HIST 105 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Ming Dynasty, Taejong Of Joseon, Chungin
Document Summary
Founding the joseon dynasty: early foundations. 1392: general yi seonggye overthrew the last koryo king. Moved royal capital to hanyang (seoul) to symbolize a new beginning. Joseon dynasty: the longest lived dynasty in korean history: the reign of king taejong. Ming emperor rewarded the korean king with gifts and military power. King lived (1335-1408: confucianism in joseon korea. Centralized: central government appointed magistration in all 300 districts. Civil service exams were widely adopted--birth alone was no longer enough to get high office. Social life in the early joseon: structure of joseon society. Yangban families: passed the civil service exams. Farmers: working on government estates or on the manor holdings pf the landed elite. A new professional class known as chungin (middle people): merchants and artisans, clerks, legal specialist, accountants and interpretors. Low born people: untouchable outcasts, labored on government plantations or served in certain occupations (butcher/entertainers: yangban system. Unique ruling class of mixed aristocratic/bureaucratic nature.
