Cho Kwangjo (, 23 August 1482 – 10 January 1520), also called by his art name Chŏngam (), was a Korean Neo-Confucian scholar who pursued radical reforms during the reign of Jungjong of Joseon in the early 16th century.
He was framed with charges of factionalism by the power elite that opposed his reform measures and was sentenced to drink poison in the Third Literati Purge of 1519.“Later, the king ordered Jo to be put to death by drinking poison… Jo Gwang‑jo died in 1519 at age 37.”, KBS World (2010). He has been widely venerated as a Confucian martyr and an embodiment of "seonbi spirit" by later generations in Korea. Some historians consider him one of the most influential figures in 16th century Korea. He is known as one of the 18 Sages of Korea () and is enshrined in the Munmyo.Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty, September 15, 1604. No. 4
Biography
Early years
Cho Kwangjo was the son of Cho Wŏngang () and was from the . Cho studied under the Neo-Confucian scholar , Kim Chong-jik's disciple who was in exile at the time following the First Literati Purge of 1498. When Kim Koengp'il was later executed (by poison) following the Second Literati Purge of 1504, Cho was exiled for being Kim's disciple.
At this time, Joseon Dynasty politics were primarily marked by the power struggle between two aristocratic yangban factions - the established "Hungu" power elites who were generally conservative and the upstart Sarim scholars called seonbis, who belonged to the Neo-Confucian school of Kim Chong-jik and other thinkers. The Sarim faction had entered court politics during the reign of King Seongjong in the late 15th century but suffered two bloody purges under his successor Yeonsangun. When Yeonsangun was eventually deposed in 1506, Jungjong was placed on the throne as the eleventh king of Joseon by the Hungu leaders who led the coup. For first ten years of his reign, Jungjong could not truly rule the country with regal authority (he was forced to depose his faithful queen because her father was killed by the coup leaders, and they feared that the queen might take revenge.) However, three main coup leaders died of natural causes by then, and Jungjong began to welcome Sarim scholars to his court to check the Hungu faction's power. The Sarim faction considered the Hungu faction as a whole as greedy and corrupt men unworthy of respect and sought to establish an ideal neo-Confucian society. Indeed, many of coup leaders had enjoyed Yeonsangun's favor during most of his reign, and their leader Pak Wŏnjong led the coup mainly for personal revenge for his older sister who had rumors of adultery.
Cho Kwangjo came from a prominent family that belonged to the Hungu faction but was called "crazy man" and "source of disaster" by people around him for studying neo-Confucianism under exiled Sarim scholar Kim Koengp'il at the height of persecution of the Sarim faction. In 1510, Cho passed the kwagŏ exam and became a student at the Sungkyunkwan. He was often recommended for a court position by high officials and fellow students at the Sungkyunkwan, but he delayed entering civil service to pursue further study until 1515, when he was recommended to King Jungjong by Minister of Personnel An Tang along with 200 Sungkyunkwan students and was immediately appointed to a position of junior sixth rank. However, he was ashamed to take office with others' help and took Al-seung-si exam, and his essay caught Jungjong's attention.
By then, Cho was already known for his unbending and outspoken character as he soon emerged as the leader of the Sarim faction. For instance, when he became a jung-un, lowest position at Office of Censors, the first thing he did on the following day was to petition the king to fire all his superiors at the Office of Censors and Office of Inspector General. At the time, two Sarim officials had petitioned the king to restore status of the deposed queen, who was deposed by the Hungu faction. The Office of Inspector General and Office of Censors had them exiled for their impertinent petition. Cho argued that two offices violated their given function by suppressing free speech and petitioned the king to fire his superiors or accept his resignation since he could not work with them. To the surprise of everyone, Jungjong replaced everyone in two offices except Cho. This event reflected Jungjong's complete trust and confidence in Cho, who rose in a series of unprecedented promotions from rank of junior sixth rank to junior second rank in only three years.
Cho's reforms
King Jungjong wanted to bring new talents to the royal court that was dominated by the Hungu faction, and Cho complied by introducing a new system of government recruitment via recommendations that were based on the candidates' moral character as well as scholarship. He argued that existing officer examination were too philosophical and placed too much emphasis on literary skills, detached from the practical needs of the government. The supplementary recommendation examination that Cho introduced was called an "examination of the Sage and Good" (). This was an abbreviated examination for candidates recommended by local magistrates as men of highest integrity in the presence of the king, who chose the winning candidates. This system allowed Cho to recruit many talented Sarim scholars who had been living a secluded life in rural provinces. However, it also left him open to Hungu faction's attack.
Cho and his supporters then pushed forth a series of radical reforms as they established local self-government system called Hyang'yak to strengthen local autonomy and communal spirit among people. In this system, deference was placed according to seniority of villagers rather than their social status. The Sarim faction also sought to reduce gap between the rich and poor with a land reform that would distribute land to farmers equally and limit amount of land and number of slaves that one could own. This measure also targeted Hungu faction's accumulation of land and wealth.KBS World, January 23, 2010, "Cho Kwangjo, Reformer who dreamt ideal neo-Confucianism"
Deeply influenced by Zhu Xi's neo-Confucianism, Cho believed that ideal world of mythical Chinese Emperor Yao and Shun, could be achieved if all people from the king down to the low-born became morally refined and followed Confucius' teachings. The Sarim faction therefore promulgated Confucian writings among the populace by translating them in Korean hangul and distributing them widely. They also suppressed Buddhism and Taoism as superstitious religions by destroying the royal Taoist temple and confiscating properties of Buddhist temples. As Inspector General, he impeached many officials for corruption and bribery. According to the Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty, it was said that no official dared to receive a bribe or exploit the populace during this time because of such strict enforcement.Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty, October, 1520 He also sought to trim the size of government by reducing the number of bureaucrats and their wages.
Cho also believed that any talented people including slaves should be appointed as officials regardless of social status. He was said to judge people by moral character and did not greet superior officials if he considered them of unworthy characters while he was courteous even to his servants. For instance, he formed a friendship with a butcher/tanner of lowest class (baekjeong) who did not even have a name and admired his learning so much that he discussed state affairs with him and wanted to appoint him as a court official. But the tanner repeatedly refused Cho's offer and then disappeared without a trace according to the Narratives of Yŏllyŏsil (), a collection of official and unofficial history books compiled by Yi Kŭng'ik () in late Joseon Dynasty. (It is said that King Injong, Jungjong's successor who admired his tutor Cho, listed the "tanner" as Chief State Councillor for his future cabinet for he was greatly admired by Cho.) According to famous Korean philosopher Yi I, Cho was admired so much by populace that when he appeared on streets people gathered before him saying, "Our master is coming."Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty, September 21, 1562: "When Cho Kwangjo became Inspector General and passed the streets, everyone on street bowed to pay their respects. The slanderers claimed that he tried to gather popular support with a different purpose."
Sarim's Power Base
Cho's radical reforms were popular with the populace, who called him the "living Buddha",Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty, January 19, 1520 but he faced fierce opposition and hostility from the Hungu faction. In early 1519, several Hungu officials began a plot to assassinate Sarim officials, though they were discovered in time.Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty, March 2, 1519 Cho's power base was concentrated in four offices: Office of the Inspector-General, Office of Censors (사간원; whose role was to criticize wrong policies of the king or ministers), the Office of Special Advisors, and the Royal Secretariat. The first three offices were collectively called Three Offices, or Samsa (), as they provided checks and balance on the power of the king and the ministers and also served as organ of press that influenced general opinion of the court.
However, the Sarim faction did not control any army nor had financial base. Sarim's power was solely dependent on the king's support, which Cho believed to be steadfast in their mutual pursuit of reforms. However, Cho's unbending character and his frequent remonstrations to Jungjong to support his radical programs began to irritate the king. Even when he disagreed with Cho, Jungjong almost always ended up adopting Cho's petition because Cho would refuse to bend his will, and the Three Offices would threaten to resign en masse. Furthermore, Cho and Hongmun'gwan officials often instructed Jungjong on the ways of king in long lessons. Because Jungjong was not a crown prince, he had not received thorough royal education expected of future king, and Sarim scholars sought to rectify this, believing that only learning could prevent a despot like Yeonsangun. Jungjong began to feel hounded by his subjects and resented it.
The Hungu faction, which sensed Jungjong's irritation with Cho, found an opportunity to strike Sarim faction when Cho decided to go after the "heroes" of the 1506 coup that brought Jungjong to power. According to Cho, many officials who were awarded with special privileges including tax exemptions and huge stipends did not actually contribute much to the coup but gained their status through bribes or familial connections. He petitioned Jungjong to revoke such status from two thirds out of 110 people who received special status in connection with the coup. This move infuriated the Hungu faction, and they soon after proceeded to frame Cho with charges of disloyalty.
"Cho will become the King" At the behest of Hungu leaders including Hong Kyŏngju, Nam Kon, and , Royal Noble Consort Gyeong of Miryang Pak clan (Pak Wŏnjong's adoptive daughter) and Royal Noble Consort Hui of Namyang Hong clan (Hong Kyŏngju's daughter) sought to estrange Jungjong and Cho by often questioning Cho's loyalty and claiming that popular support was shifting to Cho. They told Jungjong that people were saying that it was actually Cho who ruled the country, and that populace wanted to make him their king. Even if Cho was not disloyal, he would not be able to stop his supporters from doing so, they said.Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty, December 21, 1544