Engaging Differences in Chosŏn Korea: A Post-Ming Context

The Chosŏn elites in the late seventeenth and the early eighteenth centuries phased Confucianism to their response to the rise of the Qing, whose Jurchen origins remained savage and underdeveloped in their memory even after the fall of Ming in 1644. They started establishing an ideological frontline intent on rearming themselves in Confucianism and dichotomizing civilization and barbarity in an anti-Qing campaign. This double stance to the post-Ming change stood out in times of uncertainties as one form of security strategy. The Old Doctrine 老論 (Noron), commenced the debate on human nature (人性) and delved into how the substance of the Confucian term for Universal Pattern (理) could be differently manifested in the human mind and heart. The first group Horon (湖論) emanated an outspoken voice for the human difference in kind so that separation and differentiation, pivotal to the theoretical armament of anti- Qing discourse, were elucidated. The second group Nangnon (洛論) argued for a human difference in degree so that balance and accommodation, indispensable to the execution of state affairs including diplomacy with the Qing, were articulated. Significantly, the two views empowered the Old Doctrine to channel the seemingly abstract concept of human nature into an intellectual practice to revalidate Chosŏn as a land of civilization after the bygone Ming. In this respect, the debate exempliflies how the elites used Confucianism to generate a competent image of Chosŏn, how a dialogue between thought and geopolitics paved the way for the construct of an ideological frontline against the Qing. and how it became a discourse of security during the turbulent Ming-Qing transition.