Korean Neo-Confucianism Research Articles

Political Self-Cultivation for Humane Government: Yi I’s Defense of the Way of the Hegemon in Neo-Confucian Korea

As ardent followers of Mencius and Zhu Xi, virtually all Korean Neo-Confucians during the Chosŏn dynasty rejected the Way of the Hegemon by understanding it as directly opposed to the Kingly Way, a humane government allegedly conducted by ancient sage-kings. However, Yi I [Formula: see text]珥 (1536–1584), a prominent Neo-Confucian scholar-official in sixteenth-century Korea, endorsed the Way of the Hegemon as compatible with the Kingly Way by reconceptualizing it, otherwise predicated on strong consequentialist ethics, in a way consistent with Confucianism’s deepest concern with the well-being of the people. In Confucianizing the Way of the Hegemon through the creative re-reading of the Book of Rites from a Xunzian standpoint, Yi I proposed a new method of moral self-cultivation specifically tailored for a Confucian ruler—called political self-cultivation in this paper—that combined the traditional Neo-Confucian recovery model of self-cultivation with a strong sense of political responsibility.

The Moral and Religious Thought of Yi Hwang (Toegye): A Study of Korean Neo-Confucian Ethics and Spirituality by Edward Y.J. Ching (review)

Reviewed by: The Moral and Religious Thought of Yi Hwang (Toegye): A Study of Korean Neo-Confucian Ethics and Spirituality by Edward Y.J. Ching Maria Hasfeldt Long (bio) The Moral and Religious Thought of Yi Hwang (Toegye): A Study of Korean Neo-Confucian Ethics and Spirituality. By Edward Y.J. Ching. Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, 2021. Pp. vii + 204. Hardcover $99.00, isbn 978-3-030-77923-8. In recent years, the study of Korean Neo-Confucianism as an international field has been growing exponentially. Compared to former decades, the number of international publications has grown significantly over the last ten years, with Edward Y.J. Chung as one of the most active scholars. The Moral and Religious Thought of Yi Hwang (Toegye): A Study of Korean Neo-Confucian Ethics and Spirituality is the culmination of an almost decade-long study of the Korean Neo-Confucian scholar, Yi Hwang Toegye (1501–1570). With a focus on the moral and spiritual aspects of the theories of Toegye, Chung maps out a brilliant overview of the philosopher's worldview and literary works. Chung's primary objective is to provide "thought-provoking" and fresh insights into one of the most important Korean Neo-Confucian thinkers in history, as well as shed light on Neo-Confucian thought in general and how Toegye's philosophy in particular can be relevant in modern interreligious dialogues (p. 149). Consisting of ten chapters, where each chapter could serve as an individual article, Chung takes the reader through the core concepts of Toegye and his development of a form of self-cultivation different from the Chinese Neo-Confucian idea of self-cultivation. This together created a holistic religious worldview with a strong spiritual dimension, which manifests through selfcultivation practices. The first two chapters introduce Toegye and the historical context of 16th-century Joseon-dynasty Korea (1392–1910); his understanding of the Neo-Confucian tradition as the true learning; and his rejection of Daoism and Buddhism. With the reader introduced to the immediate historical context and Neo-Confucian discourse of the time, the following three chapters cover Toegye's religious and moral understanding of the relationship between the Heavenly Principle (C. tianli, K. cheolli) and human nature (C. renxing, K. inseong). Furthermore, Chung covers the moral-spiritual implications that the Four-Seven Debate had on Toegye's later practical self-cultivation for becoming a sage. In short, the debate concerns the relation between the "four sprouts" of human characteristics as first described by Mengzi (ca. 371–289 BCE) and the seven human emotions mentioned in various classical texts. Toegye believed in the doctrine that the "experience of Heaven was within oneself" (p. 47). Therefore, [End Page 1] to become a sage, one would have to commit to the active practice of an inner feeling of reverence (C. jing, K. gyeong) daily. Chapter six dives into the spiritual practice of self-reflection and mind cultivation (C. xinxue, K. simhak), which was an ongoing process that would lead the practitioner closer to sagehood. The seventh chapter focuses on how this spiritual dimension of Toegye's doctrine is relevant to broader discussions of ecology today. With a strong love for nature, Toegye incorporated the idea of nature within his spiritual self-cultivation, which Chung elaborates on. It was important for the human being to be in harmony with Heaven, earth, and all myriad things. This meant respecting and spending time in nature also played a part in the daily practice of spiritual self-cultivation. Moving on, in chapters eight and nine, Chung presents a comparative study on the philosophical and theological question of how to transcend evil, as well as the matter of interreligious dialogue. By way of a textual-interpretive approach, Chung compares Toegye's thought with Christian contra Buddhist theological ideas and how these findings can help develop an interreligious approach. In chapter nine, Chung suggests that the idea of self-transcendence through self-cultivation can be the ultimate reality. In this chapter, Chung wants to break with the tendency in interreligious dialogue where many scholars rely heavily on Christian theological terms. Chung introduces Neo-Confucian concepts and terms, especially the terms used by Toegye. The last and concluding chapter...

Self-Cultivation and Inwardness: How to Establish the Confucian Identity in Korean Neo-Confucianism

The main goals of this essay are to describe and make clear the philosophical implications of self-cultivation concerning the concept of inwardness and examine how it contributes to the formation of the Confucian identity. In two representative Korean Neo-Confucian debates, the Debate on Supreme Polarity between Yi Ǒnjŏk and Cho Hanbo and one of the issues in the Horak Debate about the original substance of the tranquil state (mibal) of the mind, we can see that self-cultivation plays a crucial role in establishing the Confucian identity. For example, the debate between Yi and Cho shows how to teach people to achieve an ideal Confucian character by interpreting “learning human affairs below (hahag-insa)” and “reaching the heavenly principle above (sangdal-chŏlli)” differently. The concept of inwardness is significant as well as problematic in understanding the sense of rivalry against Buddhism earlier and the Yangming School later in the intellectual history of Korean neo-Confucianism. Those who think of themselves as true followers of Confucius and Zhu Xi criticize that a subjective way of experiencing inwardness is close to Buddhism and misleads one in the pursuit of some lofty metaphysical entity without any practical concerns. Despite such a criticism, some Neo-Confucian scholars have emphasized that the original substance of the mind is the tranquility of inwardness. In this vein, we will investigate what kind of philosophical identity most Korean Neo-Confucians have embraced as their own. Their consistent argument for keeping the balance between honoring the virtues and inquiring about learning leads to the claim that the achievement of self-cultivation should contribute to making the world peaceful. Thus, the matter of inwardness often described as deliberate solitude is not so much a subjective realm like religious confession, but vivid experiences of daily life that have never been separated from the manifestation of the Way (dao). In conclusion, the core issue of the Neo-Confucian identity having a sense of rivalry against heresy aims at the matter of practice, i.e., how actively and properly one participates in transforming the world.

Gender Politics at Home and Abroad: Protestant Modernity in Colonial-Era Korea

Gender Politics at Home and Abroad: Protestant Modernity in Colonial-Era Korea

Making peace with the barbarians: Neo-Confucianism and the pro-peace argument in 17th-century Korea

This article investigates the Neo-Confucian discourse on war, premised on the “Chinese versus barbarian” binary, and its impact on the Neo-Confucian scholar-officials of 17th-century Chosŏn Korea. It shows that Korean Neo-Confucians suffered invasions from the Jurchens, who they regarded as “barbarians,” and that the political debate on how to respond to the “barbarians” drove the advocates of the pro-peace argument to reimagine Chosŏn’s statehood. The article consists of three parts. First, it reconstructs the philosophical foundations of the mainstream Neo-Confucian discourse on the war with the “barbarians” with reference to Zhu Xi. Second, it discusses the strong impact of the Neo-Confucian paradigm of war on the orthodox Korean Neo-Confucians of the 17th century. Third, it examines how Ch’oe Myŏng-kil, one of the rare champions of the pro-peace argument at the time, justified making peace with the Jurchens through the judicious use of “the expedient.”

17세기 도학실천론의 사상적 특징과 정치적 의미

17세기 도학실천론의 사상적 특징과 정치적 의미

Reversing the Stream: Virtue Politics and Moral Economy in Neo-Confucian Korea

This article investigates the Neo-Confucian project of “reverse moral economy,” which aims to restore the ideal congruence between political power and moral virtue, by examining a political debate on the selection of the new Crown Prince and the incumbent ruler’s subsequent abdication that took place in Korea during the formative period of the Chosŏn 朝鮮 dynasty (1392–1910) in light of the so-called “the Mencian trouble,” a compromise between Mencius’ ideal vision of Confucian virtue politics (or moral economy) and his realistic concern with political stability. After discussing how Korean Neo-Confucians were able to justify their choice of a more virtuous candidate in violation of the Lineage Law, which upheld father-son transmission as the constant norm (jing 經), by judiciously balancing (quan 權) between the candidate’s virtue and the incumbent ruler’s recommendation, it articulates the Korean Neo-Confucian project of reverse moral economy from the standpoint of the constitutionality of the new dynasty.

다문화역량으로서의 성리학 사상, 성리학적 인간, 성리학 생활태도에 관한 연구

다문화역량으로서의 성리학 사상, 성리학적 인간, 성리학 생활태도에 관한 연구

The letters of Toegye Yi Hwang: their significance and present situation

현재 전하는 퇴계(退溪) 이황(李滉)의 서찰(書札)은 3,118통에 달한다. 퇴계의 서찰은 퇴계의 철학과 삶의 정수를 보전하고 있는 것으로서 조선유학사에서 퇴계가 차지하는 위상을 감안할 때 그 중요성은 두 말 할 나위가 없다. 퇴계는 서찰을 통해 자신의 도학적(道學的) 삶과 철학을 표현하였고, 시현(時賢), 지구(知舊), 문인(門人), 가인(家人)에 걸치는 동시대인들과 소통하였으며, 그 소통 행위를 통해 조선성리학(朝鮮性理學) 혹은 도학(道學)의 학문 공동체를 형성하였다. 우리는 그것들을 통해 퇴계를 중심으로 한 16세기 조선성리학의 형성 과정을 밀도 있게 재구성할 수 있으며 그 구체적인 내용에 대해 좀 더 체계적이고 생생하게 접근할 수 있다. 퇴계의 서찰은 또한 당대의 생생한 생활상을 담고 있다. 특히 그간의 문집 편찬에서 산절(刪節) 및 산거(刪去)된 부분들에는 그러한 생활사적 기록들이 다수 포함되어 있다. 󰡔정본 퇴계전서(定本 退溪全書)󰡕 편성 사업을 통해 그러한 부분들이 거의 모두 복원됨으로써 관련 연구를 위한 유용한 자료를 확보하게 되었다고 할 수 있다.Currently, the total number of the letters of Toegye(退溪) Yi Hwang(李滉) amounts to 3,118. They preserve the philosophy and the life of Toegye. Considering the status of Toegye in Korean Neo-Confucian History, their importance is indisputable. Toegye expressed his life and philosophy through them which are communicated with his contemporaries including government officials, friends, rival scholars, disciples, and family members. And through this act of communication, he was able to form a scholarly or academic community. Through the study of them, we can densely reconstruct the formation of the 16th-century Korean Neo-Confucianism focusing on Toegye and provide a more systematic and vivid approach to it. Toegye’s letters are also of value as a living and life-historical record of the time. In particular, the discarded or erased parts of them include many such life-historical records. Almost all of these parts have been restored through Jeongbon Toegye Jeonseo(定本 退溪全書, Completed Works of Toegye) project, which provides useful data for related research.

The Four–Seven Debate of Korean Neo-Confucianism and the Moral Psychological and Theistic Turn in Korean Philosophy

This paper discusses how Korean Neo-Confucian philosophers in the Joseon dynasty (1392–1910) explained the moral nature of the mind and its emotions. Among the philosophical debates of Korean Neo-Confucianism, the author of the paper focuses on the Four–Seven Debate (a philosophical debate about the moral psychological nature of the four moral emotions and the seven morally indiscrete emotions) to analyze its li–qi metaphysics (a philosophical explanation of the universe through the intricate and interactive relation between the two cosmic processes, li and qi) and its conflicting viewpoints on the moral psychological nature of emotion. Because of the ambiguities and inconsistencies in the Neo-Confucian explanation, specifically those of the Cheng–Zhu schools of Neo-Confucianism on the nature and functions of the mind, Korean Neo-Confucians struggled to bring Neo-Confucian li–qi metaphysics to the moral and practical issues of the human mind and moral cultivation. Later in the Joseon dynasty, some Korean Neo-Confucians discussed the fundamental limitations of li–qi metaphysics and developed their explanations for the goodness of the moral mind and the world from an alternative (i.e., theistic) viewpoint.

An Encounters of Early Korean Christianity and Neo-Confucianism

An Encounters of Early Korean Christianity and Neo-Confucianism

Existential Dimensions of Korean Neo-Confucianism: The Status of Emotions in the Four-Seven Debate

This article presents an existential reading of the famous Four-Seven Debate ( Siqi Lunzheng 四七論爭). In particular, it approaches the Debate with specific attention to the ways in which it isolated and problematized the human individual situation in communal life. It attempts to analyze the diverse perspectives that were brought into the Debate, and to demonstrate that there was a sophisticated system, with many variations and movements, that informed Korean understandings of how to manage emotions as within the context of sage learning ( shengxue 聖學). This study also seeks to uncover the underlying therapeutic measures for treating wayward emotions that were an underlying component at play in all of the important contributions made throughout the many twists and turns within the Debate.

On the Dual Aspects of Chu Hsi's Mind-Nature-Sentiment Theory and Korean Neo-Confucianism

On the Dual Aspects of Chu Hsi's Mind-Nature-Sentiment Theory and Korean Neo-Confucianism

Korean Religions in Relation: Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity ed. by Anselm K. Min

Reviewed by: Korean Religions in Relation: Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity ed. by Anselm K. Min Halla Kim Korean Religions in Relation: Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity, edited by Anselm K. Min, Albany: SUNY Press, 2016, 319 pp. This interesting and pioneering collection of essays by Anselm K. Min displays a gamut of strong interest in Buddhism, Confucianism, and Christianity as found in Korean religious traditions. What is most distinctive about this essay collection is its relational approach. Unlike other books or anthologies in the field, this work considers Korean religions "in their mutual relations" (p. 1), relations chiefly involving "conflict and exclusion, practical accommodation, assimilation and dialogues" (p. 2). Notably, Shamanism, the traditional Korean animism, is not covered in the book (the editor himself regretfully acknowledges omitting it due to limitations of time and space). Also conspicuously lacking is any discussion of religions during the early period of Korean history, i.e., the Three Kingdoms and Unified Silla periods. The essays are divided into four parts following a tribute to Professor Wi Jo Kang, a preface, and the editor's introduction. Part I contains chapters by Jongmyung Kim and A. Charles Muller. In chapter 2, entitled "Interactions between Buddhism and Confucianism in Medieval Korea," Kim provides valuable insights into the medieval kingdom of Koryŏ. A conventional view among scholars is that Koryŏ was a Buddhist state and that Buddhism dominated all aspects of its life. Kim surprisingly emphasizes that Koryŏ was a Confucian state rather than an exclusively Buddhist one. Deploying many historical examples, Kim argues that Confucianism served as the state ideology of medieval Korea, while Buddhism, the dominant religion, lent support to Confucian values such as loyalty and filial piety (p. 38). In chapter 3, "Philosophical Aspects of the Koryŏ-Chosŏn Confucian-Buddhist Confrontation: Focusing on the Works of Chŏng Tojŏn (Sambong) and Hamhŏ Tŭktong (Kihwa)," A. Charles Muller diligently analyzes Chŏng's Pulssijapbyŏn, discussing his attack on Buddhism, which he condemns as [End Page 221] dangerous to society because of its nihilistic and escapist antisocial inclinations. This is followed by a discussion of Kihwa's defense of Buddhism. Kihwa complains that the Confucian practice of killing animals is not consistent with its theory of ren/jen (humaneness), and the interdependent unity of all things. Muller also emphasizes the importance of the conceptual pair of "essence-function" in Kihwa's thought, i.e., the underlying foundation of things and its correlative manifested state. This paves the way for Kihwa's inclusivist approach, according to which Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism are all just different ways of expressing the same fundamental reality. Part II treats the encounter between Confucianism and Catholicism. In chapter 4, "Catholic God and Confucian Morality: A Look at the Theology and Ethics of Korea's First Catholics," Don Baker carefully delineates two key factors behind the adoption of Catholicism by some eighteenth-century Korean Neo-Confucians. The first was the effect of the dramatic increase in the death rate, which he documents using demographic data. Second, there was recognition of a large gap between professed Neo-Confucian ideals and their failed application to reality, a realization primed by the Southerners' emphasis on human moral frailty. We can see that the profound transformation in worldview accompanying conversion to Catholicism did not weaken the adherence to Confucian ethics of such Koreans as Paul Yoon. In particular, their emphasis on the virtues of filial piety and loyalty clearly demonstrates their commitment to the "core ethical values of their (Confucian) culture" (p. 112). In Chapter 5, "On the Family Resemblance of Philosophical Paradigm: Between Tasan's Thought and Matteo Ricci's Tianzhu shiyi," Yong-bae Song compares Matteo Ricci's True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven (Tianzhu shiyi) to Tasan's Neo-Confucian thought. In particular, Song shows how Tasan, while ultimately rejecting Catholicism, is still influenced by Ricci's presentation of Western Learning, particularly the Aristotelianism of the True Meaning.As a result, for the first time in East Asia, Tasan forcibly argued that moral evil does not spring from the qi-related desires of the body, but is rather the product of the mind and its free will (kwŏnhyŏng). Ricci clearly tried...

Academic Trends within Nineteenth-Century Korean Neo-Confucianism*

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.

Individual & Community in Korean Neo-Confucianism

Individual & Community in Korean Neo-Confucianism

A Research Methodology for Korean Neo-Confucianism

This article suggests a new research methodology for Korean Neo-Confucianism. In order to do this, we need first to be clear about the nature of Korean Neo- Confucianism in relation to the question of whether it can be legitimately called philosophy in the Western sense of the term. In this article, I shall focus on the following questions: (1) Is there such a thing as world or universal philosophy? (2) Can Korean Neo-Confucianism be considered to be world philosophy? (3) What is the reason for the Western rejection of non-Western thought as philosophy? And (4) what conditions are required for Korean Neo-Confucianism to remain as a science which is understandable to the ordinary man of reason? I offer a negative answer to (1) for the reason that there is no consensus on the definition of philosophy itself. And if there is no such philosophy, we do not have to be concerned with (2). In relation to (3), I examine Defoort who blames the rejection of the existence or legitimacy of Chinese philosophy on Western chauvinism or ethnocentrism. Unlike Defoort, I consider that the rejection is rather due to Western indifference to, or ignorance of, East Asian traditions of thought. The main contention here is that, although there is no such thing as world philosophy, contemporary Korean Neo-Confucian scholars still need to satisfy a number of basic conditions to make Korean Neo-Confucianism a science worthy of discussion in the future. In answer to (4), I here suggest consistency, validity, and conceptual clarity as such conditions. They are in general called logical elements since they are most commonly found in Western books on logic, but they are in effect “commonsensical” in that they are basic elements required in everyday conversation. It is hoped that the conditions should not be taken as a repetition of a controversy over the definition of philosophy, but simply as a “commonsensical” suggestion to write various traditions of thought in a “commonsensical” way.

The State of the Art: Korean Neo-Confucian Philosophy

The State of the Art: Korean Neo-Confucian Philosophy

A Study on Ha-seo's Philosophical Thought: The Emergence of Chih-Chüeh Theory and His Role in the History of Korean Neo-Confucianism

A Study on Ha-seo's Philosophical Thought: The Emergence of Chih-Chüeh Theory and His Role in the History of Korean Neo-Confucianism

Two Aspects of Approaching the Venerate Humanity in Korean Neo-Confucianism

Two Aspects of Approaching the Venerate Humanity in Korean Neo-Confucianism