Jeong Dojeon

Jeong Dojeon
Chung_DoJeon.jpg.jpg
Korean name
Hangul 정도전 Hanja 鄭道傳 Revised Romanization Chung Do-jeon McCune-Reischauer Jung Dojŏn
Pen name
Hangul 삼봉 Hanja 三峰 Revised Romanization Sambong McCune-Reischauer Sambong
Courtesy name
Hangul 종지 Hanja 宗之 Revised Romanization Jongji McCune-Reischauer Jongji

Chung Dojeon (1342-1398), also known by the pen name Sambong, was the most powerful medieval Korean noble and politician in the early Joseon dynasty. He was also an influential Neo-Confucian ideologue and was the number one supporter and a close advisor to Taejo(King)Yi Seonggye, who founded the Joseon dynasty.

Background and early career

Chung was born from the noble family in Chungcheongbuk-do Danyanggun, Sambong, in the present-day of South Korea. His family had emerged from commoner status some four generations before, and slowly climbed up the ladder of government service. His father was the first in the family to obtain a high post. However, unfortunately Chung's mother was a slave, which made him very difficult to gain power in his early days. Despite his difficulties, he became a student of Yi saek and with other leading thinkers of the time such as Jeong Mong-ju, his penetrating intelligents started to effect on Korean politics.

Relationship with Yi Seonggye

Chung's ties with Yi Seonggye and the foundation of Joseon, were extremely close. He is said to have compared his relationship to Yi to that between Zhang Liang and Gaozu of Han. Chung's political ideas had a lasting impact on Joseon Dynasty politics and laws.

The two first became acquainted in 1383, when Chung visited Yi at his quarters in Hamgyong province.

Intellectual activity

Chung Dojeon was a major opponent of Buddhism at the end of the Goryeo period. He was a student of Zhuxi's thought. Using Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucian philosophy as the basis of his anti-Buddhist polemic, he criticized Buddhism in a number of treatises as being corrupt in its practices, and nihilistic and antinomian in its doctrines. The most famous of these treatises was the Bulssi japbyeon ("Array of Critiques Against Buddhism" ). He was a founding member of the Seonggyungwan, the royal Confucian academy, and one of its early faculty members.

Chung was among the first Korean scholars to refer to his thought as silhak, or "practical learning." However, he is not usually numbered among the members of the Silhak tradition, which arose much later in the Joseon period.

Political thought

Chung argued that the government, including the king himself, exists for the sake of the people. Its legitimacy could only come from benevolent public service. It was largely on this basis that he legitimized the overthrow of the Goryeo dynasty, arguing that the Goryeo rulers had given up their right to rule.

Chung divided society into three classes: a large lower class of agricultural laborers and craftsmen, a middle class of literati, and a small upper class of bureaucrats. Anyone outside this system, including Buddhist monks, shamans, and entertainers, he considered a "vicious" threat to the social fabric.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Han Yeong-u. (1974). Chung Do-jeon's philosophy of political reform. Korea Journal 14(7-8). Reprinted in Lee et al. (2004), Korean philosophy: Its tradition and modern transformation, pp. 55-74. Seoul: Hollym. ISBN 1-56591-178-4

• Korean Institute of Philosophical Thought. (1995). 강좌 한국철학 (Gangjwa Hanguk Cheolhak, Guide to Korean philosophy), pp. 333-345. Seoul: Yemoon Seowon. ISBN 89-7646-032-4.

See also

• List of Korean philosophers
• Korean philosophy
• Korean literature
• Goryeo politics
• Joseon Dynasty politics

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

• Jeong_Dojeon  ^history

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

• History of "Jeong Dojeon"

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.