李退溪（1501-1571）為朝鮮李朝儒學代表，發揚中國孔孟程朱之學，一生沈潛內斂，操履篤切。中年以後決志退休，經數次遷徙而定址於陶山之南，經營書堂作為遊息之所，與其友生起居其間講學體道，並有豐富的漢詩文傳世。退溪曾云：「莫笑文章為小技，胸中妙處狀來真」，流露對文章的用心與信賴。同處東亞文化圈，筆者深覺退溪之陶山足以彰顯一位理學家的環境規劃、居遊活動與體道心得。是以嘗試以其陶山詩文為主要觀察對象，探討退溪如何進行陶山的空間建設並賦予意義，進而分從山水之境對退溪學問的意義、日常居遊與存養工夫、物我關係與生化之理等層面，觀察退溪學問路徑如何與陶山居遊生活相結合，終而形塑陶山作為示現其生命人格的空間，同時也是華麗莊嚴的理世界的人間投影。

Yi Toegye (1501-1571) is a representative Korean Confucian. He developed Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi’s studies and was self-effacing and serious about his work for his whole life. At middle age, he decided to retire and built houses in the south of Taoshan for living and studying with his friends and students. He wrote a lot of Chinese poems, believing that poetry is not merely a performance of skills but a true depiction of a higher life state. His life in Taoshan demonstrates his environmental planning, daily activities, and life philosophies. The author attempts to explore the significance of the Taoshan construction and observes how Yi’s life and studies are combined with it from the aspects of landscape, self-cultivation, and the relationship among things. Taoshan actually became the space that shows Yi’s personality and projects the magnificent and solemn world of li ‘heavenly principle’ in human world.