Early life and study in Tang

Choe Chiwon was born in the Saryang district of the Silla capital of Gyeongju in 857. He was of the so-called "head rank six" (yukdupum ) class, a hereditary class in Silla's stringent bone rank system affixed to those of mixed aristocratic and commoner birth. As a member of head rank six, Choe was restricted in the level of office he could attain.

Towards the end of Silla, many in the head rank six ranks began to seek opportunities of advancement beyond the traditional confines of the Silla social-political order. One outlet was to become a Buddhist monk. Another was to take up the study of Confucianism. China's Confucian bureaucracy had been adopted to a limited degree by Silla following its unification of the peninsula in 668. Confucianism was well suited to the administration of territory and the buttressing of central authority (that is, royal absolutism). The adoption of Confucian administrative norms and Silla's closer ties with Tang China demanded a highly educated corps of scholar-officials. To meet this need the Silla monarchy turned to the frustrated talents of the head rank six class. Royal support of the head rank six also gave the monarch more leverage against an increasingly hostile aristocracy.

In the early years following unification head rank six students matriculated at Silla's own National Confucian Academy, established in the late 7th century. By the 9th century, however, ambitious Silla students aspired to seek their education at the very source, in the Tang capital of Chang'an (present day Xi'an). It was in the course of the 9th century that the Choe clan of Gyeongju nurtured close ties with the Silla monarchy, and as a result many of the Choe clan were sent to matriculate in China with the ultimate goal of passing the Chinese civil service exam and returning to serve the Silla court.

According to the 12th century history work Samguk Sagi, when Choe was twelve years of age, in 869, his father sent him to study in Tang, seeing him off with the admonition that if he did not pass the Chinese imperial examination within ten years he would cease to be his son. Within the decade Choe did indeed pass the highest of China's civil service exams, the coveted jinshi (進士) degree, and was duly appointed to a prefectural office in the south. Choe went on to serve in China for nearly a decade, even becoming intimate with Emperor Xizong of Tang (r. 873-888). Choe also won merits for his service under the Tang general Gao Pian in his struggle against the Huang Chao rebellion, a failed uprising which nonetheless ushered in the final years of the crippled Chinese dynasty. With the rebellion put down and peace at least temporarily restored Choe's thoughts turned towards home. One surviving poem, written earlier while Choe was heading to his first official post in China ("ten years of dust" being his ten years spent in preparing for the exam), gave vent to his emotions regarding the native land and family he had not seen in a decade:

The Samguk Sagi again tells us that Choe - the consummate Confucian - was thinking of his ageing parents when he requested permission from the Tang emperor to return to Silla. This he was duly granted and he returned home in 885. He was then 28.

Attempts at reform

Soon upon his return to Silla Choe was appointed an instructor and reader at Silla's Confucian Hallim Academy. He was shuffled through various positions, including Minister of War and chief of a variety of regional prefectures. Though in 893 he was appointed chief envoy of a diplomatic mission to Tang China, famine and subsequent upheavals in Silla prevented his journey. Tang fell soon afterward and Choe was never to see China again.

As member of the yukdupum class, Choe had returned to Silla with youthful hopes of reform. Choe was not the first of the yukdupum Confucian literati to attempt to foster reform in the Silla state, however his case is one of the most prominent to come down to us in recorded Korean history. In 894 Choe submitted to Silla's Queen Jinseong (r. 887-897) his "Ten Urgent Points of Reform" for the Silla (시무십여조, 時務十餘條). As with earlier attempts by Choe's predecessors, these were ultimately to fall upon deaf ears. By the time of Choe's return Silla was in an advanced state of collapse. The central monarchy had been greatly weakened by internecine struggle, with power devolving first into the hands of the bone rank aristocracy and then - more ominously for Silla's survival - into the hands of regional warlords who controlled the countryside outside the capital region, and in some cases commanded their own private armies.

Retirement and later life

Few records remain of Choe's middle and late years. Around the year 900 Choe retired from public life and began a period of wandering through numerous Korean locales. As the Samguk Sagi relates, "Living in retirement, Choe took up the free life of a mountain sage, building pavilions along rivers and shores, planting pines and bamboo, reading books and writing history, and composing odes to nature. He is known to have dwelled in such places as Namsan in Gyeongju, Bingsan in Gangju, Cheongnyang Temple in Habju, Ssanggye Temple in Jirisan, and a cottage in Habpohyeon." Haeundae District of modern Busan takes its name from Choe's pen-name Haeun as he purportedly was enamored of the location and so built a pavilion there overlooking the beach. A piece of Choe's calligraphy engraved on a rock still survives there.

Eventually Choe settled at Haeinsa Temple where his elder brother Hyeonjun (賢俊) served as abbot. His later years are most notable for his lengthy stele inscriptions, hagiographies to Silla's most noted Buddhist priests that have proved a primary source of information on Silla Buddhism.

One well known anecdote regarding Choe in these years regards a putative piece of verse he dispatched to Wang Geon, the founder of the Goryeo. Apparently convinced by the greatness of Wang Geon, notably by the promulgation of his Ten Injunctions, Choe came to believe that Wang Geon had inherited the Mandate of Heaven to succeed the declining Silla dynasty as the ruler of the peninsula. Reflecting this, he secretly sent off a prophetic verse reflecting his support of the new dynasty: 「The leaves of the Cock Forest Silla are yellow, the pines of Snow Goose Pass Goryeo are green.」 (계림황엽 곡령청송, 鷄林黃葉 鵠嶺靑松). Cock Forest (Gyerim) being an ancient sobriquet for Silla and Snow Goose Pass (Gongnyeong) being the ancestral home of Wang Geon, and by association the Goryeo Dynasty. However, this anecdote first appeared in the 12th century Samguk Sagi, long after Choe had died and some modern scholars concur that Choe, a native and ardent supporter of Silla, never penned it but that it was attributed to him by a young Goryeo dynasty to buttress its legitimacy and win over the support of young Silla scholars to its enterprise.

The date of Choe's death is unknown, though he was still living as late as 924, the date of one of his surviving stele engravings. One fantastic account relates that Choe's straw slippers were discovered at the edge of the forest on Mt. Gaya (Gayasan), the location of Haeinsa, and that Choe had become a Daoist immortal and ascended into the heavens. More grounded historical theories posit that he committed suicide, but this is ultimately conjecture.

Later views

Several streams emerged from Choe in the long centuries following his death. On the one hand, as Korea became increasingly Confucianized in the late Goryeo and most especially the Joseon dynasty period, Choe became one of the most lauded members of Korea's pantheon of Confucianists, with pride of place in the nation's Confucian temple. King Hyeonjong (r. 1009-1031), recognizing Choe's Confucian accomplishments, granted him the posthumous title of Marquis of Bright Culture (문창후, 文昌侯). In the early 13th century his portrait was placed in the national Confucian shrine to become an object of veneration thence forward.

On the other hand, as time passed Choe also came to be revered as a poet, due in great part to the relatively large number of his poems that have survived, all written in Chinese. Around Choe also grew up a rich body of folklore, attributing to him fantastic deeds and supernatural powers.

In the late 19th century, as Korean intellectuals began to reexamine their intellectual and historical roots in the face of increasing national weakness and foreign encroachment, there arose a rising critique of Korea's historical deference to China.

The most articulate voice of such nationalist sentiment was the journalist, historian, and philosopher Shin Chaeho (1880–1936). Shin condemned Choe Chiwon as one of the most glaring examples of Korean intellectual subservience to China, a pattern of sequacious behavior on the part of Korea's intellectual class (according to Shin) that over the long run weakened Korea's national spirit and made it a slave to "Sadae" ("serving the great") thought.

Choe Chiwon is now claimed by the Gyeongju Choe clan as their founder. The location of his home in Gyeongju is now a small temple hall dedicated to his memory.

Writings

The relatively extensive extant writings of Choe stand as witness to his importance in late Silla society while also ensuring him a degree of importance among latter generations that has escaped his contemporaries, many of whom, like him, were talented poets, learned officials, and diligent in their attempts at reform.

Besides his lost works like Jewang yeondaeryeok (Chronological History of Monarchs) and others, Choe's surviving writings may be divided roughly into four main categories: official prose (to include memorials, dispatches, etc. during his service both in Tang China and Silla); private prose (on such topics as tea drinking and natural scenery); poetry; and stele inscriptions.

Shortly following Choe's return to Silla in 885 he compiled his various writings, both official and unofficial (to include some poetry) and presented it to King Heongang. The preface to that compilation survives allowing us to know its original contents. However, the entire collection is no longer extant. What does survive is one part entitled the Gyeweon Pilgyeong (계원필경, 桂苑筆耕, "Plowing the Cassia Grove with a Writing Brush"), which is ten volumes made up primarily of official letters and memorials composed while in the service of Tang. This work also includes some private prose.

A sizable collection of Choe's poetry, which was presumably originally included in the work presented to King Heongang cited above, has come down to us through other Korean sources, primarily the Dongmunseon, a Joseon Dynasty collection of Korean poetry. Some verses of his are also included in the 12th century Samguk Sagi.

Choe's surviving stele inscriptions, the so-called Sasan bimyeong (사산비명, 四山碑銘, 「Four mountain steles」) are as follows (all in present-day South Korea):

• Jingamguksa bimyeong (진감국사비명, 眞鑑國師碑銘) Memorial Stele to Master Jingam Hyeso of Ssanggye Temple, 887, at Ssanggye Temple, South Gyeongsang province.

• Daesungboksa bimyeong (대숭복사비명, 大崇福寺碑銘) Stele of Daesungbok Temple, 885, Gyeongju (not totally extant).

• Nanghyehwasang bimyeong (낭혜화상비명, 朗慧和尙碑銘) Memorial Stele to Master Ranghye of Seongju Temple, 890, at Seongju Temple, South Chungcheong province.

• Jijeungdaesa bimyeong (지증대사비명, 智證大使碑銘) Memorial Stele to Master Jijeung of Pongam Temple, 924, at Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang province.

Choe's authorship has been conjectured for the Silla Suijeon (신라수이전, 新羅殊異傳, Silla tales of wonder), the earliest and oldest known collection of Korean Buddhist tales and popular fables. The work is no longer extant but thirteen of its original stories have survived in other works. Almost all scholars agree, however, that Choe was not the author. This seems clear by the fact that one of the tales included in the collection was a fable of Choe Chiwon, the Goun Choe Chiwon jeon (고운 최치원전, 孤雲崔致遠傳). Likewise, in the early 20th century Choe was put forward as the author of the Yuseolgyeonghak daejang (유설경학대장, 類說經學隊仗), a Confucian pedagogical work. Based upon the nature of the language and expressions employed, scholars are also fairly unanimous in denying this to be a work of Choe.

生平

崔致遠公元857年出生于新羅京城沙梁部的一個貴族家庭，人們對他的家世知之甚少。《三國史記》記載說：「史傳泯滅，不知其世系」。他從小受到很好的家庭教育，他在詩文中多次自稱為「儒家門末學」、「玄菟微儒」 等。

公元868年，年僅12歲的崔致遠跟隨商船入唐留學。他的父親在他離國前告誡他「十年不第進士，則勿謂我兒，吾亦不謂有兒往矣。」他在長安學習六年後，于公元874年在禮部侍郎裴瓚手下一舉及第。根據唐朝的規定，進士及第只是獲得了做官的資格。授官職還需經吏部的「選試」。因此他及第後去了東都洛陽，以教書為生，「尋以浪跡東都，筆做飯囊」 。在此期間，他著書三卷（私試今體賦五首一卷，五言七言今體詩100首一卷，雜詩賦30首一卷），內容主要是關于他準備參加博學宏詞科。

公元877年，崔致遠被任命為溧水（今江蘇南京市溧水區）縣尉 。在溧水為官的四年中，他有機會接觸到中國的下層社會，了解到中國社會現實和人民生活。期間，他創作了各種同情人民疾苦的各類題材作品，並編撰了《中山覆匱集》五卷。儘管他當上了縣尉，有了俸祿，但仍然難以保証溫飽，「俱緣俸祿無餘，書糧不濟」，他不得不另謀出路。公元884年，崔致遠為應「博學鴻儒科」試，離開溧水去了淮南。

在淮南，崔致遠被當時的淮南節度使高駢聘為從事官，以掌文書之事。黃巢起事爆發後，高駢被任命為諸道兵馬都統。崔致遠為他撰寫了大量的公書文牒，其中包括著名的《檄黃巢書》。他的才華得到高駢和唐僖宗的賞識，被授承務郎侍御史內供奉之職和紫金魚袋。他將自己在這一時期的作品整理成《桂苑筆耕集》（共20卷）。高駢失勢後，淮南幕府盛行阿諛奉承之風，崔致遠漸遭冷落。公元884年，他上書請求歸國，得到高駢同意，並于同年8月離開中國。唐僖宗讓他帶著國書以唐朝使節的身份歸國。晚唐詩人顧云為他寫了送別詩。

回到新羅後，崔致遠被任命為侍讀兼翰林學士、守兵部侍郎、知瑞書監等職。不過當時的新羅朝廷已經極為腐化。他在歸國的第二年曾向真聖女王進獻《時務策》十一條，奉勸新羅統治者施仁政，以挽救國家的危亡。但新羅統治者對此無動于衷。為此，崔致遠創作了許多表達對現實不滿，批判社會醜惡現象，諷刺統治者虛偽的詩作。他因此被統治者所不容，被貶為地方官，任大山郡太守。41歲以後，他感覺新羅的腐朽已經無法挽回，便辭官帶家人隱居伽倻山。

對崔致遠的去世，眾說紛紜。據李仁老《破閒集》記載，他在一日清晨突然失蹤，他的家人和朋友四處尋找，但只在深山中找到他的鞋子和帽子。傳說崔致遠晚年支持王建的勢力，並為王建做了《檄甄萱書》。在寫給王建的書信中，他說：「雞林黃葉，鴿嶺青松」。王建建立高麗王朝後，崔致遠被追封為「文昌侯」，並配享文廟。

文學成就

現存崔致遠的詩歌包括《桂苑筆耕集》的60首、《東文選》的30首和分散在《全唐詩》以及歷史文獻和金石文物上的十餘首及一些殘句。他的詩歌按內容可以分為五類：第一類是他在唐留學時所作的思念故鄉的抒情詩，比如《秋夜雨中》、《山陽與鄉友話別》、《東風》、《陳情上太尉》等；第二類是批評現實的詩歌，比如《江南女》、《古意》、《寓興》、《蜀葵花》等；第三類是寫景詩，比如他奉使東泛新羅，在山東大珠山停泊時所作的《石峰》、《潮浪》、《沙汀》、《野燒》、《杜鵑》、《海鷗》、《山頂危石》、《石上矮松》、《紅葉樹》、《石上留泉》十首，以及《芋江驛雪》、《題伽倻山》七絕《入山詩》和《贈智光上人》等；第四類是紀德詩和與學友之間的唱和之作，比如《七言紀德詩三十首謹獻司徒相公》、《酬進士田成義兄贈》、《酬吳進士巒歸江南》、《酬吳巒秀才昔別二絕句》、《酬楊瞻秀才送別》等；第五類是描寫新羅民間舞蹈的詩，比如《鄉樂雜詠》、《金丸》、《月顛》等。崔致遠的詩體裁多樣包有七言、五言；有絕句、律詩；有古體詩，但以七言律詩和絕句為最多。他的詩都以現實生活為基礎進行自然地抒發。他認為詩人不應該過于自由想象發揮。他曾在《謝高秘書示長歌書》中說李白「興酣落筆搖五嶽，詩成笑傲凌滄州」的詩作是「唯誇散誕之詞」。

崔致遠在唐的16年間創作了一萬多篇作品，其中詩歌只有300多首，其餘都是散文和應用文。高麗文人周慎齋在其《游清涼山錄》中稱崔致遠是「東方文學之祖」。朝鮮王朝前期文人成伣也說：「我國文章，始發于崔致遠。」崔致遠的散文和應用文大都是駢體文。這種文體盛行于六朝，在唐朝成為朝廷公文「正式的程式」。崔致遠存世的散文集《桂苑筆耕集》收錄的大多數是駢體四儷六的行政公文，但他的散文內容豐富，體裁多樣，具有很高的藝術成就。他所撰寫的《檄黃巢書》，條理清晰，措辭犀利。據《孤雲先生遺事》記載，黃巢在讀到「不惟天下之人皆思顯戮，抑亦地中之鬼已議陰誅」時，不覺從床上掉了下來。

紀念

中國江蘇省揚州市建有崔致遠紀念館，這是中國首座外國名人紀念館。紀念館2005年10月9日由中國外交部批准建設，10月15日揚州舉行了奠基儀式。紀念館位于揚州唐衙城遺址的西南角，占地18.579畝，由紀念堂、陳列館、研究中心等部分組成，揚州建築設計院設計。紀念館總建設費用約2000多萬元，由揚州市政府撥專款建設，韓國崔氏宗親會開工儀式上向崔致遠紀念館建設捐贈了10萬美元。2007年10月15日，崔致遠紀念館一期工程竣工開館。

中國人民對外友好協會、江蘇省對外文化交流協會、揚州市委市政府、江蘇省廣播電視總台等聯合拍攝有電視紀錄片《崔致遠》。其首映式于2007年8月19日在北京舉行，中國對外友協會長陳昊蘇、副會長馮佐庫、揚州市委宣傳部長陳衛慶等出席了首映式。

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