I070 NOTES TO CHAPTER 6
Kim Hahoush, A Heritage of Kings: One Man's Monarchy in the Confucian World (New
York: Columbia University Press, 1988). Since the sip'a and Southerners supported
Chongjo's elevation to the throne, they inhibited his natural sympathy for the slaves. If
the Southerners and sip a were responsible for obstructing slave reform, one wonders
why YOngjo himself did not himself abolish official slavery when the bureaucracy had
very few Southerners in it. For that matter. even when there were more of them in Chongjo's
government (1776-1800), there was continuous progress in easing the opportunity for
manumission.
- Hiraki attributed the following statement made in court conference in 1601 to
Yun Sunghun, but it seems to be included in remarks made by Cho Suik, who was com-
plaining about the shortage of troops. In any case:
In my humble opinion the law of private slavery exists only in our country.
Heaven gives birth to the myriad people and endows them equally. You cannot
say at all that at the time they arc born on this eal1h, they [people I are already
divided into noble and base. Even though the standards [of elegant living?] of
our country are very common and inferior, if our ancestors happened to have a
few slaves, they were able to sit at ease and enjoy the pleasures of dukes and
marquises. How could there be such a principle?
Earlier Confucian scholars have said about the well-field system that the only
time you can implement it is right after a major upheaval [war or rebellion] in
the world. At the present time the situation of our country is [as precarious as if
it were hanging hy] a hair. Even though we have slaves, no one dares talk about
it. We must use the law of China and abolish forever the adult males and slaves
granted to the families of the chief ministers on down and make them soldiers.
It is said that in the past during the Koryo [period] at the time that the Eastern
Expeditionary Headquarters was established thy the Mongols], the Chinese offi-
cials asked about our law of private slavery because they wanted to abolish it,
but at the time our king and high ministers stopped it. These were the views of
inferior rulers and ministers. How can they be taken up for discussion? At the
present time the fortunes of the country have taken a tum for the hetter. It is a
time when all institutions have been renewed. We cannot stick stubbornly to the
mistaken laws of former times. (Sonja sillok 142: 1 sa, Sonja 34. IO.kich'uk, cited
in Hiraki Makoto. Chosen hugi l10bUe yon 'gu, p. 221)
- Chon Hyongt'aek pointed out that the tribute tax rate on official slaves had been
reduced to half that of commoners because they also had to pay the personal tribute tax
to their private masters. Choson hugi nohi sinbun yon 'gu, pp. T73-74.
- The regulations also speeitled that once a person had sold himself into slavery,
even if for only a day, his status became fixed and irreversible; he could not lightly be
exempted from slavery. MHBG, 162:36b-37a.
- Barry Hindess and Paul Q. Hirst, Pre-capitalist Modes of Production (London,
Henley and Boston: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1975), pp. 115-16, et passim, especially
PP·^12 5-77·
