Confucian Rhetoric and Ritual as Techniques of Political Dominance: Yŏngjo's Use of the Royal Lecture

Confucian Rhetoric and Ritual as Techniques of Political Dominance: Yöngjo's Use of the Royal Lecture JAHYUN KIM HABOUSH THE THEORETICAL BASIS -Historians have often remarked upon the intensity of the rivalry between monarchical and bureaucratic power in the Yi dynasty,1 a phenomenon that had characterized the Korean polity at least from the Silla unification.2 This resulted in part from the tenacity of the ruling class that succeeded in adapting to the transition to a bureaucracy staffed with Confucian scholar-officials who had passed a civil service examination. In contrast to the Chinese Ming and Ch'ing dynasties, where the shift was definitely toward aggrandizement of imperial power, the continuing rivalry of the Yi was a distinct case of ideology interacting with the political and social system. Confucian ideology was expressed both in the political structure of the Yi dynasty and in the rhetoric and ritual of its inhabitants . This rivalry was shaped by how the rivals perceived and utilized this ideology and everything associated with it. The distinctive features of each reign and the individual personalities of rulers notwithstanding, the monarchical-bureaucratic 1.E.g., Pow-key Sohn, "Social History of the Early Yi Dynasty 1392-1592: With Emphasis on the Functional Aspects of Governmental Structure" (Ph.D. diss., Univer sity of California, Berkeley; Ann Arbor: University Microfilms, 1963); Edward E. Wagner, The Literati Purges: Political Conflict in Early Yi Korea (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1974). 2. See Hi-woong Kang, "The Development ofthe Korean Ruling Class from Late Silla to Early Koryo" (Ph.D. diss., University of Washington; Ann Arbor: University Microfilms, 1964). 39 40Journal of Korean Studies rivalry of the earlier Yi can be said to have evolved from institutional change. The political structure at the beginning ofthe dynasty was a prime minister-centered bureaucracy in which royal power flowed from the almost entirely symbolic status of the king while most decision-making and administrative power was delegated to the prime minister. Devised by Chöng Tojön (1342-98), the chief ideologue of the founding group, it was a codification of his vision of the Confucian polity, a vision that took the division between symbolic and real power as an essential ingredient ofsuccess. That is, the legitimacy of the monarchy was based on the mandate ofthe Yi royal house while the efficiency and stability of the system was maintained by the executive power of the State Council led by the prime minister .3 In placing power in the hands of officials who would be chosen by merit and experience, Chöng was hoping to insure the efficacy of the system against the vagaries of individual kings who would inherit the throne through birth. The consequent restraints on the role of the ruler, however, were intolerable to some strong-willed kings who insisted on more direct control of state affairs. This resulted in alternating changes from a bureaucracy centered around the prime minister to one centered around the monarch.4 An occasional concomitant of this phenomenon was the view, often held by strong monarchs, that Confucian ideology was the basis ofbureaucratic checks on royal power and that power was to be enhanced by challenging those institutions that they saw as particular embodiments of Confucian ideology. The royal lecture was a case in point. While this institution acknowledged the importance of the ruler because it was structured on the assumption that rectification of the royal mind was necessary to national morality and wellbeing , it also formalized ministerial roles as guardians and counselors to the throne by making officials royal tutors. Regarding the royal lecture as yet another channel of bureaucratic indoctrination, both T'aejong (r. 1400-1418) and Sejo (r. 1455-68), who subordinated the bureaucracy to royal authority, rarely attended it.5 King Yönsan (r. 1494-1506) went so far as to abolish it.6 3.ChöngTojön, ChosönkyönggukchönmSambongjip (Seoul: T'amgudang, 1971), pp. 204-10. 4.Pow-key Sohn, "Social History," pp. 124-45. 5.Yon-ung Kwon, "The Royal Lecture ofEarly Yi Korea,"JournalofSocialSciences and Humanities 50 (December 1979): 73-82. 6.JaHyun Kim Haboush, "The Education of the Yi Crown Prince: A Study in Confucian Pedagogy...