A Kingdom of Righteousness

Neo-Confucianism and Political Theory in Traditional Korea

AvSungmoon Kim

Häftad, Engelska, 2026

546 kr

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Beskrivning

Through an examination of the unfolding of Neo-Confucian politics in traditional Korea, this book explores how the Confucian monarchs and scholar-officials during the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910) struggled to navigate themselves in the complex political terrains within the normative parameters set by Neo-Confucian moral principles and ritual norms. It begins with how Neo-Confucianism emerged as a revolutionary political ideology in late Goryeo (918-1392) through the creative reappropriation of righteousness, one of the cardinal Confucian virtues, from a personal moral virtue into a public moral principle that undergirds Joseon's Confucian constitutional structure. It then shows how later Korean Neo-Confucians labored to maintain Joseon's Confucian constitutionality (or the Public Way) against all sorts of contingencies, in both domestic and interstate contexts, often altering the very nature of Joseon's statehood and Confucian identity. Special attention is given to various visions of political realism developed by the Korean Neo-Confucian political actors, who actively used 'expediency'.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2026-11-30
Vikt:250 g
Format:Häftad
Språk:Engelska
Antal sidor:310
Förlag:Cambridge University Press
ISBN:9781009740937

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Sungmoon Kim is Chair Professor of Political Philosophy at City University of Hong Kong, where he also serves as Director of the Center for East Asian and Comparative Philosophy. He is the author of seven books, including Theorizing Confucian Virtue Politics (2019), Public Reason Confucianism (2016), and Confucian Democracy in East Asia (2014), all published by Cambridge University Press.

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'Analyzing how generations of Chosŏn rulers and scholars wrestled with the dilemma of upholding Neo-Confucian ideals while operating within the real world, Kim unveils one of the sources of the creativity which allowed Chosŏn to survive for centuries. In doing so, he highlights diversity within Korean Neo-Confucian political thought.' Don Baker, University of British Columbia

Innehållsförteckning

Acknowledgements; Conventions; Introduction: contingency and the public way; 1. The rise of revolutionary neo-Confucianism: Jeong Dojeon's Xunzian moment; 2. The way of the foreign vassal state: Byeon Gyeryang on heavenly rituals and Korean statehood; 3. Contingency and neo-Confucian constitutionality: the case of King Sejo; 4. The utmost order, here and now: Jo Gwangjo's radical Confucianism; 5. The way of the hegemon toward the kingly way: Yi I's Xunzian turn; 6. Making peace with the barbarians: Choe Myeonggil's pro-peace argument; 7. Remaking the center: King Jeongjo's enactment of sage-kingship; Conclusion: the expedient and varieties of Confucian realism; Bibliography; Index.

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