Due to a series of massacres of Confucian scholars including 'Muosahwa(戊年土禍)' until the early part of the 16th century. many scholars gave up entering on an official career and secluded themselves from the world. Nammyeong(南冥) and Iljae(一齋) also led humble lives in a remote village. They devoted themselves to studying and practicing sacred books including Daehak(大學) The Great Learning-, which is the basic book for the realization of politics based on the rule of right, to cultivate their mind in the way of 'Geogyeonggibui(居敬集義)' and 'Geogyeonggungkyeong(居敬窮義)'. They were recommended as Yuil-those who don't enter into government service, but they were not positive. It is not because they didn't have any intention of government position, but because they thought that their sovereign was not worth working with. Nammyeong(南冥) didn't enter on an official career all life, but Iljae(一齋) did that a while. Nammyeong(南冥) is more complete than Iljae(南冥). However both Nammyeong(南冥) and Iljae(一齋) taught junior scholars through reading and lecture, and they practiced 'Kyeongui'. They always worried about the life of the people and the matters of the nation. Such things are their common points. Especially all of them suggested and practiced 'Kyeon(敬)' as a key point of cultivation and a learning method. When they met the king and advised him on the main point of statecraft. they emphasized that he had to deat with everything through 'Kyeong(經)'-oriented method We can know how positively they practiced 'Neo Confucianism(性理學)' through this.
Though Nammyeong(南冥) and Iljae(一齋) won great popularity due to their studies and reputation in the right of Kyeongsang province(慶尙石道) and the north of Honam area(湖南北部), they didn't seem to associate with each other except the fact that they studied together in Seoul, went Seoul through recommendation and exchanged their thought about studies and official career. However it seems that they knew each other well, worried about their future, and had lots of interest and affection.
At that time, the dispute on 'Liqi theory(理氣論)' was in full swing, and Nammyeong(南冥), who was positive in practice, didn't state particular opinion. He reconfirmed Zhuzi's viewpoint and expressed his opinion. He had a tendency of 'Liqi monism(理氣一元論)'. This is similar to Iljae(一齋)'s 'Liqi's Unity(理氣體論)' based on Na, HeumSun(羅欽順)'s theory. Many scholars, who secluded themselves from the world, tried to be learned and have interest in 'The Doctrines of Wang Yangming(陽明學)'. 'Liqi's Unity(理氣一元論)' was inclined to 'Neo Confucianism(性理學)'. If we consider the social background, which attached greater importance to theoretical studies than to practice, their theory deserves our attention.

• 洪性旭(圓光大 漢文敎育科) | Hong Seong-uk