To build a centralizing regime: Yangban aristocracy and medieval patrimonialism

Abstract

This article examines the ambiguous roles of birth and merit in Korea from around 900 to 1500 CE. Medieval Korea’s yangban aristocracy valued pedigree but did not guarantee heredity. Many illustrious houses failed to retain their status, and the void created opportunities for provincials to try establishing themselves as new and lasting capital-based yangban courtiers. The mesh of patron/client ties and conjugal bonds generated in this social process explain the centralization of authority and the consolidation of the peninsular society after the collapse of first-generation states in the Korea-Manchuria region.