Yang San-bo

Yang San-bo (梁山甫, 1503 – 18 April 1557 (20th day of 3rd lunar month)) was a civil official of early Joseon. His family seat was Jeju, his courtesy name was Eonjin (彦鎭), and his art name was Sowaegong (瀟灑翁).¹

Life

Possessing a clever and upright nature, he taught himself to read and write from an early age. At the age of fifteen, he studied under Jeongam Jo Gwang-jo, and in 1519, the Gimyo year, he was selected for the Hyeonryanggwa examination, but he failed because the number of successful candidates had been reduced. King Jungjong, feeling sorry for him, personally summoned him, offered words of consolation, and bestowed upon him writing brushes, ink, and paper. That winter, the Gimyo Purge broke out, and when Jo Gwang-jo was exiled to Neungju in Hwasun and died after receiving a poison-draught, he could not bear his grief and resentment, and resolved to forsake all worldly matters and retreat into the mountains. Accordingly, he built a secluded garden estate called Soswaewon at the foot of Mudeungsan, shut himself away without leaving the house, and called himself Sowaegong. Afterward, although he was urged many times to take up official posts, he steadfastly refused to enter public service, and spent his days in the mountains quietly studying the principles that people should uphold.

Footnotes

This article contains content based on the Global World Encyclopedia distributed by Daum Communications (now Kakao) under the GFDL or CC-SA license.

Footnotes

Footnotes

1. Korean Biographical Database System ↩