Im Yunjidang (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781009010665)

This Element aims to critically examine the philosophical thought of Im Yunjidang 任允摯堂 (1721-93), a female Korean Neo-Confucian philosopher from the Chosŏn 朝鮮 dynasty (1392-1910), and to present her as a feminist thinker. Unlike most Korean women of her time, Yunjidang had the exceptional opportunity to be introduced to a major philosophical debate among Korean Neo-Confucians, which was focused on two core questions-whether sages and commoners share the same heart-mind, and whether the natures of human beings and animals are identical. In the course of engaging in this debate, she was able to reformulate Neo-Confucian metaphysics and ethics of moral self-cultivation, culminating in her bold ideas of the moral equality between men and women and the possibility of female sagehood. By proposing a 'stage-approach' to feminism that is also sensitive to the cultural context, this Element shows that Yunjidang's philosophical thought could be best captured in terms of Confucian feminism.

Author: Sungmoon Kim
ISBN-10: 1009010662
ISBN-13: 9781009010665
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 08/11/2022
Pages: 82
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.27lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.17d