Third son of Yi Seon-je, pen name Cheongsimdang; said to have declined office to devote himself to learning and to have been known as an honest official; posthumously made Vice Minister of Rites
| Life | 1433 ~ 1510 |
| Era | 조선 전기 |
| Clan | 광산 이씨 |
Yi Jo-won (李調元) was an early-Joseon scholar of the Gwangsan seat, pen name Cheongsimdang (淸心堂). According to Wikipedia's Gwangsan Yi article he was born in 1433 (Sejong 15) at Ijang-ri, Daechon-myeon, Gwangju, as the third son of Yi Seon-je, and died in 1510 (Jungjong 5).
That account says he was of refined character, cared little for the examinations and became a great scholar by self-study, inheriting his father's learning and being revered as a master of prose and the Way. The court summoned him twice, but disappointed by the deposition of Danjong and Sejo's accession he did not go; when specially appointed inspector for Jeolla and Gyeongsang he took office reluctantly and is said to have rooted out corrupt officials. Early in Seongjong's reign he was named Senior Official of the Personnel Board but never took up the post, teaching pupils at home until his death, and was renowned as an honest official; he was later posthumously made Vice Minister of Rites.
The same text says able ministers such as Bak Won-hyeong, Sin Seung-seon, Yi Gyeong-gyun, Yi Won-hwi, Ha Sung and Go Un came from his school, and credits him with the poems "Yeonhwajo," lamenting Danjong's deposition, and "Hwanhyangga," written at home in patriotic concern. These works and the list of pupils rest on clan-side accounts and could not be confirmed elsewhere here.
Yi Hui, who settled the Gangjin line of the clan, was his grandson, and Wikipedia relays the story that a daughter of his was grandmother of Go Gyeong-myeong, a link said to have reduced harm to the Gangjin descendants in 1589. It rests on one account, so treat it as a reference only.
It is said he did not answer two summonses from the court and took office only when specially appointed inspector. He is also said to have declined the Senior Official post of the Personnel Board in early Seongjong's reign and kept teaching at home.
Wikipedia's Gwangsan Yi article presents "Yeonhwajo," lamenting Danjong's deposition, and "Hwanhyangga," a patriotic poem from his hometown, as valuable early texts mixing Korean and Chinese. The original texts and their transmission could not be confirmed here, so the assessment is reported only as that account's claim.
The location of his tomb could not be confirmed.
His grandson Yi Hui is said to have settled in Gangjin, South Jeolla, as the ancestor of the clan's Gangjin line.