Im Che (; 1549–1587) was a

Confucianist Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. Founded by Confucius ...

yangban The ''yangban'' () were part of the traditional ruling class or gentry of dynastic Korea during the Joseon period. The ''yangban'' were mainly composed of highly educated civil officials and military officers—landed or unlanded aristocrats wh ...

(nobleman) in

Joseon Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...

Works

Im penned the following

sijo ''Sijo'' (, ) is a Korean traditional poetic form that emerged during the Goryeo dynasty, flourished during the Joseon dynasty, and is still written today. Bucolic, metaphysical, and cosmological themes are often explored. The three lines ave ...

upon the death of famed

gisaeng ''Kisaeng'' (), also called ''ginyeo'' (), were enslaved women from outcast or enslaved families who were trained to be courtesans, providing artistic entertainment and conversation to men of upper class. First emerging in Goryeo dynasty. were ...

Hwang Jini Hwang Jini or Hwang Jin-yi (; 1506–1567), also known by her '' kisaeng'' name Myeongwol ("bright moon", ), was one of the most famous '' kisaeng'' of the Joseon period. She lived during the reign of King Jungjong. She was noted for her except ...

. The following two poems were exchanged between Im Che and his lover,

Hanu (). Im was known for his liaisons with Hanu and Hwang Jin Yi. The term in line 3, ch'an bi (), literally translates as "freezing rain." It uses the same Chinese characters as the poetess' name (寒雨), but with a different pronunciation, and was intended by both poets as a

pun A pun, also known as a paronomasia in the context of linguistics, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from t ...

. Hanu's particular gift is to echo the style of the original that Im wrote to her, while improving on it with a teasing, very human tone. The translation employs a formal tone to match Im's original; and then follows with the simpler and more lyric style used by Hanu. In both cases, the line "rain has frozen" seemed to best communicate the

double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, one of which is typically obvious, and the other often conveys a message that would be too socially unacc ...

of the originals. When about to die, he grieved and left the words below.

Kō Bun'yū Kō Bun'yū (; 1938 – 2024), also known as Huang Wenxiong ( zh, c=黃文雄, p=Huáng Wénxióng, poj=N̂g Bûn-hiông), was a controversial Taiwanese people, Taiwanese author, an activist of the Taiwan independence movement, who is well-known ...

introduce this line as Im Che's indignation because in the history, this is not only

barbarians A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice. A "barbarian" may ...

outside of the

Great Wall The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand Li (unit), ''li'' long wall") is a series of fortifications in China. They were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection agains ...

, but even

Tibetans Tibetans () are an East Asian ethnic group native to Tibet. Their current population is estimated to be around 7.7 million. In addition to the majority living in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, significant numbers of Tibetans live in t ...

from southwest conquered Chinese world once, or occupied the capital and threatened the city, however only Korea never even became a threaten to China. What Korea do is to treat Great China with the utmost courtesy and show loyalty to father.

References

Korean Confucianists 16th-century scholars 1549 births 1587 deaths 16th-century Korean poets {{Korea-bio-stub