Son of Yi Jeong-gwi and chief academician who, with his father and son, formed a three-generation line of chief academicians (pen name Baekju; posthumous title Munjeong)
| Life | 1595 ~ 1645 |
| Era | 조선 중기 |
| Clan | 연안 이씨 |
Yi Myeong-han (1595-1645) was a mid-Joseon civil official of the Yeonan clan, with courtesy name Cheonjang, pen name Baekju and posthumous title Munjeong. His grandfather was Yi Gye, his father was Left State Councillor Yi Jeong-gwi, and his mother a daughter of Gwon Geuk-ji; Wikipedia gives his wife as a daughter of Bak Dong-ryang of Bannam. He passed the licentiate examination in 1610 and the civil examination in 1616, but was dismissed for not joining the court petition against the queen dowager.
After the 1623 Restoration he served as a lecturer and personnel official and went east as a secret inspector. He took reading leave twice, and during Yi Gwal's rebellion escorted King Injo to Gongju and drafted a royal edict to the provinces with Yi Sik. He held many senior censorial and secretariat posts and around 1641 served concurrently as chief academician of both Hongmungwan and Yemungwan and as Minister of Personnel. With his father and his son Yi Il-sang he formed a three-generation line of chief academicians.
After the 1636 invasion he was named a leader of the anti-peace party and held at Shenyang in 1643, returning in 1644 with Crown Prince Sohyeon. In 1645 he was again taken to Qing on suspicion of writing a letter to Ming, and became Minister of Rites after his release, dying the same year. Six sijo poems about his detention survive, and his collected works, the Baekjuji, appeared in 1647. An anecdote tells how, when a friend refused to take his old mother aboard a refuge boat, he later claimed to have forgotten the man's name.
Yi Myeong-han is famed for forming, with his father Yi Jeong-gwi and his son Yi Il-sang, a three-generation line of chief academicians.
Named an anti-peace leader, he was held at Shenyang in 1643, and six sijo poems carry his bitterness. He returned the next year with Crown Prince Sohyeon.
The tomb was not confirmed here.
His sons were Yi Il-sang, Yi Ga-sang, Yi Man-sang and Yi Dan-sang, with one daughter; Yi Il-sang became chief academician.