In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

94 There is a clear division, both in the operation and the tenor of the Ch’oe House, that is marked by the rise to power of Ch’oe Hang. Ch’oe Ch’unghŏn and Ch’oe U had been institutional architects. They freely improvised and adjusted Koryŏ conventions to enhance their command over the kingdom. They were effective administrators and at the same time decisive leaders. They left a definitive stamp on Koryŏ institutions and dominated Koryŏ’s cultural life. Moreover, under their leadership Koryŏ doggedly endured the Mongol invasions . The decline of the Ch’oe House began with Ch’oe Hang’s rise to power. Its final collapse came shortly after Ch’oe Ŭi succeeded Hang. These last years of Ch’oe rule are tragic not only because of the immense destruction wrought by the Mongols, but also because a mountain of evidence reveals that the new Ch’oe leaders were incapable of addressing the key issues of the period. Both Ch’oe Hang and Ch’oe Ŭi become pawns of events rather than the molders of change. Ch’oe Hang As Ch’oe U approached his twenty-fifth year in office, he realized that it was time to secure an heir. After exiling his son-in-law Kim Yaksŏn, Ch’oe U considered his grandson Kim Chŏng as a possible successor, but early in 1243 he also banished the younger Kim.1 Then Ch’oe U decided on Hang as his new heir, placing him under the tutelage of several leading scholars and promoting him to the 5 Civil Structure and Personnel Ch’oe Hang and Ch’oe Ŭi Ch’oe Hang and Ch’oe Ŭi 95 post of minister of revenue. Ch’oe Hang did not become a state councillor, but he did take charge of one of the ministries. In this position, Ch’oe U probably intended that Hang be trained for dynastic politics. Within a year, Ch’oe Hang had entered the lower ranks of the Security Council. At the same time, Ch’oe U sought to enhance Hang’s military position by giving him five hundred of his own personal house soldiers.2 Thus, before he died, Ch’oe U clearly demonstrated through support and promotion that Hang was his successor. At Ch’oe U’s death in the eleventh month of 1249, the Ch’oe bodyguards immediately went to guard Hang’s house. Rise to Power On succeeding to power, Ch’oe Hang embarked on policies quite reminiscent of those of his father. Quickly he isolated and removed from office all opponents, including men and concubines who had been loyal to Ch’oe U. Officials who had supported Kim Chŏng as Ch’oe U’s heir were special targets of attack, as was Ch’oe U’s second wife’s family. As the Tae family had covert ties with Kim Chŏng, Ch’oe Hang sought to eliminate this clique completely. In his campaign to establish absolute control over the kingdom, Ch’oe Hang also neutralized the power of many key men who had been in Ch’oe U’s Personnel Authority.3 Even though this policy might have been an honest attempt to check possible opposition, Ch’oe Hang purged respected civilian officials who would have been invaluable in his consolidation of power. He also exiled people such as Min Hŭi and Kim Kyŏngson simply because they were popular.4 With the rise to power of each new Ch’oe leader, significant changes occurred as established officials left the power structure. This pattern suggests that each leader had created a cadre of people who were loyal to the Ch’oes as individuals but held little allegiance to the Ch’oe House itself—a situation indicating that loyalty was still very much a personal bond. Fidelity could be established between individuals—in this case the Ch’oe leader and his followers—but few men were loyal to the Ch’oe system. This must have posed a serious dilemma to the Ch’oe House, for the very success of Ch’oe rule would then depend on the ability of each new Ch’oe leader to consolidate his followers rapidly and firmly. Part of this problem undoubtedly rested in the fact that since the dynastic structure had never been eliminated, the Ch’oe House was never able to make a [18.191.216.163] Project MUSE (2024...

Share