Generals and Scholars: Military Rule in Medieval Korea

by Edward Shultz

Generals and Scholars is the first work in English to examine fully military rule during the Koryo. Although it lasted for only a century, the period was one of dynamic change--a time of institutional development, social transformation, and the reassertion of the civil service examination and Confucian ideology coupled with the flowering of Son (Zen) Buddhism. (When confronted with fundamental matters of rule, however, Ch'oe leaders frequently opted for the status quo and in the end aligned with many traditional civil elites to preserve their power.) The traditional tension between civilians and the military was eased as both came to accept the primacy and necessity of civilian values. Koryo generals, unlike those in Japan, learned they could govern more readily by relying on civil leaders administering a strong central government than on a call to arms. Institutional innovations from this period survived well into the next and Son Buddhism continued to flourish throughout the country.

Genres: History

272 pages, Paperback

Published June 1, 2000

Reviews

[Earl Grey Tea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of the books that I've read about Korean history deal with large periods of time. While having a general overview of different time periods is great, lately, I've been interested in more detailed accounts of important events in Korean history. This book definitely provides the type of Korean history that I am looking for.

Coming into this book, a decent understanding of Korean history is a prerequisite. Throughout the 5,000 years of Korean history, this book only focuses on about 80 years of the Koryeo Dynasty (고려시대) in which the Ch'oe family was able to become more powerful than the king himself due to the conflict between the civilian and military sides of the government.

This book is written in a collegiate format that isn't in chronological order. Instead, the author focuses on different aspects (Buddhism, economy, peasants & slaves, etc.) in this time period and how each member of the Ch'oe family dealt with these matters. While this style was a bit hard to follow in the beginning, by the last chapter every tied together and was reviewed thoroughly.

Throughout the entire book, the author remained objective and refrained from emotional opinions. This book definitely introduced to me to deeper parts of Korean history that I was unfamiliar with. The academic approach of writing was a bit dry but very informative.