Late-Joseon military official who took part in compiling the Muyedobotongji (art name Yaneoe)
| Life | 1743 ~ 1816 |
| Era | 조선 후기 |
| Clan | 수원 백씨 |
Baek Dong-su (白東脩, 1743-1816) was a late-Joseon military official with the courtesy name Yeongsuk and the art names Yaneoe and Injae. Of secondary-son (seoeol) background - his grandfather Baek Sang-hwa was a son of a concubine - he devoted his youth to swordsmanship and Daoist physical cultivation and was close to Northern Learning figures such as Yi Deok-mu and Pak Ji-won.
He passed the military examination in 1771 and was appointed a royal messenger, but his status and the shortage of posts kept him from office, and in 1773 he withdrew to Girinhyeop in Gangwon to farm and raise livestock. When King Jeongjo organized the Jangyongyeong guard in 1776 he was recommended as the foremost master of spear and sword, and in 1789 he joined Yi Deok-mu and Pak Je-ga in compiling the Muyedobotongji, the illustrated manual of martial arts.
He later served as magistrate of Biin (1792) and Bakcheon (1802), was exiled to Danseong in 1806 over corruption in the northwest, and in 1810 was named deputy director of the arms office. Yi Deok-mu wrote in the Cheongjanggwan jeonseo that he seemed like someone roaming another world. If his distant elder Baek In-geol was known for letters, Baek Dong-su left his name in the martial arts.
That he could not obtain office even after passing the military examination and retreated to the mountains shows the discrimination against secondary sons of the time. King Jeongjo, however, recognized his skill and called him to the Jangyongyeong.
This illustrated manual of Joseon weapons and martial arts, in whose compilation Yi Deok-mu and Pak Je-ga also took part, is traditionally dated to 1790. Dates vary slightly by source, so check library catalogs for exact bibliographic details.
Yi Deok-mu and Pak Je-ga, scholars who compiled the Muyedobotongji with him, were lifelong friends. Records are said to list 101 Suwon Baek military examination graduates, including Baek In-hyeon.
His grave site could not be confirmed.