Yi Saek Spirit-path Stele

A sindobi is a stele that records the lifetime achievements of a king or high official and is erected to the southeast of his tomb; this stele honours Yi Saek (pen name Mogeun), a civil official and scholar of the late Goryeo period. Yi Saek (1328–1396) was one of the Three Eun (Sameun), scholars who refused to follow Yi Seong-gye, the founder of Joseon, and remained loyal to Goryeo instead. During the reign of King Gongmin he submitted memorials proposing reforms to the land-tax system, national defence planning, the promotion of education and the suppression of Buddhism. He also supported a pro-Ming policy during the transition from the Yuan to the Ming dynasty in China, and when, with the introduction of Confucianism in the late Goryeo period, calls arose to reject Buddhism outright, he sought instead to understand Buddhism from a Confucian standpoint and to remove its abuses through gradual reform. In 1395, the fourth year of King Taejo of Joseon, he finally refused the king's request that he remain at court, and died while travelling to the Yeogang region. The stele consists of a stele body set on a low base stone and topped with a roof stone. Its inscription reads: 'The master was later charged with a crime and dismissed, but only heaven and earth will know the nobility of his heart.' It was first erected in 1433, the 15th year of King Sejong, lost during the Japanese invasions of 1592, and re-erected by his descendants in 1666, the seventh year of King Hyeonjong, standing to this day.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Seocheon, Chungnam

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료