Does the Neo-Confucianism of the Chosŏn Dynasty belong to the Cheng-Zhu School?: Rethinking the Intellectual History of Chosŏn through the Philosophical Tradition of Yi I (1538–1584)

In this paper I discuss whether Neo-Confucianism in the Chosŏn dynasty can be interpreted as a branch of the Cheng-Zhu school of Neo-Confucianism. Against the popular interpretation that Korean Neo-Confucianism is essentially a product of the Cheng-Zhu school, I argue that it can be understood better in terms of the more diverse perspectives and developments of Confucianism proper. Yi I’s philosophy, for example, can be understood more consistently from the perspectives of Zhang Zai, Hu Hong, Luo Qinshun, or even Xunzi.