Royal Succession Research Articles

고구려 초기 왕위계승의 원칙과 차대왕의 政變

This paper analyzed the process of King Ch’adae (Susŏng)’s accession to the throne, which was understood as one of the coups in the Early Period of Koguryŏ, and discussed the correlation with the rules of royal successions. First, it examined previous studies about the rules of royal successions in this period, as well as various issues related to this. Although discussion is still required to define 'sibling succession' as the basic rule or principle of royal successions in this period, this paper viewed that paternal succession was the basic principle of royal succession. Also, levirate in Koguryŏ, which was understood as a tradition closely related to sibling succession, was in fact a custom to supplement paternal succession of the royal family in a broad sense. The crucial and distinct element of levirate was that children between the union of younger brother and sister-in-law was considered as the heir of dead brother. Therefore, even if a king’s younger brother succeeded the throne, the dead elder brother’s son was to succeed the throne after the younger brother. Susŏng, the younger brother of King T’aejo, was also supposed to succeed the throne but hand the throne to King T’aejo’s sons in order to maintain the lineage of his brother. Susŏng’s coup d'état was, in this sense, to forcibly take the throne and secure the royal lineage that would continue to his direct descendants.

The Mencian theory of royal succession

AbstractThis paper aims to construct a comprehensive theory of royal succession of Mencius. Basically, there are three distinct modes of royal succession described in the Mencius: abdication, hereditary succession, and revolution. Abdication involves the voluntary transfer of power by the incumbent ruler to a virtuous minister. Hereditary succession entails the transmission of power to the son of the incumbent ruler. Revolution marks the foundation of a new dynasty by deposing the incumbent ruler. What are their exact relationships? In contrast to hereditary succession, which represents “rule by heredity,” abdication and revolution are often categorized together as “rule by virtue,” which became the backbone of the Confucian virtue politics. However, Mencius' writings, especially 5A5 and 5A6, suggest his clear intention to establish a coherent, or at least, compatible relationship between abdication and hereditary succession. This paper analyzes Mencius' discussions on royal succession to elucidate how he perceived the connection between abdication and hereditary succession, and to explore why he considered revolution as a separate category. In this study, I refer to the former as the “entrenched‐trust model” and distinguish the latter as “anticipated‐trust model.” The final section of the paper compares the three modes of royal succession in terms of the nature of the people's trust, the susceptibility of the people's approval, and the candidate's disinterest in power.

Shang dynasty's “nine generations chaos” and the reign of Wu Ding: towards a unilineal line of transmission of royal power

AbstractThis article explores the political crisis before Wu Ding. The accession of king Wu Ding to the throne was not a given but the result of a political move by his father Xiao Yi. It must be seen as one of the consequences of an earlier political crisis named the “nine generations chaos” by Sima Qian, during which an attempt to share royal power between two royal lines finally collapsed and led to a move by Pan Geng to a new capital. This new city has recently been discovered north of the Huai river. The political crisis of the time led Shang kings to try to implement a unilineal system of succession. Other steps, ritual in particular, were involved after the reign of the king Zu Jia, one of the reigning sons of Wu Ding, in order to ensure the primacy of the unilineal system of royal succession.

Argumentative Uses of ‘Otherness‘ and ‘Foreignness‘ in Pre-Modern Political Debates in Central Europe

The article investigates political debates about royal succession and noble participation in fifteenth-century Hungary. The political language of that time was often marked by strong references to ‘own’ (seemingly ‘national’) identities and aspects of ‘foreignness’ that were regarded as (or at least argumentatively marked as) unwelcome. While references like this have been interpreted as supposed proof of a pre-modern form of xenophobia, this article suggests analysing the complexity of political structures, the various layers of communication with different legitimation strategies, and forms of conflict escalation. Drawing from recent sociological studies, medieval discourses and semantics of ‘foreignness’ can then be understood as means of shaping identities and legitimizing claims for societal participation.

Comments

Cline in an NPR interview, cited in his contribution here, stated: “Every society in the history of the world has ultimately collapsed.” Every society? Does the “collapse” of a government (the fall of a dynasty) also mean the end of a cultural tradition? If the term “collapse” is not specifically clarified (see Middleton 2017), it is difficult to analyze different trajectories of change in social and political systems, which may be only loosely linked, and to evaluate changes or lack of changes in cultural institutions, the latter of which might lead to political regeneration (Schwartz and Nichols 2006).In order to consider the events and processes of the twelfth century BCE, which is what Cline studies, one must, of course, understand, or strive to understand, what “societies” were like, how they were governed, what local social organizations were in place, what kinds of economies, especially agricultural systems, existed and how they functioned under demands of rulers, what sorts of social and economic inequalities characterized these societies—in the centuries (few or many) before the twelfth century.In a recent volume I happened to edit (Yoffee 2019), the authors investigate the degrees of fragility in a variety of ancient states, that is, the lack of “integration” in ancient states; the structural complexity in these ancient states was far from being directed by beneficent rulers and their efficient administrations (see for more recent examples, Scott 1999). Toward the end of the second millennium BCE, there was hardly a degree of stability in the Middle Babylonian state and in the Middle Assyrian state, and there were major conflicts between the two states; political assassinations and contests over royal succession was the order of the time, and economic systems were disrupted; the Hittite state was battling for hegemony in Anatolia, and there was turmoil in later New Kingdom Egypt.Some studies of collapse simply assume that ancient states were stable until something bad happened, usually climate/environmental change (whether caused by humans or not) or because enemies overwhelmed them, or many things were happening at once (Cline’s “perfect storm” of processes). If states in ancient western Asia were highly unstable, composed of various social and ethnic groups and riven by rebellions and resistance, perhaps fragmentation was not an unexpected outcome. Indeed, the course of political fragmentation, social change, and demographic flux in earlier Mesopotamian history can be traced (Yoffee and Seri 2019).Of course, as Cline says, new or recurring factors of droughts, area-wide social unrest, piracy, and longer and shorter movements of people were historical factors that also led to the failure of cities and governments in the last centuries of the second millennium BCE. New constellations of power emerged in western Asia, and formerly small-scale confederations were able to establish their independence from the great powers, however fragile those had been. And in the aftermath of “collapse” new ideologies and belief-systems could be invented and take root.

The Life of Abdur Rahman, Amir of Afghanistan, G.C.B., G.C.S.I. Composition, Reception, and Influence on the Historiography of Afghanistan

The fin-de-siècle Afghan amir, ‘Abd al-Rahman Khan (r. 1880–1901), is noted for many things, among which is the two-volume work The Life of Abdur Rahman, Amir of Afghanistan (1900), promoted by its editor, Sultan Mahomed Khan, and publisher as the amir’s “autobiography.” It was also said to have represented the amir’s authentic views on numerous topics—royal succession, administrative and judicial organization, economic policy, Afghanistan’s society, and the country’s international relations. That the work contained autobiographical elements is beyond question. However, The Life of Abdur Rahman (henceforward The Life), drew only selectively on known autobiographical elements and omitted or distorted much of what it drew from its main source, a “book of advice” ( Pandnāmah-i dunya wa dīn). A great deal of the historiography relating to this formative period in Afghanistan, especially its relations with the Russian and British empires, is based not on the amir’s own words but rather on those that Sultan Mahomed Khan put in his mouth and reflect the editor’s and not the amir’s thoughts. The Life has had a distorting effect on the historiography, both Euro-American and Afghan, of this period. The object here is to establish the autobiographical legacy of Amir ‘Abd al-Rahman Khan; the writing and publication of The Life and its translations, its reception by critics and scholars, and thus its impact on the writing of Afghanistan’s history. In a separate study, we deal in detail with Sultan Muhammad Khan’s treatment of the most important autobiography of the amir’s life up to his taking the throne in July 1880, his Pandnāmah-i dunyā wa dīn. 1

The Korean Vernacular Story: Telling Tales of Contemporary Chosŏn in Sinographic Writing

The Korean Vernacular Story: Telling Tales of Contemporary Chosŏn in Sinographic Writing

Angel and Sovereign: Henry VII’s Royal Coins, Legitimation, and Relics of Power

The introduction of the <em>angel</em> and later the Tudor <em>sovereign</em> gold coins in the late 1400s became part of a political rhetoric aimed at mediating the king’s image, power, and wealth. However, it also played a part in the legitimation of the Tudor dynasty during the later stages of the Wars of the Roses, a time of Yorkist pretenders and foreign opposition to Henry VII’s reign. As only the rightful king was believed to have the gift of healing, Henry VII appropriated both coins and ritual from the Plantagenet dynasty associated with the sanctity of kingship. Ordinary objects bearing the King’s image were imbued by the people with supernatural and political powers. How could the religious function of contact relics also facilitate the use of the non-religious Tudor gold <em>sovereign</em> and other denominations by mimicking the iconography and ritual use of the <em>angel</em>? And how were these coins used as part of political rhetoric to legitimate the claim for the throne to support a myth of royal succession and prove Tudor right by appealing to the public? This article argues that the coins created and empowered the King with saintly abilities, granting the object carrying the King’s image a reliclike power, further fusing the image with people’s belief in the legitimate King’s God-given power of healing. The visual migration or transfer of an image’s symbolic properties, in this case the transference of its sacred properties to secular objects, mediated both the literal and conceptual image of the King as part of political legitimation against the Yorkist pretenders and foreign powers

The frequency of misattributed paternity in Sweden is low and decreasing: A nationwide cohort study.

The occurrence of misattributed paternity has consequences throughout society with implications ranging from inheritance and royal succession to transplantation. However, its frequency in Sweden is unknown. To estimate the contemporary frequency of misattributed paternity in Sweden. The study was based on nationwide ABO blood group data and a nationwide register of familial relationships in Sweden. These data were analysed using both a frequentist Poisson model and the Bayesian Gibbs model. The conduct of the study was approved by the regional ethics committee in Stockholm, Sweden (reference numbers 2018/167-31 and 2019-04656). Nearly two million mother-father-offspring family units were included. Overall, the frequency of misattributed paternity was estimated at 1.7% in both models. Misattributed paternity was more common among parents with low educational levels, and has decreased over time to a current 1%. The misattributed paternity rate is similar to the rates in other West European populations. Apart from widespread societal implications, studies on heritability may consider misattributed paternity as a minor source of error.

Brunei in 2020

In common with other countries around the world, Brunei Darussalam has had to deal with the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid19) pandemic and its consequences. By the end of 2020, Brunei had navigated the pandemic storm successfully by keeping its social compact intact, achieving a relatively buoyant economy, exhibiting a balanced foreign policy through strategic hedging, and keeping the country secure through defense diplomacy. Ending 2020 in great shape places Brunei in good stead for assuming the chairmanship of ASEAN and future royal succession.

孝成王代의 정치·외교적 動向과 景德王으로의 왕위 계승

孝成王代의 정치·외교적 動向과 景德王으로의 왕위 계승

Royal Succession and the Politics of Religious Purification in Contemporary Thailand

ABSTRACT In response to a dual crisis of legitimacy, ruling political elites in Thailand have, since the 2014 military coup, been engaged in a variety of initiatives aimed at reforming the relationship between the state and the Buddhist monkhood. These efforts were intensified after the death of King Bhumibol in October 2016 and the ascension to the throne by King Vajiralongkorn. Through amendments to the Sangha Act that invoke “ancient royal traditions,” repression of “corrupt” elements and disciplinary measures that separate monks from “worldly” affairs, the military-monarchical state has asserted domination over the ecclesiastical realm. These developments should be understood as part of a concerted effort to “purify” Buddhism ahead of the royal coronation, in which the Buddhist ecclesiastical hierarchy was employed to sacralise the new king and his reign. In a longer-term perspective, they represent an attempt to reverse the perceived hollowing out of the sangha and to restore institutional Buddhism to its historic role as a central pillar of political legitimation in the Thai political system. Sangha reform furthermore constituted the opening move in a post-Bhumibol game of politics that has amplified a neo-traditionalist and absolutist mode of monarchical government in Thailand and consolidated Vajiralongkorn’s power.

The genesis of dynastic legitimacy in absolutist Siam

ABSTRACT Dynastic succession of kingship is commonly considered a defining characteristic of monarchy. Accordingly, descent though the bloodline is also seen as an essential prerequisite to legitimate claims to the throne. There are, however, no indications that this was the view in early-modern Siam, known since 1939 as Thailand. Rather than royal blood, merit acquired through virtue over many lifetimes according to the Buddhist teachings was understood as legitimizing kingly authority. As merit is not passed on through the bloodline, kingship remained always contestable and both contested successions as well as palace coups were not uncommon. This changed from the mid-nineteenth to the early 20th century, when for the first time in Siamese history succession rules were devised and codified leading to the Palace Law of Succession of 1924. These modern changes to the traditional practice of royal succession in the Kingdom of Siam, can be understood in part as an adoption of foreign practices, in order to appear ‘civilised’ according to European royal norms, against the backdrop of colonial expansion in Southeast Asia. Simultaneously, they can also be seen as a continuation of the long-standing attempts of ruling monarchs to express and extend their authority by determining their own successor.

Translations of State: Ancient Rome and Late Elizabethan Political Thought

This essay reconsiders late Elizabethan political thought by scrutinizing the significance of the Roman state in the passionate controversy about the royal succession. It explains the varied and often contradictory polemical utility of Roman history in contemporary discussions in England and Europe of monarchy and imperial expansion, and then analyzes its deployment in the most daring contemporary succession tract: the Jesuit Robert Persons's A Conference about the Next Succession to the Crowne of Ingland (1595). While A Conference has been traditionally understood to advocate limited elective kingship, this essay demonstrates that its theoretical first part, in which the Roman example underpins a case for popular sovereignty, was open to far more radical readings. Persons's treatise attracted widespread charges of antimonarchism and, in the following century, served republican and Whig enemies of the Stuarts.

Translations of State: Ancient Rome and Late Elizabethan Political Thought

This essay reconsiders late Elizabethan political thought by scrutinizing the significance of the Roman state in the passionate controversy about the royal succession. It explains the varied and often contradictory polemical utility of Roman history in contemporary discussions in England and Europe of monarchy and imperial expansion, and then analyzes its deployment in the most daring contemporary succession tract: the Jesuit Robert Persons’s A Conference about the Next Succession to the Crowne of Ingland (1595). While A Conference has been traditionally under-stood to advocate limited elective kingship, this essay demonstrates that its theoretical first part, in which the Roman example underpins a case for popular sovereignty, was open to far more radical readings. Persons’s treatise attracted widespread charges of antimonarchism and, in the following century, served republican and Whig enemies of the Stuarts

The Winter Duke by Claire Eliza Bartlett

Reviewed by: The Winter Duke by Claire Eliza Bartlett Fiona Hartley-Kroeger Bartlett, Claire Eliza The Winter Duke. Little, 2020 [432p] Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-316-41734-1 $17.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-316-41730-3 $9.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 8-12 On the eve of Ekata's older brother's official designation as heir to the dukedom of Kylma Above, her family falls into a cursed slumber from which they cannot be wakened. As the only remaining legitimate heir, Ekata is quickly maneuvered into place as the next duke, despite her preference for natural history over politics. Now, instead of escaping court to attend university, she must hang onto the throne, try to awaken her stifling, murderous family, and figure out whether the curse is connected with the magic of Kylma Below, a fabulous kingdom underneath the ice the ducal palace stands on. The plot surges along, taking readers between the [End Page 250] winter rose–twined corridors of Kylma Above and into the waters of Kylma Below. Ekata decides to thwart her new would-be suitor, the repellent Sigis, by marrying fierce, beautiful Inkar, one of her brother's prospective brides. The girls' developing friendship and attraction to each other carries a thread of sweetness through the intricate dance of mystery and machinations as Ekata tries both to avoid and consolidate power. Though the political intrigue is under-seasoned, Bartlett (We Rule the Night, BCCB 4/19) nonetheless creates an unusual royal succession crisis in a thrillingly atmospheric fairy-tale world. Sympathetic characters, assured prose, and crystalline imagery make this icy dukedom memorable even after the last page has been turned. Copyright © 2020 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

The departure of the hero in a ship: The intertextuality of Beowulf, Cynewulf and Andreas

This article identifies a new Old English poetic motif, ‘The Departure of the Hero in a Ship’, and discusses the implications of its presence in Beowulf, the signed poems of Cynewulf and Andreas, a group of texts already linked by shared lexis, imagery and themes. It argues that the Beowulf-poet used this motif to frame his work, foregrounding the question of royal succession. Cynewulf and the Andreas-poet then adapted this Beowulfian motif in a knowing and allusive manner for a new purpose: to glorify the church and to condemn its enemies. Investigation of this motif provides further evidence for the intertextuality of these works.Keywords: Old English poetry; Beowulf, Cynewulf; Andreas; Anglo-Saxon literature

Patrimonio real y conflictos sucesorios en el reino vándalo

La instalación del exercitus wandalorum en el norte de Africa y el acceso de la nobleza vándala a la propiedad del suelo (429-442), acontecimientos que en última instancia conducirían a la ruptura de la unidad política del mundo Mediterráneo, se materializaron a costa de un importante sector de la aristocracia senatorial romana y de la curia de Cartago, despojados de sus bienes en beneficio de la élite germana. Por su parte, el linaje real de los asdingos se reservó los más ricos y extensos fundos particulares, entregados a los príncipes en forma de lotes hereditarios, así como los dominios imperiales, hasta entonces destinados a subvenir los gastos de la domus divina o casa de los emperadores y Occidente, y que a partir de este momento pasarían a constituir el patrimonio de la corona vándala. Cada uno de los príncipes asdingos dispuso además de su propia clientela, integrada tanto por elementos romanos como germánicos. Estos grupos de dependientes, concentrados en torno a las distintas casas del linaje real, a menudo entraban en confrontación durante las etapas de luchas sucesorias que periódicamente asolaron el reino, como resultado del mantenimiento del sistema de líneas transversales para regular el acceso al trono. Sería uno de estos conflictos el que en 533 brindase al emperador Justiniano la oportunidad de intervenir militarmente en el norte de Africa y restablecer así la autoridad imperial sobre la región.

ปัจจัยเชิงปฏิกิริยาที่ก่อกำเนิดรัฐบาลแบบคณะรัฐมนตรีและตำแหน่งนายกรัฐมนตรี (Factors in the Emergence of the Executive Branch of English Parliamentary Government)

Thai Abstract: ปจจยเชงปฏกรยาทกอใหเกดรฐบาลแบบคณะรฐมนตรและนายกรฐมนตรขนในองกฤษนนสรปไดเปน 4 ประการ ดงนคอ 1) พฒนาการของการปกครองในองกฤษ 2) ปญหาดานศาสนาในองกฤษ 3) กฎหมายเกยวกบการสบราชสนตวงศ 4) นายโรเบรต วอลโพล การกา เนดขนของรฐบาลแบบคณะรฐมนตรและตาแหนงนายกรฐมนตรในองกฤษนน มไดเกดขนมาดวยปจจยอยางใดอยางหนงแบบปจ จบนทนดวน ทวา เกดจากปจ จยหลากหลายประการทสะสมกนมาและสงผลกระทบตอเนองกนเปนลกโซหรอเรยกวาเปน “ปจจยเชงปฏกรยา” ทาใหเกดขนมาเรม ตงแต “พฒนาการของการปกครองในองกฤษ” ไดสง สมและกอสรางรากฐานรปแบบการปกครองทมรฐสภามการแบงอา นาจใหแกขนนาง เสานาบด รวมถงกอใหเกดการเปลยนแปลงราชวงศตางๆ กระท งมาถงราชวงศทวดอร ซงในชวงนกเปนจดกาเนดของ “ปญหาดานศาสนาในองกฤษ” สงผลใหมการแยกนกายของครสตศาสนาออกมาเปนนกายองกฤษ ทกลายเปนความยดถอและคานยมของชาวองกฤษวาพระมหากษตรยแหงองกฤษจะตองเปนโปรเตสแตนททนบถอนกายองกฤษเทานน ปจจยเชนนเองทกลายเปนสวนหนงของพฒนาการทางการปกครองในองกฤษและกอใหเกด “กฎหมายเกยวกบการสบราชสนตวงศ” ทกา หนดบงคบใหพระมหากษตรยองกฤษตองเปนโปรเตสแตนท และกดกนเชอสายทมสทธใ นราชบลลงกแตเปนโรมนคาทอลกออกไป สงผลกระทบใหเกดราชวงศฮนโนเวอร อนเปนเชอสายทอยในดนแดนของเยอรมนขนมา และภายใตสถานการณยคตนราชวงศฮนโนเวอรนเอง “นายโรเบรต วอลโพล” กเปนผทสามารถยดกมโอกาสทเกดขนเอาไวได สงใหตวเขามฐานะเปนนายกรฐมนตรคนแรกในประวตศาสตรและเปนรากฐานของรฐบาลแบบคณะรฐมนตรมาถงปจจบน English Abstract: Four conspicuous factors can be discerned in the history of the emergence of the executive branch of England’s government in the form of a Cabinet of Ministers and a Prime Minister. These factors can be summarized as: 1) The development of government in England 2) Problematic issues of religion in England 3) English laws of royal succession 4) Mr. Robert Walpole. The creation in England of the executive arm of the government in the form of a cabinet of ministers with one prime minister did not come about as the result of any single cause or action. There were, rather, myriad factors which, taken together, had continuing impact, like a chain reaction. England was governed, and this historical reality built up and formed a foundation for the eventual parliamentary government, including power sharing with the lords. Development occurred through various reigns. When the Tudor came to power, problematic religious issues came to the fore. Religious controversy contributed to divisions among Christian factions, resulting eventually in the dominance in England of Anglican Protestantism. The English Crown and the English people expressed their allegiance to Protestant values. The monarch, in addition to being born into the legitimate line of royal succession, would by law be the chief defender of the Anglican Church. These laws concerning religion were created to exclude the Catholic line of heirs to the succession. The new laws of succession through this religious line had particular impact at the beginning of the reign of England’s Hanoverian kings who originally came from Germany. In that historical situation, Mr. Robert Walpole was able to seize the opportunity and become England’s first Prime Minister. Thus, was laid the foundation of the distinctive executive form of government by Cabinet and Prime Minister in the United Kingdom.

All quiet on the Thai-Cambodian front: Drivers, dynamics, directions

That Thai-Cambodian relations are stable and peaceful after Thailand’s most recent military coup in 2014 is counterintuitive and inconsistent with recent trends and dynamics. When governments loyal to Thaksin Shinawatra took power over the past decade, bilateral relations were cordial and constructive. Conversely, when anti-Thaksin governments were in office, Thai-Cambodian relations became unstable and adversarial. But this has not been the case after the military regime under General Prayut Chan-ocha seized power and overthrew the Thaksin-aligned government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. The dominant strand of scholarly explanations attributes the volatile bilateral relationship to Thai historical forces interacting with domestic politics, underpinned by a ‘national humiliation’ discourse dating to French imperialism. But such an informed understanding is unable to pinpoint the timing and extent of the bilateral conflict when it flared up. Synthesising overlapping streams of literature and drawing on select interviews, this article sets out to demonstrate that the post-coup Thai government’s commitment and resolve to prevail at all costs ahead of the royal succession and the incumbent Cambodian government’s weakened political legitimacy at home have combined to situate and normalise bilateral relations on a new plateau.