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Acceptance of the Chinese Books on Military Art and Understanding Patterns of Literati (중국(中國) 병서(兵書)의 유입과 지식인들의 이해 양상 - 무경칠서(武經七書)를 중심으로 -)

Yun, Muhak
- The Journal of Korean Philosophical History
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- no.31
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- pp.321-346
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- 2011
This is a preliminary study in order to deal intensively with the overall characteristics of Korean military science in the future days. First off, the history of military science of China based on the precedent studies was recapitulated, and a comparative study on the acceptance process of the books on military art and science, as well as on understanding patterns of literati on the subject through literature searches, ranging from the Three Kingdoms Period to the Goryeo Dynasty in Korean peninsula, was conducted. In case of Korea, the Chinese books on military strategy, including Sun Tzu's the Art of War, had already been passed down during the Three Kingdoms Period, and broadly read by scholarly people. They had utilized diverse methods based on their knowledge of Confucianism. In the reference materials, the authors of Korean military strategy books had greatly relied upon the Chinese books on military strategies, however, they had made the military principles run in their own way. At the end of Goryeo Dynasty, 'Military Science' had been well established as a subject in academia, and this curriculum had been taught not only at the National Confucian Academy, Seonggyun-gwan, in the capital but also at the country public school ("Hyanggyo") in the province together with Confucianism. Because of the limits of reference materials, however, it was difficult to confirm whether or not such strategic experiences were actually led to the publication of the books on military art and science, or how many books on military strategies and tactics had been published up until the end of Goryeo Dynasty. But, the facts that there were not many publications of the books on military strategies during the era of Three Kingdoms and of Goryeo Dynasty don't mean that Korean military science had entirely relied upon the Chinese military art and science. For instance, such strategies, tactics and leaderships as exhibited in the process of the Great Victory at Salsu River ("Salsu Daecheop") achieved by General Eulji Mun-deok, as well as the Great Victory at Gwiju ("Gwiju Daecheop") achieved by General Kang Gam-chan could never happen by chance.

Compilation of Books on Military Arts and Science and Ideology of Military Science in the early Joseon Dynasty (조선(朝鮮) 초기(初期)의 병서(兵書) 편찬(編纂)과 병학(兵學) 사상(思想))

Yun, Muhak
- (The)Study of the Eastern Classic
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- no.49
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- pp.325-355
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- 2012
This research aims to generalize the thoughts of military science of the intellectuals through the books on military arts and science, which were published in the early Joseon Dynasty. In the early Joseon dynasty, it was in a position to establish the foundation in the new monarch internally, and, at the same time, to overcome foreign powers on both northern and southern borders externally. Thus, the books on military arts and science should have to be published under a premise of such situations. Accordingly, the books on military arts and science of those days took account of political stability having reflected the activities not only as the founder of Joseon but also as the military officer in the late Goryeo along with the books' own purpose to found military arts and sciences. The books on military arts and science that published in the early Joseon Dynasty were written mostly based on Chinese military books and its annotations, except some descriptions of the history of war. However, the intellectuals at that time endeavored to redefine military arts and science from the perspective of Confucianism having evaluated Chinese military science books that were biased to boost Machiavellian tactics. As a result of this, the geographical distinctions between China and Korea were the start of an argument for the military arts and science. There were also disputes over the relationships between the military science and the Yin-Yang School, and between the military science and Confucian school. Organizing our country's own history of war for the first time in the early Joseon Dynasty is worth for putting a high evaluation. However, it cannot help but to point out the limits of the books that there are noticeable descriptions about the factors related to toadyism, and that there are no descriptions about the wars against Japanese raiders. The books on military arts and science in the early Joseon Dynasty put emphasis on the commander's leadership that should be good at both literary and martial arts, as well as the harmony in military-to-military relations. After all, the intellectuals in the early Joseon Dynasty had linked the military arts and science to the sages of Confucian school under a premise that scholarship is to be used in combination with martial arts. And, as the nexus between the two, they noted the items of virtue, such as humaneness and righteousness (仁義); ritual and music (禮樂); loyalty and filial piety (忠孝); three fundamental principles (三綱); five moral disciplines (五倫). It can be said that this point is the typical features of the military arts and science in the early Joseon Dynasty, which cannot be found in Chinese military classics.