Ch'oe Sŭng-no
politician, Confucian and marquis of the Korean Goryeo dynasty (927 – 989)
Ch'oe Sŭng-no (Korean: 최승로; Hanja: 崔承老; 927 – 17 June 989 was a politician, Confucian scholar, poet, and literary writer in the early Goryeo dynasty. He came from the Gyeongju Choe clan, one of the third class noble families of Silla. He was famous for proposing 28 policies to King Seongjong, most of which were accepted and a became an important basis for state affairs such as Goryeo's political system and local government.
Life
Ch'oe Sŭng-no was born in Gyeongju. He was the son of Silla noble Ch'oe Ŭn-ham, a member of the head rank six class. At age of 12, he had been highly praised by Taejo of Goryeo after reading the Analects in front of the royal court. Due to impressing the king, he was made a student of the Wŏnbongsŏng (원봉성학생; 元鳳省學生). In 982, Ch'oe submitted a memorial to King Seongjong, where he discussed the state policies of previous five kings of Goryeo and proposed 28 policies to reform the government. Later that year, Ch'oe was promoted to the office of Vice-Director of the Chancellery (문하시랑평장사; 門下侍郎平章事; munhasirang p'yŏngjangsa). He spread Confucianism widely in Korea and set up the basic political structure of Goryeo at the era of Seongjong.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Ch'oe Sŭng-no” is politician, Confucian and marquis of the Korean Goryeo dynasty (927 – 989). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Ch'oe, Sŭng-no and politician, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “politician, Confucian and marquis of the Korean Goryeo dynasty (927 – 989)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2947218. VIAF identifies the subject as 71285330. The Library of Congress control number is nr95044713. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
Later biographies can compress uncertainty and repeat inherited reputations, so apparently settled claims may still require comparison. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Ch'oe Sŭng-no”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Ch'oe Sŭng-no primary sources, Ch'oe Sŭng-no archive and Ch'oe research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Ch'oe Sŭng-no”?
- Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
- Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Ch'oe Sŭng-no” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.