[Korean study series 7]

In the traditional historiography of Korea, there are so many records of unusual natural phenomena, which the author calls ‘portents’. Until the late 1970’s the enormous records of the portents had been almost totally overlooked by the historians of Korea. And it was about the same for the portents for Chinese and Japanese historical records. With this research Dr. Park had actually done the ground-breaking study by defining the meaning and significance of portents in the intellectual climate of the traditional society of Korea.
After his pioneering adventure in this fascinating field, the portents in the historical writings of the bygone days had been slowly attracting academic attention. This is the first book of its kind about the East Asian tradition of portents and their politico-ideological implications.

한국의 옛 역사문헌들에는 저자가 “재이”라고 부르는 괴이한 자연현상들에 대한 수많은 기록이 남아 있다. 이 방대한 재이의 기록들은 1970년대 후반까지만 해도 한국 역사학자들의 관심을 전혀 끌지 못했고 이는 중국과 일본의 경우도 다를 바 없었다. 저자는 한국전통사회의 지적 풍토에서 재이가 갖는 의미를 규정함으로써 이 미답의 분야를 개척했다. 이후 이 흥미로운 분야에 학계의 관심이 쏠리기 시작했다. 이 책은 동아시아 전통 재이와 그 정치․이데올로기적 함의를 다룬 첫 저술이다.

Ⅰ. Portentography in Korea
1. Samguk sagi
2. Kory sa
3. The Sillok of the Chos n Dynasty
4. Stages of Portentography

Ⅱ. Portents in Korean History
1. Omens
2. Auspices
3. Recapitulations

Ⅲ. Rise of Confucian Portentology in Korea
1. Portentology in Chinese Philosophy
2. Portents and Politics in Kory Confucianism
3. Traditional Exorcisms in the Early Chos n Period
4. Portents and Korean Kingship

Ⅳ. Portents and Neo-Confucian Politics in Korea, 1392-1519
1. The Growth of Confucianism and Portent Politics-Kings T'aejong and Sejong
2. Reaction to Confucian Portentology-Kings Sejo and S ngjong
3. The Birth of Neo-Confucian Portentism-King S ngjong
4. Violent Reactions to Neo-Confucianism-King Y nsan
5. Victory of Neo-Confucianism-King Chungjong

Ⅴ. Conclusion