Joseon Confucian Ritual Culture (Early Founding Period)

Timeline

1. 1392–1398Gaeseong · Korean PeninsulaYi Seong-gye received the abdication and founded Joseon, abolishing Goryeo Buddhism's status as state religion; scholar-officials like Jeong Do-jeon drafted the prototype of the Gyeongguk Daejeon, establishing Joseonguk ideology centered on Zhu Xi learning as orthodox.
2. 1394–1405Hanseong (Hanyang) · South KoreaAfter moving the capital to Hanyang in 1394, Gyeongbokgung Palace and the royal ancestral shrine and altars were built; audience, investiture and sacrificial rituals were codified after the Collected Rites of the Great Ming, making Confucian ritual the normative framework of daily court politics.
3. 1398–1430Local communities across Joseon · South KoreaIn the early founding period, the yangban scholar-official class took shape; village compacts, clan rules and mourning rituals spread to local society, extending Confucian ritual from the court to families and villages and shaping Joseon's ethical order.
4. 1432–1454Hanseong · South KoreaUnder King Sejong, ritual texts such as the Orye Euije were compiled, systematically organizing the five categories of ritual (auspicious, inauspicious, military, guest, celebratory); with localized adjustments on the basis of Ming institutions, the early founding period's ritual culture was thus largely finalized.