The Great Synthesis of Wang Yangming Neo-Confucianism in Korea: The Chonon (Testament) by Chong Chedu (Hagok)

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Translated, edited, and introduced by Edward Y. J. Chung, The Great Synthesis of Wang Yangming Neo-Confucianism in Korea: The Chonn (Testament) by Chng Chedu (Hagok), is the first study in a Western language of Chng Chedu (Hagok, 16491736) and Korean Wang Yangming Neo-Confucianism. Hagok was an eminent philosopher who established the unorthodox Yangming school (Yangmynghak) in Korea. This book includes an annotated scholarly translation of the Chonn (Testament), Hagoks most important and interesting work on Confucian self-cultivation. Chung also provides a comprehensive introduction to Hagoks life, scholarship, and thought, especially his great synthesis of Wangs philosophy of mind cultivation and moral practice in relation to the classical teaching of Confucius and Mencius and his critical analysis of Zhu Xi Neo-Confucianism and its Sngnihak tradition. Chung concludes that Hagok was an original scholar in the Sngnihak school, a great transmitter and interpreter of Yangming Neo-Confucianism in Korea, and a creative thinker whose integration of these two traditions inaugurated a distinctively Korean system of ethics and spirituality. This book sheds new light on the breadth and depth of Korean Neo-Confucianism and serves as a primary source for philosophy and East Asian studies in general and Confucian studies and Korean religion and philosophy in particular.

Reviews

"The Chosun dynasty of Korea (1392-1910) is a kingdom of Cheng Yi and Zhu Xis Neo-Confucianism, the school of human nature and principle. Chong Chedu (pen name, Hagok, 1649-1736), however, is one of the leading pioneers of Korean Wang Yangming school, the school of the mind. In this book, Edward Chung introduces and translates the Chonon, Chongs philosophical masterpiece on Yangming Neo-Confucianism. The introduction is informative and the translation is clear and modern. This is an excellent and highly recommendable translation of such a rare but inspiring philosophical vision of Chong Chedus Yangming Neo-Confucianism." -- Bongrae Seok, Alvernia University

This is the best book about Korean Yangming school available in English which introduces the most prominent Korean Yangming scholar Hagoks creative interpretation of Wang Yangming.

-- Young-Chan Ro, George Mason University
"An understanding of Korean Confucianism would be incomplete without comprehending the thoughts of the premier Korean Yangming school philosopher Hagok Chng Chedu, and thanks to Edward Y.J. Chung, finally Hagoks major work is accessible in English. This meticulous translation of Hagoks masterpiece Chonn (Testament) and substantial introduction to his thoughts is a groundbreaking and invaluable contribution to the field of Korean and Asian philosophy. Chungs work signals the beginning of a new era of expanded research in Korean Confucianism in English." -- Jung-Yeup Kim, Kent State University
"This book has significantly contributed to Korean studies, especially the study of Korean philosophical tradition. Chung's delicate translation and commentary of Hagok Chng Chedus work, the Chonn , offers an invaluable introduction to Korean Yangming Neo-Confucianism. This landmark contribution will promote advanced readings of Korean philosophy in the West in which the study of Cheng-Zhu school and Sirhak (Practical Learning) in Korean intellectual history has been dominant." -- Suk Gabriel Choi, Towson University
"This pioneering introduction to the philosophy of Chng Chedu illuminates the holism at the heart of traditional Korean thought. Providing the first substantial English-language translation of Chngs writings, Edward Chung shows how Chng used the insights of Wang Yangming to clarify key concepts in the hegemonic philosophy of Zhu Xi. With his translation and analysis, Chung gives us an enlightening elaboration of what Chng actually thought." -- Donald Baker, University British Columbia

Author Bio

Edward Y. J. Chung is Asian studies director and professor of religious studies at the University of Prince Edward Island, Canada.