E-Books →A Korean Confucian Way of Life and Thought The Chasŏngnok (Record of Self-Reflection) by Yi Hwang (T'oegye)

Edward Y. J. Chung, "A Korean Confucian Way of Life and Thought: The Chasŏngnok (Record of Self-Reflection) by Yi Hwang (T'oegye) "
English | ISBN: 0824855841 | 2015 | 280 pages | PDF | 1527 KB
Yi Hwang (1501-1570)―best known by his literary name, T'oegye―is one of the most eminent thinkers in the history of East Asian philosophy and religion. His Chasŏngnok (Record of self-reflection) is a superb Korean Neo-Confucian text: an eloquent collection of twenty-two scholarly letters and four essays written to his close disciples and junior colleagues. These were carefully selected by T'oegye himself after self-reflecting () on his practice of personal cultivation. The continuously guided T'oegye and inspired others on the true Confucian way (including leading Neo-Confucians in Tokugawa Japan) while it criticized Buddhism and Daoism. Its philosophical merit rivals T'oegye's monumental (Ten diagrams on sage learning) and "Four-Seven Debate Letters"; however, as a testament of T'oegye's character, scholarship, and teaching, the is of greater interest. The work engages with his holistic knowledge and experience of self-cultivation by articulating textual and historical material on various key doctrines and ideas. It is an inspiring practical guide that reveals the depth of T'oegye's learning and spirituality.