An Hyang

Who was An Hyang?

An Hyang was a leading Confucian scholar born in Yeongju in present-day South Korea. He is considered the founder of Neo-Confucianism in Korea, introducing Song Confucianism to the Goryeo kingdom. An Hyang visited China, transcribing the Chu Tzu Shu and bringing his copy and portraits of Confucius and Zhu Xi to Korea to use in his revitalization of Confucianism. He strove to replace Buddhism with Confucianism. In 1304 he founded the Confucian shrine Munmyo.

There is a portrait of him at the Sosu Seowon, which was built as a memorial to the scholar. There is also a statue of him on Banya-san in Nonsan.