So. Where I left off before, Koryo had united the three nations and had already had quite a few wars and threats of takeover itself. Certainly, much of the internal problems are solved rather quickly because the military ALWAYS takes over when they are discontented. SO is the case of the coup d'etat of 1014. Unfortunately for the people of Koryo during the 11th and 12 th centuries there was a lot to be worried about. Lt. Gen. Yi So-ung declared in 1170 that all civil officials would be killed. A massacre ensued.
The military rule lasted even through most of the 13th century, until 1270. This included the wealthy families' grab for land and slaves. Their slaves were trained to become each own's personal military. In the end, Ch'oe won out and took power with his own personal army of over 3,000 army slaves in 1196. By the time his reign ended, he had 30,000 army slaves plus calvary! His reign did end in 1258, but the years he was in control brought stability to the region through his political policies.
These were:
1. Remove supernumary officials
2. Return land to peasants
3. Reestablish impartial taxation
4. Prohibit the construction of Buddhist temples
The last one is interesting for in my last post I had described the religions as being fairly peaceful with each other. While that may have remained true, there came to be a time in Koryo's history that the militarization of Buddhist monks proved that they were a very powerful force in politics. Many wealthy families would pair up with Buddhist temples for continuous spiritual and physical property protection. Ch'oe saw this religious and political affiliation as being very dangerous to the well-being of his entire territory and reign.
Ch'oe himself was NOT King of Koryo, but he throned 4 Kings and dethroned 2 while he ruled the country. During the 12th century there were various slave/peasant rebellions as well: 1172, 1176, 1182. Additionally, a desire for liberation and just treatment was instilled by one very brave slave named Manjok. He organized nearly the entire slave population to seize the capitol, Kaesong. Their attempts and fights included the years 1193, 1199, 1200, and 1202. None of these were entirely successful but probably scared the pants off of the ruling elite, king and military-run government!!!
Sanity was restored, but not for long! The Koryo people now had to deal with a whole new threat: THE MONGOLS! (just makes me think of Mongolian Grill.. which then makes me hungry...) The Mongol nomadic warriors on horseback defeated Chin (a northern region of modern-day China) and pushed many survivors into the country of Koryo, who didn't want them. So together, the Mongols and Koryo exterminated what was left of the Chin population. (yikes!)
At first the relationship between the Mongols was fine. Of course over time there were border battles and one last political event that triggered a war in 1225. The military commander, Ch'oe flees to Kanghwado Island (what a coward!) and leaves the peasants on the mainland to defend themselves! Moreover, the Mongols use burnt earth tactics to completely obliterate the countryside.
When finally the peasants and King of Koryo surrendered, the Mongols settled in and began the infamous Yuan dynasty. Ch'oe and his military force continued to avoid mainland Koryo until 1273...without much avail of course. The Yuan Dynasty was a period where certain Mongol families rose to great wealth and power, the native peasants were unsure of how to survive under these circumstances so many CHOSE to become private slaves. The Mongol families turned free commoners into their private slaves in a short time after invasion.
In the final phase of this whirlwind tour of the early centuries, Koryo falls apart. King Kongmin and his powerfully Chinese-aided Ming Dynasty kicks out the Mongol Yuan in 1368. This King tasked one monk, Sin Ton with reestablishing order and eliminating the corruption of the previous Dynasty when there was another uprising by again, a hot-headed military commander, General Yi Song-gye. The people were split between supporting a Ming Dynasty with the new military commander and anti-Ming. Yi won the divide and created the Choson Dynasty.
Under the new Dynasty, the Rank Land Law was placed to destroy the economic foundation of the powerful families (which they weren't too happy about...) Yi called himself T'aejo and formed the Dynastic Foundation Merit Subjects from the most intelligent of the land (literati) to codify administrative law combined with Confucian ideals, principles and practices.
Following this, there was a FEUD between Yi's sons, and in 1401, his son Pang-won sets a new, clearer direction of the politics of the state. The governing process is to be directed by to orders of civil and military officials, the State Council would be a gathering of SIX ministries with the ability to approach the throne directly to address a particular issue of the state. A Hall of Worthies was created of scholars, but also a National Code was established with specific special advisors in both legislative and administrative bodies.
The rest of the country was organized similarly to the centralized government:
8 Provinces
1 Governor per state
Magistrates (collect taxes and mobilize labor service)
Hyangni (responsible for rectifying public mores and monitoring conduct)
6 Chamber Functionaries (replicating the 6 Ministries of the Central Government)
Now let there not be any confusion -- there still is a rank and status of each citizen of the newly formed Choson Dynasty. At first all freeborn could be examined for civil and military orders, but then a 4-tier rank system was established and names were given to families based on their rank and status.
Top tier: Yangban - 2 orders, highest ranks of military and civil officials (10% of the population)
Second tier: Chungin - middleclass intelligentia medical, scientific, and foreign language
Third tier: Yangmin/Sangmin - "the good people" commoners
Fourth tier: Ch'onmin - slaves, outcasts etc.
Test of YOUR class: (In order to become a Government Official during the Choson Dynasty was if-- )
1. You must specify the native place of your family (clan)
2. Your date of birth
3. The names of your 4 previous generations of your Father
4. The names of your 4 previous generations of your Mother
5. The names of your 4 previous generations of your Father-in-Law
6. The names of your 4 previous generations of your Mother-in-Law
Think you can do it?
Until next time.... Stay tuned!!
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