In 1393, well-known scholar official Chŏng Tojŏn (1342–98; 鄭道傳) dedicated the Pictures of Hunting Scenes in the Four Seasons (Sasi susudo; 四時 蒐狩圖) to the throne. This gift was greatly appreciated by the founder of the Chosŏn Dynasty, Yi Sŏnggye (King T’aejo). Two years later, the Chosŏn Dynasty's Three Army Command (Samgunjinmuso; 三軍鎭撫所) circulated the screen, apparently among military commanders and other military officials throughout the country. By 1397, the army studied another work Chŏng produced, the Diagram on the Five Army Formations (Ojinto; 五陣圖) and distributed it throughout the country.

The gift of the Pictures of Hunting Scenes in the Four Seasons screen expressed Chŏng Tojon's personal relationship with King T’aejo. What background did Chŏng have that would have given him the knowledge to advise the king of military hunting strategies? As the leading reformer for the state, Chŏng was deeply familiar with all of the aspects of Neo-Confucian teachings, including the hunt and ritual sacrifice. The king asked Chŏng, ‘In ancient times, hunting from the spring and winter, animals were sacrificed at the ancestral shrines, but today, only when I catch an animal in the spring hunt, I first consider offering it as sacrifice to the ancestral shrines. What do you think of this?’ Chŏng replied, ‘As for the ceremony of animal sacrifice (hŏn’gŭm chiye; 獻禽之禮), it is truly appropriate. The great sacrifice (taehyang; 大享) has already passed [in other words it had already been carried out], but [since you are unable to attend the rituals in person] please offer sacrifice by watching from afar [rather than attending each ritual personally].’

In the first century of the Chosŏn Dynasty, two forms of royal hunting practices emerged. The first and grandest, led by the king, was the royal military Kangmu hunt, explored here and in Chapter 6. The Pictures of Hunting Scenes in the Four Seasons presented guidelines for royal military Kangmu hunts (講武). These hunts were large-scale annual events encompassing sometimes thousands of soldiers with a formal set of rules for engaging animals to help build military skills.