Vision of a Phoenix

The biography and writings of Ho Nansorhon (1563–1589), one of the finest poets of the entire Choson dynasty, who wrote during the Golden Age of Sino-Korean poetry. This period also witnessed the Confucianization of Korean society, when government-imposed sanctions greatly restricted the lives of Korean women, particularly those of the ruling class (yangban) to which Nansorhon belonged. Disillusioned by Confucian values, she drew inspiration from Taoism and humanism. Taoist belief in transcendent immortals (son), is a strong influence in her work. Inspired by a fantasy of shedding worldly shackles, her poetry flies beyond the stifling universe to the world of the immortals. Includes 53 poems and one prose piece with commentary, notes and poetic form in charts, together with the original Sino-Korean text.