Heo Gyun (許筠, 1569–1618) was a civil official, writer, thinker and reformer in the mid-Joseon period. He left a large body of writing opposing Korea’s medieval etiquette-based education and criticizing the social contradictions of his time. Heo met a tragic death by execution after being implicated in a case of treason.
1. Life
Heo Gyun was the third son of Heo Yeop (許曄), an influential figure in the political faction known as the Easterners. His elder brother, Heo Seong (許筬), was a leading member of the Southerners faction, while his elder sister, Heo Nanseolheon, was a famous poet. Heo began learning to write at the age of five, studying and learning poetry under Yu Seong-nyong (柳成龍) and Yi Dal (李達). Later, Heo wrote Songok sanin jeon (蓀谷山人傳 Tale of Songok the Hermit) for Yi Dal, who was of the social status known as seoeol (庶孼 born to a yangban father and a lower-class mother). Heo’s father died when Heo was 12 years old. He later lost his wife, known by her surname, Kim, and his son, during the Japanese invasions of Korea, causing him great suffering. When he was 25, Heo wrote Haksan chodam (鶴山樵談 Haksan’s Tale of a Woodcutter). At the age of 29, after winning first place in the state examination, he wrote Dongjeong rok (東征錄 Record of Subjugating the East), a factual record of the Japanese invasions.
Heo’s exceptional talents saw him appointed to the position of assistant chief in the Ministry of War (兵曹佐郎) at age 30, then to that of governor of Hwanghae Province at age 31, governor of Suan County at 36, magistrate of Samcheok at 39, magistrate of Gongju at 40, third minister in the Ministry of Taxation at 46 and minister of Punishments at 48. As an outstanding writer, Heo was appointed three times to a temporary position in charge of receiving visiting Chinese envoys, and was twice sent on official journeys to China as an ambassador (cheonchusa 千秋使) to honor the birthday of the imperial crown prince. On these two journeys abroad, he became friends with several Ming scholars and purchased many books, including Taiping guanggi (太平廣記 Extensive Records of the Taiping Era), bringing the latter back to Korea with him. But Heo’s official career was a rocky one. He was impeached several times, on charges such as consorting with gisaeng (courtesans), maintaining close relationships with the children of concubines, or revering Buddhism. After being sent into exile in 1610 (the second year of the reign of Gwanghaegun), Heo wrote works including Hanjeong rok (閑靜錄 Records of Peace and Leisure), Seongsu sihwa (惺叟詩話 Old Man Seong’s Notes on Poetry) and Domun daejak (屠門大嚼 ???) while confined at home. In 1613 (the fifth year of the reign of Gwanghaegun), Heo was implicated in the so-called Chilseo Sageon (七庶事件) rebellion, of which his close friend, Seo Yang-gap (徐羊甲), the son of a concubine, was one of the instigators. In 1618, when it came to light that a declaration slandering Gwanghaegun had been put up in Seoul’s Namdaemun area by Hyeon Eung-min, a devoted follower of Heo, Heo was charged with treason and put to death by dismemberment at the age of 50.
2. Writing
Key collections of works by Heo include Seongso bubugo (惺所覆瓿藁 Poetry and Prose Essays of Heo Gyun) (containing Seongsu sihwa (惺叟詩話 Old Man Seong’s Notes on Poetry), Domun daejak (屠門大嚼 ???)), and Hanjeongnok (閑靜錄 Records of Peace and Leisure). His anthologies of notes on poetry include Haksan chodam, and his poetry anthologies include Gukjo sisan (國朝詩刪 ???). Heo is also said to have written poetry collections titled Gosi seon (古詩選 Selected Ancient Poems) Dangsi seon (唐詩選 Selected Tang Poems), Song oga sicho (宋五家詩抄 Selected Poems by Five Song Poets) Myeong saga si seon (明四家詩選 Selected Poems by Four Ming Poets) and Sache seong Dang (四體盛唐 Four Poetic Styles from the Height of the Tang Dynasty), but these are no longer extant. Hong Gil-dong jeon (洪吉童傳 The Tale of Hong Gil-dong) is often cited as Heo’s greatest work. Though scholars are divided on the question of its authorship, the work reflects Heo’s human relationships and social consciousness in many parts; it is therefore right to regard Heo as the author. Heo was aware of the problems of the unreasonable social class system of his time and deeply interested in the lives of ordinary people; works such as Yujae ron (遺才論 On Wasted Talent) and Homin ron (豪民論 On the Heroic Masses), reveal his reformist thought.
In Yujae ron, Heo criticizes the way talented individuals are denied meaningful employment because of low social status. Homin ron, by contrast, implies his revolutionary doctrine. Here, the term homin refers to “people targeting the weak points created by social contradictions and looking for chances for revolution.” This kind of popular hero relates to the eponymous hero of Hong Gil-dong jeon. Above all, Heo uses Homin ron to emphasize the fact that “the king exists for the sake of the common people, not to dominate them,” stressing the royal attitude required by the philosophy of government for the people (minbon sasang 民本思想). Hak ron (學論 On Study), a discussion of the purpose and truth of learning, and Byeong ron (兵論 On the Military), an argument for the need to boost national defense capability by reforming the military system, also demonstrate Heo’s reformist thought. He also wrote five jeon (傳 tales), among which Namgung Seonsaeng jeon (南宮先生傳 Tale of Master Namgung), in particular, leads toward transformation of the traditional jeon genre and a shift in the direction of novelization.
The most salient feature of Heo Gyun’s thought was the deep interest he showed not just in Neo-Confucianism but in Buddhism, Taoism and Catholicism. He was profoundly interested in new ideas, bringing back European maps and the Catholic text 偈十二章 from his official trips to China. An Jeong-bok (安鼎福) recorded Heo as saying, “Carnal desire between men and women is a gift from heaven, while it is the teachings of the sages that outline ethics and discipline. Heaven is higher than the sages, so even if you violate the teachings of the sages, you cannot defy instincts given by heaven.” Sunam Seonsaeng munjip (順菴先生文集 Collected Works of Master Sunam), Vol. 17, “Cheonhak mundap” (天學問答 Questions and Answers on Catholicism). Heo wholly rejected Confucian teachings of etiquette and “ethics and ideology of discernment” as established by the sages, and directly criticized the made-up nature of etiquette teachings that sought to artificially suppress carnal desire between men and women.
Heo’s ideas, free and unconstrained by doctrines of traditional etiquette, extended into the realm of letters, where he emphasized a unique literary world. Unlike existing Neo-Confucian scholars, he did not see literature as a tool for conveying conceptual ideologies and purifying human minds. Instead, he focused on using literature to express his own individuality and feelings. Based on this, Heo attempted to build a unique oeuvre and propose it as a standard for criticizing the works of others. As a result, Heo’s fellow writers noted his outstanding discernment in poetry criticism. His individual efforts to portray various real-world issues and build a new oeuvre in a unique literary style is embodied best of all in Hong Gil-dong jeon, but can also be found in various other parts of his collected works.
But Heo’s contemporaries were highly critical of him, branding him a threat to the basic social order because of his subversive ideas. Accounts of Heo in Joseon wangjo sillok (Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty) and from figures including his own father, Heo Yeop, and Neo-Confucian scholars Yi Hwang (李滉) and Yi i (李珥) all reflect unfavorably on him. They judge him to be an outstanding writer but lacking an equally high level of learning, or a man who makes radical claims but ultimately ends up sacrificing his ideas and pandering to those in authority. But the late-16th and early-17th centuries, when Heo lived, were a time of transition in East Asia that saw Joseon society at a crossroads. In this period, Heo made great achievements based on outstanding literary talent, attempting to capture the realities and concerns of a changing era in writings based on his own reformist ideas.
Reference
Society for Korean Literary History, Hanguk gojeon munhak jakga ron (Authors of Classical Korean Literature), Somyung, 2006.
Kim Dong-uk, ed., Heo Gyun ui munhak gwa hyeoksin sasang (Heo Gyun’s Literature and Revolutionary Ideas), Saemoon, 1981.
Kim Dong-uk, “Gyosan Heo Gyun” (Gyosan Heo Gyun), in Hanguk ui sasangga 12 in (12 Korean Thinkers), Hyeonamsa, 1975.
Kim Jin-se, “Heo Gyun yeongu” (A Study of Heo Gyun),
Gungmunhak yeongu (Studies in Korean Literary) 2, Seoul National University, 1965.
Yi I-hwa, ‘Seongso bubugo’ Heo Gyun ui saenggak (Heo Gyun’s Thoughts in ‘Poetry and Prose Essays of Heo Gyun’), Ppurikipeun Namusa, 1980.
Jeong Ju-dong, “Heo Gyun” (Heo Gyun), Hanguk ui ingansang (Human character in Korea) 5, Shingu Books, 1972.
Jo Dong-il, “Yeongung ui ilsaeng, geu munhaksajeok jeongae” (The Lives of Heroes and Their Development in Literary History), Donga munhwa (East Asian Culture) 10, The Institute of Asian Studies, Seoul National University, 1971.
Jo Dong-il, “Heo Gyun” (許筠 Heo Gyun), Hanguk munhak sasangsa siron (Essays on the History of Ideas in Korean Literature), Jisik Sanup, 1978.
Im Hyeong-taek, “Heo Gyun ui munge sasang” (Heo Gyun’s Literary Thought), “Eo Mu-jeok ui si segye wa Hong Gil-dong jeon” (Eo Mu-jeok’s poetic world and the Tale of Hong Gil-dong), in Hanguk munhwasa ui sigak (Perspectives in Korean Literary History), Changbi, 1984
http://db.itkc.or.kr/dir/item?itemId=BT#dir/node?grpId=&itemId=BT&gubun=book&depth=2&cate1=Z&cate2=&dataGubun=서지&dataId=ITKC_BT_0292A [Hanguk gojeon jonghap DB (General database of Korean classics)] Seongso bubugo (惺所覆瓿藁 Poetry and Prose Essays of Heo Gyun)
http://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Contents/Item/E0063030 [Encyclopedia of Korean Culture] Heo Gyun [許筠 Heo Gyun]
