Choe Chi-won and Confucianism

On my recent spring trip to Korea, I was asked to participate in a conference celebrating Choe Chi-won. The conference was held in Hamyang, South Gyeongsang Province, on the north slopes of Mount Jiri. I was perplexed that Choe would be celebrated so far from Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, the place where he lived. But I soon found out that Choe had been assigned as the magistrate of Hamyang and he served there for six years, a long term compared to the average of closer to one year. And in the heart of Hamyang is a huge park with “one thousand trees” descended from ones originally planted by Choe 1,200 years ago.

Choe is a very important figure in Korean history. He is the first Confucian sage enshrined at the Seonggyungwan, the national shrine to Confucius and his disciples. There were a total of 18 Korean sages enshrined there, but Choe was the first. He is honored for bringing Confucianism to Korea. He lived in the late ninth and early 10th century at the height of the Silla Dynasty (57 BCE – 935 CE).

His story is filled with remarkable achievements. He went to Tang China at the age of 12, and there passed the high civil service exam at the age of 18. Obviously he was a very bright young boy! He was given a series of positions in the Tang government and then returned to Silla at the age of 27. It is assumed that he wanted to attain high government office in Gyeongju, the capital of Unified Silla, given his experience in China, but the snobbish aristocrats that controlled the government looked down their noses at him, for he was only a “yukdupum” — sixth head rank — noble enough, but not a part of the ruling “true bone” class. There had once been even a higher class, the “holy bone,” but through restrictive inner-class marriage, they had literally bred themselves out of existence. The “true bone” class was a little less exclusive and had a broader base, but not broad enough to include Choe.

Choe was given provincial assignments, and kept from the main prize in Gyeongju. He eventually grew impatient and left government, and in some ways left Confucianism to live out the rest of his life at Buddhist temples.

I have always found it interesting on my visits to Haein Temple to find behind the wall of the temple compound an old, magnificent tree, with a plaque in front of it saying that the tree grew miraculously from the walking staff that Choe stuck in the ground when he took up residence there.

Haein Temple celebrates his life with ceremonies and emphasizes his contributions to Buddhism, too. There was another conference in his honor a few years ago that celebrated his contributions to Taoism as well, emphasizing his standing as a patron saint of all three religions.

At Haein Temple, it is said that he taught disciples who would seek him out. In large measure, his greatest contribution to Confucianism was not what he did in office, but the impact he had on his students, who would go on to be leaders in the late Silla and early Goryeo periods.

What did I have to say about him? When I was first asked to talk about him, I was uncomfortable because my work has been primarily on the 1392-1910 Joseon Dynasty. But I found a touchstone with what I have been working on lately: the two phases of Confucianism. If you’ve read earlier columns of mine, you know I have decried the corruption of Confucianism in the late Joseon period, when it adopted gender biases and ended up with the “bugye” system — the patrilineal, male-dominant system that is assumed to be Confucian, but really is not.

My take on Choe’s approach to Confucianism was to say that his is the kind of Confucianism that Korea can use today. Pure Confucianism's “benevolence,” “loyalty,” “filial piety,” ‘justice,” “etiquette” an “knowledge,” — these key concepts that have done so much to form the positive attributes of Koreans for centuries, without the burden of gender bias and suppression.

I ended my presentation by saying, “Did Choe Chi-won teach that inheritances should only go to the eldest son?” No. “Did Choe Chi-won teach that only sons should offer ceremonies to the ancestors?” No. “Did Choe Chi-won teach that if a man did not have a son, he should adopt a son from within the bloodline?” No. “Did Choe Chi-won teach that one should marry and live at the husband’s village?” No. These were all things that developed in late Joseon.

Korea today looks down on its Confucian traditions. That’s unfortunate, for it is within that tradition that Korea has found its motivation to foster a civilian government, led by well-educated men who have passed a difficult exam. It’s the basis for the drive for education that gives Korea its edge in the modern world.

Korea would be wise to continue to benefit from following the teachings of the great Silla scholar, Choe Chi-won.

Mark Peterson (markpeterson@byu.edu) is associate professor of Korean, Asian and Near Eastern languages at Brigham Young University in Utah.