English edition of Confucian philosopher Yi Ik's work published by Oxford University Press

“Seongho Yi Ik: The New Compilation of the Four Beginnings and Seven Emotions” is the complete English translation of “Sachil Sinpyeon,” a philosophical work by Yi Ik, a prominent Confucian philosopher of the late Joseon period who went by the pen name Seongho. The book was published by Oxford University Press earlier this month. Courtesy of Sungkyunkwan University

A research team at Sungkyunkwan University’s College of Confucian Studies and Eastern Philosophy has published a complete English translation of “Sachil Sinpyeon,” a philosophical work by Yi Ik, a prominent Confucian philosopher of the late Joseon period who went by the pen name Seongho.

The University said Wednesday that the first English edition, “Seongho Yi Ik: The New Compilation of the Four Beginnings and Seven Emotions,” was published by Oxford University Press earlier this month.

Yi’s work was translated into English by a research team comprising professors Back Young-sun and Park So-jeong and researcher Ha Na.

Back, a professor of Eastern philosophy, serves as director of the Sungkyun Institute for Confucian Studies and East Asian Philosophy, while Park, a professor of Korean philosophy, is the director of the Institute of Korean Philosophy and Culture.

The publication is the culmination of the Academic Translation of Korean Texts Project, a three-year initiative that began in September 2022, with support from the Ministry of Education and the Academy of Korean Studies.

The project was launched to promote Korean classics to audiences overseas. The research team achieved the remarkable feat of having the translation published by one of the world’s leading university presses just one year after completing the translation of the original text.

“‘Sachil Sinpyeon’ is a classic that offers an in-depth exploration of how human emotions acquire moral significance and how they can be properly transformed through the cultivation of the mind,” said Back, who led the research team.

She added, “This translation is significant not simply because it renders a time-honored Korean classic into another language, but because it introduces Yi Ik’s philosophy to a global audience in a language accessible to readers around the world.”

Back expressed hope that the book will bring the theory of emotion from Joseon period Confucianism into broader discussions in the global philosophical community and expand the horizons of research on Korean philosophy.

From left are researcher Ha Na and professors Park So-jeong and Back Young-sun of Sungkyunkwan University’s College of Confucian Studies and Eastern Philosophy. They translated “Sachil Sinpyeon,” a philosophical work by Yi Ik, a prominent Confucian philosopher of the late Joseon period, into English. The English edition, “Seongho Yi Ik: The New Compilation of the Four Beginnings and Seven Emotions,” was published by Oxford University Press earlier this month. Courtesy of Sungkyunkwan University

“Sachil Sinpyeon” presents Yi’s reinterpretation of the Four Beginnings and Seven Emotions theory (Sadan-Chiljeong theory), one of the central debates in Confucian philosophy during the era.

The theory explores the origins of the moral mind that motivates people to act virtuously, known as the Four Beginnings, and common human emotions such as joy, sorrow and anger, known as the Seven Emotions.

In the book, Yi analyzes how human emotions arise and examines in depth how they influence our moral choices.

The English edition includes a complete translation of the original classical Chinese text, along with detailed annotations and a comprehensive commentary designed to help beginners easily understand Yi’s ideas and the historical context in which they developed.

The book has drawn particular attention for being published as part of Oxford University Press’s New Texts in the History of Philosophy series, a scholarly series supported by the British Society for the History of Philosophy.