Organizer and Chair: Wayne Patterson, St. Norbert College
Jungwon Kim, Yonsei University, Seoul
The purpose of this paper is to show that a "Confucian version of civil society" might have existed in the late Choson dynasty by examining leaders of Confucian institutions such as hyangyak and silhak. Although it was not the perfect form of the Western concept of civil society which is regarded as a precondition of democracy, there might have been an indigenous form of civil society based on Confucian tradition in the late Choson period prior to the introduction of the Western concept of democracy.
By examining the leaders of hyangyak and the ideas of Silhak scholars, this paper will attempt to seek the indigenous form of "Confucian tradition of civil society" in the late Choson dynasty which was mainly led by yangban without office. In doing so, it will also provide the opportunities for understanding the role of hyangan and the nature of hyangyak that might have been significant factors of civil society in Confucian traditional society. To this extent, it might be possible to include men of the literati without office as a part of minjung at that time when they continuously placed an emphasis on elevating the position of the people and their rights. Finally, it seems to make this study to explain that Tonghak, the first mass movement of Korean history, in the mid-nineteenth century was inherited by the thoughts of Practical Learning (Silhak).
Sung Youn Cho, Cheju National University, Korea
The Choson Period is commonly understood as the zenith of the Confucian era in Korea. Confucianism was not only the official religion but also the dominant ideology of this period. It was a powerful tool for the ruling class to control the ruled. If one is to gain a clear understanding on the social structure of this time, it is vital to examine Confucianism of the Choson era.
In order to enhance the level of discourse about the study of Confucianism, it is necessary to reconsider the social and political dimension: that is, the political role and meaning of Confucian rituals as well as the everyday social life of the literati should be more carefully examined. Unfortunately, the rituals of Confucianism have been grossly neglected.
From the perspective of social integration, the official state rituals of Confucianism conducted by the government were an important mode of communication essential to the spread of official values. They were the symbol of power. By repeating such rituals, the power of the King and his officials as ritual performer was strengthened.
In this presentation, I will focus on the ritual process of Confucianism in the Choson Period, and especially examine the state rituals in Cheju province as a case study. I think that it is only a part of rituals of Confucianism in the Choson Period and it will be the starting point of my research.
Anders Karlsson, Stockholm University
The Hong Kyongae rebellion lasted from the 18th December, 1811 to the 19th April, 1812. It was up until then the largest and most serious rebellion in the history of the Choson dynasty. In more general works on Korean history it is said that the rebels under the leadership Hong Kyongnae were able to sweep over the northern part of the P’yongan province since they gained the support of the peasants, for instance through the manifest which promised relief from their suffering.1 In a report from the army commander (pyongsa) of the P’yongan province to the Border Defence Council (pibyonsa) in the beginning of the rebellion, it was said that the rebels had gained many new recruits by handing out money and opening the official granaries and handing out rice to the starving populace.2
But by looking at the development in the different districts it is evident that the rice in the official granaries mostly was used as provisions for the rebel troops, that is, those that already had joined the rebels, or that the grain loan system was kept intact under the new magistrates designated by the rebels. In one district the populace was threatened that any one who touched the rice in the granary would be killed since it was going to be used as provisions for the troops. And money seems to have been used in the preparatory stage attracting day-laborers to come to the rebel base at Tabok-tong to form the smaller initial troops, and not in the later stages.
In more detailed studies based on documents in Kwansop yongnallok (Records from the Subjugation of the Northwestern Rebellion), compiled in 1812, it is stated that mobilization to a large extent was carried out by local officials and representatives of local bureaus that collaborated with the rebels in each district. These are very interesting findings, but the significance of them is often neglected since this rebellion is regarded to have been a social movement led by groups excluded from political power.3
In a previous paper presented at the AKSE conference in 1997, I discussed how the organizational structure of local society was reflected in the preparatory work before the rebellion broke out.4 The purpose of this paper is to look at how the mobilization of troops was carried out in one of the districts after the Hong Kyongnae rebellion had broken out. The district selected for the case study is the Chongju district since this was one of the larger districts that was seized by the rebels, and extensive material exists on how the mobilization was carried out can be found in Kwansop’yongnallok. For the sake of comparison and illustration, mobilization in other districts will also be mentioned. The case presented will show how the local officials and representatives of local bureaus mobilized troops not by persuasion and promises of a better future for all, but rather through the existing administrative channels, thus ordering, through the authority they had, the peasants to join the rebel troops. Whether the peasants needed to be coerced or if they voluntarily followed the orders given will not be dealt with in this paper that will concentrate not on the motives behind the participation, but rather the form of mobilization and the role of the structure of local society.
1. See for example Yi Sangbaek, Han’guksa: Kunse hugi-p’yon (History of Korea: Late Modern Period), Seoul 1965, p. 336; Kang Man’gil, Han’guk kundaesa (History of Modern Korea), Seoul 1984, p. 45.
2. Kwansop yongnallok (KPNL) I:13.
3. Chong Sokchong, "Hong Kyongnaeran-ui songgyok" (The Character of the Hong Kyong Rebellion) in Han’guksa yon’gu 7 (1972); reprinted in Chong Sokchong, Choson hugi chongch’i-wa sasang (Politics and Ideas during the Latter half of Choson), Seoul 1994; O Such’ang, "Hong Kyongnaeran-ui chudo seryok-kwa nongmin" (The Leading Forces of the Hong Kyongnae Rebellion and the Peasants), in Han’guk yoksa yon guhoe, 1894 nyon nongmin chonjaeng yon’gu 2 (Studies on the Peasant War of 1894, Part 2), Seoul 1992; and O Such’ang, Choson hugi P’yongando-e taehan insa chongch’aek-gwa tomin-ui chongch’ijog tonghyang (The Government’s Personnel Policy Toward the P’yongan province and the Region’s Political Movement in the Late Choson Period), Ph.D. Dissertation, Seoul National University 1996, part III.
4. The name of the paper was "The Hong Kyongnae Rebellion 1811–12: The Role of Local Society and the Use of Kye as an Organizational Tool."
Jaehoon Shim, University of Chicago
Students of early China generally acknowledge that most primary historical sources of the Western Zhou dynasty are court-centered documents. Thus, it is difficult to deny the inherent Sinocentric prejudices and the subjective historical background of the documents’ original authors as court recorders. This Sinocentric sentiment of the original authors would have also affected numerous later commentaries on those documents. The poem "Hanyi" in the "Daya" chapter of the Book of Poetry offers a good example for this argument.
The "Hanyi" mentions a significant historical fact about the establishment of the vassal state Han in the later Western Zhou period. If we read this poem without care, we would regard the Han in this poem as just one of the feudal states of the Western Zhou. However, after examining several other place and state names in this poem, such as Liangshan, Yan, Zhui and Mo, many scholars both in China and Korea have offered various opinions on the identity of Han.
Reconsidering the various ideas regarding the identity of Han in the "Hanyi," I will argue that in the late Western Zhou period there was a powerful state called Han in present-day northeastern China. A few pre-Qin texts document the possible identity of the Han in the "Hanyi" with Choson, the first Korean state. Based on the decline of Zhou royal power at that time, I argue that the enfeoffment of Han in the "Hanyi" indicates nothing but the Zhou king’s acknowledgment of the lord of Han as the chief ruler commanding neighboring polities to the northeast of the Zhou domain.
Theresa Hyun, York University
Since ancient times, translation has played an essential role in the development of Korean culture. Traditionally as part of the Chinese cultural sphere Korea imported texts in Chinese on a variety of topics including religion, ethics, literature. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, translation of western texts was vital in the modernization process. At crucial turning points in Korean history, translation has contributed to the development of writing systems, and the invention of new writing systems has facilitated cultural confrontation through translation. One important aspect of the interaction of translation and writing systems in Korea which has not yet been deeply examined by scholars concerns changing gender representations. The main hypothesis which I examine in my research is: at certain points in Korean history there have been both increases in translation activities and significant developments in writing systems. These turning points have tended to coincide with changes in representations of women in various texts of the period.
This paper is part of a larger research project which focuses on the late nineteenth and early twentieth century when, after centuries of isolation under the dominant cultural influence of China, Korea was compelled to open her ports to trade with foreign nations and to enter into diplomatic relations on an international level. At this time, translation of foreign texts contributed greatly to the promotion of writing in the vernacular. The kinds of questions I attempt to answer include the following: What are the relevant indications within a translated text that shifts in gender representations are occurring? How do different genres, types of texts, fields, demonstrate the effect of translation on writing by, for and about women? In what ways do women’s writing, and writing on women relate to the general process of cultural transformation through translation in Korea?
The aim of this paper is to provide a preliminary examination of different types of Korean texts from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century in order to determine the extent to which they may help answer some of the questions mentioned above.