Hong Taeyong (; 12 May 1731 – 17 November 1783),

art name An art name (pseudonym or pen name), also known by its native names ''hào'' (in Mandarin Chinese), ''gō'' (in Japanese), ' (in Korean), and ''tên hiệu'' (in Vietnamese), is a professional name used by artists, poets and writers in the Sinosp ...

Tamhŏn (), was a philosopher, astronomer and mathematician of the late

Joseon Kingdom Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...

. Hong was an early leader of the ''Profitable Usage and Benefiting the People'' () school of thought. It worked to promote the industrialization of his country and the development of trade by positively introducing Western technologies to Joseon Korea. Hong was a friend of Park Ji-won, who was another leader of the ''Profitable Usage'' school.

Early life

Hong Taeyong was born in 1731 in

Cheonan Cheonan (; ) is the largest and most densely populated city of South Chungcheong Province, South Korea, and the third largest city in the Hoseo region after Daejeon and Cheongju. Cheonan borders Gyeonggi Province ( Pyeongtaek and Anseong) i ...

South Chungcheong Province South Chungcheong Province (), informally called Chungnam, is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, province of South Korea in the Hoseo region in the southwest of the Korean Peninsula. South Chungcheong borders the provinces of Gyeonggi to ...

. In his early days, Hong was educated by Kim One-hang of Seock-sil Seowon. During this period, traditional

Neo-Confucianism Neo-Confucianism (, often shortened to ''lǐxué'' 理學, literally "School of Principle") is a moral, ethical, and metaphysical Chinese philosophy influenced by Confucianism, which originated with Han Yu (768–824) and Li Ao (772–841) i ...

formed the basis of his academic world. In 1765, Hong followed his uncle Hong Eock (), who was in

Joseon missions to Imperial China The Korean Joseon dynasty (1392–1897) sent numerous diplomatic missions to the Chinese Ming dynasty, Ming (1368–1644) and Qing dynasty, Qing (1644–1912) dynasties. Joseon diplomacy A series diplomatic ventures illustrate the persistence of ...

. In China, Hong witnessed a brilliant development of

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

and experienced

culture shock Culture shock is an experience a person may have when one moves to a cultural environment which is different from one's own; it is also the personal disorientation a person may feel when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life due to immigration ...

. After returning to Joseon, Hong insisted enhancing the national prosperity.

Works

Hong was also interested in

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

and

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

. He maintained the rotundity of the Earth and

Earth's rotation Earth's rotation or Earth's spin is the rotation of planet Earth around its own Rotation around a fixed axis, axis, as well as changes in the orientation (geometry), orientation of the rotation axis in space. Earth rotates eastward, in progra ...

, which was rejected by Traditional Confucianists who thought the sky was globular and the ground was square. Also, He firmly rejected

Anthropocentrism Anthropocentrism ( ) is the belief that human beings are the central or most important entity on the planet. The term can be used interchangeably with humanocentrism, and some refer to the concept as human supremacy or human exceptionalism. From a ...

, thinking all things in nature are equal. After failing the

Gwageo The () or ''kwagŏ'' were the national civil service examinations under the Goryeo (918–1392) and Joseon (1392–1897) periods of Korea. Typically quite demanding, these tests measured candidates' ability of writing composition and knowledge ...

a few times, Hong gave up and became absorbed in astronomy research. He wrote '' Catechism of Eusan mountain'' (), which contains the concepts of Earth's rotation and the equality among species and the infinity of outer space. In mathematics, Hong wrote '' Interpretation and Usage of Mathematics'' (). He also wrote '' Travel Essay of Yanjing in 1765 and 1766'' (), a journal about his travel to China.

Crown Prince

In 1774, Hong was recommended for a mentor of Crown Prince, who afterwards would be King Jeongjo. Hong discussed many topics and themes with crown prince. Although Crown Prince was satisfied with Hong's studies and polymathy, Hong found their difference of views among several topics and the conservatism of Prince. Crown prince demanded Hong to go into government service and be his own staff members, but Hong indicated his refusal in a roundabout way. Hong wrote '' Journal as the Mentor of Crown Prince'' (), which contains their debate contents. After crown prince ascended the throne following the passing of the King Yeongjo, Hong was appointed to local county governor. In there he tried to test his progressive ideas in local society. However, his mother's health condition deteriorated in 1782, so Hong abandoned a service and came back to Seoul. In 1783, mother regained her health, but Hong had a sudden

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

. He wouldn't make it by morning, and breathed his last breath the next day. It was 23 October 1783(

Lunisolar calendar A lunisolar calendar is a calendar in many cultures, that combines monthly lunar cycles with the solar year. As with all calendars which divide the year into months, there is an additional requirement that the year have a whole number of mont ...

) as 17 November 1783(

Solar calendar A solar calendar is a calendar whose dates indicates the season or almost equivalently the apparent position of the Sun relative to the stars. The Gregorian calendar, widely accepted as a standard in the world, is an example of a solar calendar ...

Legacy

Hong's works, including ''Catechism of Ui mountain'', ''Interpretation and Usage of Mathematics'', ''Journal as the Mentor of Crown Prince'' were compiled to collection, '' Books of Relaxed House'' (). His practical Confucian ideas were succeeded by Park Ji-won and Park's disciples, but his scientific thought and research were succeeded by nobody.

References

External links

*
''Books of Relaxed House''
**
''Catechism of Ui Mountain''
**
''Journal as the Mentor of Crown Prince''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hong Taeyong Joseon Confucianists 1731 births 1783 deaths People from Cheonan 18th-century Korean poets 18th-century Korean scientists 18th-century Korean mathematicians 18th-century Korean philosophers Korean astronomers 18th-century astronomers