Deokbongheon is the hanging wooden plaque of Deokbong Jeongsa Study Hall in Ma-dong, Kyeongju, and it has been in the possession of Sojeong family descended from Lord Deokbong lineage, Yi clan from Kyeongju. The beginning of Deokbong Jeongsa Study Hall traces back to a humble cottage built by Yi Jintaek (1738-1805, pen name Deokbong), who left his hometown Bang-eo-ri to settle down in Sojeong-ri, Kyeoongju. After resigning from the government post, Yi devoted himself to teaching younger students in his cottage, which then to be called Deokbongjeong Pavilion. It was later in 1905 (42nd year of King Gojong) that Yi’s great-grandson Yi Uyeong (1822-1913, pen name Yaeun) undertook the relocation and expansion of the building in Ma-dong, Kyeongju and named it Deokbong Jeongsa Study Hall to honor the learning and virtues of Yi Jintaek.
The calligraphy letters are written in the seal style by Kim Seongeon (1835-1919, pen name Haesa), a famous calligrapher in the late Joseon period. With its solemn orderliness, seal script is traditionally considered to symbolize the Emperor’s authority. The letters of this plaque are reminiscent of those lines in Admonitions of the Court Instructress [女史箴圖], painting by Gu Kaizhi, whose brushwork has been praised to be “like the gossamer threads of spring silkworms [春蠶吐絲]”. Strokes are executed with consistent restraint that resembles scholarly sincerity in admiring one’s ancestors.