Philosopher
Jeong Dojeon
1342–1398
Also known as Chŏng Tojŏn, Chong Tojon
Confucian scholar and statesman of the new Joseon dynasty whose critiques of Buddhism, for abandoning family and society, shaped the Neo-Confucian thought of early Joseon.
Jeong Dojeon was a Confucian scholar of the last years of the Goryeo dynasty and a founding statesman of the Joseon dynasty that replaced it in 1392. His philosophy gave the new kingship its legitimacy, and he is counted a foundational figure in the Neo-Confucian ideology of early Joseon.
His final treatise, An Array of Critiques of Buddhism, sets out nineteen criticisms, from the Buddhist accounts of the mind and human nature to the doctrines of transmigration and karma. He quoted the Mencius, the Analects and Zhu Xi in support, and borrowed Cheng Yi’s charge that Buddhist learning straightens the inner life but not outward conduct. His practical guidance on government has been seen as an early form of the “practical learning” usually dated to centuries later. The Buddhist Gihwa wrote a rebuttal.
Key ideas
- Principle comes first
- Principle is “the inherent virtue of the mind and that through which material force is produced”, and “only after there is principle is there material force”. Jeong rooted ethics in this metaphysics, and the authority of the new dynasty in a moral order that mirrors the cosmos.
- Against Buddhist withdrawal
- Buddhists cut themselves off from their obligations to society and family, treating their closest relatives “like passers-by on the street”, and their teaching of emptiness means nothing for life in the world. Confucian humanity works through the Five Relationships.
- This life, not the next
- Confucianism is concerned with this life, not idle speculation about rebirth and karma. Instead of relying on spirits who reward and punish, people should examine their own nature and mind, preserve what is good in it, and govern their desires through education.
- Rectify yourself first
- A ruler must help the people and set his own mind right before trying to set others right. Jeong also had practical objections: most of the state’s revenue, he complained, was spent on Buddhism and deities.
Influences
Influenced by
Jeong Dojeon1342–1398
Influenced
Influenced by
Jeong Dojeon1342–1398
Influenced
Where these links come from
- Jeong Dojeon drew on Cheng Yi. Source: Kevin N. Cawley, Korean Confucianism, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- Jeong Dojeon drew on Zhu Xi. Source: Kevin N. Cawley, Korean Confucianism, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- Jeong Dojeon argued against Jinul. Source: Kevin N. Cawley, Korean Confucianism, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- Gihwa argued against Jeong Dojeon. Source: Halla Kim, Korean Philosophy, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Key works
- An Array of Critiques of Buddhism (Pulssi chappyŏn)
- Read free at Wikisource (in Classical Chinese, in his collected works, volume 9)
- On Mind, Material Force and Principle (Simgiri p'yŏn)
Sources
- Kevin N. Cawley, Korean Confucianism, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- Halla Kim, Korean Philosophy, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy