• The Journal of Korean Philosophical History
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• no.35
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• pp.275-308
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• 2012

This article aims to investigate the studies of Yi Xue Qi Meng(易學啓蒙) performed by the researchers of Neo-Confucianism in Ki Ho region in later Chosun period. Philologically speaking, these studies were mainly performed by Han Won Jin and his colleagues. While the study of Yi Hwang(李滉)'s Qi Meng Zhuan Yi(啓蒙傳疑) performed by the researchers of Toegye(退溪) School lasts from the end of the sixteenth century to the nineteen's century, the Ki Ho(畿湖) scholars' study of Yi Xue Qi Meng are centered in the eighteenth century and hardly any significant work on this text is found before and after this century. In order to single out the distinctive features of Ki Ho School of Neo-Confucianism, this article examines three subjects the Ki Ho scholars delved into: (i) their theory of Tai Ji(太極), (ii) their theory of He-Tu(河圖) and the formation of eight trigrams, and (iii) the so-called Wu Wei Xiang De Shuo(五位相得說) discussed in one of the sections in Yi Xue Qi Meng titled the Source of He-Tu and Luo Shu[本圖書]. The Ki Ho scholars are remarkable in interpreting Tai Ji in Yi Xue Qi Meng in the context of the theory of Li-Qi and the theory of human nature. There are differences in opinion among the Ki-Ho scholars with regard to the relation between He-Tu and the formation of eight trigrams. Eventually, they withhold Zhu Xi(朱熹) and Hu Fang Ping(胡方平)'s attempt to synthesize He-Tu, the rectangular diagram of Fu Xi(伏羲)'s eight trigrams, and the circular diagram of Fu Xi's eight trigrams into one single principle. Han Won Jin tries to explain the relation between He-tu and the formation of eight trigrams in terms of the relation between He-Tu and the circular diagram, and his attempt is widely supported by his colleagues. This theory runs counter to traditional model of explaining truth. My conjecture is that such academic trend is further developed by the defenders of Practical Learning such as Hong Dae Yong(洪大容), who vigorously reject traditional system of truth and science, and that it partly explains why the study of Yi Xue Qi Meng ceases in the nineteenth century.

• The Journal of Korean Philosophical History
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• no.28
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• pp.387-415
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• 2010

This article examines Zhu Xi(朱熹)'s theory of I-Qing(易經) present in Yi Xue Qi Meng. Zhu Xi aims to establish a novel Confucian theory of I-Qing, examining the study of I-Qing in Han Dynasity and the Taoist theory of I-Qing. To this end, he embraces Shao Yong(邵雍)'s theory of Xian Tian. Adapting the notion of Xian Tian(先天) as developed by Shao, he completes the Image-Number(象數) Theory of Hetu-Luoshu(河圖洛書). While discussing Hetu Luoshu, Zhu Xi argues that the Image and Number are not merely a form of prognostication, but a medium that reveals the principles of the nature and the sagely ways of mind. In addition, by studing I-Zhuan(易傳) in authoring Yi Xue Qi Meng, Zhu Xi maintains that the notions of Image and Number as he understands were to be approved by Confucius. This leads to the unification of Sho Yong's Tai-Ji(太極), Zou Dun Yi(周 敦頤)'s Tai-Ji, and Tai-Ji in Hetu. Through this work, Zhu Xi attempts to construct a systematic philosophy that straddles ontology and value theory, while identifying Li (理) with Xiang (象) and Shu (數). The Image-Number Theory of Hetu-Luoshu has replaced numerous theories of Image and Number at the time of Zhu Xi. Based on this theory, he restores the method of divination as presented in Xi CI Zhuan(繫辭傳). By successfully applying his theory of Image and Number to interpreting a number of recorded examples of divination during the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period, Zhu Xi demonstrates that his theory is not only an abstract metaphysical theory, but also can function as an adaptable method of divination.

• Journal for History of Mathematics
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.1-13
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• 2011

In Tian mu bi lei cheng chu jie fa(田畝比類乘除捷法) of Yang Hui suan fa(楊輝算法)), Yang Hui annotated detailed comments on the method to find roots of quadratic equations given by Liu Yi in his Yi gu gen yuan(議古根源) which gave a great influence on Chosun Mathematics. In this paper, we show that 'Zeng cheng kai fang fa'(增乘開方法) evolved from a process of binomial expansions of $(y+{\alpha})^n$ which is independent from the synthetic divisions. We also show that extending the results given by Liu Yi-Yang Hui and those in Suan xue qi meng(算學啓蒙), Chosun mathematican Hong Jung Ha(洪正夏) elucidated perfectly the 'Zeng cheng kai fang fa' as the present synthetic divisions in his Gu il jib(九一集).