Changes

==History==

==History==

===Founding===

===Founding===

The dynasty was founded by Yi Sŏnggye, who then took the name [[King Taejo]], ruling from [[1392]] until [[1398]].<ref>Robert Hellyer, ''Defining Engagement'', Harvard University Press (2009), 30.</ref> The fall of the preceding [[Koryo Dynasty|Koryŏ Dynasty]] came in part due to Koryŏ campaigns against [[Ming Dynasty]] China over control of the Ssangsŏng region, and Yi Sŏnggye's preference for negotiation over combat as a means to resolve the matter. Immediately after establishing the new dynasty, Yi made efforts to reaffirm Korea's [[tribute|tributary]] loyalties to the Ming, and sought to receive investiture in return. Doing so would serve both to bolster the sense of legitimacy of the new regime, and to protect it from being overthrown (almost before it even began) by "the most powerful state in its political universe."<ref>Ji-Young Lee, “Diplomatic Ritual as a Power Resource: The Politics of Asymmetry in Early Modern Chinese-Korean Relations,” ''Journal of East Asian Studies'' 13 (2013), 321.</ref> The Ming court finally granted that investiture in [[1403]] (during the reign of Taejo's successor, [[King Jeongjong]]), formally recognizing the Yi clan (i.e. the Joseon dynasty) as legitimate rulers of all the territory Koryŏ had previously held.<ref>Tomiyama Kazuyuki, ''Ryûkyû ôkoku no gaikô to ôken'', Yoshikawa kôbunkan (2004), 34.</ref> From that generation forward, until the fall of the Ming Dynasty in [[1644]], every king of Joseon received investiture from the Ming.<ref>Ji-Young Lee, 317.</ref>

The dynasty was founded by Yi Sŏnggye, who then took the name [[King Taejo]], ruling from [[1392]] until [[1398]].<ref>Robert Hellyer, ''Defining Engagement'', Harvard University Press (2009), 30.</ref> The fall of the preceding [[Koryo Dynasty|Koryŏ Dynasty]] came in part due to Koryŏ campaigns against [[Ming Dynasty]] China over control of the Ssangsŏng region, and Yi Sŏnggye's preference for negotiation over combat as a means to resolve the matter. Immediately after establishing the new dynasty, Yi made efforts to reaffirm Korea's [[tribute|tributary]] loyalties to the Ming, and sought to receive [[investiture]] in return. Doing so would serve both to bolster the sense of legitimacy of the new regime, and to protect it from being overthrown (almost before it even began) by "the most powerful state in its political universe."<ref>Ji-Young Lee, “Diplomatic Ritual as a Power Resource: The Politics of Asymmetry in Early Modern Chinese-Korean Relations,” ''Journal of East Asian Studies'' 13 (2013), 321.</ref> The Ming court finally granted that investiture in [[1403]] (during the reign of Taejo's successor, [[King Jeongjong]]), formally recognizing the Yi clan (i.e. the Joseon dynasty) as legitimate rulers of all the territory Koryŏ had previously held.<ref>Tomiyama Kazuyuki, ''Ryûkyû ôkoku no gaikô to ôken'', Yoshikawa kôbunkan (2004), 34.</ref> From that generation forward, until the fall of the Ming Dynasty in [[1644]], every king of Joseon received investiture from the Ming.<ref>Ji-Young Lee, 317.</ref>

At the beginning of the Joseon Dynasty, the population of Korea was likely around 3.5 million, up from 3 million a century earlier.<ref>Robert Tignor, [[Benjamin Elman]], et al, ''Worlds Together, Worlds Apart'', vol B, Fourth Edition, W.W. Norton & Co (2014), 410.</ref>

At the beginning of the Joseon Dynasty, the population of Korea was likely around 3.5 million, up from 3 million a century earlier.<ref>Robert Tignor, [[Benjamin Elman]], et al, ''Worlds Together, Worlds Apart'', vol B, Fourth Edition, W.W. Norton & Co (2014), 410.</ref>