Yi Ja (李耔, 1480–1533) was a civil official and scholar of the mid-Joseon period. His courtesy name was Chaya, his art names were Eumae, Mongong, and Gyeyeong, his posthumous name was Munui, and his family seat was Hansan. He was a fifth-generation descendant of the late Goryeo Neo-Confucian scholar Yi Saek (李穡), and the third son of Yi Ye-gyeon and his mother, of the Seonsan Kim clan, the daughter of Kim Gwan-an. He was born in Seoul. The Hansan Yi family was one of the rising literati-official lineages of late Goryeo, and the family's stable status was secured when Yi Saek expressed support for the founding of the Joseon dynasty.
Life
Compared with the Jongseon line, whose family tendencies inclined toward the Hungu faction, Yi Ja frequented the household of Yi Sim-won, a figure of the Sarim faction, and maintained a Sarim orientation. From childhood he lived in Gwandong and Yeongnam and other regions, following his father Yi Ye-gyeon's posts. In the 25th year of King Seongjong (1494), at age 14, he climbed to the Jungdae of Mount Dutasan in Samcheok and read the Songsa, and, deeply stirred, he composed a memorial, the Manleon-so, intending to submit it, but withdrew it at his father's opposition. This shows that he possessed, from youth, a keen insight into governance and a critical consciousness. At age 15 he studied under Kim Gwang-pil (金宏弼), a disciple of Hanhwondang (寒暄堂), and under Jugye-gun, a great-grandson of King Taejong, together with Yi Hui-bo, Kim Gong-ryang, and Song Se-chung. In 1501 he passed the Saengwon/Jinsa-related Samasi examination, and at that time he associated with Kim An-guk (金安國) and Seong Se-chang, who had passed together with him. In the 8th year of Yeonsangun (1502), at age 22, he passed the Saengwon-Jinsa examination, ranking second among twelve and second among eighteen respectively, following Yi Su-jeong and Kim An-guk. Then, in the 10th year of Yeonsangun (1504), at age 24, he passed the regular civil service examination first, was appointed Censor of the Office of the Inspector-General, and thereafter served in succession in important posts such as Junior Secretary and Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel, displaying his ability early. However, he became disillusioned with the tyranny of Yeonsangun and held a strong critical consciousness toward reality, to the extent that he himself sought an outer post as magistrate of Uiseong.
In 1506, during the Jungjong Restoration, he was recruited and served as Compiler, Lecturer, and Director of Remonstrance, and in 1517 he rose to Vice Director of the Royal Secretariat's Academy and Right Vice Secretary. At that time he associated with the new forces including Jo Gwang-jo (趙光祖) and pursued reform, but he did not follow their political line and chose a centrist political course between the Sarim faction and the Hungu faction.
He keenly pointed out the many problems arising from the Hungu-led political situation and presented concrete alternatives to overcome them. However, he was not wholly inclined toward the ideology and thought of the Sarim, and he also got along amicably with the Hungu forces, including Nam Gon (南袞) and Kim An-ro (金安老). Depending on circumstances, he played the role of a buffer between the Sarim and the Hungu.
In 1519 he became Minister of Justice and Right Chanchan, but the Gimyo Purge (己卯士禍) broke out, and he was designated as belonging to the faction of Jo Gwang-jo and the Sarim faction and dismissed from office. Afterward he retired to Suju Palbong in Chungju and, together with Kim Se-pil (金世弼), Yi Yak-bing, Yi Yeon-gyeong, and others who were in similar circumstances, he associated with them in study, and he spent the rest of his life in learning and reading.
Academically, he was oriented toward literary composition (sajang); in terms of responding to reality, he took the position of governing others (治人) rather than self-cultivation (修己); and regarding practical problems, he was a figure who, while anguishing over producing alternatives grounded in a critical consciousness, was not radical.
His name appears in the Gimyo Myeonghyeonrok (《기묘명현록》), he was enshrined at Palbong Seowon in Chungju, and his works include the Eumae Ilgi and the Eumae Jip. No Su-sin (盧守愼) wrote his biographical account (haengjang).
In 1519, during the Gimyo Purge, Jo Gwang-jo and Kim Jeong were executed after exile, while Yi Ja escaped death through the help of Nam Gon of the Hungu faction and was sent into exile. His first place of exile was Jigok-dong in Yongin, his second was Eumae-dong in Eumseong, and his third was Togye-ri in Chungju, where Suju Palbong is located. Yi Ja came into exile at Geommabawi (劍巖, "Sword Rock") in Togye-ri in 1529. Yi Ja built the Mongam (夢庵) there, and he interacted with Yi Yeon-gyeong (李延慶), who had retired to Chungju after the 1519 Gimyo Purge. After Yi Ja died in 1533, in 1582 Kim U-gwang (金宇宏), the Chungcheong Provincial Governor, and Yi Seon (李選), the Magistrate of Chungju, commemorated Yi Ja, and in 1583 they established Gyetan Seowon. The name Gyetan was made by taking one character each from Yi Ja's art name Gyeong (溪翁) and Yi Yeon-gyeong's art name Tanseu (灘叟). No Su-sin, who had received instruction from these two scholars, rejoiced at the completion of Gyetan Seowon and composed the poem "Geommabawi" (劍巖). The poem on Geommabawi presented in the local guide is as follows.12
The steep Sword Rock, and the winding Togye stream flows
Two old gentlemen met here and unburdened their hearts
The old house was desolate, and long had it grieved the heart
Now a grand and splendid house is newly built, a happy occasion
In the clear and transparent melody, the dragon's cry ceases
The ritual relies on the phoenix and brightens the darkness
Now officials have been sent and management of the academy has begun
So as not to return to the dream, we tighten the reins and collar.
— Geommabawi, "Rhyming on Hwang Gyeong-mun's Geommasi"
Afterward
The Tomb Site of Yi Ja (陰崖 李耔 墓域) is located in Jigok-dong, Giheung District, Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. It was designated as No. 8 of the Local cultural heritage of Yongin on November 22, 1990, and was later elevated to No. 172 of the Monuments of Gyeonggi Province on June 12, 2000.
This article includes content based on the book introduction for "Eumaejip" (http://zmanz.blogi.kr/744), distributed under CC-BY-SA 3.0 by Knowledge Manufacturing Knowledge (지식을만드는지식).
Footnotes