The Origins of the Choson Dynasty (Korean Studies of the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies)

The Origins of the Choson Dynasty provides an exhaustive analysis of the structure and composition of Korea's central officialdom during the transition from the Koryo dynasty (918-1392) to the Choson dynasty (1392-1910) and offers a new interpretation of the history of traditional Korea. "Scholars have long held that Korea's Choson dynasty (1392-1910) was established by a new socioeconomic class of scholar-officials of local-landlord origins who overthrew the capital-based aristocracy of the Koryo dynasty (918-1392). The Origins of the Choson Dynasty refutes that view, showing that a key feature of the dynastic transition was continuity in the structure and composition of the central ruling class and arguing that the main force behind the establishment of the Choson was the need to revamp institutions to protect aristocratic interests. The change of dynasties thus was less a revolution than a culmination of a centuries-old effort to create a centralized bureaucratic polity." Contents 8 List of Tables 9 List of Genealogical Charts 11 Acknowledgments 12 Introduction 16 1 / The Koryo Political System 24 2 / The Rise of a Central Bureaucratic Aristocracy 65 3 / The Yangban in the Change of Dynasties 112 4 / Institutional Crisis in the Late Koryo 167 5 / Reform and Dynastic Change 217 6 / The Ideology of Reform 250 7 / Some Final Considerations 279 Notes 298 Korean Dynasties and Kings 338 Glossary of Korean, Chinese, and Japanese Terms 342 Bibliography 370 Index 388 __The Origins of the Choson Dynasty__