Salvation through Dissent

George L. Kallander

George L. Kallander

Salvation through Dissent

Tonghak Heterodoxy and Early Modern Korea

In: Korean Classics Library: Philosophy and Religion

Edited by: Robert E. Buswell

University of Hawaii Press | 2013

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780824837860

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About this book

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.

The work locates the origins of Korea’s twentieth-century religious nationalist movement in the aftermath of the 1894 rebellion, the resurgence of Japanese power after the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), and the re-creation of Tonghak as Ch’ŏngogyo (the Religion of the Heavenly Way) in 1905. As a study of religion and politics, Salvation through Dissent adds a new layer of understanding to Korea’s changing interactions with the world and the world’s involvement with Korea. In addition to students and scholars of Korea’s early modern period, it will appeal to those interested in global politics, Chinese and Japanese studies, world religion, international relations, and peasant history. The extensive, annotated translations will be of particular use in courses on Korea, East Asia, and global religion.

Author information

BuswellRobert 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.

Reviews

Kallander’s Salvation Through Dissent . . . enhance not only our understanding of the origins and nature of the religion that started as Tonghak and became Ch’ŏndogyo but also our understanding of the turbulent history of Korea during the last decades of the Chosŏn dynasty. . . . belong[s] on the bookshelves of anyone interested in analyzing the process by which traditional societies transform themselves into modern nations.

Frontmatter Free access PDF PDF	i
Contents Free access PDF PDF	v
Acknowledgments Free access PDF PDF	vii
Introduction Free access PDF PDF	ix
1. Securing the People: Orthodoxy, Heterodoxy, and the Confucian State Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	1
2. Uncertain Times, Uncertain Means: Rural Life, Western Ways, and Ch’oe Cheu Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	28
3. Kumi Mountain: Center of the World, 1861–1863 Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	58
4. The Tonghaks Have Again Arisen, 1864–1894 Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	90
5. Another Tonghak Revolution, 1904–1907 Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	124
Conclusion Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	147
Translations Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	155
Eastern Scripture Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	157
Selections from Songs of Yongdam Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	177
Selections from Master Haewŏl’s Discussion on the Teachings Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	189
Ch’oe Sihyŏng’s Petitions Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	198
Account of the Origin of the Way Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	201
Notes Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	221
Glossary of Names, Terms, and Phrases Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	271
Bibliography Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	285
Index Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	303

Salvation through Dissent

Tonghak Heterodoxy and Early Modern Korea

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