Yi Hwang was born in Ongye-ri,
Andong, in the north of
Gyeongsang Province, in 1501. He belonged to the
Jinbo Yi clan, and was the youngest son among eight children. A child prodigy, he learned the
Analects of Confucius from his uncle at age twelve and admiring the poetry of
Tao Yuanming, started writing poetry. His poem
Yadang ("Pond in the Wild"), written at the age of eighteen, is considered one of his major works. Around the age of twenty, he immersed himself in the study of
I Ching and
Neo-Confucianism. He came to
Seoul (then known as Hanseong) when he was 23 years old and entered the national academy
Sungkyunkwan in 1523. In 1527 he passed preliminary exams to become a government official, but re-entered Sungkyunkwan at the age of 33 and socialized with the scholar
Kim In-hu. He passed the civil service exams with top honors in 1534 and continued his scholarly pursuits whilst working for the government. He returned to his childhood home at the death of his mother at the age of 37 and mourned her for 3 years. He was appointed various positions from the age of 39 and sometimes held multiple positions including
secret royal inspector, or
Amhaengeosa, in 1542. His integrity made him relentless as he took part in purges of corrupt government officials. On numerous occasions he was even exiled from the capital for his firm commitment to principle. Yi Hwang was disillusioned by the power struggles and discord in the royal court during the later years of
King Jungjong's reign and left political office. However, he was continuously brought out of retirement and held several positions away from the royal court and in rural areas. He was the governor of
Danyang at 48 and governor of
Punggi afterwards. During his days at Pungi he redeveloped and improved the private
Neo-Confucian academy
Baekundong Seowon established by his predecessor
Ju Se-bung. He was named
Daesaseong (head instructor) of Sungkyunkwan in 1552 but turned down other prominent offices later on. In 1560, he established the
Dosan seodang and engrossed himself in meditation, study, and teaching his disciples.
King Myeongjong tried to coax him back to political office, but he was steadfast in his devotion to study. He finally returned to the royal court at 67 upon the king's request when envoys from the
Ming dynasty came to Seoul. When King Myeongjong suddenly died, his successor
King Seonjo appointed Yi Hwang as
Yejo panseo (minister of rites) but he declined and returned to his home once again. However, the king continuously called Yi Hwang back and unable to refuse further, he resumed office at the age of 68 and wrote many advisory documents including
Seonghak sipdo ("Ten Diagrams on Sage Learning"). He also gave lectures from the teachings of
Song dynasty Confucian scholars
Cheng Yi and
Cheng Hao,
I Ching,
Analects, and
Zhang Zai in royal presence. He finally retired from politics at the age of 70 and died in 1570. During forty years of public life he served four kings (
Jungjong,
Injong,
Myeongjong and
Seonjo). On his death, Yi Hwang was posthumously promoted to the highest ministerial rank, and his mortuary tablet housed in a Confucian shrine as well as in the shrine of
King Seonjo. His disciples and followers reorganized the
Dosan seodang to
Dosan Seowon in 1574. ==Teachings==