Early-Joseon official and Hall of Worthies scholar under King Sejong, pen name Pilmun; said to have launched the Gwangju village code and restored Gwangju's status as a mok; his epitaph is a designated Treasure
| Life | 1389 ~ 1453 |
| Era | 조선 전기 |
| Clan | 광산 이씨 |
Yi Seon-je (李先齊) was an early-Joseon official of the Gwangsan seat, pen name Pilmun (蓽門). Wikipedia's Gwangsan Yi article gives his birth year as 1389 while the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture's epitaph entry and a newspaper column give 1390; all agree he died in 1453. Counting Yi Sun-baek as generation one, he is fifth generation of the Sangseo-gong branch.
Wikipedia says he was born in Ijang-ri, Daechon-myeon, Gwangju, studied under Gwon Geun and Gwon U, and passed the civil examination. The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture describes a Hall of Worthies scholar under King Sejong who held posts such as Cheomji Jungchuwon-sa, Vice Minister of Taxation, Jehak of the Office of Royal Decrees, and Consultant in the Ministries of Punishment and War. The clan-side account says he served King Sejong for nearly twenty years in the Hall of Worthies and took part in compilations including the creation of Hunminjeongeum, the commentary on the Yongbieocheonga and the revision of the Goryeosa, but this could not be cross-checked in other sources here.
In his home Gwangju he is respected as a man who put a village code into practice, corrected customs and taught younger scholars. A Seoul Shinmun column says he restored Gwangju, demoted to Mujin-gun, to Gwangju-mok and was first to enforce the Gwangju village code, and that a Pilmun-daero named for him lies east of Gwangju Station. He is said to have died in Hanyang in 1453 (Danjong 1) and to have been buried the following year at Mansan-dong, Namchon, Gwangju.
He had five sons, Siwon (Yangsimdang), Chanwon (Jehak-gong), Jowon (Cheongsimdang), Hanwon (Sesimdang) and Hyeongwon (Seongsimdang), commonly called the "Five Won," from whom the Sangseo-gong sub-branches arose. One account says his official rank was even stripped because of descendants caught up in the 1589 purge, but the details could not be confirmed.
A Seoul Shinmun column says he is greatly respected locally for restoring Gwangju, demoted to Mujin-gun, to Gwangju-mok and for first enforcing the Gwangju village code. A scholarly paper likewise says he put the "Gwangju village code articles" into practice for rural moral education. The account that he taught younger scholars leans on clan-side material.
The buncheong inlaid epitaph dated to the 5th year of Jingtai (1454), apparently made the year after his death, is a tablet-shaped epitaph built of two wide and two narrow rectangular plates, with his dates, career and family inlaid in white clay.
Smuggled to Japan in June 1998, it came home in 2017 through a donation by a Japanese collector and was designated Treasure No. 1993 on 27 June 2018. It is valued for revealing his family and career, which were poorly recorded after the 1589 purge. Heritage sources place it at Gwangju National Museum, while one newspaper column says it was donated to the National Museum of Korea, so sources differ.
A Seoul Shinmun column says the fifth son named in the epitaph, Hyeongwon, went to Tsushima in 1479 as chief envoy of the Joseon mission and died there of local disease. Wikipedia's Gwangsan Yi article lists the descendants of Hyeongwon (Seongsimdang) among the Jukcheong, Naju and Jindo Dongoe sub-branches. The third son, Yi Jo-won, is known as a scholar who declined office.
He is said to have been buried in 1454 at Mansan-dong, Namchon, Gwangju. His buncheong epitaph is a designated Treasure.
Five sons gave rise to many Sangseo-gong sub-branches, and his grandson Yi Dal-seon is said to have reached the royal secretariat.