Korean Confucianism
Encyclopedia
Confucianism
Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius . Confucianism originated as an "ethical-sociopolitical teaching" during the Spring and Autumn Period, but later developed metaphysical and cosmological elements in the Han...
developed in Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
. One of the most substantial influences in Korean intellectual history was the introduction of Confucian
Confucius
Confucius , literally "Master Kong", was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period....
thought as part of the cultural influence
Culture of China
Chinese culture is one of the world's oldest and most complex. The area in which the culture is dominant covers a large geographical region in eastern Asia with customs and traditions varying greatly between towns, cities and provinces...
from China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. Today the legacy of Confucianism remains a fundamental part of Korean society, shaping the moral system, the way of life, social relations between old and young, high culture, and is the basis for much of the legal system. Confucianism in Korea is sometimes considered a pragmatic way of holding a nation together without the civil wars and internal dissent that was inherited from the Goryeo
Goryeo
The Goryeo Dynasty or Koryŏ was a Korean dynasty established in 918 by Emperor Taejo. Korea gets its name from this kingdom which came to be pronounced Korea. It united the Later Three Kingdoms in 936 and ruled most of the Korean peninsula until it was removed by the Joseon dynasty in 1392...
dynasty, and before.
Goryeo Dynasty Confucianism
King GwangjongGwangjong of Goryeo
Gwangjong was the fourth emperor of Goryeo.Goryeo met the time of change by ascending of Gwangjong. At his early stage as ruler, he maintained a passive attitude to nobles. However, he became more and more drastic. Choi Seung-Ro said that his regime can be divided into three parts. First is the...
created the national civil service examinations
Gwageo
The gwageo were the national civil service examinations under the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties of Korea. Typically quite demanding, these tests measured candidates' knowledge of the Chinese classics, and sometimes also of technical subjects...
, and King Seongjong
Seongjong of Goryeo
Seongjong of Goryeo was the sixth monarch of the medieval Korean kingdom Goryeo. He was the second son of Daejong, and a grandson of Emperor Taejo. He ascended the throne after Gyeongjong stepped down....
was a key figure in establishing Confucianism. King Seongjong established Gukjagam
Gukjagam
The Gukjagam, known at times as Gukhak or Seonggyungwan, was the highest educational institution of the Korean Goryeo dynasty. It was located at the capital, Gaegyeong , and provided advanced training in the Chinese classics. It was established in 992 during the reign of Seongjong...
. Gukjagam was the highest educational institution of the Goryeo dynasty. This was facilitated by the establishment, in 1398, of the Sunggyungwan – an academy with a Confucian curriculum – and the building of an altar at the palace, where the king would worship his ancestors.
Neo-Confucianism in the Joseon dynasty
Under JoseonJoseon Dynasty
Joseon , was a Korean state founded by Taejo Yi Seong-gye that lasted for approximately five centuries. It was founded in the aftermath of the overthrow of the Goryeo at what is today the city of Kaesong. Early on, Korea was retitled and the capital was relocated to modern-day Seoul...
Neo-Confucianism, or seongnihak, there was even greater encouragement of Confucian ideas and ideals such as chung or loyalty; hyo or filial piety; in or benevolence; and sin or trust.
During the Joseon Dynasty
Joseon Dynasty
Joseon , was a Korean state founded by Taejo Yi Seong-gye that lasted for approximately five centuries. It was founded in the aftermath of the overthrow of the Goryeo at what is today the city of Kaesong. Early on, Korea was retitled and the capital was relocated to modern-day Seoul...
, from 1392 on, Confucianism was the primary system of belief amongst the scholarly yangban
Yangban
The yangban were part of the traditional ruling class or nobles of dynastic Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. The yangban were either landed or unlanded aristocracy who comprised the Korean Confucian idea of a "scholarly official." In reality, they were basically administrators and bureaucrats who...
classes and generals. Koreans historically have found religions natural and easy, and have maintained an overlap between all religions – the Yi family generals, thus restrained Buddhism, maintained shamanism
Shamanism
Shamanism is an anthropological term referencing a range of beliefs and practices regarding communication with the spiritual world. To quote Eliade: "A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be: shamanism = technique of ecstasy." Shamanism encompasses the...
in rural areas, but encouraged Confucianism for its use in administration and social regulation; as well as integrating a civilised society very quickly on Chinese bureaucratic models to increase cultural transference from China.
Korean Confucian schools were built, all of which had foreign educated scholars, large libraries, patronage of artisans and artists, and a curriculum based on Confucian ideals. Thus by the time of King Sejong (ruled 1418–1450), all branches of learning were rooted in this way of thinking although branches of Buddhism in Korea were still let to grow outside of the major political centres in a tolerance of other kinds of worship. The Korean Confucian curriculum of 13 to 15 major works, and exegetical commentary was extensive.
Confucianism in Joseon Korea flourished most notably in the 16th century. Jo Gwang-jo's efforts to promulgate neo-Confucianism
Neo-Confucianism
Neo-Confucianism is an ethical and metaphysical Chinese philosophy influenced by Confucianism, that was primarily developed during the Song Dynasty and Ming Dynasty, but which can be traced back to Han Yu and Li Ao in the Tang Dynasty....
among the populace were followed by appearance of Korea's two most prominent Confucian scholars. Yi Hwang
Yi Hwang
Yi Hwang is one of the two most prominent Korean Confucian scholars of the Joseon Dynasty, the other being his younger contemporary Yi I . A key figure of the Neo-Confucian literati, he established the Yeongnam School and set up the Dosan Seowon, a private Confucian academy. Yi Hwang is often...
(1501–1570) and Yi I
Yi I
Yi I was one of the two most prominent Korean Confucian scholars of the Joseon Dynasty, the other being his older contemporary, Yi Hwang . Yi I is often referred to by his pen name Yulgok...
(1536–1584), who are often referred to by their pen names Toe gye and Yul gok, are commemorated today on South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
's 1,000- and 5,000-Won
South Korean won
The won is the currency of South Korea. A single won is divided into 100 jeon, the monetary subunit. The jeon is no longer used for everyday transactions, and appears only in foreign exchange rates...
notes respectively, and in the names of major thoroughfares in central Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
.
As the Joseon dynasty lasted more than five centuries, a rough division of the progression of Korean confucianism is this:
- First century: Governmental administration confucianised
- Second century: Golden age of Confucian philosophers
- Third century: Development of patrilineal lineage system based on power wielded by the eldest son
- Fourth century: Confucian mysticism and seeking of sage-like qualities in ruling classes
- Fifth century: Confucian system breaks down when faced with western encounters, collapse of Qing DynastyQing DynastyThe Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
, and Japanese invasions; Confucianism goes underground, to await a revival in the sixth century republican period.
Beginning in the late 17th century, some Confucians began to react to the metaphysical nature of Neo-Confucianism. These scholars advocated more practical social reforms, in a movement known as Silhak
Silhak
Silhak was a Korean Confucian social reform movement in late Joseon Dynasty. Sil means "actual" or "practical," and hak means "studies" or "learning." It developed in response to the increasingly metaphysical nature of Neo-Confucianism that seemed disconnected from the rapid agricultural,...
.
Contemporary society and Confucianism
Today, the landscape of Confucian schools, templesTemple of Confucius
A Temple of Confucius or Confucian temple is a temple devoted to the memory of Confucius and the sages and philosophers of Confucianism.- History :...
, places of ancestral worship, and scholarship have been minimized, if not put to the side as historical artifacts worthy only of tourists, scholars, or neglected preservation. However, Confucian values arguably still have an immense influence on the psyche of the Korean people. Moreover, Confucianism is not necessarily regarded as a religion, allowing one to be a Taoist, Christian, or Buddhist and still profess Confucian beliefs.
Strong elements of Confucian thought still exist in day-to-day administrative and organizational hierarchies, but the fixtures and services which brought these into being have disappeared. With Confucianism taken out of the school curricula and removed from the daily life of Koreans, the sense that something essential to Korean history is missing led to a rebirth of Confucianism in the late 1990s. Foreign scholars have also developed an interest in Korean Confucianism as an overriding element of governance that maintained a newly-arisen elite within Korea dependent on all the cohesive devices of Confucianism from the 14th century onwards.
Culturally, the arts still maintain major traditions: Korean pottery
Korean pottery
Korean ceramic history begins with the oldest earthenware from around 8000 BC.-Three Kingdoms pottery:-Goryeo Dynasty porcelain:The Goryeo Dynasty achieved the unification of the Later Three Kingdoms under King Taejo...
, the Korean tea ceremony
Korean tea ceremony
The Korean tea ceremony or darye is a traditional form of tea ceremony practiced in Korea. Darye literally refers to "etiquette for tea" or "day tea rite" and has been kept among Korean people for a few thousand years...
, Korean gardens
Korean gardens
A Korean garden is natural, simple, and unforced, they are less formal and seek to merge with the natural world. They have a history that goes back more than two thousand years, but is little known in the west...
, and Korean flower arrangement
Korean flower arrangement
Korean flower arrangement is being revived as an indoor art, and most often uses simple Joseon dynasty whiteware to highlight various kinds of Korean flowers and tree branches in elegant but unforced natural arrangements...
follow Confucian principles and a Confucian aesthetic. Scholarly calligraphy and the most serious poetry again continue, in much fewer numbers, this heritage. In films, school stories of manners and comic situations within educational frames fit well into the satires on Confucianism from earlier writings. Loyalty to school and devotion to teachers is still an important genre in popular comedies.
Korean Confucian art
Korean Confucian artKorean Confucian art
Korean Confucian art took strong hold with the Yi generals who set in place the Joseon dynasty which distinguished itself in many ways by promoting Confucian thought as the basis for a new national vision...
and philosophy had great and deep effects on the Korean culture.
Confucian ceremonies
The most important ceremonies of Korean Confucianism were those that celebrated the coming of age, marriage, death, as well as the anniversary of the death of the ancestors. Funerals had the greatest impact on the lives of ordinary people.Although Confucianism is no longer the ruling ideology, its influence on the contemporary Korean society is not difficult to spot.
The future of Korean Confucianism
Contemporary Confucianists are attempting to bring back a Confucian based college or university that will educate a new generation of scholars. In many cases older temples are being restored by cities for tourist purposes.See also
- Article 809 of the Korean Civil CodeArticle 809 of the Korean Civil CodeArticle 809 of the Korean Civil Code was the codification of a traditional rule prohibiting marriage between men and women who have the same surname and ancestral home. On 16 July 1997, the Constitutional Court of Korea ruled the article unconstitutional...
- Korean BuddhismKorean BuddhismKorean Buddhism is distinguished from other forms of Buddhism by its attempt to resolve what it sees as inconsistencies in Mahayana Buddhism. Early Korean monks believed that the traditions they received from foreign countries were internally inconsistent. To address this, they developed a new...
- Korean culture
- Korean TaoismKorean TaoismTaoism was introduced to Korea from China during the Three Kingdoms period, and remains as a minor but significant element of Korean thought...
- List of Korea-related topics
- MunmyoMunmyoMunmyo is Korea's primary Confucian shrine...
- Religion in KoreaReligion in KoreaReligion in Korea encompasses a number of different traditions. Traditional Buddhism, Mugyo with a background of Korean Confucianism and later Christianity all play a role in Korea's religious tradition...
- SilhakSilhakSilhak was a Korean Confucian social reform movement in late Joseon Dynasty. Sil means "actual" or "practical," and hak means "studies" or "learning." It developed in response to the increasingly metaphysical nature of Neo-Confucianism that seemed disconnected from the rapid agricultural,...