Gimuong Donggangmunjip Woodblocks

These woodblocks are for a history book published in 1585, the 18th year of King Seonjo, by the scholar-official Kim U-ong, pen name Donggang (1540-1603), who served during the reigns of King Myeongjong and King Seonjo of Joseon. Kim U-ong was a disciple of Jo Sik (pen name Nammyeong), and passed the civil service examination in 1567, the 22nd year of King Myeongjong, subsequently holding posts including a junior post in the Hongmungwan (Office of Special Advisers), Vice Minister of War, and head of the National Confucian Academy, before rising to Inspector-General. He was a distinguished scholar and left behind the Donggangjip, his collected works. Some 110 years after Kim U-ong produced the original blocks, they had rotted and become worm-eaten, making it impossible to print further copies. In 1924 his descendant Kim Seong-rim gathered the support of Confucian scholars of Gyeongsang Province and had the work reprinted; these are the woodblocks for that reprinting, known as the Sokgangmok. The work follows the scale and format of the Gangmok (Outline and Digest) compiled by the great Chinese Confucian scholar Zhu Xi of the Song dynasty, though its perspective differs somewhat. Jeong Gu and Heo Mok praised the book as an excellent work for rectifying people's minds, so as to bring disorder under control and guard against wrongdoing.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Jinju, Gyeongnam

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산