The Contextual Turn of Ru Xue to Ru Jiao during the Era of King Jung-Jo and King Ko-Jong

Title

The Contextual Turn of Ru Xue to Ru Jiao during the Era of King Jung-Jo and King Ko-Jong

Author

Yiling HSU

Page

101-126

DOI

10.6163/tjeas.2016.13(2)101

Abstract

In the modern Korean language, the word Ru Jiao (儒教) is often regarded as the synonym of Ru Xue (儒學), Confucianism. However while doing research on the terminology in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty (朝鮮王朝實錄) we discover two key points. First, the word Ru Jiao is absent in the records of seventeen rulers. But in the Annals of both the Period of King Jung-Jo (正祖朝) and the period of King Ko-Jong (高宗朝), this vocabulary been mentioned frequently, and often appears in discussion of western study, Xi Xue (西學), Second, to analyze the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, we found the words end with Xue (學) are more common used in King Jung-Jo period. But the preference convert to the words end with Jiao in Ko-Jong period. It suggests Ru Jiao is not only an accepted convention through common practice. The change of terminology reveal an evolution of Confucianism history. The study is about how the interpretation of Confucianism evolved within these two periods. At Jung-Jo period, to confront the influence of Xi Xue (西學), Jeong Yak-yong (丁若鏞) is focus on science and Hong Dae-yong (洪大容) discuss more of religion. in opposition to Xi Xue (西學), Joseon Confucians positioned themselves as Ru Xue (儒學). Later, during the period of King Ko- Jong, Joseon fashioned the way western powers formed nationalism through the use of religion. Park Eun-sik (朴殷植) and Chang Chi-yeon (張志淵) tried forge the Confucianism as the national religion, and keep the autonomy of the Joseon school of Confucian thought, with gaining the religious power of the western style religions.

Keyword

Joseon, Ru Xue, Ru Jiao, Xi Xue, National Religion, Contextual Turn

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