Late-Goryeo civil official and scholar, famous for the sijo "The moon shines white on the pear blossoms"
| Life | 1269 ~ 1343 |
| Era | 고려 |
| Clan | 성주 이씨 |
Yi Jo-nyeon's pen names were Maeundang (梅雲堂) and Baekhwaheon (百化軒). Having passed the higher civil service examination, he served as biseorang and rose to headmaster of the Office of Royal Decrees (yemun-gwan daejehak), and under King Chunghye was enfeoffed as Lord of Seongsan (星山君).
Of an upright character, he repeatedly offered frank counsel to the king, and he also excelled in poetry and prose. His sijo poem celebrating the mood of a spring night, "The moon shines white on the pear blossoms, and the Milky Way marks the third watch...," is a representative work of Goryeo sijo, still widely recited today.
He was enshrined in the shrine of King Chunghye; his posthumous title was Munyeol (文烈).
His grandsons Yi In-bok and Yi In-im wielded great influence in the political world of late Goryeo, and the line continued to his great-grandson Yi Je.