The Dynamics of Confucianism and Modernization in Korean History (Cornell East Asia Series) (Cornell East Asia Series, 136) - Hardcover

Yi, Tae-Jin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1933947063 ISBN 13: 9781933947068

Publisher: Cornell East Asia Series, 2010

Synopsis

This volume makes available for the first time in English a collection of the work of historian Yi Tae-Jin. Over the course of his career, he has done path-breaking research that covers virtually the entire Chosôn period (1392–1910) from the Koryô-Chosôn transition to the Kojong period and Korea's takeover by Japan in 1910. One of the focal points of his scholarship has been to reinterpret Neo-Confucianism as a dynamic force in Korean history.The first half of this volume is devoted to his seminal work on the historical factors behind the founding of the Chosôn dynasty. He has shown how the rise of Neo-Confucianism during the Koryô-Chosôn transition was tied to unprecedented advances in agriculture and medicine that led to a fundamental socio-economic transformation of Korea. A new social class emerged that became a leading force behind the new dynasty and adopted Neo-Confucianism as its ideology. One of the underlying concerns of his scholarship has been to overcome the legacy of Japanese colonial scholarship on Korean historiography. His work refutes the notion of Korea as a "Hermit Kingdom" that was stagnant for centuries before its opening to the West. The second half of the volume includes some of his work on modernization efforts in the late Chosôn period, as well as some of his more direct critiques of the continuing influence of Japanese historiography in Korea.

About this title

About the Author

Yi Tae-jin is Professor of Korean History at Seoul National University, where he has taught since 1973.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cornell East Asia Series
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1933947063
• ISBN 13: 9781933947068
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 443