Choe Chiwon

Choe Chiwon (857-10th century) was a noted Korean Confucian official, philosopher, and poet of the late Unified Silla period (668-935). He studied for many years in Tang China, passed the Tang imperial examination, and rose to high office there before returning to Silla, where he made ultimately futile attempts to reform the governmental apparatus of a declining Silla state. In his final years he turned more towards Buddhism and became a hermit scholar residing in and around Korea's Haeinsa temple.. Korean