Table Of ContentKorean Studies of the Henry M. Jackson
School of International Studies
James B. Palais, Editor
Korean Studies of the Henry M. Jackson
School of International Studies
Over the Mountains Are Mountains:
Korean Peasant Households and
Their Adaptations to Rapid Industrialization
by Clark W. Sorensen
Cultural Nationalism in Colonial Korea, [920-[925
by Michael Edson Robinson
Offspring of Empire:
The Koch 'ang Kims and the Colonial Origins
of Korean Capitalism, [876-[945
by Carter J. Eckert
Confucian Statecraft and Korean Institutions:
Yu Hyongwon and the Late Choson Dynasty
by James B. Palais
Confucian Statecraft
and Korean Institutions
Yu Hyongwon and the Late Choson Dynasty
B.
JAMES PALAIS
University of Washington Press
Seattle and London
© 1996 by the University of Washington Press
First paperback edition © 2014 by the University of Washington Press
Printed and bound in the United States of America
18 17 16 15 14 5 4 3 2 1
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or trans-
mitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publisher.
University of Washington Press
www.washington.edu/uwpress
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Palais, James B., 1934–
Confucian statecraft and Korean Institutions: Yu Hyongwon and the Late
Choson Dynasty / James B. Palais.
p. cm.—(Korean studies of the Henry M. Jackson School of
International Studies)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn: 978-0-295-99378-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Yu, Hyong-won, 1622–1673 Pan’gye surok. 2. Confucianism and
state —Korea. 3. Korea —Politics and government—1392–1910. 4. Sirhak
school. I. Title. II. Series.
bl1842.p33 1995 94–35259
320.9519'09'032—dc20 cip
The paper used in this publication is acid-free and meets the minimum
requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—
Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials. ansi z39.48–1984. ∞
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction 3
PART I. THE EARLY CHOSON DYNASTY, 1392-1650
I. Confucian Statecraft in the Founding of Choson 25
2. The Disintegration of the Early Choson System to 1592 6I
3. Post-Imjin Developments in Military Defense and the Economy 92
PART II. SOCIAL REFORM: YANGBAN AND SLAVES
Introduction II5
4. Remolding the Ruling Class through Education and Schools I22
5. New Schools: Conservative Restraints on Radicalism I70
6. Slavery: The Slow Path to Abolition 208
Conclusion 27I
PART III. LAND REFORM
Introduction 275
7. Land Reform: Compromises with the Well-Field Model 277
8. Redistributing Wealth through Land Reform ]I3
9. Late Choson Land Reform Proposals 354
Conclusion 384
PART IV. MILITARY REFORM
Introduction 39I
10. The Royal Division Model: Rotating Duty Soldiers
and Support Taxpayers 394
v
vi CONTENTS
1 I. The Debate over the Military Training Agency, 1651-82 442
12. The Search for Alternative Modes of Military Finance 469
13. Military Reorganization, Weapons, and Walls 501
14. The Military Service System, 1682-187° 537
Conclusion 569
PART V. REFORM OF GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION
Introduction 579
15. The King and His Court 581
16. Reforming the Central Bureaucracy 612
17. Personnel Policy 646
18. Provincial and Local Administration 673
19. The Community Compact System (Hyangyak) 705
20. Yu Hyongwon's Community Compact Regulations 735
Conclusion 762
PART VI. FINANCIAL REFORM AND THE ECONOMY
Introduction 769
21. Tribute and the Taedong Reform 771
22. The Taedong Model for Official Salaries and Expenses 815
23. Copper Cash and the Monetary System 855
24. Yu Hyongwon's Analysis of Currency 877
25. A Cycle of Inflation and Deflation 924
26. Cash and Economic Change after 1731 964
Conclusion 999
Epilogue: The Complexities of Korean Confucian Statecraft 1002
Notes 1020
Glossary 1153
List of Kings of the Choson Dynasty 1193
List of Names II95
Bibliography 1204
Index 1231
Acknowledgments
During the course of research and preparation of this manuscript I received
financial aid from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Joint
Committee on Korea of the American Council of Learned Societies and Social
Science Research Council. Mrs. Yun Whan Choe, the Korean librarian of the
East Asia Library at the University of Washington, rendered invaluable assis
tance over the two decades of research involved in this project.
My greatest debt goes to the scholars listed in the bibliography of this work,
in particular the growing battery of scholars in Korea who, especially since lib
eration from Japanese colonial rule in 1945, have made such enormous strides,
not only in filling the gaps in our knowledge of Korean history, but in reinter
preting what we know of the facts. I apologize for differing with some of them
on occasion, but differences in viewpoint never lessened my admiration for the
quality of their work.
I benefited greatly from the comments and criticisms of a number of my col
leagues at the University of Washington, including members of the History
Research Group. Jack Dull was unstinting over the years in correcting numer
ous errors and filling embarrassing gaps in my knowledge about Chinese his
tory. Kenneth Pyle, Clark Sorensen, Kent Guy, K6z6 Yamamura, and Susan
Hanley have discussed various aspects of the work with me.
r owe thanks for many discussions of various issues to my mentor and col
league Edward Wagner and to my longtime colleague and friend Gari Ledyard.
A seminar held at Harvard under Carter Eckert's sponsorship was particularly
useful, especially discussions with Tu Wei-ming and Peter Bol. Conferences orga
nized by Wm. Ted de Bary that I attended in Paris and Montreal were also enlight
ening.
lowe special gratitude to those who read through the manuscript and offered
their kind guidance and advice: Bruce Cumings, Martina Deuchler, Michael
Kalton, and Young-ho Choe. I am especially grateful to Margery Lang for the
effort, care, and skill she displayed in editing such a large manuscript. Natu
rally, all errors and mistakes are my own.
vii
Vlll ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My greatest debt is to my wife, Jane, who has shared weal and woe with me
for over thirty years, and endured the annoyances of my forgetfulness, absent
mindedness, and self-absorption.
Confucian Statecraft
and Korean Institutions
Yu Hyongwon and the Late Choson Dynasty
