Confucian Statecraft and Korean Institutions: Yu Hyongwon and the Late Choson Dynasty (Korean Studies of the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies)

Rating:
Summary: For Serious Students of Pre-modern Korean History Only!
Review: Before I make any comments about the book, I must first declare that my review is highly biased towards Dr. Palais and his work--I had studied under his guidance for several years at the Henry M. Jackson School, University of Washington. The score for the book, which I had rated "5," is based totally on the academic value, i.e. the excellence of scholarship in one of the more obscure, yet, important fields of Korean studies.

Put simply, the book explores the state of 16th century Chosun Dynasty through the eyes of a Neo-Confucian scholar, Yu Hyongwon. The traditional and prevalent views of Yu have been that Yu was the forerunner of Sirhak or "practical learning" school of Korean Neo-Confucianism. However, Palais disputes this long-standing notion of Yu and, rather, asserts that Yu's ideas about statescraft was rather limited in ambition--Yu was searching for ways to revitalize the Choson Dynasty well within the traditions of Confucianism. This key thesis is and will be, for sometime to come, remain a contested issue among students of Korean history.

I believe the contribution of Palais' work lie in his pain-stakingly thorough exploration into Neo-Confucian traditions extant in the 17th century Korea. Fujiya Kawashima of Bowling Green State University notes "the book will remain for decades to come a cornerstone of KOrean Studies and required reading for specialists and students alike who are intersted in Confucian statecraft and institutions in East Asia" in his review of the Palais' work in the Journal of Asian Studies. I could not agree more.

I do have a couple of reservations, however. This book is not a light reading. The sheer length of the book is enormous--totallying 1019 pages. Substance-wise, readers should have a fairly good handle on the history of Chosun Dynasty, (Neo) Confucian traditions, and the debate over Sirhak to fully appreciate Palais' work. It is a truly daulting task to actually read this book from cover to cover, but the reader will be rewarded handsomely for his effort.