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

Translated, edited, and introduced by Edward Y. J. Chung, The Great Synthesis of Wang Yangming Neo-Confucianism in Korea: The Chonŏn (Testament) by Chŏng Chedu (Hagok), is the first study in a Western language of Chŏng Chedu (Hagok, 1649–1736) and Korean Wang Yangming Neo-Confucianism. Hagok was an eminent philosopher who established the unorthodox Yangming school (Yangmyŏnghak) in Korea. This book includes an annotated scholarly translation of the Chonŏn 存言 (Testament), Hagok’s most important and interesting work on Confucian self-cultivation. Chung also provides a comprehensive introduction to Hagok’s life, scholarship, and thought, especially his great synthesis of Wang’s 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 Sŏngnihak tradition. Chung concludes that Hagok was an original scholar in the Sŏngnihak 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.

Table of Contents:
Contents Preface Acknowledgements Note on Transliteration, Translation, and Citation Style Note on the Chonŏn and Selecting Its Sections for Translation Abbreviations Notes to Preface, Note on Translation, Translation, and Citation Style, and Note on the Chonŏn and Selecting Its Sections for Translation Translator’s Introduction I. Chŏng Hagok’s Life and Scholarship II. The Chonŏn and the Heart of Hagok’s Thought Notes to the Introduction Translation: The Chonŏn (Testament) Part I: Hagok chŏnjip, vol. 1, pp. 285-297 Part II: Hagok chŏnjip, vol. 1, pp. 298-309 Part III: Hagok chŏnjip, vol. 1, pp. 310-319 Notes to the Translation Glossary of Key Terms, Names, and Titles Cited Bibliography

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

Review :
"The Chosun dynasty of Korea (1392-1910) is a kingdom of Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi’s 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, Chong’s 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 Chedu’s Yangming Neo-Confucianism." “This is the best book about Korean Yangming school available in English which introduces the most prominent Korean Yangming scholar Hagok’s creative interpretation of Wang Yangming.” "An understanding of Korean Confucianism would be incomplete without comprehending the thoughts of the premier Korean Yangming school philosopher Hagok Chŏng Chedu, and thanks to Edward Y.J. Chung, finally Hagok’s major work is accessible in English. This meticulous translation of Hagok’s masterpiece Chonŏn (Testament) and substantial introduction to his thoughts is a groundbreaking and invaluable contribution to the field of Korean and Asian philosophy. Chung’s work signals the beginning of a new era of expanded research in Korean Confucianism in English." "This book has significantly contributed to Korean studies, especially the study of Korean philosophical tradition. Chung's delicate translation and commentary of Hagok Chŏng Chedu’s work, the Chonŏn 存言, 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." "This pioneering introduction to the philosophy of Chŏng Chedu illuminates the holism at the heart of traditional Korean thought. Providing the first substantial English-language translation of Chŏng’s writings, Edward Chung shows how Chŏng 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 Chŏng actually thought."