Myo Cheong

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Myo Cheong was an influential Buddhist monk who lived during the Koryo dynasty in Korea.

[edit] History

During the reign of the 17th King of the dynasty, Myo Cheong argued that Korea had become too Chinese and too Confucian. On a broader scale, this represented the ongoing struggle between the Confucianist elements in Korean Society and the Buddhist elements in society.

The King actually did listen to him and was persuaded. However, the rest of the court and the bureaucracy did not support the move and the King actually had to back out of his commitments to Myo Cheong.

Eventually, Myo Cheong led a rebellion against the government. He moved to Pyongyang (which at the time was called Lolang), and declared a new state. Pyongyang had better geomancy than Kaesong and it was the capital of Old Choson (a probably mythical kingdom in Korea's past). This made Lolang the ideal location for a more "Korean" state.

In the end, the rebellion was crushed by the scholar/general Kim Pusik.


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