Over the course of his life, Toegye Lee Hwang rewrote his
Sino-Korean poems multiple times. This is the reason why for
many of his Sino-Korean poems, two or three different versions
can be found. While most of his rewriting involved merely changing
one or two characters, some poems were heavily revised or edited
over time. One of his works that went through extensive rewriting
is his poem entitled 次韻具景瑞金秀卿所和權景受六十絶幷景瑞五律趙
士敬見示. For this work, a total of four versions can be identified—
the version presumed to be the original and three rewritings of the
first version.
Lee Hwang rewrote 次韻具景瑞金秀卿所和權景受六十絶幷景瑞五律
趙士敬見示, a serial poem consisting of 60 seven-character verses
and 5 seven-character rhyme poems, into two new poems under
two separate titles: 早春閒居次趙士敬具景瑞金舜擧權景受相唱酬韻十
四首. These separate titles consists of 14 seven-character verses
that review the history of Dohak (a Confucian school of thought)
in China and the Korean Peninsula, as well as a seven-character
rhyme poem, Yutan (有嘆), where the poet declares his commitment
to preserving and furthering the discipline. These two poems
reflect Lee Hwang’s deepening and more matured understanding
of Dohak, which had taken place since he began writing the original
poem. Moreover, he also revised the end notes of 早春閒居次趙士敬
具景瑞金舜擧權景受相唱酬韻十四首, and thus turned it into an academic work where the author expresses his opinions on Dohak.
After being rewritten into an academic treatise, 早春閒居次趙士敬
具景瑞金舜擧權景受相唱酬韻十四首 was rewritten several times
over. Of the poems comprising 早春閒居次趙士敬具景瑞金舜擧權景受
相唱酬韻十四首, the 12th poem about Jeompiljae Kim Jong-jik has
been completely rewritten at least twice. The three versions in
existence today reflect a downward shift in Lee Hwang’s
understanding of Kim Jongjik’s position, from a scholar to a writer,
than to a mere follower. This shift definitely reflects the fact that
Lee Hwang’s opinion about Kim Jongjik changed as his
understanding of Dohak became deeper and more mature. On the
other hand, the shift is a result of Lee Hwang’s efforts to adjust
his opinion according to the atmosphere of the political and
academic circles at the time: scholars were trying to put Kim
Jongjik under a negative light and reduce his role in the
advancement of Dohak, on account of their conflict with
Hanhwondang Kim Goengpil, one of his disciples. Therefore, the
rewritten poems express Lee Hwang’s newly adjusted—or
negatively revised—opinion about Kim Jongjik during his last
years.