Seeking Order in a Tumultuous Age

Seeking Order in a Tumultuous Age
Author: David M. Robinson
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Total Pages: 282
Release: 2016-08-31
Genre: History
ISBN: 0824859472

Chŏng Tojŏn, one of the most influential thinkers in Korean history, played a leading role in the establishment of the Chosŏn dynasty (1392–1910). Long recognized for his contributions to the development of Neo-Confucianism in Korea, Chŏng was both a prodigious writer and an influential statesman before being murdered in a political coup. Seeking Order in a Tumultuous Age charts Chŏng’s rise to prominence amidst the turmoil of the late fourteenth century, when Korea struggled to come to terms with the political, military, and intellectual changes of an emerging new East Asian international order. In addition to providing a clear and accessible introduction to the broader world of fourteenth-century Korea, the book provides a fascinating window into Chŏng as a person through annotated translations of his poetry, letters, and political writings—most of them previously unavailable in English. Chŏng’s written works reveal a firm belief that Chinese classical traditions and recent intellectual developments on the continent contained vital lessons for Korea. The detailed annotations will allow readers to appreciate the wide variety of classical sources with which Chŏng and his contemporaries were familiar and how these sources were applied to the times. Chŏng had an unwavering faith in educated and engaged men as the preservers, interpreters, and implementers of such wisdom and was adamant that they should be given great power and authority in government. Seeking Order in a Tumultuous Age will be welcomed by students and specialists of East Asian history and thought as well those wishing to learn more about a chaotic yet vibrant period in Korean history.

Seeking Order in a Tumultuous Age

Seeking Order in a Tumultuous Age
Author: To-jŏn Chŏng
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2016
Genre: Korea
ISBN: 9780824872151

Chong Tojon, one of the most influential thinkers in Korean history, played a leading role in the establishment of the Choson dynasty (1392-1910). Long recognised for his contributions to the development of Neo-Confucianism in Korea, Chong was both a prodigious writer and an influential statesman. This volume charts Chong's rise to prominence amidst the turmoil of the late fourteenth century.

Korea and the Fall of the Mongol Empire

Korea and the Fall of the Mongol Empire
Author: David M. Robinson
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 317
Release: 2022-03-31
Genre: History
ISBN: 1009116592

Korea and the Fall of the Mongol Empire explores the experiences of the enigmatic and controversial King Gongmin of Goryeo, Wang Gi, as he navigated the upheavals of the mid-fourteenth century, including the collapse of the Mongol Empire and the rise of its successors in West, Central, and East Asia. Drawing on a wealth of Korean and Chinese sources and integrating East Asian and Western scholarship on the topic, David Robinson considers the single greatest geopolitical transformation of the fourteenth century through the experiences of this one East Asian ruler. He focuses on the motives of Wang Gi, rather than the major contemporary powers, to understand the rise and fall of empire, offering a fresh perspective on this period of history. The result is a more nuanced and accessible appreciation of Korean, Mongolian, and Chinese history, which sharpens our understanding of alliances across Eurasia.

Korea’s Premier Collection of Classical Literature

Korea’s Premier Collection of Classical Literature
Author:
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Total Pages: 259
Release: 2019-03-31
Genre: Literary Collections
ISBN: 0824878213

This is the first book in English to offer an extensive introduction to the Tongmunsŏn (Selections of Refined Literature of Korea)—the largest and most important Korean literary collection created prior to the twentieth century—as well as translations of essays from key chapters. The Tongmunsŏn was compiled in 1478 by Sŏ Kŏjŏng (1420–1488) and other Chosŏn literati at the command of King Sŏngjong (r. 1469–1494). It was modeled after the celebrated Chinese anthology Wen Xuan and contains poetry and prose in an extensive array of styles and genres. The Translators’ Introduction begins by describing the general structure of the Tongmunsŏn and contextualizes literary output in Korea within the great sweep of East Asian literature from the eighth to the fifteenth centuries. The entire Tongmunsŏn as well as all of the essays selected for translation were written in hanmun (as opposed to Korean vernacular), which points to a close literary connection between the continent and the peninsula. The Introduction goes on to discuss the genres contained in the Tongmunsŏn and examines style as revealed through prosody. The translation of two of these genres (treatises and discourses) in four books of the Tongmunsŏn showcases prose-writing and the intellectual concerns of the age. Through their discussions of morality, nature, and the fantastic, we see Daoist, Buddhist, and Confucian themes at work in essays by some of Korea’s most distinguished writers, among them Yi Kyubo, Yi Saek, Yi Chehyŏn, and Chŏng Tojŏn. The translations also include annotations and extensive cross-references to classical allusions in the Chinese canon, making the present volume an essential addition to any East Asian literature collection.

The Oxford World History of Empire

The Oxford World History of Empire
Author: Peter Fibiger Bang
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 1353
Release: 2020-12-16
Genre: History
ISBN: 0197532764

This is the first world history of empire, reaching from the third millennium BCE to the present. By combining synthetic surveys, thematic comparative essays, and numerous chapters on specific empires, its two volumes provide unparalleled coverage of imperialism throughout history and across continents, from Asia to Europe and from Africa to the Americas. Only a few decades ago empire was believed to be a thing of the past; now it is clear that it has been and remains one of the most enduring forms of political organization and power. We cannot understand the dynamics and resilience of empire without moving decisively beyond the study of individual cases or particular periods, such as the relatively short age of European colonialism. The history of empire, as these volumes amply demonstrate, needs to be drawn on the much broader canvas of global history. Volume Two: The History of Empires tracks the protean history of political domination from the very beginnings of state formation in the Bronze Age up to the present. Case studies deal with the full range of the historical experience of empire, from the realms of the Achaemenids and Asoka to the empires of Mali and Songhay, and from ancient Rome and China to the Mughals, American settler colonialism, and the Soviet Union. Forty-five chapters detailing the history of individual empires are tied together by a set of global synthesizing surveys that structure the world history of empire into eight chronological phases.

Play Among Books

Play Among Books
Author: Miro Roman
Publisher: Birkhäuser
Total Pages: 528
Release: 2021-12-06
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 3035624054

How does coding change the way we think about architecture? This question opens up an important research perspective. In this book, Miro Roman and his AI Alice_ch3n81 develop a playful scenario in which they propose coding as the new literacy of information. They convey knowledge in the form of a project model that links the fields of architecture and information through two interwoven narrative strands in an “infinite flow” of real books. Focusing on the intersection of information technology and architectural formulation, the authors create an evolving intellectual reflection on digital architecture and computer science.

A Concise History of Korea

A Concise History of Korea
Author: Michael J. Seth
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 641
Release: 2024
Genre: History
ISBN: 1538174545

Now in a fully revised and updated edition, this comprehensive text surveys Korean history from Neolithic times to the present. All readers looking for a balanced, knowledgeable history will be richly rewarded with this clear and concise book.

A Concise History of Premodern Korea

A Concise History of Premodern Korea
Author: Michael J. Seth
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 317
Release: 2024-03-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 153817457X

Now in a fully revised and updated edition, this engaging text provides a concise history of Korea from the beginning of human settlement in the region through the late nineteenth century. All readers looking for a balanced, knowledgeable history will be richly rewarded with this clear and concise book.

A Korean Confucian’s Advice on How to Be Moral

A Korean Confucian’s Advice on How to Be Moral
Author: Don Baker
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Total Pages: 485
Release: 2023-04-30
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0824894340

Tasan Chŏng Yagyong (1762–1836) is one of the most creative thinkers Korea has ever produced, one of the country’s first Christians, and a leading scholar in Confucian philosophy. Born in a staunchly Neo-Confucian society, in his early twenties he encountered writings by Catholic missionaries in China and was fascinated. However, when he later learned that the Catholic Church condemned the Confucian practice of placing a spirit tablet on a family altar to honor past generations, he left the small Catholic community he had helped found and ostensibly returned to the Neo-Confucian fold. Nevertheless, the Christian ideas he studied in his youth influenced his thinking for the rest of his life, stimulating him to look at Neo-Confucianism with a critical eye and suggest new solutions to problems Confucian scholars had been addressing for centuries. A Korean Confucian’s Advice on How to Be Moral is an annotated translation of Tasan’s commentaries on the Confucian classic Zhongyong (usually translated as The Doctrine of the Mean) in which he applies both Confucianism and Christianity to the question of how to best develop a moral character. Written as a dialogue with King Chŏngjo (r. 1776–1800), these texts reveal how Tasan interpreted his Confucian tradition, particularly its understanding of how human beings could cultivate morality, while the king’s questions illustrate the mainstream Neo-Confucianism Tasan was reacting against. Tasan challenged the non-theistic standard, insisting that living a moral life is not easy and that we need to be motivated to exert the effort necessary to overcome our selfish tendencies. He had abandoned his faith by the time he wrote these commentaries but, influenced by Catholic works and determined to find a more effective way to live a moral life than non-theistic Neo-Confucianism provided, Tasan constructed a Confucian philosophy of moral improvement centered on belief in God. This translation, helpfully annotated for context and analysis, is an exploration of early Korean engagement with the West and a powerful guide to all those interested in Confucianism, Christianity, and morality.

Doctrine and Practice in Medieval Korean Buddhism

Doctrine and Practice in Medieval Korean Buddhism
Author:
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Total Pages: 230
Release: 2016-11-30
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0824867459

Ŭich’ŏn (1055-1101) is recognized as a Buddhist master of great stature in the East Asian tradition. Born a prince in the medieval Korean state of Koryŏ (960-1279), he traveled to Song China (960-1279) to study Buddhism and later compiled and published the first collection of East Asian exegetical texts. According to the received scholarly tradition, after returning to Korea, Ŭich’ŏn left the Hwaŏm (Huayan) school to found a new Ch’ŏnt’ae (Tiantai) school when he realized that the synthesis between doctrinal learning and meditative practice in the latter would help bring together the discordant sects of Koryŏ Buddhism. In the late twentieth century, however, scholars began to question the assertion that Ŭich’ŏn forsook one school for another, arguing that his writings assembled in The Collected Works of State Preceptor Taegak (Taegak kuksa munjip) do not portray a committed sectarian but a monk dedicated to developing a sophisticated and rigorous system of monastic education that encompassed all Buddhist intellectual traditions. In this first comprehensive study of Ŭich’ŏn’s life and work in English, Richard McBride presents translations of select lectures, letters, essays, and poetry from The Collected Works to provide a more balanced view of Ŭich’ŏn’s philosophy of life and understanding of key Buddhist teachings. The translations center on the monk’s activities in the pan-East Asian Buddhist world and his compilation of scholarly texts, writings related to his interactions with royalty, and correspondence with his Chinese mentor, Jinshui Jingyuan (1011-1088). By incorporating Ŭich’ŏn’s work associated with doctrinal Buddhism and his poetry, McBride clearly shows that even in his most personal work Ŭich’ŏn did not abandon Hwaŏm teachings for those of the Ch’ŏnt’ae but rather he encouraged monks to blend the best learning from all doctrinal traditions with meditative practice.