Jo Hui-ryong

Jo Hui-ryong (1789-1866) was a painter and man of letters of the late Joseon period, and a leading artist of the jungin, the "middle people" who stood between the aristocracy and the commoners. He is remembered above all for his paintings of plum blossoms, and he wrote the Hosan oegi, a collection of biographies of figures from the jungin class, helping to lead the wihang literary movement of the commoners of his day. His significance lies in giving voice to the lives of the middle class within a culture and art long dominated by the yangban elite.