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
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.
Tony Robinson is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Colorado Denver.
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.
Chapters
Table of Contents
Pages
PDF
Cover
Title
i-v
Table of Contents
vii-ix
Preface
xi-xix
PART I THE BOY IN THE BORDERLANDS
Chapter 1 The Hinge of History
3-8
Chapter 2 On the Mongol Frontier
9-16
Chapter 3 On the Descent of Yi Seong-gye
17-32
Chapter 4 The Frog in the Whirlpool
33-41
Chapter 5 “Men of Excellence Appear from Korea”
43-48
Chapter 6 The Horseman in the Capital
49-53
PART II THE GENERAL OF GORYEO
Chapter 7 The Advent of General Yi
57-78
Chapter 8 Royal Intrigues: Reform and Resentment in Late Goryeo
79-98
Chapter 9 Seong-gye the Cipher
99-104
Chapter 10 Pirates, Gunpowder, and the Brave Baby
105-120
Chapter 11 “It is You who will Accomplish my Will!”
121-124
Chapter 12 Decadents and Exiles of Late Goryeo
125-136
Chapter 13 The General’s Bow and the Scholar’s Brush
137-144
Chapter 14 Feuding Factions of Late Goryeo
145-153
Chapter 15 The Return from Wihwado
155-173
Chapter 16 “Fish in a Cauldron, Gasping for Breath”
175-194
Chapter 17 Radicals on Fire
195-201
Chapter 18 Millenarian Dreams
203-208
Chapter 19 Base Blood and Counter Revolution
209-215
Chapter 20 What Shall it Be? This or That?
217-224
Chapter 21 Standing Before the Phoenix Throne
225-230
PART III THE KING OF JOSEON
Chapter 22 The Crown Prince of Joseon
233-243
Chapter 23 Of Politicide
245-250
Chapter 24 Of Myth-Making
251-271
Chapter 25 Government by Benevolence
273-284
Chapter 26 Zhou of the East
285-296
Chapter 27 Government by Remonstrance
297-307
Chapter 28 “His Thunderous and Earth Shaking Reputation”
309-328
Chapter 29 The Ming Memorial Affair
329-346
Chapter 30 “With Horses Driven Like That, One Can Go to War”
