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A Korean Confucian Way of Life and Thought: The Chasongnok (Record of Self-Reflection) by Yi Hwang (Toegye)

YI Hwang (T’oegye, 1501-1570) is an eminent thinker in the history of Asian philosophy and religion. His Chasŏngnok (Record of self-reflection) is a superb Korean Neo-Confucian text: a special ... More

YI Hwang (T’oegye, 1501-1570) is an eminent thinker in the history of Asian philosophy and religion. His Chasŏngnok (Record of self-reflection) is a superb Korean Neo-Confucian text: a special collection of twenty-two letters to his close disciples and colleagues, as selected by T’oegye himself. It continuously guided his self-reflection and became an inspiring text for others including some leading Japanese Neo-Confucians. Its philosophical merit is as outstanding as his Sŏnghak sipto (Ten diagrams on sage learning) and “Four-Seven Debate Letters”; however, the Chasŏngnok is more interesting and engaging with T’oegye’s holistic knowledge and experience of self-cultivation, thereby revealing the dignity and depth of his character, ethics, and spirituality. This book is an original scholarly work that offers a fully annotated translation of his Chasŏngnok with notes, cross-referencing citations, and interpretive comments. Chung’s Introduction presents a groundbreaking discussion of T’oegye’s life and thought. As the first comprehensive study of the Chasŏngnok, this book is a welcome addition to the current literature on East Asian classics, philosophy, and religion. It discusses T’oegye’s thought-provoking contribution and will shed new light on Confucian wisdom, providing scholars, students, and others with an excellent primary source. It also reminds us about the converging horizon between Confucianism and other spiritual traditions regarding the moral and transcendent truth of human existence.Less

Korea's Great Buddhist-Confucian Debate: The Treatises of Chong Tojon (Sambong) and Hamho Tuktong (Kihwa)

The relationship between Confucianism and Buddhism—long and complex—starts with the earliest period of transmission of Buddhism to China, and continues to develop in various ways throughout East ... More

The relationship between Confucianism and Buddhism—long and complex—starts with the earliest period of transmission of Buddhism to China, and continues to develop in various ways throughout East Asian cultures up through the nineteenth century. There was initially a basic level of compatibility between the two traditions that allowed them to thrive in the same cultural sphere. But their ongoing activity also led to strong competition for the hearts of believers, and for the support of rulers. An important component of this competition was ongoing philosophical debate, which gradually developed in terms of sophistication, most dramatically with the appearance of Song Confucian thinkers such as the Cheng brothers and Zhu Xi, along with new developments in Buddhist thought and practice seen in Huayan and Chan Buddhism. It is in Korea, during the end of Koryŏ and beginning of the Chosŏn dynasties, where the debate between these two traditions reaches its climax, in the writings of the Confucian scholar Chŏng Tojŏn (1342-1398) and the Sŏn Buddhist monk Kihwa (1376-1433). This book provides annotated translations of the major treatises of these two figures, along with a substantial introduction to the major East Asian philosophical developments that both allowed for, and stimulated this debate.Less

Salvation through Dissent: Tonghak Heterodoxy and Early Modern Korea

George L. Kallander

A popular teaching that combined elements of Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, folk beliefs, and Catholicism, Tonghak (Eastern Learning) is best known for its involvement in a rebellion that touched ... More

A popular teaching that combined elements of Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, folk beliefs, and Catholicism, Tonghak (Eastern Learning) is best known for its involvement in a rebellion that touched off the Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) and accelerated Japanese involvement in Korea. The book traces Tonghak's rise amidst the debates over orthodoxy and heterodoxy in Chosŏn Korea (1392–1910) and its impact on religious and political identity from 1860 to 1906. It argues that the teachings of founder Ch'oe Cheu (1824–1864) attracted a large following among rural Koreans by offering them spiritual and material promises to relieve conditions such as poverty and disease, and provided consolation in a tense geo-political climate. Following Ch'oe Cheu's martyrdom, his successors reshaped Tonghak doctrine and practice not only to ensure the survival of the religious community, but also address shifting socio-political needs. Their call for religious and social reforms led to an uprising in 1894 and subsequent military intervention by China and Japan. The book locates the origins of Korea's twentieth-century religious nationalist movement in the aftermath of the 1894 rebellion, the resurgence of Japanese power after the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), and the re-creation of Tonghak as Ch'ŏngogyo (the Religion of the Heavenly Way) in 1905.Less

Reflections of a Zen Buddhist Nun

Kim Iryop

The life and work of Kim Iryŏp (1896–1971) bear witness to Korea's encounter with modernity. A prolific writer, Iryŏp reflected on identity and existential loneliness in her poems, short stories, and ... More

The life and work of Kim Iryŏp (1896–1971) bear witness to Korea's encounter with modernity. A prolific writer, Iryŏp reflected on identity and existential loneliness in her poems, short stories, and autobiographical essays. As a pioneering feminist intellectual, she dedicated herself to gender issues and understanding the changing role of women in Korean society. As an influential Buddhist nun, she examined religious teachings and strove to interpret modern human existence through a religious world view. Originally published in Korea when Iryŏp was in her sixties, this book makes available for the first time in English a rich, intimate, and unfailingly candid source of material with which to understand modern Korea, Korean women, and Korean Buddhism. We see through her thought and life experiences the co-existence of seemingly conflicting ideas and ideals—Christianity and Buddhism, sexual liberalism and religious celibacy, among others. The book challenges readers with Iryŏp's creative interpretations of Buddhist doctrine and her reflections on the meaning of Buddhist practice. In the process it offers insight into a time when the ideas and contributions of women to twentieth-century Korean society and intellectual life were just beginning to emerge from the shadows, where they had been obscured in the name of modernization and nation-building.Less