Table of Contents
Read Next
When the dynasty was established, the territory under its control was named Chosŏn, with the approval of the emperor of China. The Chosŏn dynasty, with 26 monarchs, ruled from 1392 until the Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910. Hanyang (now Seoul) was made the capital. The Confucian ethical system was officially adopted and replaced Buddhism, which had become corrupt. Many Confucian institutions of learning were set up. Chosŏn society was dominated by a hereditary aristocratic class, the yangban (literally, “two orders,” meaning civil and military officials). Members of the yangban devoted themselves to the study of Neo-Confucian orthodoxy and, through ...(100 of 8926 words)