recorded Korean history. In 894 Choe submitted to Silla's Queen Jinseong (r. 887-897) his "Ten Urgent Points of Reform" for the Silla (시무십여조, 時務十餘條). As with earlier attempts by Choe's predecessors, these were ultimately to fall upon deaf ears. By the time of Choe's return Silla was in an advanced state of collapse. The central monarchy had been greatly weakened by internecine struggle, with power devolving first into the hands of the bone rank aristocracy and then - more ominously for Silla's survival - into the hands of regional warlords who controlled the countryside outside the capital region, and in some cases commanded their own private armies. Retirement and later life Few records remain of Choe's middle and late years. Around the year 900 Choe retired from public life and began a period of wandering through numerous Korean locales. As the Samguk Sagi relates, "Living in retirement, [Choe] took up the free life of a mountain sage, building pavilions along rivers and shores, planting pines and bamboo, reading books and writing history, and composing odes to nature. He is known to have dwelled in such places as Namsan in Gyeongju, Bingsan in Gangju, Cheongnyang Temple in Habju, Ssanggye Temple in Jirisan, and a cottage in Habpohyeon." Haeundae District of modern Busan takes its name from Choe's pen-name Haeun as he purportedly was enamored of the location and so built a pavilion there overlooking the beach. A piece of Choe's calligraphy engraved on a rock still survives there. Eventually Choe settled at Haeinsa Temple where his elder brother Hyeonjun (賢俊) served as abbot. His later years are most notable for his lengthy stele inscriptions, hagiographies to Silla's most noted Buddhist priests that have proved a primary source of information on Silla Buddhism. One well known anecdote regarding Choe in these years regards a putative piece of verse he dispatched to Wang Geon, the founder of the Goryeo. Apparently convinced by the greatness of Wang Geon, notably by the promulgation of his Ten Injunctions, Choe came to believe that Wang Geon had inherited the Mandate of Heaven to succeed the declining Silla dynasty as the ruler of the peninsula. Reflecting this, he secretly sent off a prophetic verse reflecting his support of the new dynasty: “The leaves of the Cock Forest [Silla] are yellow, the pines of Snow Goose Pass [Goryeo] are green.” (계림황엽 곡령청송, 鷄林黃葉 鵠嶺靑松). Cock Forest (Gyerim) being an