Succeeding the Mandate of Heaven: Political Authority and Legitimacy in Early Joseon Korea

One of the most puzzling problems in Confucianism is how to justify hereditary kingship in Confucian terms. This paper investigates this puzzle—the succession of the Mandate of Heaven—by focusing on Byeon Gyeryang (1369–1430), a Korean Neo-Confucian thinker who grappled with the question of political authority and legitimacy in the formative stage of the Joseon dynasty (1392–1910). It argues that Byeon advocated the “ownership conception” of political authority as an essential condition for the ruler’s effective and responsible service for the well-being of the people, with special attention to the critical importance of “consolidating” a new dynasty. Byeon believed that the ruler’s sense of ownership of the land and the people strongly motivates him to repossess the Mandate of Heaven, further leading him to develop an extensive sense of responsibility for the well-being of the people, which, in turn, drives him to become virtuous, thereby deserving Heaven’s blessings.