Michael C. Kalton

T'oegye's Ten Diagrams on Sage Learning: A Korean View of the Essence of Chu Hsi's Teaching

Yi Hwang (1501-70), better known by his penname, Toegye, is generally reputed as Koreas foremost Ñeo-Confucian tlünker^From the very beginning of the Yi dynasty (1392-1910) the Neo-Confucian doctrine of the Cheng-Chu school was the officially sanctioned ideology, but with Toegye it arrived at its full maturity on the peninsula, for he was the first to present it with a fully sophisticated and integral grasp of its scope, unity, and implications. Consequently his teaching became a constant reference point for subsequent generations of Korean Neo-Confucians and his understanding of Chu Hsis vision exercised a profound and lasting influence. One of his last and most important works was the Ten Diagrams on Sage Learning (Songhak sipdo), which he composed for the instruction of young King Sönjo (r. 1567-1608) in 1568, two years before his death. Considered the summation of Toegyes lifetime of learning, the Ten Diagrams became one of the classics of the Korean Neo-Confucian tradition: during the course of the Yi dynasty it was reprinted at least twenty-four times, and it now circulates in three modern Korean translations.