The Genius Silenced by Tradition

최치원, 857 - unknown

From prodigy to prophet: 최치원 (Choe Chi-won), the visionary trapped by tradition

최치원

최치원 (Choe Chi-won), born in 857 CE, was a renowned scholar, poet, and government official during the late Unified Silla period. His life and works are recorded in various historical texts, including the 삼국사기 (Samguk Sagi) and his own collection of writings, 계원필경 (Gyewon Pilgyeong).

계원필경집

Historical records highlight Choe's brilliance as a child prodigy, his success in Tang China, and his later attempts to reform Silla society. Despite his talents and achievements, the rigid bone-rank system (골품제) of Silla prevented him from fully realizing his vision for reform.

"골품제" refers to the grade [pum (品)] of bone [gol (骨)], that is, the social status one is born into. The Golpum system (骨品制) is a class system that categorizes the ruling class of Silla, namely the aristocracy, into ranks.

There were five ranks: Seongol (聖骨, sacred bone), Jingol (眞骨, true bone), 6 Dupum (六頭品), 5 Dupum, and 4 Dupum.

Now, I welcome you to the story of 최치원 - a young genius who crossed seas to prove himself, only to find his homeland resistant to change.

Let the story begin...