![]() | Salvation through Dissent: Tonghak Heterodoxy and Early Modern Korea Subjects: Ch’ondogyo -- History; Ch’ondogyo -- Doctrines; Ch’oe Che-u 1824–1864; Religion and state -- Korea -- History -- 19th century; Korea -- Politics and government -- 19th century; A popular teaching that combined elements of Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, folk beliefs, and Catholicism, Tonghak (Eastern Learning) is best known for its involvement in a rebellion that touched off the Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895) and accelerated Japanese involvement in Korea. Through a careful reading of sources--including religious works and biographies many of which are translated and annotated here into English for the first time--Salvation through Dissent traces Tonghak's rise amidst the debates over orthodoxy and heterodoxy in Chosŏn Korea (1392-1910) and its impact on religious and political identity from 1860 to 1906. It argues that the teachings of founder Ch'oe Cheu (1824-1864) attracted a large following among rural Koreans by offering them spiritual and material promises to relieve conditions such as poverty and disease and provided consolation in a tense geo-political climate. Following Ch'oe Cheu's martyrdom, his successors reshaped Tonghak doctrine and practice not only to ensure the survival of the religious community, but also address shifting socio-political needs. Their call for religious and social reforms led to an uprising in 1894 and subsequent military intervention by China and Japan. Buswell Robert E. : Robert E. Buswell, Jr. holds the Irving and Jean Stone Endowed Chair in Humanities at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he is also Distinguished Professor of Buddhist Studies in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures and founding director of the university's Center for Buddhist Studies and Center for Korean Studies. |
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