Yi I (1536 – 1584) was a Korean Confucian scholar. His mother was a famous calligraphist, Shin Saimdang. He was very intelligent as a child, learning to read at three and being very bright at his studies. He was also devoted to his parents: when his mother was sick, he prayed to his ancestors to heal her; and when his father was sick, he cut his own finger with a knife and let his father drink his blood (at that time, people thought human blood was very good medicine).
