Seeking Order in a Tumultuous Age: The Writings of Chong Tojon, a Korean Neo-Confucian
Chŏng Tojŏn, one of the most influential thinkers in Korean history, played a leading role in the establishment of the Chosŏn dynasty (1392–1910). Long recognized for his contributions to the development of Neo-Confucianism in Korea, Chŏng was both a prodigious writer and an influential statesman before being murdered in a political coup. Seeking Order in a Tumultuous Age charts Chŏng’s rise to prominence amidst the turmoil of the late fourteenth century, when Korea struggled to come to terms with the political, military, and intellectual changes of an emerging new East Asian international order. In addition to providing a clear and accessible introduction to the broader world of fourteenth-century Korea, the book provides a fascinating window into Chŏng as a person through annotated translations of his poetry, letters, and political writings—most of them previously unavailable in English.

Chŏng’s written works reveal a firm belief that Chinese classical traditions and recent intellectual developments on the continent contained vital lessons for Korea. The detailed annotations will allow readers to appreciate the wide variety of classical sources with which Chŏng and his contemporaries were familiar and how these sources were applied to the times. Chŏng had an unwavering faith in educated and engaged men as the preservers, interpreters, and implementers of such wisdom and was adamant that they should be given great power and authority in government.

Seeking Order in a Tumultuous Age will be welcomed by students and specialists of East Asian history and thought as well those wishing to learn more about a chaotic yet vibrant period in Korean history.

1127222503
Seeking Order in a Tumultuous Age: The Writings of Chong Tojon, a Korean Neo-Confucian
Chŏng Tojŏn, one of the most influential thinkers in Korean history, played a leading role in the establishment of the Chosŏn dynasty (1392–1910). Long recognized for his contributions to the development of Neo-Confucianism in Korea, Chŏng was both a prodigious writer and an influential statesman before being murdered in a political coup. Seeking Order in a Tumultuous Age charts Chŏng’s rise to prominence amidst the turmoil of the late fourteenth century, when Korea struggled to come to terms with the political, military, and intellectual changes of an emerging new East Asian international order. In addition to providing a clear and accessible introduction to the broader world of fourteenth-century Korea, the book provides a fascinating window into Chŏng as a person through annotated translations of his poetry, letters, and political writings—most of them previously unavailable in English.

Chŏng’s written works reveal a firm belief that Chinese classical traditions and recent intellectual developments on the continent contained vital lessons for Korea. The detailed annotations will allow readers to appreciate the wide variety of classical sources with which Chŏng and his contemporaries were familiar and how these sources were applied to the times. Chŏng had an unwavering faith in educated and engaged men as the preservers, interpreters, and implementers of such wisdom and was adamant that they should be given great power and authority in government.

Seeking Order in a Tumultuous Age will be welcomed by students and specialists of East Asian history and thought as well those wishing to learn more about a chaotic yet vibrant period in Korean history.

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Seeking Order in a Tumultuous Age: The Writings of Chong Tojon, a Korean Neo-Confucian

Seeking Order in a Tumultuous Age: The Writings of Chong Tojon, a Korean Neo-Confucian

Seeking Order in a Tumultuous Age: The Writings of Chong Tojon, a Korean Neo-Confucian

Seeking Order in a Tumultuous Age: The Writings of Chong Tojon, a Korean Neo-Confucian

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Overview

Chŏng Tojŏn, one of the most influential thinkers in Korean history, played a leading role in the establishment of the Chosŏn dynasty (1392–1910). Long recognized for his contributions to the development of Neo-Confucianism in Korea, Chŏng was both a prodigious writer and an influential statesman before being murdered in a political coup. Seeking Order in a Tumultuous Age charts Chŏng’s rise to prominence amidst the turmoil of the late fourteenth century, when Korea struggled to come to terms with the political, military, and intellectual changes of an emerging new East Asian international order. In addition to providing a clear and accessible introduction to the broader world of fourteenth-century Korea, the book provides a fascinating window into Chŏng as a person through annotated translations of his poetry, letters, and political writings—most of them previously unavailable in English.

Chŏng’s written works reveal a firm belief that Chinese classical traditions and recent intellectual developments on the continent contained vital lessons for Korea. The detailed annotations will allow readers to appreciate the wide variety of classical sources with which Chŏng and his contemporaries were familiar and how these sources were applied to the times. Chŏng had an unwavering faith in educated and engaged men as the preservers, interpreters, and implementers of such wisdom and was adamant that they should be given great power and authority in government.

Seeking Order in a Tumultuous Age will be welcomed by students and specialists of East Asian history and thought as well those wishing to learn more about a chaotic yet vibrant period in Korean history.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780824859442
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press, The
Publication date: 08/31/2016
Series: Korean Classics Library: Historical Materials , #1
Pages: 278
Product dimensions: 6.30(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

David M. Robinson is Robert H. N. Ho Professor in Asian Studies and History at Colgate University. His current research explores how Chinese and Korean courts adapted to the dramatic transformations precipitated by the Mongol empire’s collapse.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Note on the Translation ix

Part I Translator's Introduction 1

Part II Translation: The Writings of Chong Tojon 37

Editorial Principles [by the Secretariat of Kyujanggak Library] 39

Preface Kwon Kun 43

Chapter 1 46

Memorial 46

Correspondence 56

Letters 60

Greetings 74

Prefaces 75

Chapter 2 82

An Account of the New Offices of the Policy Council of the Kingdom of Korvo 82

Kyongbok (bright Fortune) Palace 84

Yi Hoyon's Personal and Courtesy Names: A Postscript 85

Postscript to an Account of Kukpok Pavilion 87

Postscript to an Inscription for Kyongnyom Pavilion 87

Answering an Elderly Farmer 88

Family Woes 91

Civil Service Examination Policy Questions 92

Chapter 3 A Literary Mirror to Order the World: Part One 95

Chapter 4 A Literary Mirror to Order the World: Part Two 139

Postface Sin Sukchu 178

Notes 181

Works Cited 249

Index 259

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