Rusty OLD FOOL, you should not blame Confucius for your ignorance. You
should blame your chop suey parents keeping you in their chop suey
restaurant kitchen too long that made you a chop suey idiot. Now, here
is another Confucianism for you to learn, let's see if you can be less
chop suey idiot!

Your Confucius

Confucianism in Korea

Although Confucianism was introduced to Korea before Buddhism, its
ideological flowering occurred later through the introduction of Neo-
Confucianism during the late-Koryo and early-Choson periods. For this
reason, we will look at five Confucian thinkers from the Choson
period.

Chong To-jon (1342-1398), styled Sambong, was a thinker who played a
central role in overthrowing the Koryo Dynasty and establishing the
new Choson Dynasty on the basis of Neo-Confucianism. In his teachings,
he elucidated Confucian orthodoxy, claiming that Buddhism and Taoism
stood outside of the Confucianism orthodoxy and were thereby
heterodox. According to Chong, li (principle) was the basic concept of
Confucianism, ki (material force) the basic concept of Taoism and
mind, that of Buddhism. Since ki and mind only operated based on li,
they could not be used as a basis for philosophy. Chong thus claimed
that Taoism and Buddhism were one-sided and incomplete heterodoxies
which should be abolished and replaced with orthodox Confucianism. In
works such as Choson kyonggukchon, Chong advocated a reordering of
society to accord with the times. As a reformer, he advocated social
change based on enlightened government and Confucian orthodoxy.
Through his efforts, Neo-Confucianism was established as the ideology
of the newly formed Choson Dynasty.

Kwon Kun (1352-1409, styled Yang-ch'on) was a scholar who, along with
Chong To-jon, established the Confucian tradition of the Choson
Dynasty. He translated the "Four Books and Three Classics" of the
Confucian canon from the standpoint of Neo-Confucianism, bringing
classical studies to a new height. In his diagram Ch'oninshimsong
habiljido, he clarified the concepts of Heaven, man, mind and human
nature, laying the foundation for Choson Neo-Confucian thought.
Through his research on the classics, he developed Confucian orthodoxy
and through his theoretical studies, he prepared the philosophical
basis of Neo-Confucianism. In this sense, he served as a prominent
leader of Confucian studies of the period.

Yi Hwang (1501-1570), styled T'oegye, is the scholar who brought
Choson Neo-Confucianism into full bloom. In songhak shipto (Ten
Diagrams of Sagely Learning) and numerous other writings, he
propounded his doctrine that li and ki arise in mutual correspondence.
This theory touched off a vigorous debate among Choson Neo-Confucian
scholars, which in the end led to extraordinary developments in the
school's doctrines. In terms of theory, T'oegye propounded the view
that li was dominant. However, instead of stopping at mere theory, he
developed a practical teaching method aimed at personal cultivation.
Neo-Confucianism is often called, simply, the "study of the Way." With
a teaching that encompassed both theoretical reflections as well as
practical cultivation, T'oegye can be said to have perfected this
teaching. His Neo-Confucian thought gathers the brilliant practical
ideals lying within each theory and puts them together to form a
whole. In a sense, his theoretical doctrines form the starting point
of the study of the Way, while his doctrine of practical cultivation
represents its culmination. Thus, T'oegye was not a fundamentalist or
a dogmatist, but was rather an intelligent advocate of piety who
devoutly sought the practical realization of his ideals.

Yi I (1536-1584, styled Yulgok), along with T'oegye, was one of the
two great masters of Choson Confucianism. Although Yulgok praised
T'oegye's philosophy, he criticized many of its theoretical aspects.
His numerous written works, including songhak chibyo (Compilation of
the Essentials of Sagely Learning), indicate diverse and extensive
scholarly interests.

In Yulgok's thought, that which manifests is ki and that by which it
is manifested is li. He thus emphasized that li and ki were an
inseparable entity. According to his theory, when ki becomes active,
li ascends it so as to become a unity. The fact that Yulgok was able
to apply this doctrine to the diverse aspects of his teaching while
maintaining logical consistency demonstrates his brilliance as a
thinker. His general theory is also related to his theory of
government, in which he sets forth numerous programs for social
reform. He is remembered as an outstanding intellectual of his time
who worked to realize an ideal Confucian society.

The last figure we will look at is Chong Yak-yong (1762-1836). Styled
Tasan, he is a representative Sirhak scholar of the late 19th century.
Sirhak (Practical Learning) is an ideology that sought to reform the
institutionalized Neo-Confucianism of the Choson period, and thus
represents a liberal movement within the Confucian tradition. In order
to put an end to the doctrinal disputes that had plagued Neo-
Confucianism during the previous two centuries, Tasan felt that it was
necessary to elucidate the central teaching of Confucianism. Thus,
Tasan began a radical reinterpretation of the vast corpus of Confucian
classics. Based on this work, Tasan penned an extensive collection of
treatises on government, including his famous work Mongmin shimso (On
Leading the People). His theory of government focuses on assuring the
livelihood of the people and the nation's legal system. For this
reason, his practical philosophy rejected the Neo-Confucian obsession
with metaphysics. Instead, it sought to resolve issues affecting the
livelihood of the people while encouraging good government capable of
helping people during times of crisis. In this sense, Tasan was a
forward-looking thinker who sought to reform tradition in response to
the needs of the times.

The five Confucian thinkers discussed above all created monumental
works that helped define the history of Korean Confucianism. As can be
seen, Choson-era Confucian scholars placed great importance on a pious
fidelity to their tradition. For this reason, they had a very
exclusive attitudes towards other religions. In this light, they
certainly appear to be self-righteous. Yet if we reach a more
comprehensive understanding of these five thinkers, we discover
something quite different. Instead of clinging to Neo-Confucian dogma,
they sought to elucidate the ideals of Neo-Confucianism according to
their historical circumstances and reform the societies in which they
lived. Understood within this context, they must not be seen as
exclusive dogmatist, but as creative intellectuals.

In Korea, the representative Buddhist and Confucian thinkers were not
interested in theory for its own sake. Instead, they utilized their
independent intellectual abilities to elucidate religious ideals
within the context of their unique historical reality. This
intellectual attitude has formed the basis of Korea's ancient
classical culture. From the Three Kingdoms through the Choson period,
countless Buddhist and Confucian thinkers have left their legacy of
refined philosophical works as well as beautiful, practical examples
of their search for human ideals. For this reason, Korea, even more
than China or Japan, has been able to preserve Confucianism and
Buddhism in their classical forms.

http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/korea/rel/confucianism.htm

On Jul 22, 5:44 pm, rst0wxyz yahoo.com> wrote: