Seong Un (成運: 17 February 1497 (16th day of the 1st lunar month) – 19 June 1579 (26th day of the 5th lunar month)1) was a Joseon scholar, poet, and civil official of the mid-Joseon period. His family seat was Changnyeong, his courtesy name was Geonsuk (健叔), and his pen name was Daegok (大谷).2
Family
His father was Seong Se-jun (成世俊), who served as Seon'gonggam Bujeong, and his mother, of the Bianb Park clan (比安朴氏), was the daughter of Park Hyo-won (朴孝元), Sagan of the Sagan-won. His paternal uncle was Seong Se-sun (成世純), Daesaheon of the Saheonbu, who was the father of Seong Su-chim and the grandfather of Seong Hon. Thus, Seong Hon was Seong Un's first cousin once removed.3
Friendships
Around 1518 he became friends with Jo Sik (曺植), who had moved to Jangui-dong at the foot of Bukaksan.4 From the time they met, they associated and kept company for life, and Jo Sik also met Seong Su-chim and Seong Su-jong (成守琮), cousins of Seong Un who lived in hiding at the nearby Cheongpunggye (淸風溪), and became friends with them as well, associating with them for the rest of their lives.5 He also associated with Seo Gyeong-deok (徐敬德), I Ji-ham (李之菡), and others.2
Life
In 1531 (Jungjong 26) he passed the Saengwonsi and became a Saengwon, and that same year he took the Jinsasi and became a Jinsa.6 He was afterward appointed to posts such as Chambong and Dosa, but soon resigned.2 In 1545 (the year of Myeongjong's accession), during the Eulsa Literati Purge (乙巳士禍), his elder brother Seong U (成遇: unknown – 5 September 1546 (11th day of the 8th lunar month)7) was implicated and suffered punishment, whereupon he abandoned his official career, returned to his home region, and retired to Mount Songni (俗離山) in Boeun, Chungcheongbuk-do.8 During the reign of Myeongjong he was appointed to office several times but did not take up his posts. Even after Seonjo acceded to the throne, Seonjo summoned him several times, but he did not go forward and devoted himself solely to scholarship and the cultivation of younger students.2
He was skilled in poetry and prose, and the subjects of his poems mostly reflect seclusion and Buddhist inclinations.
Honors and Commemoration
When he died, Seonjo personally sent a funeral address to mourn him.9 Scholars of the time honored him as "Master Daegok" (大谷先生).10 During the reign of Injo he was posthumously appointed Left Seungji (左承旨), and he was enshrined at Geumhwa Seowon and other shrines in Boeun Samseung.1112
Works
Influence
His disciples included Choe Heung-rim (崔興霖), Kim Deok-min (金德敏) of Ganseojae, and Im Je (林悌).
Choe Heung-rim (崔興霖: 1506 – 13 August 1581 (15th day of the 7th lunar month)13)14 himself studied under Seong Un, and later sent his two sons, Choe Ji-won (崔知遠) and Choe Myeong-won (崔明遠), to study under Seong Un.15 His scholarly style was transmitted through these two disciples to later scholars Heo Mok and Yun Hyu.
The scholarly style of Seong Un was also influential on Heo Mok through his disciple Baekho Im Je (林悌).1617 Traces of Im Je studying under his teacher Seong Un and admiring him are evident throughout the collected works of Im Je, the Imbaekhojip (《임백호집》). A poem titled "Arriving at Unam Hermitage" (〈도주운암(到住雲菴)〉) in volume 1 of the Imbaekhojip describes how Im Je entered Mount Songni in his early twenties and studied under Seong Un. The postscript to the Imbaekhojip written by Im Seo (林㥠) introduces a single poem that Seong Un gave in reply to Im Je, and states that Seong Un's recognition of Im Je can be known from this one poem.18 Also, the postscript records that after the death of Master Daegok, "he had no kindred spirit in the world, so he had no ambition for an official career, and wandered the mountains and fields on his own, indulging in poetry and wine," and in the funeral address (祭文), Im Je praised Seong Un as a person who combined the purity of Boyi (伯夷), the harmony of Liuxia Hui (柳下惠), the luster of jade and the refinement of gold, a figure who might appear only once in several hundred years.19 These show that Im Je was deeply inclined toward Seong Un's scholarly style and way of life.20 Having been taught by Seong Un, Im Je immersed himself in classical studies (經學), reading the Doctrine of the Mean eight hundred times, and his temperament was bold and free, so he even practiced swordsmanship in his leisure from reading. Such a temperament in Im Je also resembles that of Jo Sik, who always carried a sword and a Sunsungja (惺惺子) bell. The historical significance of Im Je's scholarship lies in its great influence on the formation of the scholarly style of Heo Mok, a scholar of the Geungi Namin faction. Im Je was Heo Mok's maternal grandfather, and several studies have pointed out that Im Je's influence was large in the formation of Heo Mok's Daoist-leaning scholarly style.20
Seong Un also exerted a certain influence on the scholarly formation of Yun Hyu (尹鑴) as well as Heo Mok.20 Yun Hyu was able to access Seong Un's scholarship through Kim Deok-min (金德民: 1570 – 6 February 1654 (19th day of the 12th lunar month of 1653)21)22, the Ganseojae, who was one of Seong Un's disciples and his maternal grandfather. Yun Hyu grew up in Boeun, his maternal home, and since Boeun was the place where Seong Un's scholarship flourished, this regional experience would have provided a good opportunity for Yun Hyu to encounter Seong Un's scholarship. Yun Hyu (尹鑴), recording his feelings after reading Seong Un's record of words and deeds (言行錄), praised Seong Un as "a person who believed sincerely, loved to learn, and held to the Way unto death, thereby making the Way good."23 Given that Heo Mok's scholarly lineage includes a flow from Seong Un to Im Je, and that Seong Un's influence, based in Boeun, existed in the formation of Yun Hyu's scholarly style, it can be assessed that Seong Un's scholarly style and way of life exerted a certain influence on the formation of the scholarly styles of the Geungi Namin scholars.20
Biographical Sources
- Seong Hon,24 Ugyejip (《우계집》) vol. 6, Epitaph Inscription for Master Daegok, my paternal cousin (당숙 대곡 선생 묘갈기)
- Song Si-yeol, Songjadaejeon (《송자대전》) vol. 172, Tomb Inscription for Master Seong Daegok (대곡 성 선생 묘갈명)
- Song Jun-gil, Dongchundangjip (《동춘당집》) vol. 20, Biography of Master Seong Daegok (대곡 성 선생 행장)
Notes