User:Pldx1/Jeong Yak-yong

Hello. This page should evolve towards a proposal for a rewriting of the corresponding English page.

Lead
Jeong Yak-yong (1762–1836, styled Dasan) was a leading Korean philosopher in the late Joseon Dynasty. OK He has usually been regarded as one of the greatest thinkers of the so-called "Practical Learning" (Silhak) movement. Weird JYY *is* a leading figure. Who as ever said otherwise ?

Jeong thought that Neo-Confucianism, the dominant ideology of the time, lacked practicality and relevance to his time, suggesting the need to reappreciate the spirit of early Confucianism in general, i.e., practicality. Weird. The meaning is unclear. If JYY said that Korean Neo-Confucianism should be reverted to a better Confucianism, and take into account practicality, as Confucius was doing, tell it that way (and give references). If the meaning is different, this should be rewritten until the result is understandable.

Jeong Yak-yong and his brothers were also among the earliest Korean converts to Roman Catholicism. OK

Korean and world experts have celebrated Jeong Yak-yong's contribution to Korean philosophy. Weird This would imply that JYY has not contributed to the worldwide philosophy, but only to the Korean one.

Eminent Korean Confucian scholars received a pen name in addition to their birth name. In the case of Jeong Yak-yong, he received the pen name Dasan. Weird. Many writers worldwide have *taken* various pen name. Section 'Names' says JYY *adopted* the pen name Dasan. If any of his pen names were *given* as an honorific title, then who, when, why should be answered.

Dasan established his reputation by explaining and applying the 18th century Korean philosophy, Silhak. Weird. If JYY was a foremost Silhak, he was not applying Silhak, but creating Silhak (and applying what he was saying, this is another point). Maybe the sentence is only JYY has applied and expanded the ideas of preceding Silhak.

Most Korean Confucian scholars consider Dasan the foremost Silhak philosopher. Void or biased. (1) Who says like that, who says otherwise, what reasons ? In fact, JYY gave a new orientation to Silhak. Assertions about who is the #1 is in fact the assertion of a choice.

Silhak arose when Korean scholars like Dasan worked to adapt Western ideas to Korean Confucian philosophy. dubious Was JYY trying to adapt Korean philosophy, using even Western science or Catholicism or anything else, or was JYY trying to promote Western ideas? This should be discussed (at large, not in the lede).

, Geojunggi

JYY called his philosophical trends Susahak 수사, referencing Confucius through a flowing river. The most notable fact is that he was not only a theorist of practice but also a practitioner. The Hwaseong Fortress and the way it was build is an important part of 'Dasanhak'.

Silhak 실학, practical learning, trend to social reform, leading to a reform of Korean Confucianism; Seohak	서학, western learning, introduction of technology and science from the West; Cheonjuhak 천주학 heavenly learning, introduction of Catholicism. Bukhak 북학, northern learning from Qing China

Early life
Jeong was born, and also ended his days, in modern-day Namyangju, Gyeonggi province. OK

The Jeong family, which included four brothers and a sister, has been immortalized not only by the exceptional intelligence and dedication of their children but also by their close connection with the birth of the Korean Catholic Church at the end of the 18th century. weird immortalized ?

Jeong Yakyong was born in 1662, few months after the assassination of Crown Prince Sado by his father, King Yeongjo. As a result of this 'imo incident', part of the Sipa members resigned their functions at the Court and moved away. The father of Jeong Yakyong was among them. In this context, the new born child received the courtesy name Gwinong, (귀농/歸農), which means "returning to the land." important This sentence should not be buried in the 'Name' section, this is a key information

Dasan was the fourth son of the Jeong family, and as the youngest, he benefited from the example of his brothers, relatives and friends of the extended family. to be extended A list of the whole family would be great.


 * Jeong Yak-jong 정약종 (1760 – April 8, 1801), also known as Augustine Chong 아우구스티노. Converted to Catholicism by Chinese priest, Chou Wen-Mu. Wrote in hangul the first Korean Catholic Catechism. Father of Saint Paul Chong Hasang.
 * Jeong Yak-cheon (exiled in 1801, Heuksan (100km ashore), "register of Heuksan fish" 1815)

At a young age he devoured the books of his family’s library and was talented at writing. probable Should be sourced.

Quotation (from KSS) By the age of nine (1771) he had already written the “Three Eyebrow Collection” a small volume of poems named after a characteristic scar on his forehead resulting from an early bout with smallpox. By this time he had also begun study for the civil service examinations and was making rapid progress in the study of the classics, histories, and rules of metre.(17) For the following five years his father continued to distance himself from government, and was consequently able to concentrate on the supervision of his son’s intensive studies. During this time Tasan was already receiving praise for his poetry.(18) for which he became well known in later life, and which contributed in making him a favourite of King Chongjo (r.1776-1800), who often enjoyed exchanging compositions with him.(19)

Although his family was one of destitute families of the Southern party (Namin) a lot of activities had been happening since the new King Jeongjo noticed the potential talent of such families. important To be sourced and stated in English.

Time at the Kyujanggak
Jeong Yak-yong passed the civil service examination in 1783 and served the government as the Gyeongui Jinsa (경의진사, 經義進土). source ?

In 1784, he was influenced by the Western learning and Roman Catholicism through Yi Byeok. OK Details ?

(Lee Ki-baik, p240) 1785 Catholicism designated as an heresy and proscribed by King Jeongjo.

(08/07/2010) . In 1784, king Jeongjo asked a series of questions on the Doctrine of the Mean to the students of the royal academy. He was astonished by the answers of YJJ and called him to join the Kyujanggak. His writings during that period were for example on technology, Girye non, geography, Jiri chaek, reforms in the administration, Inje chaek. As early as 1785 and 1787 incidents happened and powerful enemies like Yi Ki-gyông and Hong Nak-an denounced Tasan to the king for his affiliation to the Catholic church. His dear friend Yi Pyôk died in strange circumstances in 1787. A scandal happened in the maternal branch of Tasan’s family when a funeral was conducted according to Catholic rites in 1791. This was interpreted as a betrayal of the Confucian rites and an offence to the Korean law. source ?

In 1789, he was appointed Gajuseo (가주서, 假注書) and Geom-yeol (검열, 檢閱). ?? These terms aren't used anywhere else in en:wikipedia, and not cleared.

In those days, Korean government repressed freedom of religion, especially Catholicism. Weird Freedom is not recognized, Catholicism is repressed. Moreover, prosecution of Catholics were ordered by Yeongjo, 1758. It seems that Jeongjo was of broader mind.

He was also exiled to the Haemi by his political opponents due to this reason. However. King Jeongjo ordered his return to court after only ten days. ?? Haemi, where ? Details ? Political opponents to YJJ ? What were relationships YJJ-KJ ?

He supervised the construction of Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon in the early 1792. weird Construction was 1794-1796.

Hwaseong Fortress was built over two and a half years (1794-1796) under Jeong Yak-yong's supervision. Drawings and directives where recorded into the ten volumes of "Hwaseong Seongyeok Uigwe" (Records of Hwaseong Fortress Construction). The techniques used to build Hwaseong were embedding the most up-to-date knowledge, using bricks as building material as well as pulleys and cranes, leading to a Vauban-shaped result. The construction took 700,000 man-hours. Workers were paid instead of being recruited as corvée labour: this was another Silhak inovation. For more details, see the Hwaseong Fortress page.

Quotation http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/817 : L'agencement de cet édifice repose sur les travaux de Chong Yag-Yong, universitaire renommé de l'Ecole de l'Etude Pratique (Shirhak). Publiée en 1793 sous le titre « La stratégie des fortifications » (Songhwa Churyak), cette œuvre marquante couvre les développements orientaux et occidentaux de l'architecture militaire. La construction est réalisée entre janvier 1794 et septembre 1796 sous la surveillance de Chae Jegong, ex-ministre et magistrat de la préfecture de Yongjungch'u. Grues, poulies et autres éléments d'équipement spéciaux sont conçus et produits spécialement pour ce projet, ce dont il est fait état dans les Archives de la construction de la forteresse Hwasong (Hwasong Songyok Uigwe).

In 1794, he served as secret royal inspector (암행어사) of Gyeonggi province, investigating misconduct by other officials. to be completed. Since Gyeonggi-do is precisely the province whose Suwon is the capital, this was perhaps a support while building Hwaseong.

This opened his eyes to the scale of official misconduct, and may have inspired many of his later writings. probable, but to be backed.

In 1795, he was demoted to a less important post for such a reason in 1789. to be cleared. General campaign against Catholics, side attack against Hwaseong, retaliation to inspection mission, return from royal favor ?

After 1795, he became Busajik (부사직, 副司直) in Kyujanggak, Seungji (승지). demoted? During Hwaseong building, or just after that ? Founded 1776 by Jeongjo, Kyujanggak was a key position to control the ideology of the next generation of bureaucrats.

However, he was entrapped and resigned from these positions. details?

In 1799, he was appointed as the Byeongjo chamui, but resigned from his position. explain! Secretary 참의 of the Ministry of War, rank 3a. Just after the Minister and the Vice-Minister. Why KJ appointed ? Why JYY resigned

King Jeongjo called him back but suddenly died in June 1800. OK

Exile
King Jeongjo's successor, King Sunjo, was too young, so the Queen Jeongsun seized power... false Queen Jeongsun was the widow of late King Yeongjo and therefore the eldest in the court, before Jeongjo's widow, before anyone else. Therefore, she was the legitimate person to become Regent in 1800. In this context, seized would mean that she has purposely murdered Jeongjo.

... only to take revenge against all the reformers like Dasan. not so clear. This was a larger move, taking any pretext to enforce Queen Jeongsun's policy.

She used the pretext of the Roman Catholic Church, which she called a perverse religion, and launched persecution in 1801. Dasan seems to have renounced his faith. to be expanded. What are the evidences that YJJ renounced in his heart, or not renounced ?

He barely escaped death, and was exiled to Gangjin, South Jeolla for 18 years.

His enemies thought to be rid of him. movie like sentence. To be removed or restated and proved.

Being sentenced to live among peasants in a remote place was not experienced by JYY as a shameful condition, but rather as an occasion to practice his own philosophy.

(08/09/2010) Tasan recognized later that, had he stay in the palace of Seoul, he would never have achieved the same depth of study and of vision. source?

(21/11/2010) During his exile YJJ worked at living a message behind him. One way was to transmit his ideas through teaching. He took the time to give lectures to 18 disciples in the little pavilion that he built himself not far from the sea. He also wrote often to his family, particularly his sons, to guide them in relation to important matters but he was never satisfied of their achievement. A more powerful way for him to reach future generations was through his writing. During that period he concentrated first on the Book of Changes, writing in 1805 an analysis of the Yijing, the Chuyôksachôn. Besides a reflection on the Book of Odes in 1809 he wrote on numerous subjects such as complex philosophical issues, land systems, political structure reform, fairer distribution of wealth, and abolition of the social hierarchy system, politics, ethics, economy, natural sciences, medicine and music. It would be better to give the titles of the books !
 * 1817 "Gyeongse Yupyo" (경세유표, Design for Good Government)

Return to Majae
When Dasan was pardoned in 1819 by King Sunjo, his life remained precarious. After his return, he died on 1836 in Namyangju. not serious This is a 17 years long period. Did really nothing occur during 1819-1836 ?

(08/09/2010) When Tasan was pardoned in 1819 by king Sunjo, his life remained precarious. That is why he called his house Yeoyudang, to live cautiously. Yeoyudang is also the name of the collection of his complete works. more details!

Although some personalities would have liked that he came back to the government, others were still holding threats of death against him. Tasan during that time met less people and kept deeply thinking and writing. vague. Movie-like sentences: who, when, etc. Less encounters than during exile ?

In a few years Tasan wrote many important works: Among these works The Art of Governing is considered as the masterpiece of Tasan because it attempts to bring into practice the Confucian ideal within a modern context. reverted. why ?
 * 1819 "Heumheumsinseo" on jurisprudence,
 * 1819 Aônkagbi on linguistics,
 * 1820 Sadekoryesanbo on diplomacy,
 * 1822 "Mokminsimseo" (목민심서, The Mind of Governing the People) on the art of governing,
 * 1822 Kyôngsesiryông on the administration,
 * ???? Makwa hoi-tong Comprehensive treaty on Smallpox. Lee Kibaik says 1798, but Sungman Cha describes an annex written from a 1828-Western book, itself written from E Jenner.

About Silhak
Good practices are to be practiced, rather than discussed. This could be the core of Silhak 실학.

Silhak was not a structured movement, and was trying to answer a large spectra of questions. Nevertheless, three are three distinctive characteristics that allows to summarize into a single 'school' so many different scholars along a so large period (roughly 1550-1850): (1) the spirit of criticism (2) the spirit  of seeking evidence to establish true facts (3) the spirit of practicality (Kalton, 1975).

The greatest contribution to the Silhak school came from Yi Ik (1681–1763) and Pak Chi-won (1737–1805). Yi’s concern was largely with such matters as land reform, farming, and the abolition of class barriers and slavery. Pak advocated the development of commerce and technology. From "Silhak." Encyclopædia Britannica Online, Web. 26 Sep. 2011. .

JYY belongs to the later part of Silhak. He was the only one who exerted a political position in the Kingdom.

Some marking quotations
(08/09/2010)
 * Integrity is the essential duty of the person who governs; it is the source of all goods and the root of all virtues. Nobody is able to govern without integrity.”
 * The judiciary action in conformity to moral duties is related to the unchanging principles of Heaven and in each case one must give the sentence with the greatest exactitude.
 * The ferocity of the powerful and of the rich inoculates poison to the small people and causes them diseases. The harms are so numerous that it is not possible to enumerate them.

YJJ contribution
Jeong is well-known above all for his work in synthesizing the Neo-Confucian thought of the middle Joseon dynasty. In the process, he wrote widely in various fields including law, political theory, and the Korean Confucian classics. He sought to return Korean Confucian scholarship to a direct connection with the original thought of Confucius. He called this return to the classics "Susa" learning (수사, 洙泗), a reference to the two rivers that flowed through Confucius' homeland.

Jeong published a number of books over various areas, including his best-known Mokminsimseo (목민심서, 牧民心書, The Mind of Governing the People). Although he was deeply concerned about the problem of poverty during that time, Jeong deeply pondered the issue of poverty and raised questions about the role of government officials. He believed that the government and bureaucrats could and should play a major role in solving the problem of poverty. Dasan stressed the importance of the governor's administering the people with integrity and in a fair manner. According to him, the government was the ruling entity to render aid and favor to the people while the people were the subject of the government's sympathy and rule. Weird. The reference given is in fact and discuss about what if a Dasan/Malthus encounter had taken place.

In the service of this idea, Jeong criticized the philosophers of his time for engaging in both fruitless etymological epistemological? scholarship and pursuing philosophical theory for their own sake. He argued that scholarship should be re-focused on more important concerns such as music, ritual, and law. This was not only an intellectual but also a political assertion: he argued that the gwageo examinations by which people qualified for royal service should be reformed to focus on these concerns.

Ye Philosophy
Ye philosophy takes up a large portion of the writings of Jeong Yak-yong. As demonstrated by the fact that the original title of Gyeongse Yupyo (경세유표, 經世遺表, Design for Good Government), a flagship work of his which presents a blueprint of state management, was Bangnye Chobon (Draft for the Country’s Rites), Jeong uses the concept of Ye extensively to represent what he aims to achieve with his thought. He focuses this concept on his notion of good government and later extended and branched into his works of classical studies and natural sciences. Weird. Why referencing a book review by Lee Bongkyoo rather than the book itself by Bak Jong-cheon ?

Theory of Sacrificial Rites
Dasan's theory of Korean-style sacrificial rites (제사, 祭祀) shows his socio-political concern seeking for the rule of virtue and righteous government. He intended to motivate people into making everyday practices of the human imperatives and to revitalize effectively the traditional society of the late period of Joseon dynasty which had its basis upon Ye (禮, Confucian order). In Mokminsimseo, Dasan formulates the cognitive process of ritual practice focussing on sacrificial rites as follows.

1) The cognition of the ritual object raises the intentional movement of mind/heart toward the ritual object in the cognitive process.

2) The intentionality of mind and heart entails reverence and purification in the ritual process. Ritual practice is significant through sincerity (성, 誠) and seriousness (경, 敬). From the perspective of the cognitive science of religion, Dasan's theory relates cognition with intentional pietism in the cognitive process, and combines intentional pietism and reverence/purification in ritual practice. Dasan intended to regulate the excessive ritual practices of the literati and restrict popular licentious cults (음사, 淫祀) in accordance with his cognitive formula. From his point of view, Confucianist's ritual conceptions were improper or impractical, and popular licentious cults were impious and overly enthusiastic. In order to solve these problems, He redefined Zhi Hsi's concept of seriousness as attentive concentration of convergent pietism into the concept of prudential reverence as intentional pietism. Zhi Hsi's concept of seriousness contains apophatic mysticism like Zen Buddhist Quietism (정, 靜) by mediation, but Dasan's concept of reverence is inclined towards Cataphatic activism by contemplation.

The whole sub-section is an exact copy of the abstract of the paper given in reference, except 3 undocumented reversions from pietism into piety by another contributor. If we go to the en:cataphatic page, we obtain:

To speak of God or the divine kataphatically is by its nature a form of limiting to God or divine. This was one of the core tenets of the works of St Dionysus the Aeropagite. By defining what God or the divine is we limit the unlimited as Saint Dionysus outlined in his works. A kataphatic way to express God would be that God is love. The apophatic way would be to express that God is not hate. Or to say that God is not love, as he transcends even our notion of love. Ultimately, one would come to remove even the notion of the Trinity, or of saying that God is one, because The Divine is above numberhood. That God is beyond all duality because God contains within Godself all things and that God is beyond all things. The apophatic way as taught by Saint Dionysus was to remove any conceptual understanding of God that could become all-encompassing, since in its limitedness that concept would begin to force the fallen understanding of mankind onto the absolute and divine.

Moreover, from a 실학 point of view, it is surprising that given starting and ending pages are resp. 81 and 80.

Views on Dasan
The whole section looks weird. Neither Confucius, nor Socrates, nor Averroes pages contain such an 'I like this guy' section.


 * The Korean Arctic Research Station, established 29/04/2002. is named Dasan "to give high praise for Dasan's greatness and his many achievements in science, philosophy and society".


 * Professor Ogawa Haruhisa of Nishogakusha University in Tokyo is very impressed by Dasan:


 * “In addition to egalitarian ideas, Chông Yag-yong Dasan provided something precious that had been lost at that time. He has these elements that we must learn and revive in these modern times. He formed his philosophy despite his sufferings in exile. I think he will be of interest to contemporary scholars for a long time.”


 * Professor Peng Lin at Qinghua University, Beijing teaches the Chinese classics and has a special interest in Dasan’s study of rituals. He published in the 1980s research papers on Dasan in the Sônggyun’gwan Journal of East Asian Studies:


 * “Dasan devoted great efforts in studying rites, to understanding and bringing recognition to traditional culture. I believe that Dasan’s study of rites is highly unique. He studied all the three fields in the study of ritual and this was not common even among Chinese scholars. Many can achieve only partial understanding even after a lifetime study, but Dasan studied all the ritual fields and his research is truly astounding. He wanted to create an ideal society by starting with what already existed. This shows Dasan’s humanistic interest and that intrigues me.”


 * Professor Don Baker at the Asia Center of the University of British Columbia, Canada, is interested in Dasan for his role as an intellectual in a period of transition:


 * “I think that in the twenty-first century we still need to adopt Dasan’s spirit, what I call moral pragmatism. He was a very pragmatic man. He looked at problems and said ‘how can we solve them’. But also he always kept his moral values at the front. We often have in society a material progress for the sake of material progress. Dasan wanted a material progress but a progress that creates a more moral society, therefore I call it moral pragmatism and I think that we still need such spirit today.”


 * Professor Michael Kalton said that it is not only the volume of his writings which is impressive:


 * “His work is marked by a consistently high level of comprehensive and careful scholarship, sophisticated and critical methodology, and an originality that is the product of deep reflection and independence of judgment.“


 * 1945. There is in Korea a revival of Jeong Yak-yong's thought never seen before on that scale for any Korean philosopher. In the not distant past one could hear doubts about even the existence of a Korean philosophy. Since the liberation of Korea in 1945 Western philosophy has prevailed and philosophy departments in most Korean universities teach mainly European modern philosophy. Therefore Dasan is of great importance as he was able to be enthusiastic for modern Western ideas but remained deeply committed to the depth of Confucianism. He was not defending a tradition for its own sake but wanted to keep the precious values of the early Chinese period because it was a foundation for man and society.

Names
At different times in his life, Jeong adopted a wide variety of ho, or pen names. The most well-known of these, Dasan, means "tea mountain." Jeong adopted it while in internal exile near a mountain of the same name, in Gangjin County, on the coast of South Jeolla province. Other pen names of his include Sammi (삼미/三眉), Yeoyudang (여유당/與猶堂), Saam (사암/俟菴), Jahadoin (자하도인/紫霞道人), Tagong (탁옹/籜翁), Taesu (태수/苔叟), Munamirin (문암일인/門巖逸人), and Cheolmasancho (철마산초/鐵馬山樵).

At birth, his father gave Jeong the courtesy name Gwinong, (귀농/歸農), which means "returning to the land." This reflected his father's decision to leave government service in the wake of King Yeongjo's murder of the crown prince.

As a Roman Catholic, he received the baptismal name John, or 요한 (Yohan), in Korean. details ? (1) when, where, by whom ? (2) which John ? (John the Baptist, John of Patmos, ...) (3) why Yohan ?

After his death, the King bestowed on Jeong the posthumous name Mundo (문도/文度). Mun refers to writing or literature, and do to law. details ? What were the implications of 文度 compared to the many other possibilities of writing 문도, what were the literary allusions conveyed by mundo, what were the political implications ?

He was the uncle of Saint Paul Chong Hasang.

Books and Papers cited more than once

 * False forms of Confucian scholarship 23-26
 * The roots of royal authority 26-27
 * Letter to his sons 54-57
 * A letter to my son Hagyeon 58-59
 * On land 84-87
 * Tools and Techniques 113-116
 * Wicked Petty Officials 171-172
 * On Music 191-193
 * What the yi/ki debate is really all about 200-202
 * What the yi/ki debate is really all about 200-202












 * review:
 * illustrated excerpts from Chapter 2 can be found in
 * illustrated excerpts from Chapter 2 can be found in