Myocheong
Myo Cheong (Hangul: 묘청, Hanja:妙淸) was an influential Buddhist monk and geomancer of the royal court who lived during the Goryeo Dynasty in Korea.
Myo Cheong's Rebellion
During the reign of king Injong of Goryeo, Myo Cheong argued that Korea had become weakened by Confucian ideals. His views directly conflicted with Kim Bu-sik, a China-oriented Confucian scholar. On a broader scale, this represented the ongoing struggle between the Confucian and Buddhist elements in Korean society.
It was during this period an organized Jurchen state was putting pressure on Goryeo. The trouble with the Jurchens was partly due to Goryeo's underestimation of the newly established state and the ill treatment of its envoys (i.e. killing them and humiliating their corpse). Goryeo's dislike for the Jurchens stemmed from the fact that they were once a subservient tribe under Goryeo's predecessor state Goguryeo, and took Jurchen assertion of equality with Goryeo as an offense. Taking advantage of the situation, Myo Cheong purposed to attack the Jurchens and that moving the capital to Pyongyang would assure success.
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 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 Seo-gyeong (西京, “Western Capital”), and declared the establishment his new state of Daewi. According to Myo Cheong, Kaesong was "depleted of virtue." This made Pyongyang the ideal location for the supposed dynastic revival.
In the end, the rebellion was crushed by the scholar-general Kim Bu-sik.
See also
- History of Korea
- Goryeo Dynasty
- Shin Chaeho