CHO, Ham-se 趙咸世.

Oŭihŏn sŏnsaeng yujip 五宜軒先生遺集 [Posthumous Collected Writings of Master Five-Propriety-Pavilion].

76 folding leaves. Two kwŏn in one vol. Small folio (322 x 210 mm.), orig. semi-stiff yellow-brown patterned wrappers, new stitching. [Korea]: Preface dated 1855.

First edition of the very rare collected writings of Cho Ham-se (1607-90), a prominent Neo-Confucian scholar and poet best known by his pen name Oŭihŏn 五宜軒 (“Five-Propriety-Pavilion”). He was known for his ethical rigor, moral teaching, and reform-minded approach rooted in Confucian humanism.

Compiled and published in 1855 by his descendant Cho Ki-p’yŏng 趙基平, with a Preface by the late-Chosŏn judge Yi Chong-sang 李鍾祥 (1799-1870), and a Postscript by the scholar Yu Chi-ho 柳致皜 (1800-62), this anthology brings together scattered writings and provides a window into late Chosŏn intellectual life.

The book opens with 29 poems whose plainspoken serenity and rustic metaphors evoke Cho’s self-chosen life of humble reclusion. The collection also features letters — such as his friendly correspondence with Court Minister of Finance Kim Se-ryŏm 金世濂 (1593-1646) — as well as essays, institutional records, and reflective writings on local custom, ritual, and the ethical duties of scholar-officials.

Published during the reign of King Ch’ŏljong (r. 1849-64), this posthumous compilation reveals how 19th-century descendants and intellectuals found renewed meaning in the legacy of Cho Ham-se. Unlike many of his peers, Cho neither sought high office nor left his rural community — a decision shaped in part by a series of upheavals of his time, including four royal successions, internal coups, and the subordination of the Chosŏn dynasty to Qing China. In such tumultuous times, as Yu Chi-ho notes in the Postscript, Cho’s humble steadfastness and local commitment stood out all the more sharply. Yu even asks, “Why should one have to seek honor or rank at the gates of emperors and kings?” — a peculiar challenge to orthodox Confucian ideals of loyal service. For Yu and his 19th-century contemporaries, writing in a similarly uncertain era, Cho Ham-se’s life might have offered a compelling alternative: the quiet virtues of rootedness, personal integrity, and principled withdrawal.

Nice copy. We find no copy outside of Korea.

Price: $7,500.00

Item ID: 11148