[KS] Introductory reading on Confucianism

[Eunsu Cho]

As far as I know, the short fragments of translations of T'oegye and Yulgok
contained in the Sourcebook of Korean Civilizations are the only available
translations of their works in English, besides the Ten Diagrams. I myself
am translating a small part of Yulgok's "Diary of Royal Tutoring" for Robert
Buswell's anthology, Korean Religion in Practice, but just a short piece on
Neo-Confucian bureaucrats' anxiety about practice of Buddhism in the court,
not a whole systematic translation.

I wanted to suggest one book to add to your resources on Korean
confucianism. I, having also lamented the lack of resource materials to
teach Korean religion and thought, used The Confucian Kingship in Korea by
JaHyun Kim-Haboush in my Traditional Korean Thought class for the first time
this year. We read this book subsequent to general readings on
neo-Confucianism in China and Korea and the reception from the students was
extraordinary. The book talks about real historical events on King Yongjo
and the tragic death of his son, while presenting confucian moral
philosophy, social ideas, the ideal of sage king, the importance of the
three cardinal relationship, the relationship between human's order and
heaven, etc., so that it is entertaining while instructional.

The project translating the complete works of Wonhyo is moving slowly; but
will eventually succeed sooner or later. For a more precise projected
completion date, you might want to inquire to Professor Sung-bae Park at
SUNY Stoney Brook who is leading the research project.

Eunsu

--------------------------------------------
Eunsu Cho
Department of Asian Languages and Cultures
University of Michigan
3070 Frieze Bldg.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1285
734-647-2096 (tel)
734-647-0157 (fax)
eunsucho at umich.edu

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bert Edens" <bert at apprenticeis.com>
To: <Koreanstudies at koreaweb.ws>
Sent: Monday, January 19, 2004 11:59 AM
Subject: Re: [KS] Introductory reading on Confucianism


> At 12:00 1/16/04 -0500, you wrote:
> >    I'm not sure what level your undergrads are but
> >Michael Kalton's book, "To Become a Sage", is
> >excellent.  It provides a good introduction to Korean
> >Neo-Confucianism. It also lays out the broader context
> >and has a glossary listing key concepts.  In addition,
> >it fits a student's budget.  It's provided for free
> >at:  http://faculty.washington.edu/mkalton/
> >All the best, mike ralston.
>
> This brings up another question, somewhat related to the introductory
> reading question. Does anyone know if the works of T'oegye ("Ten
Diagrams",
> as above, plus others), Yulgok, etc. have been translated to English? In
> that same vein, but to the Buddhist lean, whatever happened to the project
> translating the complete works of Wonhyo?
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Bert Edens
>
>
>