Twentieth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

The early Joseon dynasty (1392–1897) in East Asia is often depicted as an era of political conflict between the king, the Hungu faction, and the Sarim faction. The four major Sahwas (literati purges) reflect its seriousness, through which Neo-Confucian scholars were sacrificed by the punishments of execution, exile, or dismissal. What, then, happened in 1519? Why did the public office of Sogyeokseo become one of the most controversial issues at the Joseon court? This paper explores the politico-religious landscape of early modern Korea through the key features of the Royal Coup of 1506, Jo Gwangjo (1482–1520) and ‘the Literati Purge of 1519’, and argues the critical insight that the Taoist rituals and sacred sites were traditionally maintained for the reinforcement of the royal sovereignty while the culture of Jongmyo (ancestral altars) and Sajik (altars of soil and grain) were legally implemented in the beginning of the Confucian Joseon.