Read Online A History of Korea by Professor Kyung Moon Hwang - Free Book Online
Authors: Professor Kyung Moon Hwang
Tags: Asia, History, Education & Reference, Ancient, World, Civilization & Culture, Korea, Early Civilization
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in Pyongyang broke away. The leaders of this movement proclaimed a new, paradisiacal land, but to the Korycourt, of course, this action constituted nothing more than the latest rebellion.
It took over a year to quash the uprising, and the reverberations in this region and, indeed, in the country as a whole, would endure much longer. The Myoch’ng Rebellion shook the foundations of the country and encapsulated important social, political, and cultural developments in the Korydynasty both before and after the uprising itself. Myoch’ng’s downfall also had significant repercussions for the structures of political and social power in Kory, including the decline of the monk’s home region, and reflected the ongoing influence and special character of Korean religion.
THE INSTITUTIONALIZED INFLUENCE OF THE BUDDHIST CLERGY
Following the religion’s inception on the Korean peninsula around the fourth century, the Buddhist clergy and the sociopolitical elite developed a mutually beneficial relationship by incorporating each other into their respective realms of influence and claims to legitimacy. As the Ten Injunctions showed, this relationship had reached a peak by the early Korydynasty ( Chapter 4 ). But Buddhism was not limited to the monarchy, for the centuries of steady propagation among the population had produced a culture suffused with Buddhist sentiment. Both the regional and central elites patronized the Buddhist establishment, whether through their support of local temples or sponsorship of nationwide Buddhist festivals. Surely the most visible example of the pervasiveness of Buddhism, especially among the aristocratic taste-setters, was the emergence of the remarkable style of blue-green “Koryceladon,” prized now (as then) even beyond Korea for its ethereal beauty. These ceramics’ almost indescribable sheen itself seems to evoke Buddhist spirituality, as do the many inlaid graphical motifs that refer to well-known Buddhist themes.
The state took the lead in this patronage of Buddhism. The separate spheres of influence had long ago been settled: the spiritual realm, including rituals for the afterlife, for the Buddhist order; and the secular realm of political power for the state. But the state continued to incorporate Buddhist learning and the clergy by recruiting a special segment of the officialdom through athe Korean alphabet in the fifteenth century—a significant issue, given the impact of the printed vernacular on the rise of early modern Europe.
The Buddhist printing advances of the Kory
When asked to name their people’s greatest cultural achievement, most Koreans likely would choose the invention of the native alphabet in the fifteenth century, but they might also list two products from the Buddhist-dominated civilization of the Koryera: the remarkable celadon ceramics, and the great advances in printing developed by the Buddhist establishment. In fact, one could argue that, taken together, the most impressive accomplishments of premodern Korean civilization came in printing technologies, dating back to the Unified Silla era (668–918), when the oldest extant work of woodblock printing in the world was printed and stored in a Buddhist altar. Woodblock printing was invented by the Chinese, but this technique achieved new heights in Korydynasty Korea and, furthermore, these developments laid the groundwork for the next major breakthrough, that of moveable metal type printing, also invented by KoryBuddhist clergy.
Most people in the West associate the invention of moveable metal type, the holy grail of premodern techniques because of the flexibility and durability it provided to enable mass printing, with Johannes Gutenberg of Germany. Gutenberg’s invention in the mid-fifteenth century ushered in the era of widespread information dissemination in Europe, which had an immediately colossal impact through the pamphlets and other rapidly-produced written works that fueled the Renaissance and the
It took over a year to quash the uprising, and the reverberations in this region and, indeed, in the country as a whole, would endure much longer. The Myoch’ng Rebellion shook the foundations of the country and encapsulated important social, political, and cultural developments in the Korydynasty both before and after the uprising itself. Myoch’ng’s downfall also had significant repercussions for the structures of political and social power in Kory, including the decline of the monk’s home region, and reflected the ongoing influence and special character of Korean religion.
THE INSTITUTIONALIZED INFLUENCE OF THE BUDDHIST CLERGY
Following the religion’s inception on the Korean peninsula around the fourth century, the Buddhist clergy and the sociopolitical elite developed a mutually beneficial relationship by incorporating each other into their respective realms of influence and claims to legitimacy. As the Ten Injunctions showed, this relationship had reached a peak by the early Korydynasty ( Chapter 4 ). But Buddhism was not limited to the monarchy, for the centuries of steady propagation among the population had produced a culture suffused with Buddhist sentiment. Both the regional and central elites patronized the Buddhist establishment, whether through their support of local temples or sponsorship of nationwide Buddhist festivals. Surely the most visible example of the pervasiveness of Buddhism, especially among the aristocratic taste-setters, was the emergence of the remarkable style of blue-green “Koryceladon,” prized now (as then) even beyond Korea for its ethereal beauty. These ceramics’ almost indescribable sheen itself seems to evoke Buddhist spirituality, as do the many inlaid graphical motifs that refer to well-known Buddhist themes.
The state took the lead in this patronage of Buddhism. The separate spheres of influence had long ago been settled: the spiritual realm, including rituals for the afterlife, for the Buddhist order; and the secular realm of political power for the state. But the state continued to incorporate Buddhist learning and the clergy by recruiting a special segment of the officialdom through athe Korean alphabet in the fifteenth century—a significant issue, given the impact of the printed vernacular on the rise of early modern Europe.
The Buddhist printing advances of the Kory
When asked to name their people’s greatest cultural achievement, most Koreans likely would choose the invention of the native alphabet in the fifteenth century, but they might also list two products from the Buddhist-dominated civilization of the Koryera: the remarkable celadon ceramics, and the great advances in printing developed by the Buddhist establishment. In fact, one could argue that, taken together, the most impressive accomplishments of premodern Korean civilization came in printing technologies, dating back to the Unified Silla era (668–918), when the oldest extant work of woodblock printing in the world was printed and stored in a Buddhist altar. Woodblock printing was invented by the Chinese, but this technique achieved new heights in Korydynasty Korea and, furthermore, these developments laid the groundwork for the next major breakthrough, that of moveable metal type printing, also invented by KoryBuddhist clergy.
Most people in the West associate the invention of moveable metal type, the holy grail of premodern techniques because of the flexibility and durability it provided to enable mass printing, with Johannes Gutenberg of Germany. Gutenberg’s invention in the mid-fifteenth century ushered in the era of widespread information dissemination in Europe, which had an immediately colossal impact through the pamphlets and other rapidly-produced written works that fueled the Renaissance and the
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