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![]() | This page was mainly a duplicate that should be merged to the appropriate pages. Now, this page is seen as the entry point of the whole series. |
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this series includes | |||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Joseon Political Factions | |||||||||||||||||
Joseon literati purges (1392-1567) | |||||||||||||||||
Joseon factional strifes (1567-1805) | |||||||||||||||||
Joseon in-law strifes (1805-1897) | |||||||||||||||||
Sources |
The concept of Joseon Political Factions, aka Bungdang (붕당, 朋黨) in Korean, describes the political factionalism that was characteristic of the political life during the Joseon period in Korea. Each and every pretext was used as a "juste cause" to disparage and purge the other factions. But, beyond similarities concerning "techniques for ousting your rivals", there were three different periods, due to different social groups at strife.
Zhuge Liang is the attributed author of the 36 Stratagems compilation [1]
A first phase, in 15th and 16th century, mostly resulted from the fight between two social groups: Hungu and Sarim. The Hungu were a self-conscious group, issued from the meritorious subjects awarded for their participation to 1392 coup that created Joseon, and to the other events that consolidated the regime. They soon monopolized the governmental power in the Capital. On the contrary, the Sarim were a forest of scholars, many of them having initially retired from the political life as a protest against the seizure of Joseon seizure of power from Goryeo in 1392. Another part retired as a protest against the seizure of power by Sejo from the weak Danjong in 1453. During this retirement period, a political faction resulted from maintaining power base and ideological continuity through Seowon and Hyang'yak (a system of social contract that gave local autonomy to villages). During Seongjong, censoring power, see Wagner
The conflict culminated, between 1498 and 1545, in a series of four bloody purges, known as the
Korean Literati Purges, in which Sarim faction was persecuted by the Hungu faction. Eventually, the Hungu faction declined without an ideological successor while the Sarim faction emerged as the dominant faction during the reign of
Seonjo.
a piece here and the Yeongnam-based Sarim faction dominated national politics
A second phase, in the 16th century, a nationwide split occurred within the Sarim group. It resulted into a Western faction (Seo-in) and a Eastern faction (Dong-in), composed mainly of younger generation. Political divisions intensified even further as the Eastern faction in turn split between the hard-line Northern faction (Buk-in) and the moderate Southern faction (Nam-in) [2] and the Western factions split between the Old Learning (No-ron) and the Young Learning (So-ron). The Northern faction further split into the Greater Northern and Smaller Northern factions. The faction names often derived from the relative location of their leader's house.
These factional splits grew out of allegiance to different philosophical schools and regional differences. For instance, the Eastern faction was largely Youngnam-based, and its subfaction the Southerners were mainly followers of Yi Hwang while the Northerners coalesced around the school of Jo Shik. The Gyeonggi and Chungcheong-based Western faction were largely followers of Yi I, of which followers of Seong Hon split to form the So-ron faction and Song Siyeol's followers became the No-ron faction. These divisions were often further driven by questions concerning royal succession or appropriate royal conduct. For example, the split between the Northerners and Southerners was driven by debate over the proper successor to Seonjo, who had no legitimate son. The Northerners came to support the Gwanghaegun; accordingly, they flourished under his reign (1608–1623) but were swept from power by the Westerners after the succession of Injo.
Under the reigns of Yeongjo and Jeongjo in the 18th century, a strict policy of equality was pursued with no faction being favoured over another. [3]. poor usage of the source, that rather insists on the causes of the strifes !!! However, in Jeongjo's reign, strife re-emerged as the ruling No-ron faction split further between the Byeokpa and Sipa, two groups which cut across the earlier factions and differed in their attitudes concerning Yeongjo's murder of his son, who was also Jeongjo's father.
A third phase occured in the 19th century. Joseon politics shifted as in-law families rather than scholarly factions came to dominate the throne. For most of the 19th century, the Jangdong branch of the Andong Kim clan was in control of the government; however, there was a brief interlude in which control shifted to the Pungyang Cho clan.
During the reign of Gojong, real power initially belonged to his father the Heungseon Daewongun, who on one hand sought to reform corrupt state institutions but on the other hand pursued a policy of isolationism, opposing the opening of the country to Western and Japanese influences. From the 1870s onwards, Queen Min (known posthumously as Empress Myeongseong) became more dominant and pursued a policy of cautious modernisation and opening up. Her dominance was opposed by reactionaries and progressives alike. The Enlightenment Party (also known as Progressives) sought to modernise the country along Western and Japanese lines. These factional struggles led to the Imo Incident and Gapsin Coup, as well as increased foreign interference in Korean affairs.
moved from the 'Other purges' section in Korean_literati_purges
There is a large set of traditional names for all the political purges that occurred during the Joseon period (1392-1897). Some are neutral like "Turn of State" (hwanguk, 환국), used in the Sukjong's sillok. Other are clearly taking side, like "Treason Case" (oksa, 옥사) or "False Treason Case" (muok, 무옥). Most of them are called Literati Purge (sahwa, 사화) making a reductio at Yeonsangun by alluding to the 1498 purge, considered as the worse ever. A special case are the "Persecutions" (bakhae, 박해), also named "Heresy Cases" (saok, 사옥), where large series of opponents were tracked as believers of Catholicism (part of them were, large numbers were not).
Here are the most known of them. Item starting by a number belongs to the traditional List of Twelve Literati Purges (Sibi Sahwa, 십이사화, 十二士禍) [4]. On the other hand, major literati purges are often numbered as 1st=1498, 2nd=1504, 3rd=1519, 4th=1545. [5]
moved from the "Sarim" page
1, 2: inserted to the "4_colours" section
3: everything has to be checked with the undisclosed source !!!
--> Kim Gueng-pil --> Jo Gwang-jo (Giho Sarim, Gimyo Sarim)
partly moved from "Factional struggle" in the part II article
At the beginning of Hunggu/Sarim confrontation, the Sarim faction was rather a social group made of a collection of individuals (sarim literally means forest of scholars), most of them leaving far from the capital. When the Sarim won the confrontation, this rather loose group started to coalesce in antagonistic factions, ever dividing over the slimmest "just cause" they encounter. Among them were questions concerning royal succession or appropriate royal conduct.
A first split, 1574, leads to:
And some splits later, we have the entrenched four factions (Sasaek Dangjaeng, 사색당쟁, 四色黨爭), where "colors" (saek) convey the meaning of The Four Banners (of war).
But this "four colours" scheme is mostly an over simplification of a more complex matter. As an example: in 1606, the Northerners divided into Greater Northerners (led by Heo Gyun) and Smaller Northerners. In 1613, the Greater Northerners split further into Flesh Northerners, Bone Northerners and Middle Northerners. And then, the Smaller Northerners allied with Westerners and Southerners. Etc.
finding an uniform style for these descriptions
splitting or not ?
The Korean factional purges are frequently depicted in Korean television dramas and movies.
sort order: year of issue
This source is accessible online. More details can be found at
"VERITABLE RECORDS of the JOSEON DYNASTY".
Dates are given in the lunar system. Thus Western style names of the months are only misleading.
Of special interest are the official rectifications, compiled some times later...
Seonjo=14th king, 1567
Gwanghae=15th king, 1608
Injo=16th king, 1623
Hyojong=17th king, 1649
Hyeonjong=18th king, 1659
{{
cite web}}
: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1=
(
help){{
cite web}}
: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1=
(
help)41826=Korean classical terminology dictionary
41826=Glossary of Terms (former 50351)
42044=Sunshine essay dictionary (book)
42920=Korean history special that high school students should know (book) (former 47322)
43119=History of funerals (book)
43667=Common sense dictionary
46622=Korean National Cultural Heritage
58852=The story of the palace
59015= People of Korean History
62005=16 Korean scholars (book)
62010=Dictionary of Government Positions
62132=National and local government people
![]() | A patroller thinks something might be wrong with this page. That patroller can't be arsed to fix it, but can rest assured that they've done their encyclopaedic duty by sticking on a tag. Please allow this tag to languish indefinitely at the top of the page, since nobody knows exactly what the tagging editor was worked up about. |
![]() | This page was mainly a duplicate that should be merged to the appropriate pages. Now, this page is seen as the entry point of the whole series. |
| |||||||||||||||||
this series includes | |||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Joseon Political Factions | |||||||||||||||||
Joseon literati purges (1392-1567) | |||||||||||||||||
Joseon factional strifes (1567-1805) | |||||||||||||||||
Joseon in-law strifes (1805-1897) | |||||||||||||||||
Sources |
The concept of Joseon Political Factions, aka Bungdang (붕당, 朋黨) in Korean, describes the political factionalism that was characteristic of the political life during the Joseon period in Korea. Each and every pretext was used as a "juste cause" to disparage and purge the other factions. But, beyond similarities concerning "techniques for ousting your rivals", there were three different periods, due to different social groups at strife.
Zhuge Liang is the attributed author of the 36 Stratagems compilation [1]
A first phase, in 15th and 16th century, mostly resulted from the fight between two social groups: Hungu and Sarim. The Hungu were a self-conscious group, issued from the meritorious subjects awarded for their participation to 1392 coup that created Joseon, and to the other events that consolidated the regime. They soon monopolized the governmental power in the Capital. On the contrary, the Sarim were a forest of scholars, many of them having initially retired from the political life as a protest against the seizure of Joseon seizure of power from Goryeo in 1392. Another part retired as a protest against the seizure of power by Sejo from the weak Danjong in 1453. During this retirement period, a political faction resulted from maintaining power base and ideological continuity through Seowon and Hyang'yak (a system of social contract that gave local autonomy to villages). During Seongjong, censoring power, see Wagner
The conflict culminated, between 1498 and 1545, in a series of four bloody purges, known as the
Korean Literati Purges, in which Sarim faction was persecuted by the Hungu faction. Eventually, the Hungu faction declined without an ideological successor while the Sarim faction emerged as the dominant faction during the reign of
Seonjo.
a piece here and the Yeongnam-based Sarim faction dominated national politics
A second phase, in the 16th century, a nationwide split occurred within the Sarim group. It resulted into a Western faction (Seo-in) and a Eastern faction (Dong-in), composed mainly of younger generation. Political divisions intensified even further as the Eastern faction in turn split between the hard-line Northern faction (Buk-in) and the moderate Southern faction (Nam-in) [2] and the Western factions split between the Old Learning (No-ron) and the Young Learning (So-ron). The Northern faction further split into the Greater Northern and Smaller Northern factions. The faction names often derived from the relative location of their leader's house.
These factional splits grew out of allegiance to different philosophical schools and regional differences. For instance, the Eastern faction was largely Youngnam-based, and its subfaction the Southerners were mainly followers of Yi Hwang while the Northerners coalesced around the school of Jo Shik. The Gyeonggi and Chungcheong-based Western faction were largely followers of Yi I, of which followers of Seong Hon split to form the So-ron faction and Song Siyeol's followers became the No-ron faction. These divisions were often further driven by questions concerning royal succession or appropriate royal conduct. For example, the split between the Northerners and Southerners was driven by debate over the proper successor to Seonjo, who had no legitimate son. The Northerners came to support the Gwanghaegun; accordingly, they flourished under his reign (1608–1623) but were swept from power by the Westerners after the succession of Injo.
Under the reigns of Yeongjo and Jeongjo in the 18th century, a strict policy of equality was pursued with no faction being favoured over another. [3]. poor usage of the source, that rather insists on the causes of the strifes !!! However, in Jeongjo's reign, strife re-emerged as the ruling No-ron faction split further between the Byeokpa and Sipa, two groups which cut across the earlier factions and differed in their attitudes concerning Yeongjo's murder of his son, who was also Jeongjo's father.
A third phase occured in the 19th century. Joseon politics shifted as in-law families rather than scholarly factions came to dominate the throne. For most of the 19th century, the Jangdong branch of the Andong Kim clan was in control of the government; however, there was a brief interlude in which control shifted to the Pungyang Cho clan.
During the reign of Gojong, real power initially belonged to his father the Heungseon Daewongun, who on one hand sought to reform corrupt state institutions but on the other hand pursued a policy of isolationism, opposing the opening of the country to Western and Japanese influences. From the 1870s onwards, Queen Min (known posthumously as Empress Myeongseong) became more dominant and pursued a policy of cautious modernisation and opening up. Her dominance was opposed by reactionaries and progressives alike. The Enlightenment Party (also known as Progressives) sought to modernise the country along Western and Japanese lines. These factional struggles led to the Imo Incident and Gapsin Coup, as well as increased foreign interference in Korean affairs.
moved from the 'Other purges' section in Korean_literati_purges
There is a large set of traditional names for all the political purges that occurred during the Joseon period (1392-1897). Some are neutral like "Turn of State" (hwanguk, 환국), used in the Sukjong's sillok. Other are clearly taking side, like "Treason Case" (oksa, 옥사) or "False Treason Case" (muok, 무옥). Most of them are called Literati Purge (sahwa, 사화) making a reductio at Yeonsangun by alluding to the 1498 purge, considered as the worse ever. A special case are the "Persecutions" (bakhae, 박해), also named "Heresy Cases" (saok, 사옥), where large series of opponents were tracked as believers of Catholicism (part of them were, large numbers were not).
Here are the most known of them. Item starting by a number belongs to the traditional List of Twelve Literati Purges (Sibi Sahwa, 십이사화, 十二士禍) [4]. On the other hand, major literati purges are often numbered as 1st=1498, 2nd=1504, 3rd=1519, 4th=1545. [5]
moved from the "Sarim" page
1, 2: inserted to the "4_colours" section
3: everything has to be checked with the undisclosed source !!!
--> Kim Gueng-pil --> Jo Gwang-jo (Giho Sarim, Gimyo Sarim)
partly moved from "Factional struggle" in the part II article
At the beginning of Hunggu/Sarim confrontation, the Sarim faction was rather a social group made of a collection of individuals (sarim literally means forest of scholars), most of them leaving far from the capital. When the Sarim won the confrontation, this rather loose group started to coalesce in antagonistic factions, ever dividing over the slimmest "just cause" they encounter. Among them were questions concerning royal succession or appropriate royal conduct.
A first split, 1574, leads to:
And some splits later, we have the entrenched four factions (Sasaek Dangjaeng, 사색당쟁, 四色黨爭), where "colors" (saek) convey the meaning of The Four Banners (of war).
But this "four colours" scheme is mostly an over simplification of a more complex matter. As an example: in 1606, the Northerners divided into Greater Northerners (led by Heo Gyun) and Smaller Northerners. In 1613, the Greater Northerners split further into Flesh Northerners, Bone Northerners and Middle Northerners. And then, the Smaller Northerners allied with Westerners and Southerners. Etc.
finding an uniform style for these descriptions
splitting or not ?
The Korean factional purges are frequently depicted in Korean television dramas and movies.
sort order: year of issue
This source is accessible online. More details can be found at
"VERITABLE RECORDS of the JOSEON DYNASTY".
Dates are given in the lunar system. Thus Western style names of the months are only misleading.
Of special interest are the official rectifications, compiled some times later...
Seonjo=14th king, 1567
Gwanghae=15th king, 1608
Injo=16th king, 1623
Hyojong=17th king, 1649
Hyeonjong=18th king, 1659
{{
cite web}}
: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1=
(
help){{
cite web}}
: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1=
(
help)41826=Korean classical terminology dictionary
41826=Glossary of Terms (former 50351)
42044=Sunshine essay dictionary (book)
42920=Korean history special that high school students should know (book) (former 47322)
43119=History of funerals (book)
43667=Common sense dictionary
46622=Korean National Cultural Heritage
58852=The story of the palace
59015= People of Korean History
62005=16 Korean scholars (book)
62010=Dictionary of Government Positions
62132=National and local government people