A Flying Dragon
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Robinson, Tony and Ji, Minsun: A Flying Dragon: King Taejo, Founder of Korea’s Choson Dynasty , Heidelberg: Heidelberg Asian Studies Publishing, 2023. https://doi.org/10.11588/hasp.1158

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ISBN 978-3-948791-53-7 (PDF)
ISBN 978-3-948791-54-4 (Softcover)

Published 23.05.2023.

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Tony Robinson and Minsun Ji

A Flying Dragon

King Taejo, Founder of Korea’s Choson Dynasty

Yi Seong-gye (1335-1408)  began life as an obscure warrior of Korea’s borderlands, but rose to overthrow the 500-year Goryeo dynasty and become King Taejo, who founded the 518-year Joseon dynasty, Korea’s final royal lineage and the longest lasting Confucian dynasty in history. King Taejo’s momentous life intersected with watershed East Asian developments: the collapse of the Mongol Empire in Korea, the rise of China’s brilliant Ming dynasty, the pacification of massive Japanese pirating operations, and the rise of Asia’s most thoroughly realized Confucian society in Joseon. This biography tells the tale, ending with the tragic descent of King Taejo‘s own family into fratricide and grief.

Dr. Tony Robinson is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Colorado Denver. 

Dr. Minsun Ji is the Executive Director of the Rocky Mountain Employee Ownership Center. 

Together the co-authors have led more than a decade of study abroad programs across Korea and collaborate on research projects covering both Korean history and modern urban planning innovations in Seoul.

Contents
PDF
Cover
Imprint
Table of Contents
Preface
PART I THE BOY IN THE BORDERLANDS
Chapter 1 The Hinge of History
Chapter 2 On the Mongol Frontier
Chapter 3 On the Descent of Yi Seong-gye
Chapter 4 The Frog in the Whirlpool
Chapter 5 “Men of Excellence Appear from Korea”
Chapter 6 The Horseman in the Capital
PART II THE GENERAL OF GORYEO
Chapter 7 The Advent of General Yi
Chapter 8 Royal Intrigues: Reform and Resentment in Late Goryeo
Chapter 9 Seong-gye the Cipher
Chapter 10 Pirates, Gunpowder, and the Brave Baby
Chapter 11 “It is You who will Accomplish my Will!”
Chapter 12 Decadents and Exiles of Late Goryeo
Chapter 13 The General’s Bow and the Scholar’s Brush
Chapter 14 Feuding Factions of Late Goryeo
Chapter 15 The Return from Wihwado
Chapter 16 “Fish in a Cauldron, Gasping for Breath”
Chapter 17 Radicals on Fire
Chapter 18 Millenarian Dreams
Chapter 19 Base Blood and Counter Revolution
Chapter 20 What Shall it Be? This or That?
Chapter 21 Standing Before the Phoenix Throne
PART III THE KING OF JOSEON
Chapter 22 The Crown Prince of Joseon
Chapter 23 Of Politicide
Chapter 24 Of Myth-Making
Chapter 25 Government by Benevolence
Chapter 26 Zhou of the East
Chapter 27 Government by Remonstrance
Chapter 28 “His Thunderous and Earth Shaking Reputation”
Chapter 29 The Ming Memorial Affair
Chapter 30 “With Horses Driven Like That, One Can Go to War”
Chapter 31 The Strife of the Princes
PART IV THE HOLY MAN OF HAMJU
Chapter 32 The Disappearing Messengers
Chapter 33 Temple Solace
Chapter 34 The Pampas Grass of Hamhung
Chapter 35 A Tree With Deep Roots
REFERENCE MATTER
Notes
Bibliography
Backcover