Tomb of Yi Mae-chang
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Location89, Maechang-ro Buan-eup, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do
- CategoryCultural Heritage / Tangible Cultural Heritage
- Korean이매창 묘
- Chinese李梅窓墓
- Nickname매창이뜸
- FieldHistory / Premodern
- Contents TypeHistoric Site / Mausoleum
- Current Location89, Maechang-ro Buan-eup, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do
- Definition
- The tomb of Yi Mae-chang, a female poet of the Joseon Dynasty, located in Seooe-ri, Buan-eup, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do.
- Summary
- Yi Mae-chang (1573-1610) was a female writer and well-known gisaeng (female entertainer) during the mid-Joseon period. She was known by various names including Cheonhyang (courtesy name), Maechang (pen-name), Gyesaeng, Gyerang, and Hyanggeum. Her father was I Tang-jong, then governor of Buan. She has long been regarded as one of the most prominent female entertainers of the Joseon period, along with Hwang Jin-yi, due to her excellent poetry. It is said that as Yi Mae-chang was smart, she studied the Chinese classics under her father and played the geomungo (six-stringed Korean zither) very well. It is also said that as she was intelligent and beautiful, she became the second wife of Seo Wu-gwan (prefect), but Seo’s wife was very jealous, so Mae-chang left the house and went to Buan to become a free gisaeng. However, there was no such person as Prefect Seo in Buan between 1573 (the 6th year of the reign of King Seonjo) and 1610 (the 2nd year of the reign of Prince Gwanghae) while she was alive, so this tale is believed to be either incorrect or a fabrication. In reality, the real reason why Yi Mae-chang became a gisaeng remains unknown.
Later, she associated with various writers and civil servants including Yu Hui-gyeong, Heo Gyun, Yi Gwi, Han Jun-gyeom, Sim Gwang-se, and Gwon Phil, who appreciated her and her talents. Among them, her relationship with Yu Hui-gyeon is well known, as she loved him all her life. In fact, Sin Seok-jeong referred to Yu Hui-gyeong, Yi Mae-chang, and Jikso Falls as the “Buan Samjeol”, in other words, Buan’s “three best figures”. Yu Hui-gyeon was widely known as the “Wihang Poet” in Buan at that time.
Yi Mae-chang met Yu Hui-gyeon when he came to Buan on an outing, and they exchanged their poems with each other. After a few meetings, she began to write poems about her longing for him and her feelings of sadness. In particular, the poem The Wet Pear Blossoms, which concerns her parting from Yu Hui-gyeong, was included in Gagokwonryu (A Collection of Korean Poetry), in which it is written that: “Gyerang (Mae-chang) is Buan’s most famous gisaeng. She excelled at writing poems, and her book Maechangjip (A Collection of Maechang’s Works) was published. She was Yu Hui-gyeong’s lover, but after he went back to Seoul and didn’t send her any letters, she wrote this poem and remained chaste.”
Although she wrote hundreds of poems throughout her life, most of them have been lost. Fortunately, the book Maechangjip was published as a block book at Gaeamsa Temple, Byeonsan by local officials, who collected Maechang’s fifty-eight surviving poems in various forms in 1668 (the 9th year of the reign of King Hyeonjong). At that time, no collections of poems by women had been published anywhere in the world. It is said that when the book was published, so many people bought it that it became difficult to find a copy, making it necessary to keep it in print, which badly affected the temple’s finances.
- Location
- Her tomb is located in Maechang Park at 89, Maechang-ro (566, Seooe-ri), Buan-eup, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do, to the north of the Buan Culture Center.
- Development
- Yi Mae-chang died in the summer of 1610 aged just 38, and was buried with her geomungo on Bongdume Hill in Buan. Local people named this gravesite Maechangyitteum and erected a stone monument there forty-five years later in 1655 (the 6th year of the reign of King Hyojong).
- Forms
- Her tomb is a circular pit type of tomb in front of which stand a cap stone and a square stone table for an incense burner. There are two gravestones: the one on the left (height: 100cm; upper width: 39cm; lower width: 35cm) was erected in 1917, while the one on the right was erected in recently and bears the following inscription: “Local Monument No. 65 Tomb of Yi Mae-chang”. There is also a panel indicating the tomb of Yi Mae-chang next to the gravestones.
- Inscription
- The epigraph consists of two inscriptions: “Myeongwon Imaechangjimyo (Tomb of Yi Mae-chang)” on the front side of the monument and “媛名香今 号梅窓 正德癸酉生 及長善詞章 有集行于世 嘉靖庚戌終 萬曆乙未立碣 歷年三百 字畫剥落 更改立石 仍記其蹟云个” on the rear side, meaning that “Mae-chang is also known as Hyanggeum (name) and Maechang (pen-name), who was born in 1573. She was good at writing poems and a collection of her poems has been published. She died in 1610, and the monument was erected in 1595. The first monument was erected over 300 years ago, so the inscription is illegible. Therefore as the new monument was erected, its history has been written here. “
- Current Status
- In 1917, the Bupungsisa, an association of Buan’s poets, made and erected a new monument with the inscription “Myeongwon I Maechangjimyo” (Tomb of Yi Mae-chang). The Maechangje Ritual is held at her tomb by the Bupungyulhoe, one of Buan’s cultural associations, every year on April 5 by the lunar calendar. Maechang Park was established near her tomb, which is situated to the north of the tomb of Lee Jung-seon, a master singer of pansori. A large stone bearing the sign “Maechang Park” is placed in the center of Maechang Park, which contains other monuments inscribed with poems, including those of Yi Mae-chang (While Playing the Geomungo, Lovesick, Longing for You, Dear Drunkard, Wet Pear Blossoms, Eosudae, Thinking of You) and those of other poets, such as In Search of Maechang’s Tomb by Jeong Bi-seok, At the Tomb of Maechang by Kim Min-seong, Maechangtteum by Lee Byeong-gi, and Thinking of Maechang by Yu Hui-gyeong.
The park also has a playground, lawn plaza, youth cultural stage, multi-purpose playground, symbol plaza, observatory, foot volleyball court, and the Buan Culture Center. The Tomb of Yi Mae-chang was designated as Jeollabuk-do Monument No. 65 on August 24, 1983 and is tended by Buan-gun.
- Historical Significance
- Yi Mae-chang’s works are highly praised for her delicate sentiments and excellent command of poetic language. She was an artist of extraordinary versatility.
- See Also