Confucian statecraft and Korean Institutions: Yu Hyŏngwŏn and the late Chosŏn Dynasty

Seventeenth-century Korea was a country in crisissuccessive invasions by Hideyoshi and the Manchus had rocked the Choson dynasty (1392-1910), which already was weakened by maladministration, internecine bureaucratic factionalism, unfair taxation, concentration of wealth, military problems, and other ills. Yu Hyongwon (16221673, pen name, Pan'gye), a recluse scholar, responded to this time of chaos and uncertainty by writing his modestly titled Pan'gye surok (The Jottings of Pan'gye), a virtual encyclopedia of Confucian statecraft, designed to support his plan for a revived and reformed Korean system of government. Although Yu was ignored in his own time by all but a few admirers and disciples, his ideas became prominent by the mid-eighteenth century as discussions were underway to solve problems in taxation, military service, and commercial activity. Yu has been viewed by Korean and Japanese scholars as a forerunner of modernization, but in Confucian Statecraft and Korean Institutions James B. Palais challenges this view, demonstrating that Yu was instead an outstanding example of the premodern tradition. Palais uses Yu Hyongwon's mammoth, pivotal text to examine the development and shape of the major institutions of Choson dynasty Korea. He has included a thorough treatment of the many Chinese classical and historical texts that Yu used as well as the available Korean primary sources and Korean and Japanese secondary scholarship. Palais traces the history of each of Yu's subjects from the beginning of the dynasty and pursues developments through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. He stresses both the classical and historical roots of Yu's reform ideas and analyzes the nature and degree of proto-capitalistic changes, such as the use of metallic currency, the introduction of wage labor into the agrarian economy, the development of unregulated commercial activity, and the appearance of industries with more differentiation of labor. Because it contains much comparative material, Confucian Statecraft and Korean Institutions will be of interest to scholars of China and Japan, as well as to Korea specialists. It also has much to say to scholars of agrarian society, slavery, landholding systems, bureaucracy, and developing economies. Winner of the John Whitney Hall Book Prize, sponsored by the Association for Asian Studies

Seventeenth-century Korea was a country in crisis - successive invasions by Hideyoshi and the Manchus had rocked the Choson dynasty (1392-1910), which was already weakened by maladministration, internecine bureaucratic factionalism, unfair taxation, concentration of wealth, military problems, and other ills. Yu Hyongwon (1622-1673; pen name, Pan'gye), a recluse scholar, responded to this time of chaos and uncertainty by writing his modestly titled Pan'gye surok (The Jottings of Pan'gye), a virtual encyclopedia of Confucian statecraft, designed to support his plan for a revived and reformed Korean system of government. Although Yu was ignored in his own time by all but a few admirers and disciples, his ideas became prominent by the mid-eighteenth century as discussions were under way to solve problems in taxation, military service, and commercial activity. Yu has been viewed by Korean and Japanese scholars as a forerunner of modernization, but in Confucian Statecraft and Korean Institutions James B. Palais challenges this view, demonstrating that Yu was instead an outstanding example of the premodern tradition. Palais uses Yu Hyongwon's mammoth, pivotal text to examine the development and shape of the major institutions of Choson dynasty Korea. He has included a thorough treatment of the many Chinese classical and historical texts that Yu used as well as the available Korean primary sources and Korean and Japanese secondary scholarship. Palais traces the history of each of Yu's subjects from the beginning of the dynasty and pursues developments through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. He stresses both the classical and the historical roots of Yu's reform ideas and analyzes the nature and degree of proto-capitalistic changes, such as the use of metallic currency, the introduction of wage labor into the agrarian economy, the development of unregulated commercial activity, and the appearance of industries with more differentiation of labor.

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Analyzes Yu Hyongwon's 17th-century encyclopedia to examine the development and shape of major institutions of Choson dynasty Korea, looking at the Chinese classical and historical texts Yu used as well as Korean primary sources and Korean and Japanese secondary scholarship. Traces the history of each of Yu's subjects from the beginning of the dynasty and through the 18th and 19th centuries, examining reforms such as the use of metallic currency and the introduction of wage labor. For scholars of Korean, China, and Japan. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Seventeenth-century Korea was a country in crisis--successive invasions by Hideyoshi and the Manchus had rocked the Chosòn dynasty (1392-1910), which already was weakened by maladministration, internecine bureaucratic factionalism, unfair taxation, concentration of wealth, military problems, and other ills. Yu Hyòngwòn (1622-1673, pen name, Pan'gye), a recluse scholar, responded to this time of chaos and uncertainty by writing his modestly titled Pan'gye surok (The Jottings of Pan'gye), a virtual encyclopedia of Confucian statecraft, designed to support his plan for a revived and reformed Korean system of government. Although Yu was ignored in his own time by all but a few admirers and disciples, his ideas became prominent by the mid-eighteenth century as discussions were underway to solve problems in taxation, military service, and commercial activity. Yu has been viewed by Korean and Japanese scholars as a forerunner of modernization, but in Confucian Statecraft and Korean Institutions James B. Palais challenges this view, demonstrating that Yu was instead an outstanding example of the premodern tradition. Palais uses Yu Hyòngwòn's mammoth, pivotal text to examine the development and shape of the major institutions of Chosòn dynasty Korea. He has included a thorough treatment of the many Chinese classical and historical texts that Yu used as well as the available Korean primary sources and Korean and Japanese secondary scholarship. Palais traces the history of each of Yu's subjects from the beginning of the dynasty and pursues developments through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. He stresses both the classical and historical roots of Yu's reform ideas and analyzes the nature and degree of proto-capitalistic changes, such as the use of metallic currency, the introduction of wage labor into the agrarian economy, the development of unregulated commercial activity, and the appearance of industries with more differentiation of labor. Because it contains much comparative material, Confucian Statecraft and Korean Institutions will be of interest to scholars of China and Japan, as well as to Korea specialists. It also has much to say to scholars of agrarian society, slavery, landholding systems, bureaucracy, and developing economies Frontmatter Acknowledgments (page vii) Introduction (page 3) PART I. THE EARLY CHOSON DYNASTY, 1392-1650 1. Confucian Statecraft in the Founding of Choson (page 25) 2. The Disintegration of the Early Choson System to 1592 (page 61) 3. Post-Imjin Developments in Military Defense and the Economy (page 92) PART II. SOCIAL REFORM: YANGBAN AND SLAVES Introduction (page 115) 4. Remolding the Ruling Class through Education and Schools (page 122) 5. New Schools: Conservative Restraints on Radicalism (page 170) 6. Slavery: The Slow Path to Abolition (page 208) Conclusion (page 271) PART III. LAND REFORM Introduction (page 275) 7. Land Reform: Compromises with the Well-Field Model (page 277) 8. Redistributing Wealth through Land Reform (page 313) 9. Late Choson Land Reform Proposals (page 354) Conclusion (page 384) PART IV. MILITARY REFORM Introduction (page 391) 10. The Royal Division Model: Rotating Duty Soldiers and Support Taxpayers (page 394) 11. The Debate over the Military Training Agency, 1651-82 (page 442) 12. The Search for Alternative Modes of Military Finance (page 469) 13. Military Reorganization, Weapons, and Walls (page 501) 14. The Military Service System, 1682-1870 (page 537) Conclusion (page 569) PART V. REFORM OF GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION Introduction (page 579) 15. The King and His Court (page 581) 16. Reforming the Central Bureaucracy (page 612) 17. Personnel Policy (page 646) 18. Provincial and Local Administration (page 673) 19. The Community Compact System (Hyangyak) (page 705) 20. Yu Hyongwon's Community Compact Regulations (page 735) Conclusion (page 762) PART VI. FINANCIAL REFORM AND THE ECONOMY Introduction (page 769) 21. Tribute and the Taedong Reform (page 771) 22. The Taedong Model for Official Salaries and Expenses (page 815) 23. Copper Cash and the Monetary System (page 855) 24. Yu Hyongwon's Analysis of Currency (page 877) 25. A Cycle of Inflation and Deflation (page 924) 26. Cash and Economic Change after 1731 (page 964) Conclusion (page 999) Epilogue: The Complexities of Korean Confucian Statecraft (page 1002) Notes (page 1020) Glossary (page 1153) List of Kings of the Choson Dynasty (page 1193) List of Names (page 1195) Bibliography (page 1204) Index (page 1231) Examines the development and shape of the major institutions of Choson dynasty Korea (1392-1910).