【Special issue: Confucian ethos: Etiquette & Vernacular life】Changing Perspectives on Civilization and the Acknowledgment of Protestantism by Choson Intellectuals in the Late Choson Period: A Discussion Focusing on the Hwangseong Sinmun and Hwangseong Young Men’s Christian

Author: En-Mei Wang (Department of East Asian Studies, National Taiwan Normal University)

Vol.&No.：Vol. 59, No. 1
Date：March 2014
Pages：63-94
DOI：10.6210/JNTNULL.2014.59(1).04

Abstract：

Because of Western expansion and the defeat of China in the Opium Wars, the regional order of East Asia was disrupted by the end of the nineteenth century. Moreover, the defeat of the Qing Dynasty in the First Sino-Japanese War by Japan was an unprecedented shock to Choson. The rise of Japan following its Westernization indicated the downfall of the Sinocentric order. For Choson intellectuals, namely scholar-bureaucrats and Confucian scholars, the event also signified the collapse of their perspectives on the world and civilization. Subsequently, they complied with the Western-centered civilization and world order. During this period, numerous Choson intellects began accepting and converting to Protestantism, considering it as an essential medium and a means for connecting with Western civilization and modernizing the country. Furthermore, the widespread and increasing influence of Protestantism in Choson indicated a change in the perspectives held by Choson society, whereas the downfall of the Sinocentric order after the First Sino-Japanese War provided the window of opportunity for the formation of new perspectives on civilization.

      The present study focused on how the change in perspective on civilization caused Choson intellectuals to acknowledge and convert to Protestantism in the late Choson period. By analyzing Hwangseong Sinmun (Empire Town Seoul News), the manner in which Choson intellectuals changed their perspectives on civilization when faced with the overthrow of the Sinocentric order was investigated in this study. By analyzing the Hwangseong Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA Seoul), this study revealed how Protestantism was deemed as a symbol of the new perspective on civilization and how it was acknowledged as a means to pursue modernization. Because of the vital role of the Hwangseong Young Men's Christian Association in the acceptance of Protestantism by Choson intellectuals, the organization was used as an example to illustrate the close relationship between Protestantism and the new perspectives on civilization.

Keywords：scholar-bureaucrat, Sinocentric order, perception of China, Progressive Party

《Full Text》