조선 태종의 즉위과정과 내세운 명분

Abstract

This essay takes seriously the fact that Jeong’an-gun(later King Taejong) was ever mindful of justifying his political conducts in terms of neo-Confucian moral standards. From this point of view it examines the process of his coming to the throne and the moral justification of this process that was set forth. It attempts to prove that the accession to the throne by King Taejong, who appreciated and was conscious of neo-Confucian moral justification, marks the birth of “the King of Joseon.”When he carried out a coup d'etat on August, 1398, Jeong’an-gun(King Taejong) justified it in terms of the weak’s right to take the initiative, the conformity to popular sentiment and the succession to the throne by the eldest legitimate son. The eldest legitimate son’s succession to the throne in particular served as the major pretext to justify the coup in the aftermath of this political change. When Jeong’an-gun was set up as the Crown Prince on February, 1400, the moral justification for that was the choice of the wise(擇賢). After he became the Crown Prince Jeong’an-gun abolished private armies, thereby seizing military power, improved his relationship with King Taejo which led to the demilitarization of the palace, and put pressure on King Jeongjong to abdicate the Crown in favor of himself. The moral justification for the eventual abdication was the same one that was set forth when Jeong’an-gun was established as the Crown Prince: the choice of the wise. On the occasion of his accession to the throne, King Taejong justified it with such moral claims as the throne has been legitimately succeeded since Taejo, he will “be fearful of Heaven’s anger and work hard for the benefit of the people(畏天勤民),” and he will be a king who bestows favors on the people(惠民).