compilation of 75 admonitory writings by Song-dynasty Neo-Confucian scholars on self-cultivation, together with 16 poems of his own composition — 91 pieces in all — and is a valuable resource for the study of Hoejae's scholarship. Gwanseo Chujeong Ilgi (1549–1553) records what Yi Jeon-in, Yi Eon-jeok's son by a concubine, learned and observed in 1549 when he travelled to Ganggye to attend his exiled father. It is a resource that reveals the character of a great scholar as a father even in exile. Gukjo Yuseollok (1571) brings together writings by Yi Eon-jeok, Kim Goeng-pil, Jeong Yeo-chang and Jo Gwang-jo, including the Taegeuk Mun Byeon Dapseo (Questions and Answers on the Supreme Ultimate). Toegye Seonsaeng Suchal comprises two letters sent by Yi Hwang (1501–1570) to the house of Yi Eon-jeok in 1566 and 1567. Seoae Seodok comprises thirteen letters written by Yu Seong-ryong (1542–1607) in 1586, 1587, 1588, 1599, 1601 and 1604. Hangang Seodok comprises thirty-five letters written by Hangang Jeong Gu (1543–1620) in 1607, 1611 and 1614 to 1618. Jehyeon Seodok comprises twenty-one letters from various worthies, including Park Gye-hyeon, No Su-sin, Jang Hyeon-gwang, Yu Seong-ryong, Kim Seong-il, Yun Geun-su, Yi An-nul, Jeong Chang-yeon, Yi Hui-su, Jeong Gyeong-se, Yi Ho-min, Yi San-hae and Yeo Dae-ro. Sugan comprises seventeen letters from figures including Yi Hui-jo, Kim Jang-saeng, Song Si-yeol, Yi Jeong-gu, Yun Du-su, Yun Geun-su, Yi Dan-sang, and Yun Hwi and Yun Bang.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Treasure · 보물