Park Se-chae (朴世采, 1631 – 19 March 1695 (lunar 5 February)) was a Korean scholar-official of Joseon who served as Left State Councillor of the Uijeongbu of the Joseon state.
His bon-gwan was Banam (潘南), his courtesy name was Hwasuk (和叔), and his art names were Namgye (南溪) and Hyeonseok (玄石). Hyeonseok was taken from the name of a place in Hanyang where he lived (Hyeonseok-dong, Mapo-gu). Together with Yi Eonjeok, Yi Hwang, Yi I, Song Si-yeol, and Kim Jip, he was one of the Six Sages enshrined in the Munmyo and Jongmyo during the Joseon period. His posthumous name was Munsun (文純).
He was a disciple of Cheongeum Kim Sang-heon and Kim Jip. When Song Si-yeol and Yun Jeung came into conflict over the Hoe-Ni controversy (懷尼是非), he tried to reconcile the two but failed. From 1694 onward he advocated the re-implementation of the Daedongbeop and expanded it nationwide. He was a member of the Seoin, but after the Heo Sae (許璽) incident caused the Seoin to split into the Noron and Soron, he formed the Soron and became its leader.
He was generally sympathetic to the political position of the Noron. He wrote the Dongyu Sawoollok (東儒師友錄), which recorded the academic lineages of Confucian scholars, and traced the genealogy of Joseon-period Neo-Confucian scholars and Confucians back to the Silla period. This differed from the common view of late Joseon that the roots of Confucianism lay after the Song dynasty.
Life
Early life
In 1631 he was born at the Changdong Uje (倉洞寓第) residence in Hanseong, as the grandson of Minister of Justice Park Dong-ryang and the son of Park Ui (朴猗), a Yegyeong (校理). His father-in-law was Won Du-chu (元斗樞), and Won Du-pyo was a relative of his wife's family. He was a relative of Park Se-dang, a fellow Seoin and Soron member. He was a disciple (門人) of Kim Sang-heon and Kim Jip.
His family lineage was an aristocratic family of renown: his great-grandfather Park Eung-bok (朴應福) served as Grand Minister of Censors, and his grandfather Park Dong-ryang served as Minister of Justice. Furthermore, Park Se-dang, who was controversial for writing the Sabyeonrok (思辨錄), as well as Park Tae-yu (朴泰維) and Park Tae-bo, who suffered misfortune for opposing the deposition of Queen Inhyeon, were his intra-party relatives. Also, Song Sun-seok (宋淳錫), grandson of Song Si-yeol, was his son-in-law, and Yun Seon-geo and Yun Jeung were in-laws of his. He took up important offices according to this lineage and these kinship ties, participated in state administration, and suffered hardships as political fortunes rose and fell.
Later, Park Ji-won, Park Myeong-won, Park Gyu-su, Park Yeong-hyo, and others were of his clan, being collateral descendants of Namgye.
Education
Early on he admired Yi I and began his studies with Yi I's Gyeongmong Yogyeol (擊蒙要訣); he revered Yi I throughout his life. In 1638 (16th year of Injo), he studied under his father Park Ui in family learning, and later studied Neo-Confucianism in earnest under Kim Jip and Cheongeum Kim Sang-heon. At age 18 he entered the Sungkyunkwan. While a student there, he advocated the enshrinement of Yi I and Seong Hon in the Munmyo (文廟). A Yeongnam student, Yu Jik (柳稷), submitted a memorial opposing their enshrinement. In response, Park Se-chae issued a sharp critique of the impropriety of Yu Jik's memorial. The royal reply (批答) from Hyojong supported the Namin students, which angered him. Afterward, he criticized and attacked opponents of Yi I and Seong Hon's enshrinement, such as Heo Mok, and was rebuked by Hyojong. After two years at the Sungkyunkwan, he gave up on the civil service examinations and abandoned his studies for them.
Afterward, he left the Sungkyunkwan and again visited Cheongeum Kim Sang-heon's school to study Neo-Confucianism, and also engaged in scholarly exchange with Song Si-yeol and Song Jun-gil. When the Seoin split into the Noron and Soron, he joined the factional strife as a Soron, but advocated the Hwanggeuk Tangpyeong theory (皇極蕩平說), striving for neutrality and the eradication of factional conflict. As a Confucian leader of his era, he was especially well versed in ritual studies (禮學).
Ye-song controversy
In spring of 1659 (11th year of Hyojong), he was recommended for his scholarly conduct and became Sese of the Ikwisa (翊衛司洗馬) and entered public service.
In 1659, when Hyojong died and the First Ye-song controversy arose over the mourning period for Queen Jaui, he supported the position of the Seoin, which advocated the one-year mourning period (期年服). Initially he was willing to accept the views of Heo Mok and Yun Hyu to some extent, but after the memorial of Yun Seon-do, he unconditionally supported the ritual theories of Song Si-yeol and Song Jun-gil. In 1674, in the Second Ye-song controversy, the Seoin lost and the Namin came to power; he was dismissed from office and exiled to Yanggeun.
Exile and restoration
He spent six years in exile afterward, devoting himself to writing and educating younger scholars. Because his place of exile was moved several times, he was also forced to wander through places such as Jipyeong (砥平), Wonju, and Geumgok (金谷) during his exile.
During his exile, he wrote the Dokseogi (讀書記), which simplified and explained difficult passages in the main texts of the Four Books and Five Classics, including the Little Learning, Reflections on Things at Hand, Great Learning, and Doctrine of the Mean. He then published the Chunchu Bopyeon (春秋補編), which added supplementary material gathered from more than twenty texts, based on the commentaries of the Cheng brothers (程子) and Zhu Xi on the Spring and Autumn Annals. He also wrote books such as the Simhak Jigyeol (心學至訣), which compiled the various theories of earlier Confucians on gyeong (敬), the most core concept of self-cultivation theory in Neo-Confucianism.
In 1680, with the Gyeongsin Purge, the Seoin regained power, and he was restored and appointed, serving as Gyeonguiseo... as Gihye (執義) of the Saheonbu, Right Seungji (東部承旨), and Vice Minister of Personnel (吏曹參議), among other posts. After returning from exile in the early reign of Sukjong, he shared political positions with Song Si-yeol, but after the Noron–Soron split he defended Yun Jeung and further engaged in scholarly exchange and activities with Soron scholars.
Leader of the Soron
Afterward, following the Heo Sae incident, the Seoin split into the Noron and Soron; together with Na Ryang-jwa and others he formed the Soron and became its leader.
In 1684 (10th year of Sukjong), in the Hoe-Ni debate (懷尼論爭) arising from the epitaph inscription of Yun Seon-geo, he tried to mediate between Song Si-yeol and Yun Jeung, but failed. Afterward, amid the confrontation between the Noron and Soron, he published the Hwanggeuk Tangpyeongron (皇極蕩平論), attempting to prevent partisan conflict within the Seoin, but failed, and eventually sided with the Soron.
When the Heo Yeong–Heo Sae incident was revealed to be a false accusation and fabrication, he demanded the punishment of Kim Ik-hun and Kim Seok-ju, who had expanded the case through false charges. At this time he served as Vice Minister of Public Works (工曹參判), Grand Minister of Censors, Vice Minister of Revenue (戶曹參判), and Vice Minister of Personnel (吏曹參判). In 1683, when the Seoin split into the Noron and Soron over the question of punishing Kim Ik-hun and Kim Seok-ju, he became a leader of the Soron together with Yun Jeung, Na Ryang-jwa, Choi Seok-jeong, Park Se-dang, and Nam Gu-man. However, he did not abandon his hostility toward the Namin, who sought to depose Queen Inhyeon, and in 1694 he cooperated with Noron figures such as Kim Chun-taek in supporting the expulsion of the Namin.1
In 1688 he became Minister of Personnel, but he opposed Sukjong's excessive investiture of the crown prince and was exiled, but soon returned to office and became Deputy Minister of the Right (右參贊). However, after the Gisa Hwan-guk, he resigned.
After the Gapsul Hwan-guk, when the Seoin returned to power and the Soron took the initiative, he became Right State Councillor and was afterward promoted to Left State Councillor of the Uijeongbu. Although he became Left State Councillor through the strength of the Soron, he afterward supported the political and scholarly positions of the Noron, which emphasized "Tangpyeongron after clarifying right and wrong" (是非明辨 後의 蕩平論) and "repelling heterodoxy" (闢異端). The people with whom he associated and his early disciples were mostly Soron, although some Noron, such as Song Si-yeol, were among them. However, some interpret his support of the Noron position as the reason why many of his disciples after his death, including Kim Gan, Kim Gu, Eo Yu-gu, Eo Yu-bong, and Kim Sang-no, left the Soron and defected to the Noron.
In 1694, together with Nam Gu-man, Yun Ji-wan, and others, he contributed greatly to determining the question of enshrining Yi I and Seong Hon in the Sungkyunkwan's Munmyo in favor of enshrinement, and he actively advocated the re-implementation of Kim Yuk's Daedongbeop, contributing to its nationwide spread.
Later life
In the later part of Sukjong's reign, after Song Si-yeol was executed by order (賜死) and Yun Jeung also refused to take office, he came to occupy a position representing the mountain scholars (山林學者) at court, and he devoted efforts to mediating among the factions and actively advanced the Tangpyeong theory. Although some Soron criticized him for excessively accommodating the Noron position, he continued to advocate Tangpyeong theory. His Tangpyeong theory took as its model the Jojehobhap theory (調劑保合說) advocated by Yi I during the reign of Seonjo, and it was embodied in the Hwanggeuk Tangpyeong theory, providing an important foundation for the implementation of the Tangpyeong policy during the reigns of Yeongjo and Jeongjo. However, there were also Soron figures who did not follow his views, citing his in-law relationship with Song Si-yeol.
His works include the Namgyejip (南溪集). Being well versed in Neo-Confucian theory, he wrote the Dongyu Sawoollok (東儒師友錄), which recorded the academic lineages of Confucian scholars from the Silla period to the mid-Joseon period, tracing the genealogy of Joseon-period Neo-Confucian scholars and Confucians back to the Silla period. Being also well versed in ritual knowledge, he wrote many works on ritual studies, including the Namgye Yesul (南溪禮說), Samnyeui (三禮儀), and Yungnye Uijip (六禮疑輯).
After death
When he died, more than two hundred of his disciples wore mourning clothes, observed the three-year mourning period, and kept vigil at the grave. Unlike Yun Jeung or Park Se-dang, he did not clash seriously with Song Si-yeol, so he suffered no misfortune even after death. He was immediately enshrined in the sanctuary of Sukjong, and in 1764 (40th year of Yeongjo), after opposition from the ruling Noron and various debates, he was enshrined in the Sungkyunkwan Munmyo by Yeongjo.
Works
Besides his many writings, he left valuable documents for later scholars, including more than seventy volumes of collected works, selected commentaries on the Analects and Mencius, and a book recording the lineages of past sages and their teachers.
- Beomhak Jeonpyeon (《범학전편》)
- Namgyejip (《남계집 (南溪集)》)
- Samnyeui (《삼례의》)
- Namgye Supilrok (《남계수필록 (南溪隨筆錄)》)
- Namgyeseol (《남계설 (南溪說)》)
- Dongyu Sawoollok (《동유사우록 (東儒師友錄)》)
- Beomhak Geumpyeon (《범학금편 (範學金編)》)
- Yungnye Uijip (《육례의집 (六禮疑輯)》)
- Samnyeui (《삼례의 (三禮儀)》)
- Namgye Dokseogi (《남계독서기 (南溪讀書記)》)
- Simu Man-eon Bongsa (《시무만언봉사 (時務萬言封事)》)
- Sunghyorok (《숭효록 (崇孝錄)》)
- Chunchu Bopyeon (《춘추보편 (春秋補篇)》)
- Bane Iseonsaeng Yugo (《반양이선생유고 (潘陽二先生遺稿)》)
- Samseonsaeng Yuhwa (《삼선생유화 (三先生遺畵)》)
- Simhak Jigyeol (《심학지결 (心學至訣)》)
- Juja Daejeon Seubyu (《주자대전습유 (朱子大全拾遺)》)
- Jarok Gyuhae (《자록규해 (自鹿規解)》)
- Useye Sokjip (《우계속집 (牛溪續集)》)
- Yeomrak Punga (《염락풍아 (濂洛風雅)》)
- Toegye Eorok (《퇴계어록 (退溪語錄)》)
- Yulgok Sokoe Byeoljip (《율곡속외별집 (栗谷續外別集)》)
Family relations
- Great-great-grandfather: Park So (朴紹)
- Great-grandfather: Park Eung-bok (朴應福)
- Grandfather: Park Dong-ryang (朴東亮)
- Paternal uncle: Park Mi (朴瀰)
- Paternal aunt: Princess Jeongan – a daughter of Seonjo by a secondary consort
- Cousin: Park Se-gyo (朴世橋)
- Nephew: Park Tae-man (朴泰萬)
- Nephew: Park Tae-du (朴泰斗)
- Nephew: Park Tae-gil (朴泰吉)
- Uncle: Park Yu (朴濰)
- Uncle: Park Ja (朴澬)
- Great-uncle: Yi Myeong-han (李明漢)
- Great-uncle: Hong Cheo-sim (洪處深)
- Great-uncle: Yu Seong-o (柳誠吾)
- Father: Park Ui (朴猗)
- Mother: daughter of Sin Heum (申欽) – aunt of Jo Sa-seok, paternal aunt of Lady Yeongpung Sin (wife of Prince Sungun)
- Father-in-law: Won Du-chu (元斗樞)
- Wife: Wonju Won clan (原州元氏)
- Eldest son: Park Tae-eun (朴泰殷)
- Second son: Park Tae-yeo (朴泰輿)
- Third son: Park Tae-jeong (朴泰正)
- Fourth son: Park Tae-hoe (朴泰晦) – demoted to slave status in the 8th year of Yeongjo
- Grandson: Park Pil-wi (朴弼渭) – adopted as heir to Park Tae-eun
- Daughter: married to Shin Seong-ha (申聖夏)
- Outer grandson: Shin Bang (申昉)
- Outer granddaughter: married to Sim Jeong-sin (沈廷紳)
- Daughter: married to Song Sun-seok (宋淳錫) – daughter-in-law of Song Si-yeol
Miscellaneous
Park Se-dang, Park Tae-bo, and others, who belonged to the same Soron, were of his clan. Of his art names, Hyeonseok was taken from a place name in Hanseong where he was born, and Namgye was taken from the name of a stream in Paju (坡州), Gyeonggi Province, where he lived in his later years.
Actors who portrayed Park Se-chae
References
- Veritable Records of Hyeonjong
- Veritable Records of Sukjong
- Yeonryeo Silgisul
- This article contains text based on content from the Global World Encyclopedia distributed by Daum Communications (now Kakao) under the GFDL or CC-SA license.
Footnotes