Toigye[退溪] exhibited an extreme gaze at space in his poems
about plum blossoms by depicting Dosan as a Confucian space and
Seoul as a secular one. His dichotomy of space concept derived
from the way he called the collection of qualities that were the
sources of Sunseonmuak[純善無惡] the Dosan[陶山] space and that
of qualities that were the sources of Yuseonyuak[有善有惡] the
Seoul space. Since Dosan is an ideal place, one would easily
assume that plum blossoms in the Dosan space will always be
bright and clear. The reality, however, tells a different story. They
would appear to be dark and haggard in the "form of senses" unlike
in the "forms of dignity and Saengui[生意]." There is a reason why
the form of senses is different from other forms: it is because the
form of senses shows the stage of Sodangyeon[所當然], getting
involved in Sa[事] and Ri[理], whereas the forms of dignity and
Saengui show the stage of Soyiyeon[所以然], getting involved only
in Ri. Toigye's poems about plum blossoms hold significance in two
ways from the perspective of human nature theories: one is that
plum blossoms feel the energy of the great universe along with all
creations, and the other is that they block Inyok[人欲] with
Gyeong[敬] and try to conserve and foster Cheonri[天理].