User:MargaretRDonald/sandbox/Korean articles/Tangpyeongchaek

Tangpyeongchaek (蕩平策) was a policy promoted by King Yeongjo of the Joseon Dynasty in order to balance power between factions  to prevent factional fights, and to increase the power of the king. This policy was continued in the reign of King Jeongjo (r. 1776–1800), his successor.

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The word “Tangpyeong” comes from Hwang Geuk-seol (皇極設)’s ‘無偏無黨王道蕩蕩 無黨無偏王道平平’ ( "Unbiased kingly way") in Seogyeong (書經 Book of Documents) Hong Beom Jo (洪範條), Article 5 of Hwang Geuk Seol (皇極設 "imperial establishment"). Tangpyeong was first mentioned by King Sukjong (19th  king of the Joseon dynasty). It was not policy during the reign of Gyeongjong (21st  king of the Joseon dynasty), but became a major policy from Yeongjo onwards. King Yeongjo tried to reconcile Noron and Soron members but to little effect. However, better results were achieved during the reign of King Jeongjo, who named his bedroom “Tangtangpyeongpyeongsil” (蕩蕩平平室).

Yeongjo's Tangpyeongchaek
King Gyeongjong (reigned: 12 July 1720 –11 October 1724) succeeded King Sukjong to the throne with the support of the Soron faction, and King Yeongjo (fourth son of King Sukjong) reigned for 52 years (16 October 1724 – 22 April 1776), during which time the Joseon Dynasty flourished. During this period, the Qing Dynasty was able to concentrate on internal affairs as the relationship between Joseon and Qing Dynasty was stabilized as the Qing Dynasty celebrated the prosperity of Kanghui (康熙) and Qianlong (乾隆).

In the early days of his reign, Yeongjo expressed his will for Tangpyeong by announcing the Tangpyeong policy and erecting in 1742 the Tangpyeong Monument (Tangpyeongbigak 탕평비각) in Sungkyunkwan to strengthen his royal authority and stabilize politics. However, the one-sided measures caused political confusion, and in May 1728, the Yi In-jwa rebellion occurred, lasting 17 days.

Afterwards, the Tangpyeong group was appointed, and government was managed with them at the center. Firstly, the existence of Sarim (a powerful faction of Confucian scholars), that dominated Middle and Late Joseon politics in Korea, was denied and power was concentrated on the Tangpyeong group. In addition, the authority of Yijo Jeon-rang was reduced, and the right to recommend a successor and the right to select officials of the three sections of government was abolished to prevent one-sided personnel appointments. As a result, the political power of Bungdang was weakened as the king took the initiative in managing the state.

In 1728 (4th year of King Yeongjo), the early years of King Yeongjo's reign, he was challenged by Yi In-jwa of the Soron faction. Yi In-jwa raised a large - scale rebellion in Cheongju and other places by rallying the forces of the Soron and Namin factions, small and medium - sized merchants, and slaves, but the rebellion was suppressed with many deaths. Thus, there was a conflict between the Byeokpa (僻派 "secluded faction", part of the Noron faction) who supported it and the Sipa (時派) who sympathized with it, but the political tragedy was relatively small compared with the reign of King Sukjong.

Political Reconciliation
King Yeongjo adopted a method different from the previous one to strengthen the royal power. He established a transcendent image of the king, claiming to be an ancient sage king like Yao and Shun, and based on this, he wrote the so-called 'Tangping Measure' (蕩平策). Originally, the Tangpyeong policy was intended to eliminate Bungdang, but it was difficult to realize right away. Hence, factions focused on appointing moderate people, prepared to compromise with the king. This is also called 'Wan Ron Tang Ping' (緩論蕩 平). The Tangpyeong policy was an attempt to strengthening royal authority in the form of 'hwan-guk' during the reign of King Sukjong, through bipartisan political management.

On the other hand, King Yeongjo did not recognize the so-called 'public theory' of Jaeya Forest, the power behind it, in order to remove the roots of Bundang, and largely cleaned up Seowon, their base. In addition, the system in which Yi Jo-nang-gwan and Hallim (翰林) ) who claimed to be the spokespersons of 'public opinion' within the court), where they themselves appointed their successors, was abolished. Instead, Yeongjo revived the Sinmungo system to directly reflect public opinion in politics, and often went outside the palace to directly listen to public opinion.

Ideological Complaints
King Yeongjo also pursued Tangpyeong in his ideological policy. While putting Zhu Hui 's Neo - Confucianism at the center, he accepted the old studies (legal writings such as Jurye and Jeonggwanjeongyo ) by Namin scholars who supported the strengthening of royal authority. It was in line with the following claim of Daetangpyeong. In an appeal filed by Oh Gwang-un in 1729: “The root of all Tangpyeong is that Your Highness single-mindedly set the highest goal. All the policies and actions taken here are extremely public, so there is no personal preference, and there is no partiality because it is upright.” Regardless of the few (少), the king insisted on appointing people who were referred to as famous people among the members of political parties (黨人). In other words, the policy embraced all the progressive ideas of various groups at the time and used them to strengthen royal authority.

On the other hand, based on the strengthened royal authority, various reforms were carried out to stabilize the people's livelihood and promote industry. Firstly, in order to ease the burden of military service on the people, the Kyunyeok Act was enforced in 1750 (26th year of King Yeongjo) and the military authority seized by the party was returned to the Byeongjo, and the national finances were reformed, compiled《 Muwonrok 》(無寃錄, "no injustice"), the punishment system eased, and the Three Hearts System for condemned prisoners was strictly enforced.

During the reign of King Yeongjo, great efforts were made to clear farmland and expand defense facilities around the Tuman River and Yalu River, and defense was strengthened of islands such as Ganghwa Island and Deokjeok Island. Thus, fortification projects were undertaken such as building an outer fortress in Ganghwa Island ( 1744 ) and a fortress in Pyeongyang ( 1733 ).

On the other hand, in order to strengthen the defense of the capital, the capital defense system was reorganized with wealthy citizens (public figures) of Hanyang as the main axis, and in 1751, it was promulgated as 《Suseongyuneum》(守城綸音). This signifies a change in the concept of defense according to the development of commerce and industry in Hanyang. In the 36th year of King Yeongjo ( 1760 ), the Cheonggyecheon River in Hanyang was dredged to reorganize the city, and many maps of Hanyang were produced to show off its status as a prosperous royal capital and commercial city.

Compilation of nationwide geographic magazines and maps was also actively promoted in order to gain an in-depth understanding of the national territory and increase the efficiency of national management. The attempt to reorganize 《 Donggukyeojiseungram 》 compiled in the 16th century did not reflect the already changed geographic knowledge, and the attempt to reorganize it began from the time of King Sukjong. In 1770, Geography expert Shin Gyeong-jun compiled Dongguk Munheonbigo (東國文獻備考) and Yeojigo (輿地考, Geographical Remarks).

A map enables one to see geography and the appearance of a country at a glance. This book is a complete map of Joseon, a map of provinces, and towns across the country, and the precision of the map is enhanced by dividing the lines into a grid. In addition, he made great achievements in the history of map development in Korea, such as acquiring the maps of Chung Sang-gi and Jeong Hang-ryeong, who were outstanding cartographers at the time, and copying them in Hongmungwan. Haedongjido (海東地圖) (8 volumes), a beautifully colored atlas currently in Kyujanggak, Hanyang University, was also made in the 1750s. This atlas contains 370 types of maps, including maps of all towns and towns, the Great Wall of China, and maps of China.

Yeongjo, who was full of desire to revere learning and reorganize the national cultural system in a timely manner, accomplished many other compilation projects and laid the groundwork for the revival of literature and art. 《Sok Daejeon》(續大典), 《Sok Five Rituals》(續五禮儀), 《Sok Byeongjang Doseol》(續兵將圖說), 《Dongguk Document Remarks》 are his representative achievements. Also, it was at this time that the path for slaves to become Yangin (commoners) was widened, and the path to public service was opened for nobles, and the national power and cultural level of the Joseon Dynasty greatly increased, and the development and stability of the society and economy were promoted.

Jeongjo's Tangpyeong Book
King Jeongjo, who succeeded Yeongjo to the throne, also pursued Yeongjo's Tangpyeong politicy. Like his grandfather Yeongjo, he accepted Neo-Confucianism, but also accepted other studies necessary for strengthening the kingship, from Namin's old learning and Hanyang Noron's Northern learning to Buddhism and Handang Confucianism. However, unlike Yeongjo's 'Wanron Tangpyeong', the policy was changed to an active 'Junron Tangpyeong' (Equality of parties). It was because he realized that it would be difficult to strengthen his royal authority without checking the Noron Byeok faction that drove his father Crown Prince Sado to death.

Strengthening royal power
Based on his scholarly knowledge, cultivated since his time as crown prince, King Jeongjo promoted a policy to nurture and re-educate his subject as a 'teacher'. He wished to directly raise his subjects who would follow his policies. This aspect of his work as a scholarly monarch is shown by his written work of over 100 volumes called 《Hongjae Jeonseo》 (弘齋全書).

King Jeongjo wanted a strong political organization that could support his power and policies. That is Kyujanggak (a library) built in Changdeokgung Palace at the beginning of his reign ( 1776 ). Tens of thousands of Korean and Chinese books were collected here, and young scholars were appointed as scholars and given them various privileges, such as the function of literacy, secretarial function, and administration of exams. In particular, the Chogye Munshin system was implemented to re-educate officials of the Danghagwan and promoted based on test scores, injecting King Jeongjo's academic and political line strongly. Kyujanggak became the birthplace of the revival of literature and reform politics during the reign of King Jeongjo.

King Jeongjo felt the need for a royal guard unit that could subdue the opposing forces by force in order to strengthen the royal authority. The unit created for this purpose is Jang Yong-yeong. King Jeongjo, who took control of the elite elite group called Kyujanggak and the royal guard unit called Jangyongyeong, reigned as a transcendent monarch, claiming to be Mancheon Myeongwoljuinong (萬川明月主人翁).

King Jeongjo realized that the restoration of the honor of his father, Crown Prince Sado, who had died in agony, was related to his legitimacy, and he showed great filial piety to his father. In 1796 (the 20th year of King Jeongjo's reign), the tomb of his father in Yangju was moved to Suwon , and it was called ' Hyeonryungwon '. It was built (20th year of King Jeongjo, 1796 ). Referring to Western architectural tools, Silhak scholars such as Jeong Yak -yong made geojunggi and potter's wheels, and at the time, Hwaseong was made with the latest scientific method. A state-run farm called Daeyoudunjeon was installed to cover the security of Hwaseong, and water supply facilities such as Manseokgeo and Mannyeonje were improved. Meanwhile, it attracted merchants and was developed it into a commercial city, an agricultural city, and a military city. Hwaseong was a model self-sufficient city that symbolized King Jeongjo's innovative politics.

After King Jeongjo built Hwaseong in the south, Songdo ( Kaesong ) in the north, Shimdo (Ganghwado) in the west, and Gwangju ( Namhansanseong ) in the east were combined to build a system of four satellite cities to protect Hanyang raising  Hangyang to be on a par with Chang'an, the ancient capital of China.

King Jeongjo frequently visited Hwaseong under the pretext of visiting his father's tomb, and about 2,000 attendants and 800 horses followed the procession, showing great dignity. Also, for the convenience of the procession, a new road was newly built, Baedari ( Bishop ) was built by mobilizing 80 boats on the Han River, and during the procession, local Confucian students and ordinary residents closely interacted with them and Opinions were heard. In particular, the scale of the visit in 1795 (the 19th year of King Jeongjo), when Jeongjo's father and mother (Hyegyeonggung Hong) celebrated their 60th birthday at the same time, was the largest. In 1797, the schedule, cost, list of participants, and drawings related to the event were compiled as 《Wonhaengeul Myojeongri Uigwe》(園幸乙卯整理儀軌) and distributed to the participants, and court painters were encouraged to paint the main paintings. The event was made into a large folding screen picture. Several types of folding screen paintings have been handed down today, vividly showing what the politics and culture level were like at the time. King Jeongjo also compiled 《Binheungrok》 (賓興錄), a list of Confucian scholars in each province to embrace Confucian students from the 8 provinces.

People's livelihood and culture
Based on the strengthened royal authority, King Jeongjo initiated various policies to stabilize the people's livelihood and revitalize culture. King Jeongjo tried to innovate national management by adopting science and technology from China and the West while inheriting traditional culture by advocating Gyejisulsa (繼志述事). Economically, in order to increase financial income and promote commerce and industry, the Tongong Policy (通共政策, 1791 ) was used to abolish the free merchant control ( money control ) of the merchants to promote free commerce and encourage the development of mines throughout the country did As a result, commerce and industry developed greatly, and the population of Hanyang was concentrated, and Saemaeul (Sinchon) was formed in various places outside the capital city, and the number of ports increased as many merchant ships entered and exited the Han River. On the other hand, in the reign of King Jeongjo, the local sajok suppressed the rise of local gentry and strengthened the state's governance over the people by entrusting Hyangyak in the county and prefecture unit to the chieftain.