DOCSLIB.ORG

Four Yangban Cohesiveness and the Chosŏn Dynasty

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Four Yangban Cohesiveness and the Chosŏn Dynasty four Yangban Cohesiveness and the Chosŏn Dynasty As emerging status boundaries sharpened in late Chosŏn, the yangban status group itself became internally differentiated, cleaving in the seven- teenth and eighteenth centuries into distinct central civil official, central military official, and local yangban kinship groups. Oligarchic central civil official descent lines based in Seoul and its surrounding areas dominated court politics, and the central military official lines played supporting roles. In contrast, local elites throughout Korea, including the southern yangban, experienced exclusion from the central political arena. Did this differentiation lead to the dissolution of the yangban aristoc- racy into three discrete social status groups? In answering this and re- lated questions, we need to remember that scholars of Chosŏn social history regard yangban not so much as a body of incumbent central offi- cials as an ascriptive status group. Song Chun-ho, for example, once noted that regardless of branch affiliation, military examination passers and military officials drawn from local yangban were regarded as social equals by other local yangban, because they all qualified as such in the most fundamental way—by birth.1 By extension, the same was true for the generally officeless local yangban as a whole. Throughout late Chosŏn, personal ties and cultural exchanges con- tinued to bind the central and southern yangban together, in spite of obvious differences in their political stature. The two groups maintained a mutually beneficial relationship. For a southern aristocratic lineage 118 Yangban Cohesiveness and the Chosŏn Dynasty based in a remote provincial county, such ties meant access to the latest news on court politics and foreign affairs, a personal introduction to the new county magistrate or provincial governor, or even an arranged marriage with a Seoul yangban family. In return, local yangban provided their associates in the capital with gifts, supplementing the latter’s official salaries, which were too small to maintain expensive lifestyles in Seoul.2 Of course, these ties do not prove that central civil officials, central military officials, and southern local aristocrats constituted one cohesive status group, the yangban. After all, it is possible that among the three, only the central civil officials retained membership in the bona fide aristocracy, with the others interacting as social inferiors or subordi- nates, in the same way many hereditary local functionaries and technical specialists were able to engage in intellectual exchanges with bona fide yangban.3 In such relationships, a yangban and a chungin could respect each other as intellectual equals, but the disparity in status must have been experienced as real. Furthermore, clear differences in career pat- terns and political power among central civil official, central military official, and southern local yangban make it tempting to declare that the three were distinct status groups.4 Even the officeholding capital yangban lacked cohesion. Hereditary political cleavages, bloody purges, and the factionalization of local pri- vate academies for scholars and officials all indicate that cohesiveness was not the primary feature of yangban society, particularly when it came to politics. Economically, however, we see greater—if not total—unity. Central and local aristocrats alike defended their economic privileges in land and slave ownership, as well as their exemption from military service. For sure, some yangban officials took the side of the state in increasing revenues to finance the government—even going against the general interests of the yangban at times—but such public-minded reformers did not fare well. In sum, differences in factional loyalties and intellectual lineages could supersede the more or less common eco- nomic interests of central and local yangban.5 To determine whether the central civil officials, central military offi- cials, and southern local aristocracy belonged to one cohesive social status group, the yangban, additional criteria are necessity. To that end, I will analyze marriage and adoption practices, genealogical proximity, and the state’s treatment of the aristocracy and others especially as .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Exhibition Brochure
    KOREAN FOLK PAINTINGS, OR MINWHA, DURING THE JOSEON DYNASTY (1392-1910) REVEAL SOME ESSENTIAL VALUES OF KOREAN SOCIETY. USUALLY PLACED IN A ROOM IN FOLDING SCREEN FORMAT OR HUNG ON WALLS IN SCROLL FORMAT, THIS GENRE ILLUSTRATES VARIOUS SUBJECTS SUCH AS SCHOLARS’ EQUIPMENT, CHARACTERS RELATED TO CONFUCIAN VIRTUES, AND NATURAL THEMES SUCH AS BIRDS-AND-FLOWERS AND A RANGE OF OTHER ANIMALS. THESE MINWHA NOT ONLY DECORATED THE ROOMS OF MANY HOUSEHOLDS BUT WERE ALSO UNDERSTOOD TO BRING GOOD LUCK, WARD OFF EVIL SPIRITS, AND DEPICT MORAL VIRTUES. IN CONTRAST TO HIGHLY REVERED LITERATI PAINTING BY YANGBAN, OR UPPER-CLASS SCHOLAR-GENTLEMEN, MINWHA RECEIVED LITTLE RESPECT AS AN ART FORM BUT CONTINUED TO ENJOY STRONG SUPPORT AMONG THE GROWING MIDDLE CLASS DURING PERIODS OF POLITICAL STABILITY. AUSPICIOUS BEAUTY: KOREAN FOLK PAINTING INTRODUCES POPULAR THEMES DEPICTED IN MINWHA AND DISCUSSES THEIR MEANINGS, FUNCTIONS AND THE ROLE OF PATRONS IN THEIR CREATION. Joseon Korea faced many changes politically and socially, which brought about new experiences in cultural life as well. After overthrowing the Goryeo dynasty (918-1392), the kings of the Joseon dynasty professed Confucianism over Buddhism, which had been the state religion of Goryeo Korea. Under Confucian ideology, social order, education and pragmatism became the fundamental ideas holding the nation together. As the Joseon government embarked on an ambitious plan to reform the Shin Saimdang (1504-1551); Sogwa-do (Painting of Vegetables-and- nation into an ideal Confucian society, able rulers such as King Fruit) (Detail); Korea, Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), 16th century; Ink and Sejong (r.1418-50) systematically realized this vision with the mineral pigments on paper; Loaned by Isao Saito inception of the National Code, or Kyongguk Daejon, (completed in 1474), and the invention of the Korean alphabet, hangeul, in 1443.
    [Show full text]
  • Women's Life During the Chosŏn Dynasty
    International Journal of Korean History(Vol.6, Dec.2004) 113 Women’s Life during the Chosŏn Dynasty Han Hee-sook* 1 Introduction The Chosŏn society was one in which the yangban (aristocracy) wielded tremendous power. The role of women in this society was influenced greatly by the yangban class’ attempts to establish a patriarchal family order and a Confucian-based society. For example, women were forced, in accordance with neo-Confucian ideology, to remain chaste before marriage and barred from remarrying once their husbands had passed away. As far as the marriage system was concerned, the Chosŏn era saw a move away from the old tradition of the man moving into his in-laws house following the wedding (男歸女家婚 namgwiyŏgahon), with the woman now expected to move in with her husband’s family following the marriage (親迎制度 ch΄inyŏng jedo). Moreover, wives were rigidly divided into two categories: legitimate wife (ch΄ŏ) and concubines (ch΄ŏp). This period also saw a change in the legal standing of women with regards to inheritance, as the system was altered from the practice of equal, from a gender standpoint, rights to inheritance, to one in which the eldest son became the sole inheritor. These neo-Confucianist inspired changes contributed to the strengthening of the patriarchal system during the Chosŏn era. As a result of these changes, Chosŏn women’s rights and activities became increasingly restricted. * Professor, Dept. of Korean History, Sookmyung Women’s University 114 Women’s Life during the Chosŏn Dynasty During the Chosŏn dynasty women fell into one of the following classifications: female members of the royal family such as the queen and the king’s concubines, members of the yangban class the wives of the landed gentry, commoners, the majority of which were engaged in agriculture, women in special professions such as palace women, entertainers, shamans and physicians, and women from the lowborn class (ch’ŏnin), which usually referred to the yangban’s female slaves.
    [Show full text]
  • Soh-Joseon-Kingdom.Pdf
    Asia-Pacific Economic and Business History Conference, Berkeley, 2011 (Feb. 18-20): Preliminary Draft Institutional Differences and the Great Divergence:* Comparison of Joseon Kingdom with the Great Britain Soh, ByungHee Professor of Economics Kookmin University, Seoul, Korea e-mail: [email protected] Abstract If modern Koreans in the 20th century could achieve a remarkable economic growth through industrialization, why couldn’t their ancestors in Joseon Kingdom in early modern period achieve an industrial revolution at that time? This is the fundamental question of this paper. There existed several social and institutional constraints in Joseon Kingdom (1392-1897 A.D.) in the 17th through 19th centuries that made her industrial development impossible. The strictly defined social classes and the ideology of the ruling class deprived Joseon Kingdom of the entrepreneurial spirit and the incentives to invent new technology necessary for industrial development. Markets and foreign trades were limited and money was not used in transaction until late 17th century. Technicians and engineers were held in low social esteem and there was no patent to protect an inventor’s right. The education of Confucian ethical codes was intended to inculcate loyalty to the ruling class Yangban and the King. The only way to get out of the hard commoner’s life was to pass the national civil service examination to become a scholar-bureaucrat. Joseon Kingdom was a tributary country to Qing Dynasty and as such it had to be careful about technological and industrial development not to arouse suspicion from Qing. Joseon was not an incentivized society while the Great Britain was an incentivized society that was conducive to Industrial Revolution.
    [Show full text]
  • The Samurai Invasion of Korea 1592–98
    CAM198cover.qxd:Layout 1 25/3/08 13:41 Page 1 CAMPAIGN • 198 Accounts of history’s greatest conflicts, detailing the command strategies, tactics and battle experiences of the opposing forces throughout the crucial stages of each campaign 198 • CAMPAIGN THE SAMURAI INVASION OF KOREA THE SAMURAI INVASION 1592–98 OF KOREA 1592–98 OF KOREA 1592–98 THE SAMURAI INVASION The invasions of Korea launched by the dictator Toyotomi Hideyoshi are unique in Japanese history for being the only time that the samurai assaulted a foreign country. Hideyoshi planned to invade and conquer China, ruled at the time by the Ming dynasty, and when the Korean court refused to allow his troops to cross their country, Korea became the first step in this ambitious plan of conquest. Though ultimately ending in failure and retreat, the Japanese armies initially drove the Koreans all the way to China before the decisive victories of Admiral Yi Sunsin and the Korean navy disrupted the Japanese supply routes whilst Chinese armies harried them by land. This book describes the region’s first ‘world war’ that caused a degree of devastation in Korea itself that was unmatched until the Korean War of the 1950s. Full colour battlescenes Illustrations 3-dimensional ‘bird’s-eye-views’ Maps STEPHEN TURNBULL US $19.95 / CAN $22.95 ISBN 978-1-84603-254-7 OSPREY 51995 PUBLISHING 9 781846 032547 O SPREY WWW.OSPREYPUBLISHING.COM STEPHEN TURNBULL ILLUSTRATED BY PETER DENNIS © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com CAM198title.qxd:Layout 1 25/3/08 10:41 Page 1 CAMPAIGN • 198 THE SAMURAI INVASION OF KOREA 1592–98 STEPHEN TURNBULL ILLUSTRATED BY PETER DENNIS Series editors Marcus Cowper and Nikolai Bogdanovic © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com CAM198 Korea final.qxd:Layout 1 25/3/08 13:53 Page 2 First published in Great Britain in 2008 by Osprey Publishing, DEDICATION Midland House, West Way, Botley, Oxford OX2 0PH, UK 443 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016, USA To Richard and Helen on the occasion of their wedding, 23 August 2008.
    [Show full text]
  • Korea 1800-1860: Intellectual and Social Reactions to Western Contacts
    Korea 1800-1860: Intellectual and Social Reactions to Western Contacts Bonnie S. Kim The dawn of the nineteenth century would Sirhak, or practical learning, school of thought bring forth a new era of change, discovery and which advocated new, pragmatic historical method- challenge for the late Chosòn kingdom (1392- ologies based on "scholastic empiricism." Largely in 1910). Western Europeans first came to the response to the dismal conditions of this time, some shores of the Korean peninsula and made signifi- of the Sirhak thinkers were drawn to Catholicism cant contact with its people in this period. The (first introduced to Korea by missionaries in 1784 first such encounter happened in 1787, with the and then known as sohak, or western learning), with arrival of the French ships Boussole and its doctrine of original sin and promise of a "heav- Astrolabe, followed by "visits" by other English enly kingdom on earth." Yet the readiness to accept and French ships in 1799, 1811, 1832, 1845, the teachings of the Catholic Church on the part of 1846 and 1854. These initial Western contacts some of the ordinary people and the Sirhak thinkers coincided with radical transformations within was by no means universal. In fact, the Korean state Korean society in political, socio-economic and banned Catholicism and instituted a series of official intellectual areas. persecutions against Christian converts as well as mis- Political changes are evident in the deteriora- sionaries – in 1801, 1839 and 1866 – to rid the coun- tion of the Korean state apparatus. In 1800, the try of what the ruling élite considered the Western accession of the ten-year-old Sunjo, who was wide- corruption of the Confucianist ideal.
    [Show full text]
  • The Politics of Gender in Colonial Korea
    1p.Yoo, Politics 9/10/07 12:43 PM Page 15 chapter one Women in ChosQn Korea If the family of a scholar’s wife lives in poverty and destitution, there is no reason why she should not work a little if it serves as a means of survival. In so far as raising chicken and ducks, buying and selling soy sauce, vinegar, wine, and oil . securing [her] family’s livelihood should not be her only reason; after all it is one of [her] many sugong [tasks for women]. Yi TQng-mu, SasojQl (A scholar’s minor matter of etiquette), 1775 Innaech’Qn; sa-in yQch’Qn Every human being is an embodiment of heaven; serve every human being as you would serve heaven. Ch’oe Che-u, Yongdam yusa (Hymns from Dragon Pool), 1860 In his 1895 memoir, Henry Savage-Landor describes his first encoun- ters with Korean women upon his arrival in the capital: “I remember how astonished I was during the first few days that I was in Seoul, at the fact that every woman I came across in the streets was just on the point of opening a door and entering a house.... The idea suddenly dawned upon me that it was only a trick on their part to evade being seen.”1 Under the leadership of Yi SQng-gye (1335–1408), the founders of the ChosQn dynasty (1392–1910) had launched a series of social, economic, 15 Copyrighted Material 1p.Yoo, Politics 9/10/07 12:43 PM Page 16 16 / Women in ChosQn Korea and political reforms designed to transform the kingdom into a male- dominated neo-Confucian society.
    [Show full text]
  • 'Hell Joseon' Is More Like It As Economy Flounders
    LUND UNIVERSITY • CENTRE FOR EAST AND SOUTH-EAST ASIAN STUDIES ‘Hell Joseon’ - Tales from a South Korean Youth Trapped Between Past and Present Author: Johan Cornelis Schoonhoven Supervisor: Erik Mobrand Master’s Programme in Asian Studies Spring semester 2017 Abstract This thesis takes its outset in the newly coined expression ‘Hell Joseon’ used by the youth in South Korea. ‘Hell Joseon’ is a comparison between today’s society and the pre-modern Joseon Dynasty. By asking “what are the main characteristics of life in ‘Hell Joseon’ from a youth perspective?”, I arrive at the following conclusion. Life in ‘Hell Joseon’ is highly characterized by discrepancies between rich and poor, old and young, men and women, global and local. This is a peculiar result of Korea’s double-compressed modernity which derives from a colonial legacy, top-down modernization in the post-war era and condensed transition to a neoliberal world economy, also known as the second modernity. Therefore, traditional and (post)modern elements coexist in Korea’s society, and is partly the reason why the youth are now drawing references to the pre-modern Joseon Dynasty. Life in ‘Hell Joseon’ thus implies frustrations over high unemployment rates, a new ‘spoon class’ class division, lack of social mobility, an education fever and a downright “gender war”. More than that, it shows traces of apathy in the fact that the young generation is giving up marriage, children, jobs, hope, housing etc., but also traces of transformation since the ‘Hell Joseon’ discourse have made the youth take it to the streets, last seen in the mass demonstrations against now impeached President Park Geun-hye.
    [Show full text]
  • BRIEF HISTORY of KOREA —A Bird's-Eyeview—
    BRIEF HISTORY OF KOREA —A Bird's-EyeView— Young Ick Lew with an afterword by Donald P. Gregg The Korea Society New York The Korea Society is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) organization with individual and corporate members that is dedicated solely to the promotion of greater awareness, understanding and cooperation between the people of the United States and Korea. In pursuit of its mission, the Society arranges programs that facilitate dis- cussion, exchanges and research on topics of vital interest to both countries in the areas of public policy, business, education, intercultural relations and the arts. Funding for these programs is derived from contributions, endowments, grants, membership dues and program fees. From its base in New York City, the Society serves audiences across the country through its own outreach efforts and by forging strategic alliances with counterpart organizations in other cities throughout the United States as well as in Korea. The Korea Society takes no institutional position on policy issues and has no affiliation with the U.S. government. All statements of fact and expressions of opinion contained in all its publications are the sole responsibility of the author or authors. For further information about The Korea Society, please write The Korea Society, 950 Third Avenue, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10022, or e-mail: [email protected]. Visit our website at www.koreasociety.org. Copyright © 2000 by Young Ick Lew and The Korea Society All rights reserved. Published 2000 ISBN 1-892887-00-7 Printed in the United States of America Every effort has been made to locate the copyright holders of all copyrighted materials and secure the necessary permission to reproduce them.
    [Show full text]
  • Traditional Korea
    CHAPTER l TRADITIONAL KOREA Before we proceed with this account of the culture of contemporary North Korea, it is necessary to describe briefly some outstanding features of the culture of pre-Communist times as a frame of reference for un- derstanding modern conditions. Knowledge of the pre-Communist culture of Korea is useful in another way, since, as later passages will show, the undesirable features of traditional life have been a center of attention in Communist North Korea. The deplorable conditions of former times have been thoroughly exploited as an aid in ideological indoctrination. By "traditional Korea," I mean principally the Yi Dynasty (1392-1910), which was followed by Japanese colonial rule until 1945. Although some important cultural traits including modern technology and social, economic, and political institutions were added during the period of Japanese control, innovations brought by the Japanese appear to have had little effect on the core of the traditional culture. The sketch that follows is based primarily upon early ethnographic descriptions made by Korean scholars and foreign missionaries. During the reign of the Koryo Dynasty (935-1392), which preceded the Yi Dynasty, Buddhism provided the principal ideology for governmental operation. The state was dominated by warriors and Buddhist monks, and scholars were virtually eliminated from positions of political authority. The succeeding Yi Dynasty launched its reign as a reaction against political domination by Buddhism and by warriors. For the scholarly class, which had long been alienated from political power, the founding of the Yi Dynasty was a great victory over the warriors and Buddhist monks. The new ruling class, largely consisting of scholars, enthusiastically adopted Confucianism as a political ideology, particularly Neo-Confucianism as revised by Chu Hsi of the Sung Dynasty of China, and called themselves subjects of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty of China.
    [Show full text]
  • Hwang Jini: an Examination of Life As a Joseon Kisaeng Kayley Edgin Marquette University
    Marquette University e-Publications@Marquette Maria Dittman Library Research Competition: Library (Raynor Memorial Libraries) Student Award Winners 1-1-2013 Hwang Jini: An Examination of Life as a Joseon Kisaeng Kayley Edgin Marquette University Freshman/Sophomore category recipient of the Library's Maria Dittman Award, Spring 2013. This paper was written for History 1501: East Asia. © Kayley Edgin. HIST 1501 Social Biography Kayley Edgin Hwang Jini: An Examination of Life as a Joseon Kisaeng Hwang Jini was a famous Joseon Dynasty kisaeng, likely to have been born around 1506 in the scenic city of Kaesong, now in modern-day North Korea. She was known also by her adopted kisaeng name of Myeongwol, meaning “bright moon”. Details of her birth are inconclusive at best, but it is generally agreed that she was born the illegitimate daughter of a yangban, who, having been seduced by her mother’s beauty and charm, had consented to relations1. Growing up, she was noted for her exceptional beauty and musical prowess, and a story stands that a young man of the village, so distressed by his unrequited love for her, had died of heartbreak. This story is instrumental in the development of a picture of young Jini, because during the young man’s funeral procession, she laid her blouse on the casket as a sign of her regret and sorrow2. This sensitivity to life and the needs of others, combined with her natural beauty and talent, made her an appropriate candidate to become a kisaeng. A kisaeng is an officially sanctioned female entertainer, trained in music, dancing, and poetry composition.
    [Show full text]
  • Songbun North Korea’S Social Classification System
    Marked for Life: Songbun North Korea’s Social Classification System A Robert Collins Marked for Life: SONGBUN, North Korea’s Social Classification System Marked for Life: Songbun North Korea’s Social Classification System Robert Collins The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea 1001 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 435, Washington, DC 20036 202-499-7973 www.hrnk.org Copyright © 2012 by the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 0985648007 Library of Congress Control Number: 2012939299 Marked for Life: SONGBUN, North Korea’s Social Classification System Robert Collins The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea 1001 Connecticut Ave. NW Suite 435 Washington DC 20036 (202) 499-7973 www.hrnk.org BOARD OF DIRECTORS, Jack David Committee for Human Rights in Senior Fellow and Trustee, Hudson Institute North Korea Paula Dobriansky Former Under Secretary of State for Democ- Roberta Cohen racy and Global Affairs Co-Chair, Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution Nicholas Eberstadt Resident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute Andrew Natsios Co-Chair, Carl Gershman Walsh School of Foreign Service Georgetown President, National Endowment for Democracy University, Former Administrator, USAID David L. Kim Gordon Flake The Asia Foundation Co-Vice-Chair, Executive Director, Maureen and Mike Mans- Steve Kahng field Foundation General Partner, 4C Ventures, Inc. Suzanne Scholte Katrina Lantos Swett Co-Vice-Chair, President, Lantos Foundation for Human Rights Chairman, North Korea Freedom Coalition and Justice John Despres Thai Lee Treasurer, President and CEO, SHI International Corp. Consultant, International Financial and Strate- Debra Liang-Fenton gic Affairs Former Executive Director, Committee for Hu- Helen-Louise Hunter man Rights in North Korea, Secretary, The U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • The Songs of Flying Dragons and Frogs from the Bottom of a Deep
    The Songs of Flying Dragons and Frogs from the Bottom of a Deep Well: The Yangban Society, the Sirhak Literati, and the Emergence of Korean National Identity During the Chosŏn Dynasty* BIANCA ANGELIEN ABAN CLAVERIA MA History Department of History, Ateneo de Manila University Abstract Korea’s society during the Chosŏn Dynasty (1392-1910) was embroiled in disorder and confusion, and as the dynasty faced the modern world of the nineteenth century, having a solid national identity was their beacon of light—the country’s key unifying force. In order to appreciate how such national identity emerged, this paper seeks to review the respective influences of the yangban society, the Sirhak literati, and the enlightenment movements of Chosŏn Korea, to the * This paper was awarded as one of the two outstanding papers presented in the conference. 44 identity and modernization of the country. From the rise to power by Yi Sŏng-gye, to the continued influence of the yangban society, and to the emergence of the Sirhak literati and enlightenment movements, each of these are crucial pillars of the Chŏson dynasty legacy. It is significant to consider that though each had distinct initiatives in forming Chŏson’s society, their influence in building and molding the Korean national identity strengthened and prepared its people in facing the uncertainties brought by the modern world—as one nation. After enduring years of military pressure and political instability, both caused by local and foreign forces, the Koryŏ dynasty (918-1392) of Korea finally succumbed to the might of Yi Sŏng-gye, a celebrated military commander who paved the way to the establishment of the Chŏson dynasty (1392-1910) during the 14th century (Lee, K-b., 1984, pp.
    [Show full text]