Songjadaejeon Hall Woodblocks

These woodblocks, 11,023 in total, were carved for the Songjadaejeon, a compilation of the collected writings and chronological biography of the great Confucian scholar of the late Joseon period, Song Si-yeol (1607–1689), pen name Uam. Song Si-yeol was a disciple of Kim Jang-saeng, excelled in forceful, logical prose and calligraphy, and devoted his life to the study of Zhu Xi's Neo-Confucianism, becoming a leading figure of the Giho school, which carried on the scholarly lineage of Yi I (Yulgok). He held numerous official posts and rose to the position of Left State Councillor, but repeatedly withdrew to the countryside, was exiled, was reinstated, and retired into seclusion, before ultimately losing his life when he was forced to drink poison at the instigation of the Namin (Southerner) faction. The first edition of the Uam munjip (Collected Works of Uam) was printed with metal type at the Gyoseogwan (Office of Editorial Review) in 1717, the 43rd year of King Sukjong, by Min Jin-hu on royal order. Subsequently, early in the reign of King Jeongjo, a royal order was issued to compile his complete writings; these were combined with the earlier volumes, and the woodblock edition was produced as a book at the Pyeongan Provincial Office in 1787, the 11th year of King Jeongjo. However, its first volume and the chronological biography were printed separately at a proofreading office in Seoul, and the completed work, comprising 215 volumes bound in 102 books, was given the title Songjadaejeon. The Songjadaejeon woodblocks were kept in a purpose-built storage hall called Jangpangak, erected in 1819, the 19th year of King Sunjo. However, in 1907, when righteous army volunteers rose up in opposition to the Japan–Korea Treaty of that year, Japanese troops set fire to Hwanjangsa Temple, where the Jangpangak stood, on the grounds that it had served as a lodging place for the righteous army, and the woodblocks were destroyed in the fire. The woodblocks now kept in the Jangpangak at Uam Historic Park were newly carved in the 1920s by Song Si-yeol's descendants and Confucian scholars. At that time, the four-volume Songseoseubyu and the two-volume Sokseubyu were also carved together, bringing the Songjadaejeon to a total of 108 books.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Dong-gu, Daejeon

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산