article
Neo-Confucianism: the impulse for social action in early Yi Korea
Journal of Korean studies • 2 • Published In 1980 • Pages: 71-111
By: Deuchler, Martina.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
In this article, Deuchler discusses the Confucian transformation, or Sinicization, of the Korean state, during the Yi dynasty (1392-1910). According to Deuchler, the transformation process occured in three stages: The first stage involved the rejection of Buddhism by an elite of scholar-officials (SADAEBU) and its replacement by Confucianism as the underlying precepts for good government and society (P'UNGSOK). The subsequent stage (end of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries) involved a more philosophical exploration of neo-Confucian texts. The final stage marked an accommodation with Korean traditional customs (T'OSOK) and the adaptation of Confucianism to to fit Korean circumstances, forming a specifically Korean national culture and identity (KUKSOK). This accomodation was made possible by scholar-officials' understanding of YE--the manifestation of heavenly principle as expressed in ritual behavior--as both constant and variable with respect to time and place. Therefore Korean society could adhere to the basic moral quality of YE, but in a form different than China.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- History
- Acculturation and culture contact
- Cultural goals
- Advisers to the chief executive
- Theological systems
- Ethnosociology
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Korea
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 1998
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Asia
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- East Asia
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Historian
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Ian Skoggard ; 1997
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- not specified
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1335-1910
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Korea
- NotesAdditional notes
- Martina Deuchler
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 101-111)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- sc81003173
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Koreans