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Pages

641-684

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Language

Chinese

Key words

Toegye 退溪 , xianju 閒居 (leisurely living), Zhu Xi 朱熹 , Confucianism, Taoshan 陶山

Abstract

Yi Hwang 李滉 (Toegye 退溪, 1501-1571) was a representative Confucian figure in Korea. In addition to ideological treatises, he also enjoyed composing poetry. Classical Chinese poetry served as a medium for communication with his friends and as a significant literary form for expressing his life experiences and insights. This article focuses on Toegye’s suite of poems titled “Xianju” 閒居 (Leisurely Living), which can be categorized into three main themes: the transmission and confirmation of academic attainments, encouragement and discourse with like-minded individuals, and the contemplation and practice of leisurely living. It furthermore elaborates on his integration and transmission of the Han cultural tradition of “leisurely living,” highlighting the innovative aspects of his “He Zizhong xianju ershi yong” 和子中閒居二十詠 (Responding to Zizhong’s Twenty Poems on Leisurely Living). Finally, it points out that after Toegye, Korean Confucian scholars conveyed their resonance with Toegye’s scholarship through poetic response, initiating a trend of writing series of poems such as “Xianju ershi yong” 閒居二十詠 (Twenty Poems on Leisurely Living).