Traditional Korean Philosophy by Youngsun Back Philip J. Ivanhoe & Philip J. Ivanhoe

Author:Youngsun Back,Philip J. Ivanhoe & Philip J. Ivanhoe
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: National Book Network International

Chapter 7

The Lord on High (Sangje 上帝) in Jeong Yakyong’s Thought

Soon-woo Chung

1. INTRODUCTION

A tremendous amount of secondary scholarship has been produced on Jeong Yakyong’s 丁若鏞 (1762–1836) (hereafter Dasan1) view of the Lord on High (Sangje2 上帝). We can divide most of the discussions on this topic into two broad groups. One group of scholars examines in what ways and to what extent Western Learning (seohak 西學) influenced Dasan’s conception of Sangje. The other group traces the source of Dasan’s conception of Sangje within the history of Confucianism; scholars in this group try to find the origin of Dasan’s view not only in Classical Confucianism but also in the thought of Dasan’s Korean predecessors, such as Yi Hwang 李滉 (1501–1570), Yun Hyu 尹鑴 (1617–1680), and Bak Sedang 朴世堂 (1629–1703).

Even though it is important to study Dasan’s conception of Sangje within these and other historical contexts of thought, I think it is also necessary to look into his thought from other perspectives as well. Of particular importance is the unique political climate of premodern East Asia. For example, the Joseon dynasty 朝鮮 (1392–1895) had a tributary relationship with the Ming dynasty of China (明 1368–1644) and, as a result, the ruler of Joseon could not be called “emperor” (hwang 皇) but instead was called “king” (wang 王). This carried the consequence that the interpretation of the meaning and significance of Heaven (cheon 天) was denied to Korean “kings” and was the exclusive privilege of Chinese emperors, who were called the Son of Heaven (天子). Accordingly, public discussions on Heaven were substantially restricted in Joseon society and also the Joseon king’s attempt to offer ritual sacrifice to Heaven was considered a contentious political act: asserting the distinct political identity of the Joseon king’s authority. In other words, issues concerning Heaven were not merely philosophical, but also and even primarily political in the Joseon court.

In addition to this political setting, we should also examine the religious and intellectual atmosphere of the Joseon dynasty. As is well known, the Joseon dynasty established Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism as the state orthodoxy, and within the Neo-Confucian metaphysical system, the newly introduced notion of principle (li 理) replaced the primacy of Heaven. In addition, it should be noted that Heaven was not merely an abstract concept but an actual object of ritual sacrifice from early Confucian times. However, as the foundation of the Joseon dynasty gradually stabilized, the ritual sacrifice to Heaven increasingly became a Daoist ritual. Under these circumstances, Heaven lost much of its vibrancy.

Dasan’s reintroduction of Sangje—a term taken from the earliest strata of the Confucian tradition—was groundbreaking, because he opened a space for the free discussion of the ultimate being, which had been difficult in the China-centered political discourse on Heaven. The restoration of Sangje enabled him to take the discussion of Heaven out of the China-oriented political context centered around imperial power and, at the same time, it enabled him to remove the Daoist and Neo-Confucian influences that had come to largely define the notion of Heaven.

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