Yi Seung-hyu’s Literary Work Reconsidered: ‘Chon-geo-ja-gye-mun’(村居自誡文)
Authors:   The Korean Society of History of Historiography, Chung ku-bok 
Published: July 2022

This thesis is a basic study on Yi Seung-hyu’s literary work ‘Chongeo-ja-gye-mun’(村居自誡文) a text about living in the countryside and being wary of oneself) as a pre-step to understand ‘Jewang ungi’(帝王 韻紀). In order to overcome the limitations of documentary empirical histories and exclusive nationalist histories, which are the ills of current Korean history, I critically reviewed historical materials related to Yi Seung-hyu(1224~1300). I dealt with his collection of literary works, ‘Dong-an-geo-sa-jip’(動安居士集), and his biographical materials in ‘Goryeo History’(高麗史). His collection of literary works consists of five books, four are poetry and one is prose. So far, researchers of Yi Seunghyu have not been able to actively utilize this collection of materials. Therefore, there has not been a study on ‘Chon-geo-ja-gye-mun’.
‘Chon-geo-ja-gye-mun’ was written while Yi Seung-hyu was expelled at the age of 57 and led a secluded life in Samcheok. It is stated in his preface that he records what he should be wary of, but if we analyze the specific contents, it consists of 23 items, and this is a text of a lesson he gave to his children. So it was defined as a family motto(家訓). To confirm the family, the ages of the three sons were estimated. In this text, the family motto, rather than emphasizing the friendship between children, filial piety, loyalty, and nurture, the emphasis was placed on getting along with neighbors in village life, yielding, humility, purity, and studying the mind. In this respect, I understood that it was significantly different from the motto of the Joseon Dynasty. The last paragraph 23 is the conclusion. This emphasizes being humble and patient in everything. In this motto, Buddhist elements were mentioned strongly, even more than Confucian elements.
Also, among the materials of Yi Seung-hyu, the date of meeting at Chungju-mok is different between the collection of literature and the epitaph of Wonbu(元傅) (1220-1287). In this paper, through the external and content criticism of the historical material, it is concluded that 1241 is the year.
The 13th century, when Yi Seung-hyu lived, was a period of great transformation and the greatest crisis in Goryeo society. The confrontational relationship between Goryeo and Yuan was established by the three vistings of King Wonjong of Goryeo, and the people of Goryeo lived under the dual-state system of Yuan and Goryeo. It was argued that the reality of history can only be grasped by looking at the history of this era, which is called the “Yuan Intervention Period,” from both positive and negative aspects. People’s lives in this era were more stable. Goryeo society is known as a pluralistic society where Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, and folk beliefs are freely practiced. However, it was argued that it is impossible to properly understand the society, culture, and customs of Goryeo society without properly recognizing Buddhism in this era. To this end, I argued that the historical reality of Goryeo can be properly grasped only through criticism of historical documents written in an atmosphere that rejects Buddhism.
In 1273, Yi Seung-hyu was dispatched as a member of the envoys to attend and celebrate the ceremony in 1273 by Emperor Sejo of the Yuan to honor the empress and the crown prince. It is reported in his literary collection that Yi Seung-hyu edited the poems he wrote during his meandering life as ‘Bin-wang-rok’(賓王錄). When Yi Seung-hyu composed an excellent poem and displayed excellent writing skills, the Yuan leadership was impressed, so the diplomatic success of the Goryeo envoys was achieved in meeting Sejo of Yuan three times. ‘Bin-wangrok’ tells us that the ceremony to celebrate the ordination of the Yuan Dynasty, the Crown Empress and the Crown Prince, was a custom of the Goryeo Dynasty. At this time, Yi Seung-hyu had a relationship with King Chungryeol, the Cro