“History, Philosophy, and Spirituality of the Four-Seven Debate: The Korean Neo-Confucian Interpretation of Human Nature, Emotions, and Self-Cultivation”

Abstract

In sixteenth-century Korea, the Four-Seven Debate was a very important topic for many leading Neo-Confucians, such as Yi Hwang (T’oegye, 1501–1570), Yi I (Yulgok, 1536–1584), and their debaters. It played a powerful role in contributing to the distinctive development of Korean Neo-Confucianism, thereby producing the focused yet divergent interpretations of Sŏngnihak (Cheng-Zhu school/philosophy; literally, “learning of principle and human nature”) in the Chosŏn dynasty (1392–1910). Overall, it established an intellectual agenda for many thinkers and scholars until the late nineteenth century. Part I below is a textual and historical introduction to the Four-Seven issues.