Chunghyeonseowon Confucian Academy

This is a seowon, a Confucian academy, built to honour Zhu Xi together with Yi Jon-o, Yi Mok and Seong Je-won. Zhu Xi (1130–1200) was a Chinese scholar of the Song dynasty and the great master of Neo-Confucianism, who established a speculative philosophy based purely on reason and reflection, together with a system of practical ethics. Chunghyeonseowon was founded in 1581, the fourteenth year of King Seonjo of Joseon, by Seo Gi. In 1624, the second year of King Injo, it received a royal plaque bearing the name "Chunghyeon," becoming a saaek seowon, an academy granted a royal charter and name. In 1689, the fifteenth year of King Sukjong, Kim Jang-saeng, Jo Heon and Song Jun-gil were added among the enshrined scholars, and in 1713, the thirty-ninth year of King Sukjong, Song Si-yeol was enshrined as well. In 1871, the eighth year of Emperor Gojong's reign, it was closed under the order of Heungseon Daewongun abolishing seowon academies, but was rebuilt in 1925 and has survived to the present. The buildings within the academy grounds include a shrine, a jaesil (study and retreat hall), the Stele of the Historic Site of Chunghyeonseowon, the Record Hall of Chunghyeonseowon, and a stele commemorating the additional enshrinement of Song Si-yeol (pen name Uam). In the shrine, the spirit tablet of Zhu Xi is placed at the centre, with the tablets of the other scholars arranged to either side, and memorial rites are held there every year in the third and ninth months of the lunar calendar.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Gongju, Chungnam

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료