Reading the World of a Bookworm

Yurichang · Lee Sae-ra · Ewha Womans University

Introduction

We found Yurichang on the evening of the second day of our trip, as the sun was setting. Having just visited the Ewha Garden, where I felt the immensity and abundance of China, I was looking forward to seeing Yurichang, a street that was most prosperous during the Qing Dynasty, a hub for all cultures, goods, and people. However, what greeted us was a quiet street, empty of people as darkness fell. This street, said to be comparable to Insadong in Korea, had failed to keep pace with the times and remained a deserted street, preserving only its old appearance.

But Yurichang was not always like this. As many Sarangbang seniors have already mentioned, Yurichang during the Qing Dynasty was so splendid that one could not open their eyes. In particular, Yurichang was the center of cultural exchange between Joseon and Qing for envoys to Beijing, the heart of Qing publishing culture, a space for fellowship with Qing intellectuals, and Beijing's premier commercial space where various current affairs converged (Jeong Min 2013, 21). It was through this Yurichang that I encountered a Joseon intellectual of the late Joseon Dynasty, Lee Deok-mo.

Perhaps the name Lee Deok-mo will sound unfamiliar to many. Those who know of Lee Deok-mo often know him as a friend of the Northern Learning School scholars such as Park Ji-won, Park Je-ga, and Yu Deuk-gong, or remember him as an outstanding writer. However, Lee Deok-mo was one of the young Joseon men who accompanied Park Je-ga on his mission to Beijing, and along with Park Ji-won and Park Je-ga, he nurtured dreams of Northern Learning. Lee Deok-mo did not receive much attention as a Northern Learning scholar because in his record of his trip to Qing, "Ipyeon-gi," he showed limited interest in Qing artifacts and maintained an objective stance. However, the Lee Deok-mo I encountered was a reformer who, while living a fiercely passionate life, loved Joseon, viewed the world through his own standards, and sought to change the world through those standards. So why did he adopt such an objective attitude throughout Ipyeon-gi? What were the differences between him and his friends?

The Life of Lee Deok-mo: The Birth of a Bookworm

To understand these differences, I first examined the life of Lee Deok-mo. Lee Deok-mo's childhood can be summarized by his status as a 'seoeol' (child of a concubine), poverty, and his fateful encounter with books. Lee Deok-mo was born in 1741, the 17th year of King Yeongjo's reign, in his family home in Daesa-dong, Gwanbang, Jungbu Ward, Seoul (present-day Insadong 4-ga), as the eldest son among two sons and two daughters of his father, Lee Seong-ho, and his mother, Lady Park of Banham (Lee Kwang-gyu 1978, 321). Although he was a 33rd-generation descendant of the Jeonju Yi clan, inheriting royal blood, his father was a 'seoeol,' meaning Lee Deok-mo felt the sorrow of being a 'seoeol' throughout his life. He was unable to work for the country until he was 39 years old, and this environment instilled in him a sense of powerlessness. The most miserable thing for a person is to be useless. What is the point of burying oneself in books?

What is the point of burying oneself in books? My words and writings cannot change the world even a little.

What can I do with my body? At best, I can bind paper to make books

or make wax paintings. But these things are of no use in living.

(Ahn So-young 2004, 185).

Furthermore, his family's financial situation was not prosperous. The preface to "Cheongjanggwanjeonseo," a collection of Lee Deok-mo's writings penned by Park Ji-won, states that Lee Deok-mo's house was dilapidated and could not protect them from wind and rain, and they often had to skip meals. For Lee Deok-mo, studying properly under a good teacher would have been a luxury (Kwon Jeong-won 2007, 421). Therefore, Lee Deok-mo naturally developed his studies centered on books, which he could study on his own.

For Lee Deok-mo, books were also directly related to his livelihood. As mentioned earlier, Lee Deok-mo could not hold a proper job until he was 39, so he chose to copy books (Kwon Jeong-won 2015, 332). While it was a tragic fate for someone born into an ordinary status to have to copy others' writings, it also provided him with the opportunity to be the first to encounter Qing books entering Joseon.

Born from this background, the "bookworm," or 'ganseochi' (看書癡), moved to Daesa-dong near Baegtap at the age of 26, where he began to associate with the so-called Northern Learning scholars who lived nearby (Kwon Jeong-won 2007, 417). With friends he loved dearly, such as Lee Seo-gu, Yu Deuk-gong, Park Ji-won, and Park Je-ga, he shared similar circumstances and dreams of Northern Learning over drinks. Later, he embarked on a mission to Beijing with Park Je-ga, and Yeonam wrote a preface to Lee Deok-mo's book (Preface to Areong Yugo 8), and Lee Deok-mo wrote a preface and commentary for Park Je-ga's writings (Ginhae Jigi Seo) – their relationship began at this time.

After returning from his mission to Beijing at the age of 39, Lee Deok-mo was finally summoned by King Jeongjo and entered public service. He held positions such as a manuscript inspector in the outer court and contributed to works like the "Muye Dobo Tongji." Throughout his official career, he consistently won first place in literary competitions with poems such as the "Gyujanggak Palgyeongsi" and "I-un Bae-yulsi," earning King Jeongjo's favor. Thus, in 1795, three years after Lee Deok-mo's death at the age of 53, King Jeongjo ordered Lee Deok-mo's son, Lee Kwang-gyu, saying, "As we are newly publishing the 'Unseo' and recalling the scheduled date, I cannot forget the talent and insight of the late Lee Deok-mo, who worked hard to publish this book initially. I command the officials to bring the writings left by Lee Deok-mo from his former residence and edit them for publication as a collected work (Kwon Jeong-won 2004, 5)." This resulted in "Cheongjanggwanjeonseo," allowing us to still read Lee Deok-mo's writings today.

A Visit to Yurichang with Mixed Feelings

So, what did Lee Deok-mo see and feel in Yurichang? Can we understand why he did not exhibit the typical behavior of a Northern Learning scholar through his "Ipyeon-gi"? I have summarized Lee Deok-mo's visit to Yurichang into three scenes and aim to understand his thoughts by examining his behavior in those scenes.

The first scene is his engagement with the bookstore district and books. True to his reputation as a bookworm, Lee Deok-mo shows the greatest reaction when encountering bookstores and books. According to Lee Mun-jo's "Yurichang Seosagi," there were over 30 bookstores in Yurichang at the time, most of which dealt in new publications. However, places like Oryugeo and Munsudang, which Lee Deok-mo frequented, also handled old books, making rare books available (Jeong Min 2013, 98).

Lee Deok-mo's fondness for bookstores can also be found in Park Ji-won's writings. Yeonam wrote in "Yeolha Ilgi," "Turning right after leaving the gate, I reached the first street of Yurichang, where I saw a sign with three characters, Oryugeo. This is the very bookstore where Lee Deok-mo and his companions bought many books last year, so I had heard so much about Oryugeo that passing by now felt like meeting an old friend (Park Ji-won 2014, 406)." This indicates that he was most impressed by the bookstore district of Yurichang and boasted about it to his friends as if testifying.

Lee Deok-mo's feelings upon visiting the bookstores and browsing books can be broadly divided into three categories. First, he seemed to sense the prosperity of Qing artifacts through the scale of the bookstores and books. As is well known, Lee Deok-mo's "Ipyeon-gi" contains almost no mention of Qing artifacts, but in fact, such records are frequent before entering Yurichang. Like other members of the Northern Learning School, Lee Deok-mo was also amazed by Qing shipbuilding technology and their wheeled vehicles, and he briefly expressed a desire to learn from them. However, upon entering Yurichang, all of Lee Deok-mo's attention shifted to books.

Having realized the wealth of Qing artifacts through books, he sought to learn about Qing through books. Lee Deok-mo, who had previously lamented the limited availability of books in Joseon in "Cheon-aejigi Seo," was filled with admiration and awe at the abundance of books in Qing, especially rare medical, herbal, and agricultural texts. The first thing Lee Deok-mo did upon arriving in Yurichang was to visit bookstores and record rare books that could not be obtained in Joseon. He made it clear that in doing so, he only recorded important books and those that interested him, "excluding miscellaneous books."

Most of the books he recorded are no longer traceable, but within the searchable range, his interests included books covering Qing politics (e.g., Jishinrok), famous writings (e.g., Gyeonguigo, Dae-gyeongdangjip), herbal medicine (e.g., Bonchogyeongso, Bonchohwi), martial arts (e.g., Byeongbeopjeonseo, Hyeongcheonmu-pyeon), medical texts (e.g., Bonchoyubang), textual criticism (e.g., Uimundukseogi), and agriculture (e.g., Wangsinongseo), encompassing Qing culture, knowledge, and history. It is obvious that he desperately read these books he found. Through books, he was desperately learning about Qing and dreaming of Joseon's revival.

Meanwhile, Lee Deok-mo's sentiments still remained with the Ming Dynasty. In several scenes, he expresses his longing for the Ming Dynasty. He quotes a passage from the "Gukjo Sibi-jae Jip Eoje Seo" stating, "Those who live in our dynasty and foolishly think of the former dynasty, Ming, are rebels and subject to the law. Those who were officials of Ming and gladly served our dynasty, even if it was during the founding period of the state, cannot be considered righteous (Lee Deok-mo 1978, 240)." He also laments the fact that Joseon's scholars do not understand the integrity of Na Deok-heon and Lee Gwak, who, upon reading the imperial poem provided by the interpreter Lee Eon-yong, considered the two men's act of discarding the letter from the Later Jin that addressed the Jin ruler as emperor, as a refusal to submit to the Later Jin (Lee Deok-mo 1978, 257). This clearly shows his sentiments. The second scene is his interaction with Qing literati. If there was anything Lee Deok-mo enjoyed as much as reading books, it was making friends and conversing with them, and this daily routine did not change even during his mission to Beijing. He was particularly close with Ban Jeong-gyun, Chuk Deok-rin, Sim Yeong, Muk Jang, and Dang Won-hang, all of whom were skilled writers.

Interestingly, the conversations Lee Deok-mo had with them were not limited to literature. Of course, Lee Deok-mo's greatest passion was the interpretation of classics and each other's writings. However, he also showed considerable interest in etiquette and the study of artifacts, seeking to learn about Qing through his new friends.

The final scene depicts Lee Deok-mo's perception and sentiments regarding Qing artifacts and culture. As mentioned earlier, after arriving in Yurichang, Lee Deok-mo made no significant comments about Qing artifacts, and when he did, it was mostly admiration for the prosperity of the bookstore district and the abundance of books.

Lee Deok-mo's sentiments towards Qing etiquette and exotic culture were mostly negative. When he visited the Dong-an Gate and paid respects at the Taehak, he saw the "Emperor's Edict to Repair the Temple of Confucius" from the Ming Dynasty rewritten and Manchu script inscribed on each side of the gate. He expressed his unreserved negative feelings, saying, "How can the script of barbarians be written on the divine tablet of the sages? If there were spirits, they would not rest comfortably on this divine tablet (Lee Deok-mo 1978, 241)." He also commented on Qing's inscribed boards,

The two pillars have wooden boards inserted, which is very improper. Long inscriptions written in gold

hang on the pillars, resembling a shrine or a Buddhist temple, which the sage would not approve of. Yu and Zhu are placed among the Ten Sages, which

is also merely a play on words, and the brushwork is broad and the colors are

brilliant, lacking in nobility and correctness.

(Lee Deok-mo 1978, 241).

He showed his rejection of Qing culture. Furthermore, when he visited Mount Tuo, he could not suppress his sadness recalling that the pavilion on the mountain was where Emperor Chongzhen, the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty, committed suicide (Lee Deok-mo 1978, 253).

The Bookworm Who Saw the World Through Books

The Lee Deok-mo I encountered was a legitimate member of the Northern Learning School who loved Joseon, as eager to learn about Qing as Park Je-ga and possessing international political acumen comparable to Park Ji-won. However, the assessment that he did not exhibit reformist actions to change Joseon could not be entirely dismissed. I sought to find the reasons why Lee Deok-mo maintained limited reformist tendencies and conservative perceptions in his innate disposition and the sense of powerlessness learned from his 'seoeol' status. In "Imokgu Simseo," which he wrote about himself, Lee Deok-mo questions why he should speak when he sees wrongdoings for a long time and remains silent, feeling like a fool, yet knows that speaking will change nothing. Perhaps the Joseon society that Lee Deok-mo experienced was like 'those with ears but who do not hear,' which he could not change no matter how much he tried as a 'seoeol'?

Another significant reason is that he harbored sentiments towards the Ming Dynasty in a similar position to his perception of material things. Examining the travelogues of other Northern Learning scholars, they too maintained similar sentiments of longing for the Ming Dynasty before crossing the Yalu River. However, upon venturing into Qing and witnessing its economic development, their thoughts evolved to ponder how this was possible, setting aside their previous sentiments. In other words, their perception of Qing's prosperity overcame their longing for the Ming Dynasty.

Due to severe poverty in his childhood, Lee Deok-mo developed a habit of not relying on material possessions. He placed greater importance on the value of the mind rather than on transient material wealth. The highest person finds poverty comfortable. The next person forgets poverty.

The lowest person feels shame about poverty, hiding or concealing it,

and appealing to others about their poverty, eventually becoming a slave to poverty.

It becomes worse than the lowest. Furthermore, those who are worse than the lowest regard poverty as an enemy and then

(Lee Deok-mo 1978, 211).

This habit led him to maintain a relatively objective stance when encountering Qing artifacts. Lee Deok-mo, who could evaluate Qing artifacts objectively, pointed out that Joseon and Qing do not necessarily share the same environment, and therefore, the unconditional influx of Qing artifacts into Joseon may not necessarily lead to Joseon's prosperity.

China is just China, and Joseon has its own advantages, so is it right that only the Central Plains are correct? Although there is a distinction between urban and rural areas, one must view them equally.

(Lee Deok-mo 1978, 263).

However, even in Lee Deok-mo's view, there were Qing artifacts that could benefit Joseon. The method he chose to cautiously learn from these artifacts was through books. The list of rare books mentioned earlier reflects this effort. His insight into the world through books was also exceptional. His work "Cheongnyeonggukji" (Lee Deok-mo 1978) can be said to encompass all aspects of Japan, including its history, genealogy, culture, lifestyle, and even maps. A Japanese person once asked, "When did this person visit Japan?" but in reality, he had learned from various books and then written his own.

Lee Deok-mo, the bookworm who saw and learned about the world through books. Whether his method was correct or universally applicable is a question that can only be answered after further in-depth research on Lee Deok-mo. However, I hope this work serves to remind us that there was a person named Lee Deok-mo among the Northern Learning scholars, and he, too, lived in his era as a Northern Learning scholar with a heart that loved Joseon. References Lee Deok-mo. 1978. "Cheongjanggwanjeonseo." Seoul: Minjok Munhwa Chujinhoe. Jeong Min et al. 2013. "Beijing Yurichang." Seoul: Minsokwon. Im Gi-jun. 2014. "Yeonhaengnok Yeon-gu Cheungwi." Seoul: Hakgobang. Ha Yeong-seon. 2011. "Yeongdeul in History." Seoul: Eul-yu Publishing Co. Lee Deok-mo. 2011. "A Fool Obsessed with Books." Translated by Kwon Jeong-won. Seoul: Midas Books. Jeon Hong-seok. 2006. "Understanding the Public Perception of the Northern Learning School in the Late Joseon Dynasty." Paju:

Korea Studies Information. Park Ji-won. 2014. "Yeolha Ilgi." Translated by Lee Sang-ho. Paju: Bori. Kwon Jeong-won. 2007. "Lee Deok-mo's Genealogy and Social Relations." "Hanmunhakbo" Vol. 17. Kwon Jeong-won. 2015. "Changes in Lee Deok-mo's Interest in Ming and Qing Literature."

Korea Studies Information. Park Ji-won. 2014. "Yeolha Ilgi." Translated by Lee Sang-ho. Paju: Bori. Kwon Jeong-won. 2007. "Lee Deok-mo's Genealogy and Social Relations." "Hanmunhakbo" Vol. 17. Kwon Jeong-won. 2015. "Changes in Lee Deok-mo's Interest in Ming and Qing Literature."

Dongbang Hanmunhak 65 Ahn So-young. 2005. *The Fool Who Only Reads Books*. Paju: Borim.