Reform of civil service examinations system and neo-confucianism in the 14th century Korea : an East Asian perspective

Abstract

The contents of civil examinations reflected the common notion of cultural at that time. There were two main subjects: poetry & prose composition and Confucian Classics. If a new trend of thoughts arises and the cultural notions change, it would be very likely to bring about controversies and relevant reforms. Actually there were controversies and reforms about the contents of civil service examinations in accordance with the rise and spread of Neo-Confucianism during Sung and Yuan dynasties in China. And similar phenomena also occurred in the Koryo dynasty during the14th century. This paper tries to reveal one aspect of the institutional impact upon the reception of Neo-Confucianism, which has been neglected due to the dominant perspective of national history in the field of Korean Studies....