ABSTRACT
This chapter examines King T’aejo’s ‘Ten Injunctions’, or guidelines for ruling a successful state, demonstrating the compatibility of Confucianism and Buddhism, as well as other folk beliefs and practices. On the Korean peninsula, the socio-political cohesion of the Silla period was also in decline as warlords sought control, diminishing the power and validity of the throne. While Buddhism was considered to provide spiritual protection to the state, it also bolstered its prestige, asserting Korea’s place as an intellectual hub in East Asia where writing and printing were advanced and promoted. During the eighth and ninth centuries the power of the Buddhist clergy had grown immensely and by the middle of the ninth century the number of monasteries amounted to some 44,600. By the end of the Tang dynasty Buddhism had lost its patronage from the emperor. The greatest elaboration of Neo-Confucianism appeared during China’s Song Dynasty.
