Late-Joseon practical-learning scholar and philosopher who synthesized the "science of ki" (氣學)
| Life | 1803 ~ 1879 |
| Era | 조선 후기 |
| Clan | 삭녕 최씨 |
His courtesy name was Jiro and his pen names Hyegang and Paedong. He never took office throughout his life, devoting himself to scholarship in Seoul and collecting and writing a vast number of books.
He established his own distinctive "science of ki (氣)" (gihak) explaining the world in terms of ki, and wrote the Singitong on epistemology, the Gicheukcheui (which bound together the Singitong and the Chucheukrok), and the Injeong on social and political theory, among others. His writings are said to have reached more than a thousand volumes.
Broadly embracing Western science, he introduced the heliocentric theory, published the world-geography work Jigujeonyo, and also assisted Kim Jeong-ho in making maps.
His son Choe Byeong-dae passed the higher civil service examination in 1862.