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Joseon Buddhist Restriction Policies (1430s)

Type Event Region East Asia Time 1431–1440

Under King Sejong's Confucian-oriented state policy, the 1430s saw a gradual tightening of Buddhism's social standing: limiting monks and nuns and te…

Timeline

  1. 1432–1435Temples across Joseon's provinces · JoseonThe court investigated temple lands and temple slaves, took some of the labor into government service, and strictly limited the number of newly ordained monks, weakening the economic and human-resource base of Buddhist temples.
  2. 1436–1440All of Joseon · JoseonThe court banned popular illicit worship and female shamans (mudang), religious activities deemed to corrupt customs, replacing them with Confucian sacrifices and local moral instruction, thereby curbing the public influence of Buddhism and shamanism at the social level.

Sources