허난설헌 許蘭雪軒
Joseon woman poet, given name Cho-hui; author of the Nanseolheon-jip
| Life | 1563 ~ 1589 |
| Era | 조선 중기 |
| Clan | 양천 허씨 |
Life & career
Heo Nanseolheon (1563-1589) was a mid-Joseon woman poet of the Yangcheon Heo clan, given name Cho-hui, courtesy name Gyeongbeon and pen name Nanseolheon. Born at Chodang-dong, Gangneung, to Heo Yeop and a lady of the Gangneung Kim clan, she had an older brother Heo Bong, a half-brother Heo Seong and a younger brother Heo Gyun. Gifted with words from childhood, she is said to have learned poetry and writing from her father Heo Yeop and from Yi Dal.
In 1577, at fifteen, she married Kim Seong-rip of the Andong Kim clan, but is said to have had an unhappy marriage because of conflict with her mother-in-law and discord with her husband. Misfortunes followed, including the deaths of her children and parents and the exile of her brothers, and she died in Hanseong in March 1589 at twenty-seven. A story says she asked that most of her writings be burned before she died.
About 213 poems survive; many long for the world of immortals, and Gokja, a lament for her lost children, is counted among her best. The gasa poems Gyuwonga and Bongseonhwaga are traditionally attributed to her, though attribution is discussed. Paintings such as Angganbigeumdo, Mukjodo and Jagyakdo are also mentioned.
Her brother Heo Gyun gathered and preserved her works. A draft was made around 1590, the Nanseolheon-jip was printed in China in 1606 through a Ming envoy, Heo Gyun issued a woodblock edition in 1607 (or 1608), and Japan printed it in 1711. Judged negatively in her own time partly because of family conflict, she was reappraised in the later Joseon period for her talent and is now noted again from a feminist perspective.
Works
Of about 213 surviving poems, many long for immortals, and Gokja, on the loss of her children, is the best known.
Publication of the Nanseolheon-jip
Her poems reached the Ming envoy Zhu Zhifan and were printed in China in 1606, followed by Heo Gyun's woodblock edition (1607 or 1608) and a Japanese edition in 1711. Around 2000 the Ming-printed Chwisa wonchang was newly rediscovered.
Family
The head association places Heo Yeop and his children in the Jasan-gong line of the Pandojwarang-gong branch.
Grave
Her tomb is said to lie at Jiwol-ri, Chowol-eup, Gwangju, Gyeonggi (moved to the present spot in 1985 and designated Gyeonggi Monument No. 90 in 1986); some accounts mention a later move to Hanam, so sources differ. Her birthplace site remains at Chodang-dong, Gangneung.