Academic Trends within Nineteenth-Century Korean Neo-Confucianism*

Abstract

This article seeks to offer a broad examination of the historical trajectory of Neo-Confucian thought in the Chosŏn Dynasty of the nineteenth century. In so doing, the article aspires to go beyond the pre-established view of equating Neo-Confucianism with the conservative wijŏng ch’ŏksa (“upholding orthodoxy, rejecting heterodoxy”) movement. First, attention will be paid to the fact that sequels to some of the most authoritative Neo-Confucian texts, such as the Reflections on Things at Hand (Jinsi lu) and Elementary Learning (Sohak), continued to appear in the Chosŏn period. The publication of sequels to Reflections was part of a trend to establish a canon by systematizing the Korean Neo-Confucian tradition within the format of the Reflections, and thereby situate Korean Neo-Confucianism as the succeessor of the Neo-Confucian canons of the Six Classics, Four Books, and Reflections. The publication of the sequels to Elementary Learning was part of a trend to popularize Korean Neo-Confucianism by organizing it within the format of the Elementary Learning and thus propagate Neo-Confucian ethics throughout the various strata of society. If these sequels were efforts to systematize the tradition of Korean Neo-Confucianism in a scholarly format, the encounter of Korean Neo-Confucianism with modernity led to undertakings that sought to engage with this new reality through the production of the Kugyŏng yŏnŭi (Extensive exposition of the Nine Canons). In this work, we can identify attempts by Korean Neo-Confucianists to communicate with the contemporary currents of modernity. This article reflects on the historical significance of the academic trends of nineteenth-century Korean Neo-Confucianism, which can be characterized as canonization, popularization, and contemporization. It thus seeks to overcome the wijŏng ch’ŏksa framework and give justice to the changes that Korean Neo-Confucianism underwent during this period.