Notes

 

Translator's Preface

 

1. The naejip or "inner collection" in 49 fascicles was the earliest collection of T'oegye's writings. It was later supplemented by a pyŏljip (separate collection), waejip (outer collection), and sokjip (supplementary collection). The pyoljip and waejip each only one fascicle, are appended to volume 1 of the Chŏnsŏ. The more important sokjip, in 8 fascicles, is contained in the second volume.

 

 

Introduction

 

1. For a discussion of these early cosmological schools, see Feng Yu‑lan, A History of Chinese Philosophy, vol. 1, pp. 159‑169.

2. This is discussed in chapter 6 below; the title of the chapter, "The mind combines and governs the nature and the feelings, "is itself a quotation from Chang.

3. These are the Lun‑yü chi‑chu (Collected Commentaries on the Analects, ) the Meng Txu chi‑chu (Collected Commentaries on the Mencius), the Ta‑hsüeh chang­chü (Commentary on the Great Learning), and the Chung‑yung chang‑chiA (Commen­tary on the Doctrine of the Mean).

4. His courtesy name was Yŏngsuk, and his honorific name was Mogŭn. He studied Neo‑Confucianism in China from 1348‑1351, and returned again in 1354, when he placed first and second in the two final stages of the civil service exam. He enjoyed great favor with Koryŏ's King Kongmin (r.1351‑1374) and was responsible for the legal institution of the three‑year mourning period in Korea. Yi was famed as the foremost Neo‑Confucian scholar of the times and also as an outstanding poet and literary stYList. In the last decades of the dynasty he was the leader of the conservative Koryŏ‑loyalist group.

               5. His courtesy name was Talga, and his honorific name was P'oun. An outstanding scholar and man of letters, he rendered important service on several missions to China during the early years of the new Ming dynasty. His attempts to prevent Yi Sdnggye's founding of a new dynasty led to his assassination in 1392, but his reputation was utilized by the new dynasty, which made him a symbol of loyalty.

 

220          Notes to pp. 7‑16

 

Although there is no record of his scholarship, his reputation continued to grow, and on the basis of his moral character, strong stance against Buddhism, and direct contact with China, he came to be regarded as the true father of Korean Neo‑Confucianism and his tablet was placed in Korea's Confucian Shrine.

6. Kwŏn's courtesy name was Kawŏn, and his honorific name was Yangch'ŏn. He was one of Yi Saek's leading disciples. Although he opposed the dynastic change, he eventually accepted office and in the first decades of the new dynasty was regarded as the foremost scholar of the time. His Iphak tosŏl (Diagrammatic Explanations for Beginners) is one of the earliest Korean treatises on Neo‑Confucian thought.

7. His courtesy name was Chongji, and his honorific name was Sambong. He was a disciple of Yi Saek. Coming from an obscure background, he rose to become the real power behind the throne as the chief merit subject of the new dynasty, until he and his group were suddenly purged as the result of the first succession struggle of the Yi dynasty in 1398. His writings, the Sim ki i py'ŏn (Essay on the Mind, Vital Force, and Principle) and the P'ulssi chappyŏn (Various Arguments Against the Bud­dhists), are, along with the Iphak tosŏl (see note 7), the sole examples of early Korean Neo‑Confucian intellectualism. Both are anti‑Buddhist tracts that attack Buddhism on intellectual grounds, the first and most important works of this nature in Korea.

8. For an excellent account of early attempts to use ritual norms and insti­tutions as a means to transform Korean society, see Martins Deuchler, "Neo‑Con­fucianism: The Impulse for Social Action in Early Yi Korea."

9. For a detailed account of the first three purges, see Edward W. Wagner, The Literati Purges: Political Conflict in Early Yi Korea.

10. The Sahŏnbu, the Saganwŏn, and the Hongmun'gwan, respectively. Here, as elsewhere, I have followed the translation of government posts and offices estab­lished by Wagner, comprehensively listed in Literati Purges, Appendix A, pp. 125­133.

11. Village Contracts (hyangyak, hsiang‑yüeh) are said to have been originated in China by Lu Ta‑chün (1031‑1082), but it was Chu Hsi who further developed and championed this institution. They were pacts made by local communities and enforced through community‑based organizations designed to order conduct in the various aspects of village life, with Confucian morality and values furnishing the essential structure and content.

12. The Sillok is the official daily record of the operations of the government.

13. Sillok, 1517.8.7, as tr. by Wagner, Literati Purges, p. 90.

14. Most of the following account is taken from T'oegye's Chronological Biography (yŏnbo, nien fu) found in T'oegye chŏnsŏ (hereafter, TGCS), B, pp. 553­620.

15. Yangban, lit. "the two divisions,"is the term that designates Korea's elite or aristocratic class. The term itself is derived from the two types of government officials, the civil and the military.

16. TGCS, A, 10.26, p. 282, Letter to Cho Konjung.

17. In 1592 and again in 1597 Korea was devastated by large‑scale Japanese invasions that were finally beaten off only with the assistance of Ming armies.

 

Notes to pp. 17‑26           221

 

18. Ŏnhaengnok (hereafter, ŎHN), 6.18a, B, p. 872 (Pak Sun).

19. ŎHN, 6.15a, TGCS, B, p. 871 (Chŏng Yuil).

20. This is the reason his disciple Kim Sŏngil offers for T'oegye's precipitous departure (ŎHN, 3.12a, TGCS, B, p. 824); although it is not mentioned elsewhere, it is a plausible explanation of an act otherwise quite at odds with T'oegye's character.

21. ŎHN, 1.2a, TGCS, B, p. 789.

22. Chen's courtesy name was Ching‑yüan and his honorific name was His-­shan. He was one of the key figures in the transmission of Chu Hsi's learning. His best known work, the Ta‑hsüeh yen‑i (Extended Meaning of the Great Learning, became a constant fixture in the education of rulers in China and Korea. For an excellent discussion of Chen Te‑hsiu, the Extended Meaning, and the Classic of the Mind‑and­-Heart, see. Wm. Theodore deBary, Neo‑Confucian Orthodoxy and the Learning of the Mind‑and‑Heart, pp. 67‑126.

23. The Hsin‑ching fu‑chu was published in China in 1492. Within the next 70 years three editions were published in Korea, attesting its popularity on the pen­insula. For a study of T'oegye and this work, including its prior and later publication history, see Yun Pyŏngt'ae, "T'oegeywa Simgyŏng puju," (T'oegye and the Hsin‑ching fu‑chu, and "Simgyŏng puju yuhuron ponŭi kanbon" (The Publication of Editions of the Hsin‑ching fu‑chu with T'oegye's Epilogue).

24. For a discussion of this term, see the Appendix on Terminology.

25. Hsin‑ching fu‑chu, 4.286.

26. The Hsing-li ta-ch'üan was the product of a large compilation project carried out under imperial auspices directed by Hu Kuang (1370‑1418). First published in 1415, the Ming emperor had it presented to the Korean ruler in 1426.

27. ŎHN, l.lb, TGCS, B, p. 789.

28. ŎHN, 1.5a, TGCS, B, p. 791.

29. See his remarks in his preface to his recension of Chu Hsi's letters, the Chu sŏ chŏryo, TGCS, A, 423a‑b, p. 939.

30. Ihak T'ongnok, table of contents (mongnok) 3a, TGCS, B, p.250.

31. The "Chŏnsŭmnok nonbyŏn " (Critique of Wang Yang‑ming's Ch'uan­hsi lu), TGCS, A, 41.236‑356, pp. 922‑925, and the "Paeksasigyo chŏnsŭmnok ch'ojŏn insü kihu" (Postscript to Conveyed Copy of Ch'en Po‑sha's Shih‑chiao and Wang Yang‑ming's Ch'uan‑hsi lu), TGCS, A, 41.296‑35a, pp. 925‑928.

32. Ki's courtesy name was Myŏngŏn and his honorific name was Kobong. He passed the civil service examinations in 1558. One of the best minds and most broadly and deeply learned of his generation, he became a leading exponent of sarim concerns at court. He served as Headmaster fo the Confucian Academy and Censor General, but his promising career was cut short by illness and he died just two years after T'oegye.

33. TGCS, B, pp. 151‑190.

34. See below, chapter 5, T'oegye's Comments.

35. T'ung shu, chapter 20.

36. This structure is indicated by T'oegye in annotations at the end of chapter 5 and chapter 10.

 

 

222          Notes to pp. 26‑30

 

37. T'oegye presents this view in his remarks at the end of chapter 4.

38. See his remarks at the end of chapter 4.

 

Address Presenting the Ten Diagrams on Sage Learning to King Sŏnjo

 

1. P'anjungch'ubusa, a Junior First Rank position. The Office of Ministers Without Portfolio was the highest ranking military agency. It was an honorary sinecure position frequently assigned to high‑ranking civil officials no longer serving actively in government.

2. Analects, 17:17: "Heaven does riot speak, but [in accord with it] the four seasons proceed in their course and the hundred living things are produced. Yet Heaven does not speak!" This saying has been an important reference point in the Confucian tradition, for Confucians have generally taken a non-anthropomorphic, naturalistic view of the Ultimate and the mode in which its governance operated. "Heaven" is the most common term for referring to an ultimate seat or source of governing in the universe, while "Tao" is used when this governing is thought of as happening according to an under‑lying, directive pattern inherent in all things. Heaven governs not by legislative fiat, but by the inherent pattern (Tao) of the universe.

3. The River Diagram was believed to have been carried out of the Yellow River on the back of a "dragon horse," during the reign of the legendary Emperor Fu hsi, while the Lo Writing came from the Lo River on the back of a tortoise in the time of the legendary Emperor Yü. They were supposed to have been transmitted to King Wen, the founder of the Chou dynasty, who elaborated Fu Hsi's eight trigrams into the 64 hexagrams and accompanying texts which are the core of the Book of Changes. Subsequently lost, they were "rediscovered" during the Former Han dynasty (206 B.c‑25 A.D.), a time when apocrypha and prognostication texts enjoyed a wide currency.

4. These are idealized legendary and semi-legendary figures from the earliest period of Chinese history and prehistory; their reigns represented the ideal of wisdom and proper government. For Confucians the most important of these are the Sage Emperors Yao (2357?‑2256? s.c.)and Shun (2255?‑2206? B.C.), and King Wen (1184?‑1135?s.C.) and the Duke of Chou (c. 1110?). The latter two belong to the historical Chou dynasty (1122?‑256 B.C.), the early period of which was idealized and taken as a model by Confucians. The account of the reigns of these Sage Emperors and Wise Rulers is to be found in the Book of Documents, one of the earliest Confucian Classics (English tr. by James Legge, The Chinese Classics, vol. 3).

5. Kuo Yü (Narratives of the States), Ch'u, A:6. Commentators do not agree regarding the precise meaning of the various ancient offices referred to here, so the translation is uncertain.

6. This practice, with a similar list of objects, is described in the "Wu‑wang chien tsu" chapter of the Ta Tai li‑chi (Book of Rites of the Elder Tai).

 

Notes to pp. 31‑33           223

 

7. The T'ien‑ch'iu chin‑chien lu (Golden Mirror Record of a Thousand Au­tumns) was presented to the emperor on his birthday in 736 by Chang Chiu‑ling (673‑740). It was customary on such occasions for officials to present precious gifts such as golden mirrors; Chang instead presented this compilation of historical ex­amples of good and bad government.

8. The Wu‑i t'u. Sung Ching (662‑737) was noted for combining inflexible sternness with remarkable benignity. Wu‑i, "without idleness," is the title of Book of Documents, 5:15, a chapter in which the Duke of Chou lectures the young ruler on this evil. Sung made a diagram of the chapter and presented it to the emperor.

9. Li Te‑yü ( 787‑849) served under six emperors of the Tang dynasty, leading a checkered career which took him from the heights of power to banishment to distant parts of the empire and back again. The Tan‑i liu‑hen (Six Maxims of the Crimson Screen) was addressed to the Emperor Ching‑tsung, whose extravagances Li staunchly opposed. The "crimson screen" of the title refers to the screen which stood behind the emperor in his audience chamber.

10. On Chen Te‑hsiu, see Introduction, note 22. The Pin‑fung ch'i‑yüeh t'u (Diagram of the Seventh‑Month Ode of the Odes of Pin) is based upon Book of Odes, #154. The Seventh‑Month Ode, so‑named for its first line, narrates the various sorts of agricultural labors of the common people throughout the course of the year.

11. The responsibility was not T'oegye's alone; a broad spectrum of some 22 officials held concurrent appointments to the Office of Royal Lectures (kyŏngyŏn, lit. "Classic‑mat"). They met, ideally, three times daily with the king. The nominal task of these meetings was, as the title suggests, the exegesis and interpretation of classical texts, but these were also applied, sermon stYLe, to the affairs and questions of the day, and the ensuing discussions could range broadly. Thus this was a major forum not only for formal instruction, but the presentation of views on current issues and for remonstrance as well. Cf. Edward Wagner, The Literati Purges, p. 16. For a discussion of the origin of this institution and its function in relation to the instruction of rulers, see deBary, Neo‑Confucian Orthodoxy, pp. 29‑30; 35‑37.

12. This saying of Chang Tsai is the heart of the Ch'eng‑Chu School's psychological theory and is discussed in chapter 6. T'oegye's "two small diagrams" summarize his most original contribution to Neo‑Confucian thought and mark the point where Korean Neo‑Confucianism begins on the course of its own distinctive and characteristic intellectual development. On Ch'eng Fu‑hsin, see below, ch. 2, n. 32.

13. These diagrams are: ch. 3, Elementary Learning; ch. 5, Rules of the White Deer Hollow Academy; ch. 10, Admonition on Rising Early and Retiring Late.

14. This suggestion was promptly acted upon and both the screen and hand­book were made. There are a number of references to the Ten Diagrams in T'oegye's correspondence with other scholars during the next two years, indicating that the work was almost immediately in circulation in the scholarly community.

15. Mencius, 6A:15.

16. Book of Documents, 5:4.5. The "Grand Plan" is said to have been given

 

224          Notes to pp. 33‑37

 

by Chi Tzu (Kor. "Kija") to King Wu at the beginning of the Chou dynasty. As one of the earliest comprehensive schematizations of the rudiments of an ideal, civilized government, it was an important reference point for later Confucians. But for Koreans this reference had special meaning because Chi Tzu was said to have fled to Korea rather than serve under a new dynasty after having served under its predecessor, the Shang. The legend of his founding a Chinese civilization on the Korean Peninsula attracted the special attention of Yi dynasty Neo‑Confucians, who could thus claim to be restoring their country's most ancient and legitimate heritage.

17. The "emptiness" (hŏ, hsü) of the mind indicates that it is intrinsically free of ego‑centeredness; it is, in its ideal condition, "empty" of any selfish desires or impulses. It is "spiritual" (yong, ling) in its wondrous ability to encompass and penetrate all things; no dichotomy of spirit/matter in the western sense is implied. For further discussion, see Appendix on Terminology under ki (ch'i).

18. See Appendix on Terminology.

19. Analects, 2:15.

20. Mencius, 3A:1.

21. On mindfulness (kyŏng, ching), see Appendix on Terminology. T'oegye makes this the central theme of the Ten Diagrams. The psychological theory regarding "inner" and "outer" is explained in chapter 6. Chapters 8‑10 take up the subject of mindfulness at length.

22. A paraphrase of Doctrine of the Mean, ch. 1.

23. A reference to Mencius 6A:8, which describes how the calm atmosphere of the early predawn hours works to restore human nature to its originally good condition just as the vital force of nature works in the night to restore damaged

vegetation.

24. I am unable to locate these references.

25. Mencius, 4B:14.

26. Mencius, 4A:27.

27. Analects, 6:7. Yen Hui was Confucius' favorite and foremost disciple. He died while still very young, a loss Confucius greatly mourned.

28. This is taken from Chu Hsi's annotation of Analects, 15:11.

29. Analects, 4:15: when Confucius said that there is a single thread running through all his teachings Tseng Tzu understood what he meant and interpreted this key remark for the other disciples.

30. References to Doctrine of the Mean, ch. 1.

31. This is a conventional expression of humility frequently used when presenting something. The reference is to a well‑known tale: although the peasants mistake something very common as a gift fit for a king, their utter sincerity in offering the gift excuses the ignorance and, indeed, is the true value of the gift.

 

Notes to pp. 37‑41         225

 

1. Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate

 

1. The Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate (T'ai chi t'u), and Explanation of the Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate (T'ai chi t'u shuo) may be found, together with Chu Hsi's commentary and a lengthy compilation of further annotation, in the Hsing-li ta-ch'üan (hereafter, HLTC, ) ch. 1. The Diagram and Explanation have been translated by Derk Bodde in History of Chinese Philosophy, by Feng Yu‑lan, vol. 2, pp. 435‑438. A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy, by Wing‑tsit Chan, pp. 463‑464> contains a translation of the Explanation. Both translations are in substantial agreement, and my own owes much to theirs. For a further discussion of the origin and nature of the Diagram, see Feng Yu‑lan, ibid., pp. 438‑442.

2. The Chin ssu lu, compiled by Chu Hsi and Lü Tsu‑Ch'ien, is the earliest compilation of the thought of the early masters and has been extremely influential. It has been translated by Wing‑tsit Chan as Reflections on Things at Hand. On the HLTC, see above, Introduction, n.26.

3. See HLTC, l.lb‑3a.

4. Ch'ien and K'un are the names of the first two hexagrams of the Book of Changes (hereafter, Hsing‑li ta‑ch'üan). Ch'ien is entirely composed of yang lines and symbolizes Heaven and the male; K'un is composed entirely of yin lines and symbolizes Earth and the female.

5. For a complete elaboration of the correlation of the Five Agents and the constituent principles of human nature as well as the psychological theory developed on this basis, see below, ch. 6.

6. Changes, commentary on Ch'ien hexagram.

7. Ibid., Remarks on Certain Trigrams, ch. 2.

8. Ibid., Appended Remarks, pt. 1, ch. 4.

9. The Book of Changes was an ancient divination text held in high esteem by both Confucians and Taoists. It is based upon eight trigrams which represent the possible combinations of unbroken (yang) lines and broken (yin) lines; these in turn were combined into hexagrams, thus making a total of 64 symbolic graphs representing different combinations of yin and yang. The 8 trigrams were attributed to the leng­endary sage Fu Hsi, while the hexagrams were held to be the work of King Wen (1171‑1122 B.C.); the texts accompanying the hexagrams were attributed to King Wen and the Duke of Chou (d. 1094 B.C.). As important as the text itself were seven commentaries which were incorporated into the work and ascribed to Confucius (551‑479 B.C.). Originally a divination text, the Book of Changes came to be used as the fundamental source for virtually all Chinese cosmological speculation and was also an important source of ethical teachings. Modem scholars generally hold the commentaries to be the work of diverse authors and composed sometime between the fifth and fourth centuries B.C.

10. Chu‑tzu Yü-lei (hereafter, YL), 94.17b‑18a.

11. HLTC, 1.45b‑46a, slightly abridged. T'oegye sees the doctrine of mind­fulness as a central theme running throughout his Ten Diagrams and deliberately introduces this comment to show how Chu Hsi supplements Chows more one‑sided emphasis on tranquility with the doctrine of mindfulness (see the annotation he appends to ch. 4).

12. The honorific name of Yeh Ts'ai (fl. 1248). Yeh was a disciple of Chu Hsi's pupil, Ch'en Ch'un (1153‑1217) and the author of the earliest commentary on the Chin ssu lu.

 

226          Notes to pp. 41‑47

 

13. Changes, Appended Remarks, pt. 1, ch. 11.

14. A slight paraphrase of Yeh's remark as found in HLTC, 1.59b‑60a.

15. HLTC, 1. 596‑60a.

16. Chu‑tzu ta ch'üan (The Complete Works of Chu Hsi, hereafter CTTC), 71.4b (Chi Lien‑hsi ch'uan).

17. The Elementary Learning (Hsiao hsüeh) and the Great Learning (Ta hsieh) are the subjects of the third and fourth chapters of the Ten Diagrams.

18. Changes, Remarks on Certain Trigrams, ch. 1.

19. Changes, Appended Remarks, pt. 2, ch. 3.

20. ŎHN, l.lb, B, p. 789; 1.20b, B, p. 798.

21. ŎHN, 1.20b, p. 798.

22. YL, 1.2b.

23. There were sharp differences in the orientations underlying the monistic philosophies of Chang and Lo. For an excellent study of Lo's thought that clearly distinguishes him from Chang, see Irene Bloom, "On the `Abstraction' of Ming Thought: Some Concrete Evidence from the Philosophy of Lo Chin‑shun," in Prin­ciple and Practicality, ed. by Wm. Theodore deBary and Irene Bloom, pp. 69‑125.

24. The courtesy name of Sŏ Kyŏngdŏk (1489‑1546) was Kagu, but in Korea he is best known by his honorific name, Hwadam; he is popularly regarded, along with T'oegye and Yulgok (Yi I), as one of the three outstanding philosophers of the Yi dynasty. He strongly asserted the absolute independence and originality of his ideas, though they bear a close resemblance to the monistic philosophy of ch'i de­veloped in China by Chang Tsai, to whom his followers constantly likened him. He refused to take office and lived an impoverished life in retirement devoted to study and teaching. T'oegye had contact with a number of Hwadam's students, and fre­quently expressed his impatience with what he regarded as their misplaced enthusiasm and exaggerated claims for their master. Hwadam claimed his teaching and insights would endure through the ages, but unfortunately the slim volume of his writing which survived‑perhaps his only writing‑the Hwadamjip, contains only a sketchy exposition of his philosophy, making it impossible, in spite of his high repute, to assess the full range and depth of his ideas.

25. See, for example, his Pi i ki wi il mui pyŏnjung (An Evidenced Argument That Li and Ki Are Not One Thing), TGCS, A, 41.20b‑23a, pp. 920‑922, in which he attacks the monism of Lo Chin‑shun and Sŏ Kyŏngdŏk.

26. For T'oegye's handling of this question and its ramifications See below, Commentary, "The Supreme Ultimate and Material Force," and chapter 4, Com­mentary, "Can Principle `Approach'?"

27. On Chu Hsi's adopting and interpreting Chou's Diagram, which was before that relatively unknown, see Wing‑tsit Chan, "Chu Hsi's Completion of Neo-Confucianisml," pp. 67‑72.

28. This remark appears among the passages appended to Chu Hsi's com­mentary on the Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate, HLTC, 1.4a; I have not been able to locate its original source.

29. CTTC, 56.33b (Letter to Ch'eng Tzu‑shang).

 

Notes to pp. 47‑51           227

 

30. YL, 1.3a.

31. Mien‑tsai was the honorific name of Huang Kan (1152‑1221), Chu Hsi's son‑in‑law and one of his leading disciples. He has generally been considered the orthodox interpreter and transmitter of Chu Hsi's thought.

32. HLTC, 1.23b.

33. See above, n. 27.

34. See Yun Sasun, T'oegyeŭi ch'ŏrhak yŏn'gu (Research on T'oegye's Phi­losophy), pp. 59‑66, and Chŏn Tuha, "T'oegyeŭi ch'ŏrhagui haeksim," (The Heart of T'oegye's Philosophy), pp. 135‑170, (esp. pp. 135‑145). The two scholars differ insofar as Yun is inclined to emphasize the implicit contradictions in this monistic dualism while Chŏn, who is deeply influenced by Hegel, is inclined to see it in a dialectical framework.

35. On Ki Taesŭng, see above, Introduction, n. 32. He is famous for his role in the Four‑Seven Debate with T'oegye, the most famous and important intel­lectual controversy in the history of Yi Dynasty thought (see below, chapter 6, for a discussion of the debate).

36. The courtesy name of Yi I (1536‑1584) was Sukhŏn, but he is universally known in Korea by his honorific name, Yulgok. He rivals T'oegye for the title of the finest thinker of the Yi Dynasty, and the Korean intellectual world became perma­nently divided into schools which trace their intellectual descent from one or the other. Yulgok had an illustrious official career, holding posts such as Censor General, Inspector General, and Minister of the Board of Personnel, and has a high reputation not only as a philosopher but as a man of practical affairs.

37. Cf. HLTC, p.106.

38. On the differentiation of principle according to the relative purity or turbidity of material force, see below, chapter 3, Commentary, "Material Force and the Difference Between the Sage and the Ordinary Man."

 

2. Diagram of the Western Inscription

 

1.                        On Chang Tsai, see first section of Introduction. The Western Inscription was originally ch. 17 of Chang's Cheng‑meng, and was entitled "Correcting Obstinacy" (Ting‑wan); Ch'eng I, fearing that this obscure title would cause problems, changed it to "Western Inscription," a reference to the fact that it was inscribed on the western window of Chang's lecture hall. It was included in the second chapter of Chu Hsi's Chin‑ssu lu (see Wing Tsit Chan's translation, Reflection of Things at Hand, pp. 76ff. ) and is also presented, along with Chu Hsi's commentary and annotations from other sources, in HLTC, chüan 4. T'oegye's careful phrase‑by‑phrase analysis of its sources and meaning, the Sŏmyŏng koch'ung kangŭi (Lecture on the Sources of the Western Inscription) appears in TGCS, A, 7.49a‑62a; this lecture was originally presented by him from the Classics Mat before king Sŏnjo. His comments indicate that he was using the HLTC material. English translations of the Western Inscription are to be found in Wing Tsit Chan's Source Book in Chinese Philosophy, pp. 497‑500, and Derk

 

228          Notes to pp. 51‑52

 

Bodde, tr., History of Chinese Philosophy, by Feng Yu‑lan, vol. 2, pp. 493‑495; my own translation is indebted to both.

2. "What fills up all between Heaven and Earth" and "that which directs" are references to Mencius 2A: 2, a famous passage which describes man as possessing a "vast, flowing passion nature" (hao‑jan chih ch'i), which, if nurtured on righteousness, fills up all between Heaven and Earth.

3. Reference to Mencius, 4A; 12.

4. Reference to Mencius, IA: 7. T'oegye notes that the pronoun translated by Bodde as "their" should really be understood as "my" and I have followed his interpretation. Cf. TGCS, A, 7.53a, p. 220. "My" young and aged would ordinarily refer to one's family members; here my family is extended to include all persons.

5. Changes, Commentary on Ch'ien hexagram.

6. Reference to Mencius, IA: 5.

7. A combination of references to the Book of Odes (hereafter, Odes), #272 and 244 respectively.

8. A combination of references to Changes, Appended Remarks, pt. 1, ch. 4, and Tso chuan (Tso's Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals), 1.1.

9. A combination of references to Analects, 4.5, and the Classic of Filial Piety, ch. 9.

10. A combination of references to Analects, 15.9, and Mencius, 3B: 9.

11. Reference to Tso chuan, 6.18.

12. A combination of references to Mencius, 7A: 38, and Mencius, 5A: 6.

13. Each half of this sentence combines references to Changes, Appended Remarks, pt. 2, ch. 3, and Doctrine of the Mean, ch. 19.

14. A combination of references to Odes, #256 and # 196.

15. A combination of references to Mencius, 7A: 1, and Classic of Filial Piety, ch. 4. Mencius, 7A: 1 is a key reference point for Neo‑Confucians, for it links Heaven and man's nature and, in the phrase here quoted, sums up the essence of self-­cultivation.

16. A combination of references to Mencius, 4B: 20 and 4B: 30.

17. Tso chuan, 1.1. Ying Kao‑su, by the example of his own filial piety to his mother, caused Duke Chuang to repent and be reunited with his own mother, whom he had sworn never to see again.

18. Mencius, 4A: 28. According to tradition the father of the sage, Shun, was a depraved villain who repeatedly attempted to kill his son; however, he was finally won over by Shuns constant filial piety.

19. Book of Rites, T'an kung, pt. 1: 3. Shen Sheng, when falsely accused of attempting to poison his father, Duke Hsien of Chin, committed suicide rather than flee.

20. Tseng Tzu was a disciple of Confucius particularly noted for his filial piety. Analects 8.3 tells how on his death bed he called his disciples to view his hands and feet, witnessing that he had fulfilled his filial duty to preserve his body intact. The Classic of Filial Piety, though of later origin, was traditionally attributed to him.

21. Po‑ch'i was a prince who accepted his father's expulsion of him even

 

Notes to pp. 56‑60           229

 

though it was caused by the machinations of a stepmother who wanted him replaced by her own son. Wing Tsit Chan (Reflections, p. 78, n. 221) has traced the story to the annotation of the eulogy at the end of Ch'ien Han shu, ch. 79, where it is referred to the Shuo yüan; he notes that it is not to be found in modem editions of the Shuo yüan.

22. Reference to Odes, # 253.

23. Ch'eng I applied this dictum in answering doubts about the Western Inscription expressed by his pupil, Yang Shih. Cf. below, note 27, and Commentary, "Confucian Ethics on a New Foundation." The correspondence between the two on this question may be found in HLTC, 4.12a‑13b. A translation of Ch'eng's letter appears in Chan, Source Book, pp. 550‑551.

24. Mo Tzu (fl. 479‑438 B.C.) was a philosopher who expounded a doctrine of universal, egalitarian love. His school was one of the chief rivals of the early Confucians, and it was in response to it that Mencius clearly enunciated the Confucian doctrine of graded love. See Mencius, 3B: 9. On Mo Tzu and this doctrine, see Chan, Source Book, pp. 211‑217.

25. Chu Hsi's Commentary on the Western Inscription, HLTC, 4.lOb‑l la.

26. Ibid., 4. 2 I a.

27. Kuei‑shan was the honorific name of Yang Shih (1053‑1135), a pupil of the Ch'eng brothers who became a leading Neo‑Confucian scholar. T'oegye in his "Sin mu ch'e yong pyŏn" (Discourse Against the Theory That the Mind Does Not Have Substance and Function), TGCS, I, 41.19b, p. 920, criticizes his inclination for lofty and abstruse theorizing.

28. Mencius, 7A: 45. This is the classical locus for the Confucian doctrine of "graded love. "

29. HLTC, 4. l lb. "Righteousness" in a Confucian context is not an abstract virtuousness, but the characteristic of acting in a manner appropriate to the given situation, and hence is correlated with the diversity of principle.

30. Shuang‑feng was the honorific name of Yao Lu (fl. 1256), and his courtesy name was Chung‑yüan. He' was a leading disciple of Chu Hsi's son‑in‑law, Huang Kan. An account of him appears in T'oegye's Ihak T'ongnok (Comprehensive Record of Neo‑Confucians), 9.40b, TGCS, B, p. 501.

31. HLTC, 4.24a‑b.

32. The honorific name of Ch'eng Fu‑hsin (1279‑1368); his courtesy name was Tzu‑hsien. A Yüan dynasty scholar, he was best known for a book of diagrams, the Ssu‑shu chang t'u (Diagrams of the Chapters of the Four Books), a work upon which he spent some 13 years, and which T'oegye obtained about 1560. As is clear from comments he makes in chapter 8, T'oegye held Ch'eng in high esteem, and two more of his diagrams appear in chapters 6 and 8. There is an account of him in T'oegye's Ihak T'ongnok, 10.31b‑32a, TGCS, B, p. 519.

33. I-shu, 2A, 2a. In the Chin ssu lu, Chu Hsi attributes this saying to Ch'eng Hao (see Chan, Reflections, p. 79).

34. A paraphrase of I-shu, 18. l lb, a saying of Ch'eng I.

35. See above, note 23.

 

230          Notes to pp. 61‑66

 

36. Commiseration is the active manifestation of the character of jen, hu­manity, which Neo‑Confucians view as one of the constitutive qualities of man's nature. This is based upon Mencius' famous discussion of the goodness of human nature in terms of the "Four Beginnings," of which commiseration is the first: "The disposition of commiseration is the beginning of humanity" (Mencius, 2A: 6). For a discussion of the Four Beginnings and their relationship to man's nature, see below, chapter 6.

37. Reference to YL, 98.12b.

38. In the Confucian tradition, self‑understanding could not be ultimately separated from a consideration of the conditions of one's origin and growth as a human being. One originates as an extension of the existence of one's parents and could not have survived without their care. If one understands oneself in this way, there is no place for a self‑enclosed conceptualization of one's existence, as in the modem formula, "I have my own life to lead." Rather, filial obedience and service are founded upon a self‑identity which includes one's dependence/interdependence on a transpersonal community participating in and transmitting a single life‑force. In this view, "my life," rightly understood, cannot be separated from "our life."

39. This will be taken up with the topic of "the investigation of principle" in chapter 4. In general the question of objective vs. subjective emphasis is a critical issue in Neo‑Confucian thought. The school of the Ch'eng brothers and Chu Hsi tries to maintain a delicate balance between the two; its chief rival, the school of Wang Yang‑ming (Shou‑jen, 1472‑1529), which picked up and developed the thought of Chu Hsi's contemporary, Lu Hsiang‑shan (Chiu‑yüan, 1139‑1193), em­phasized the subjective side and thus moved in a sharply different direction. T'oegye vigorously opposed this development and wrote several essays in which he was harshly critical of Wang Yang‑ming (see TGCS, A, 41.23a‑32b).

 

3. Diagram of the Elementary Learning

 

1. The Five Relationships are those presented in the diagram under the heading, "clarifying relationships." The locus classicus for this formulation is Mencius, 3A: 4. The quality appropriate to the relationship of friends is classically and tradi­tionally expressed as "faithfulness"; there is no explanation of which I am aware as to why it has been changed to the noncommittal "intercourse" in the heading of this section of the Elementary Learning.

2. This was initiated at the suggestion of Kwŏn Kŭn (1352‑1409). Kwŏn was one of the most prominent Neo‑Confucian scholars during the transition period between the Koryŏ and Yi dynasties.

3. Hyŏn Sangyun, Choson yuhak sa (History of Korean Confucianism), p. 36.

 

4. The text of this Introduction (Hsiao‑hsüeh t'i‑tzu) is to be found in CTTC, 76.19a‑b; it is identical with the text as presented in the Ten Diagrams.

5. The "Four Beginnings" were first described by Mencius in the course of

 

Notes to pp. 66‑70           231

 

his argument that human nature is good. Cf. Mencius, 2A: 6. The correlation of these with the four characteristics of Heaven is discussed below, Commentary, "The Four Characteristics of Heaven, the Mandate, and Human Nature."

6. Mencius, 6A: 6.

7. Mencius, 4A: 10 describes those who disregard humanity and righteousness as doing violence to themselves and throwing themselves away.

8. This description refers to Analects, 19:12.

9. The "bright Mandate" refers to the Mandate of Heaven. The doctrine of the Mandate of Heaven originally was a legitimation of the king's right to rule, based on his receipt of the Mandate, but the concept was broadened to cover Heaven's ordination with regard to human affairs‑Fate, in some contexts, but the moral imperative in the context of moral discourse. The first line of the Doctrine of the Mean was of crucial significance for Neo‑Confucians, who interpreted human nature in terms of this moral imperative (i.e., principle): "What Heaven mandates is called our nature; to follow our nature is called the Tao."

10. This paragraph sums up the teleology of all learning, elementary or advanced. But it pertains particularly to the Great Learning insofar as it more specif­ically describes the culmination of the process of study and self‑cultivation.

11. A reference to the infamous "burning of the books," a literary proscription in which the First Emperor of the Chin dynasty at the instigation of the legalist philosopher, Li Ssu, in 213 B.C. ordered the destruction of all philosophical and historical works; only books in the Imperial Library (later destroyed), the history of his own dynasty, and practical works such as those on medicine and divination were to be preserved. Just how much was lost forever in this persecution can never be known, but the most important classical works survived, and the overall impact of this episode upon the literary heritage of China may well be exaggerated. It did, however, mark a definite end of the creative and multifaceted work of the many diverse philosophical schools which flourished in the disorganized society which pre­ceded the Chin unification of the Chinese empire.

12. Allusions to Mencius, 6A: 11 and 7A: 1, respectively. See the diagram in chapter 8, below, which schematically presents much of the Neo‑Confucian ter­minology relating to self‑cultivation. As a glance at the sources of that diagram's phrases will show, the greater part of Neo‑Confucian technical terminology on this topic is drawn from Mencius and relates to well‑known passages in that work.

13. The traditional "six arts" of Chinese education as enumerated in the Chou li, ch. 14.

14. This refers to the first sentence of the Great Learning. The text is presented by T'oegye in chapter 4 of the Ten Diagrams.

15. Chu Hsi was fond of the statement that mindfulness is both the way of making a beginning and achieving the final completion, and repeats it frequently. Here it would appear that it is a quotation; the most likely source for such a saying would be the ECCS, but I have been unable to locate a passage worded in this way. Possibly he is referring in a summary way to the teaching of the Ch'engs on mind­fulness, which indeed describes it as fundamental to the whole process of learning.

 

232          Notes to pp. 70‑75

 

See, for example, the many passages on the topic cited in the Chin ssu lu, ch. 4 (Chan tr., Reflections pp. 123‑153).

16. Ta‑hsüeh huo‑wen, lb‑3a. The passage has been somewhat abbreviated by T'oegye. I have indicated the omitted portions by dots in the text.

17. A key phrase, "ko wu," is interpreted by Chu Hsi as "reach to things," i.e., approach and investigate them‑the "investigation of principle" which is es­sential to his philosophy. Wang interprets it rather as "rectify things," the essential thing for him being not study, but actively applying and practicing what one already knows innately. See his Ch'uan‑hsi lu, sec. 137 (Instructions for Practical Living, Wing­tsit Chan, tr., pp. 102‑106).

18. "Honoring the moral nature (tsun hsing)" is paired in Neo‑Confucian parlance with "following the path of inquiry te‑ and study" (tao wen‑hsüeh). The former phrase refers to the practical application to self‑cultivation, the latter to the study and investigation of principle; together they express the two aspects of the learning process as conceived by Chu Hsi.

19. "Destroying principle" reflects T'oegye's view of what Wang is actually doing by emphasizing the subjective possession of principle in the mind and disre­garding the need to study it externally in things and affairs.

20. For this letter, see CTTC, 42.16a‑17b. It is an important discussion of the relation between study and practice, and the relationship of the Elementary Learning and Great Learning is discussed in this context.

21. The personal name of Cho (1501‑1572) was Sik, and his courtesy name was Konjung. Nammyŏng was his honorific name. When younger he studied literature, but later came to Neo‑Confucian studies and secluded himself for many years, devoting his efforts to cultivating mindfulness. He came to enjoy a high reputation as a scholar and was repeatedly recommended for official posts, though he avoided them to remain in retirement.

22. The personal name of Yi (1541‑1596) was Tŏkhong; Koengjung was his courtesy name and Kanjae his honorific name. He was one of T'oegye's leading disciples and in 1578 was honored as fourth among nine men especially selected for office on the basis of outstanding learning. He was noted for his learning on the Book of Changes, and wrote commentaries on a number of works, including the Heart Classic. An account of him may be found in the Tosan munhyŏn nok (Record of T'oegye's Disciples), TGCS, B, 3.19a‑27a, p. 987‑991.

23. See ŎHN, 1.20b, TGCS, B, p. 798. T'oegye's own letter in response to Cho (TGCS, 10.4b‑6a, A, pp. 283‑284) treats it entirely as a proposal that T'oegye correct others and purify public life. In his reply T'oegye argues that there are a number of different degrees of culpability; one cannot tar them all with the same brush, and in any case it is not fitting for a scholar to thus set himself up in judgment over others, nor is it practicable to try to purge them from public life. The tone of these remarks contrasts strongly with the rigid moralism that had proved self­destructive to earlier Neo‑Confucians in Yi dynasty public life.

25. The courtesy name of Chong (1533‑1576) was Chajung, and his hon­orific name was Munbong. He passed the highest civil service examination in 1558

 

Notes to pp. 76‑84           233

 

and was highly reputed as both a philosopher and poet, but his writings were lost during the 1592 Japanese invasion. An account of him may be found in the Tosan munhyŏn nok, 2.31a‑33a, TGCS, B, pp. 972‑973. During his official career he served as Censor General and Minister of the Board of Personnel.

26. The courtesy name of Kim Su (1537‑1615) was Cha'ang, and his hon­orific name was Mongch'on. He passed the highest civil service examination in 1573 and in his official career served as governor in several provinces and also served as State Councilor and Minister of the Board of Taxation. An account of him appears in the Tosan munhyŏn nok, 3.40a‑41b, TGCS, B, pp. 997‑998.

27. See Mencius, 2A: 6.

28. The life‑force, associated with yang, arises in spring, pervades and makes all things flourish in summer; the benefits are harvested in fall, and winter, "firmness," is the season when this force is stored up in the earth, preparing to begin the cycle anew in the spring.

29. Myŏng (Chinese, ming), the term here translated as "ordained," is a reference to the Mandate (myŏng) of Heaven (see above, note 8).

30. The Ch'ŏnmyŏng tosŏl (Diagrammatic Explanation of the Mandate of Heaven) was originally the work of Chŏng Chiun (1509‑1561). T'oegye felt the work needed correction and worked with Chŏng on revising it; he made such extensive correction and revision that it is now considered virtually his work. It is a useful exposition of fundamental Neo‑Confucian doctrines, but the work's chief claim to fame is that it contains a statement correlating the Four Beginnings and Seven Feelings with principle and material force respectively, a statement which touched off the historic Four‑Seven Debate with Ki Taesŭng (see below, chapter 6).

31. The typology of three categories of man has a long tradition; Neo­Confucians were particularly aware of the elaboration of this theme by the Neo­Confucian precursor, Han Yü (768‑824), of the Tang dynasty. Han's description may be found in Wing‑tsit Chan's Sourcebook, pp. 451‑553; on earlier versions of this theme, see Chan's comments, Sourcebook, pp. 276 and 453‑454.

 

4. Diagram of the Great Learning

 

1. For a complete translation of the Great Learning, see Wing‑tsit Chan, Sourcebook in Chinese Philosophy, pp. 85‑94, or James Legge, The Chinese Classics, Vol. 1.

2. The text arranged by Chu Hsi and accompanied by his commentary is entitled Ta‑hstieh chang‑chu (The Chapters and Sentences of the Great Learning). This became the authoritative version, and from 1314 on it was a basic text for the civil service examinations in China. For a discussion of Chu Hsi's role in establishing and forming the Great Learning, see Wing‑tsit Chan, "Chu Hsi's Completion of Neo-Confucianisml," pp. 81‑87.

3. The investigation of things (i.e., principle) is the point of central im­portance in this text; see Commentary, "The Investigation of Principle. On Wang