The Confucian Transformation of Korea: A Study of Society and Ideology

Rating:
Summary: Comprehensive, well researched
Review: Deuchler's book is a wonderful examination of the social changes brought about by the adoption of Neo-Confucianism as the ruling ideology of Korea from 1392 onward. Despite her dense writing style (fewer authors pack as much information per page), the work is fascinating and highly readable. My only major complaint is that she focuses almost exclusively on the upper classes, although to be fair, evidence from the lower classes is largely non-existent. I would have also liked to have seen more diagrams, but other people may not find this a problem.