Heo Nanseolheon

Heo Yeop, the father of the poet Heo Nanseolheon, is a conservative official with Confucian beliefs such as namjon-yubi - men above, women below. Ignoring her budding talent and curiosity, he left it to her brother Heo Pong to introduce her to literature. The "Inscriptions on the Ridge Pole of the White Jade Pavilion in the Kwanghan Palace" was written by her when she was only eight years old, earning her the epithet "Immortal Maiden" as it was recognized as a work of poetic genius. Heo Pong introduced her to Chinese writing such as the Confucian Five Classics when she showed a natural talent for hanum verse. Forced into exile because of his political leanings, Heo Pong left her further education in the hands of their younger brother Heo Gyun. He was a gifted poet who studied under a specialist of Tang poetry, Yi Tal, who took it upon him to share Tang Poetry with Nanseolheon. Tang poetry has influenced her work, shown in the naturalism of her poetry. When Nanseolheon married Kim Seongnip her poetry started to lament the plight and sufferings of married women. Her early literature employed folklore and natural imagery, common to Tang tradition, but now her poetry is weighted down with an emotive language.