The Beauty of Elegance‘Pungnyu’in the Tea Culture of Korea

YS Joung

1.The tea culture and the beauty of elegance，‘Pungnyu(風流)’

‘Tea culture(茶文化)’encompasses a broad concept of‘tea(茶)’including‘providing tea(茶供)’，‘the technique of tea(茶道)’，‘tea ritual(茶禮)’，‘tea artistry(茶藝)’，and‘tea party(茶會)’.The main purpose of tea offerings，a tradition which has been passed on since originating some time Before Christ in the East，can be broadly classified as beverage，health maintenance，cultivation of morals，and beauty of elegance，‘Pungnyu(風流)’.

The concept of‘Pungnyu’in Korea originated from Choi Chi-won(崔致遠，857～894～?)，who stated，“There is a profound truth‘Tao(道)’in our country，and that is the beauty of elegance，‘Pungnyu’.The origin of its teachings is described in detail in the history of hermits(仙史).‘Pungnyu’includes the teachings of Buddhism，Confucianism and Taoism，and then enlightens and reforms the people(國有玄妙之道曰風流.設敎之源備詳仙史.實乃包含三敎 接化群生.「鸞郞碑序」).”Later，the term‘Pungnyu(風流)’was even used to describe Silla’s Youth Readers(‘Hwarang’，‘花郞’)playing and training in nature，and over time，through the Goryeo and Joseon periods，it was conceptualized by literary men as“pleasant state of mind or energy while appreciating the beauty of nobleness and elegance.”

The reasons for the close association between tea and Pungnyu can be summarized as:① Water，which is the very nature of drinks，their awakening effect，and taste and smell，for which there are varying preferences，② an opportunity to forget the worldly concerns through the practice of tea(茶事)，which allows one to have time on his or her side，and③ the people and the beautiful environment in a situation of tea drinking(茶席).

The early tea literature，which used the term‘Tea pungnyu’，included a story of a tea party written by a Buddhist monk from the Tang(唐)Dynasty named Gyoyeon(皎然，720～800?).It depicted hermits and Buddhist monks drinking and enjoying tea，with a geomungo(six-stringed zither)and flowers，until well into the night without the moonlight，and this was described as‘noble and elegant Pungnyu(風流高此會.「晦夜李侍御萼宅集招潘述湯衡海上人飮茶賦」).’

The records of Korean tea culture show that‘Pungnyu’began when the tea drinking customs flourished among the literary men in the Goryeo Dynasty period.ImChun(林椿，1148～86)，for example，was living with Buddhist monks in nature when he stated，“I plan to become a Buddhist monk and succeed the Pungnyu of these two.I have learned how to be completely engrossed in tea boiling(我向桑門投上首風流欲繼二子後.……更學點茶三昧手.「書蓮花院壁」).”‘These two’he referred to were Wang Xizhi(王羲之)and SuShi(蘇軾).Even after this，drinking tea in leisure and enjoying time was referred to as Pungnyu event(風流事)，and the meetings of a credit union of tea was also called Pungnyu.Also，written works describing‘pleasure’，‘innocent enjoyment’，‘quiet enjoyment’，‘beautiful enjoyment’，and ‘tea seat pleasure(tea enthusiasm)’in a situation of tea drinking demonstrate the presence of‘Pungnyu’in tea culture.

2.The esthetic consciousness(美意識)of‘Pungnyu’(風流)in Korean tea culture

Pungnyu originates when beauty is appreciated，and cannot arise from ugliness(醜’)，vulgarity(賤)，or crude or daily things.Korean teaists obtained the beauty of Pungnyu(風流美)from harmony of the great truth，richness of nature，high-mindedness，pure virtue and artistic value.

① There is beauty in the harmony(和合美)of the Great Truth(大道).

Just as Pungnyu represents the great truth，teaists attempt to pursue harmony and seek pleasure of the truth(樂道)，without being constrained by religion or ideas.

The teaists of Silla，who learned of the Great Truth by experience，were the four Hermits and Hwarang warrior(花郞)youths of the 7thcentury and the Buddhist monks who had formerly been Silla’s Youth Readers.The records dating from the Goryeo and Joseon periods show give insight into the beliefs held by Confucianists，who claimed“tea and Zen is one(茶禪一如)”and“tea and truth(道)is the same taste(茶道一味)，”as well as tea rituals that incorporated the practices of Buddhism，Confucianism and Taoism.These teaists brought together the concepts of‘Harmony(和)’in Confucianism，‘Tao(道)’in the Taoist philosophy and‘Nirvana’in Buddhism，and enjoyed the situations of tea drinking in which the way of pleasure was sought.The conversations that teaists had at such tea seat were described as‘soft speech(軟語)’，‘fine talk(淸談)’，‘true language(道言)’，‘tea talk(茶話)’.The Confucianists who sang to bring pleasure to their ancestor and the gods of the heavens and earth as well as the temple tea rites were Pungnyu of the Great Truth that broke down the barrier between life and death.

② There is beauty of nature(自然美).

Nature，which is the ultimate birthplace of humans，gives vital energy(元氣)to give enthusiasm(興)and make people cheerful(神明).There are many literary works on tea describing people enjoying a situation of tea drinking outdoors while enjoying beauties of nature(風月)by becoming one with plants and animals and engaging in Pungnyu for clean，wholesome fun.The places of appreciation(風流處)included the valley，small Buddhist temples in the mountains，riverside，scapha，tea rooms with an excellent view of the scenery and pavilions.Tea parties were held to show off the blooming flowers，and daffodils and a plum blossom were placed indoors for artificial recreation of nature.They also sought the beauty of nature through transfer tea，boiling tea sound and form，and tea feast or tea smoke.

③ There is the beauty of abundance(豊裕美)in providing tea which demonstrate a temporal，mental and materialistic richness.

An abundance of food and drinks and entertainment are prepared for a tea party or to treat an important guest for Pungnyu.The beauty of abundant Pungnyu began to take on the characteristics of a hobby，and it has flourished to this day through active exchange and interaction among teaists since the 11thcentury during the Goryeo period.

In the Goryeo and Joseon periods，tea competitions(鬪茶)，at which contestants battled against one another with respect to the taste of the tea they made，were a form of a interesting Pungnyu that people enjoyed regardless of winning or losing.Also，the courtesy and dignity shown in the movement，language and attire of the host and the guests at a tea party in Korea were the beauty of Pungnyu arising from a comfortable living.

④ There is beauty of High-mindedness(高潔美).

High-mindedness is consciousness that stems from tea mind(茶心)that was reached by a superior man of Confucianism，Buddha of Buddhism，and ancient hermits of Taoism.

Tea philosopher(茶家)Yi Saek(李穡，1328～96)，who wrote 90 tea poems，first advocated for‘Tea ideals of noblemen without evil’in「Recitation After Tea Drinking(茶後小詠)」.He also emphasized on the beauty of being free of evil and reaching high-mindedness by stating“The evil feelings have disappeared upon the sight of the tea cup.(茶鍾照目便無邪.)”The fact that he referred to the taste of tea as‘genuine(眞)’and the‘practice of tea’as‘a nice work(淸事)’shows that he enjoyed the beauty of the high-mindedness of noblemen.His idea of‘Tea ideals without evil’was passed on to the Joseon period.

The teaists among Confucianists and Buddhists created a custom of living in recluse similar to Taoist hermits，and called this‘tea immortal(茶仙)’as they were pursuing clean and clear energy.The written works describing the event of reaching‘Zen ecstasy(禪悅)’after drinking tea among Buddhists are demonstrating the joy of the high-mindedness that can be realized through the Zen Buddhism Dado(茶道).

⑤ There is the beauty of lovely virtue(淸德美)in Korean tea culture，where‘beauty(美)’，‘goodness(善)’，and‘truth(道)’are shown through action and behavior.

In the Goryeo period，going to tea rooms and giving tea as a gift were referred to as Pungnyu.Also，the beauty of lovely virtue is observed in the tea set gift，begging tea(乞茶)，and compassionate conversations in a situation of tea drinking.Also，organizing a tea party to console a tea friend(茶友)in times of separation or sadness also demonstrates the beauty of generosity.

⑥ There is the beauty of entertainment(藝能美)in a situation of tea drinking in Korea.

Every form of art demonstrates precious beauty that is worthy of being enjoyed and appreciated by many people.Because tea parties are held for the purpose of obtaining the awakening effect of tea and enjoying leisure with a sound mind set，entertainment is presented through various forms of art such as poetry，painting and music.Attendees have a chance to enjoy the progress of the tea party，tea set，antiques，tea house and decoration of tea drinking.

The versified customs of a situation of tea drinking are evident in the fact that there were more than 520 literary men and Buddhist monks who wrote poems under the theme of tea or situation of tea drinking from the late Goryeo period to the end of the Joseon period.In addition，the important records of Korean tea culture remain largely in the form of poetry and songs such as‘茶賦’，‘東茶頌’，and‘茶歌’rather than as explanatory texts.The reason for this is that the reading rhythm and music meter are enjoyable and the concise expressions from well-educated people give arise to Pungnyu.

The records show that the tea party held by King Gyeongdeok(景德王)and Chungdam(忠談)in spring of 765 during the Silla Dynasty was the world’s first Pungnyu tea party(風流茶會記)where Anminga(the song of comfort nation，安民歌)，created on the spot by Buddhist Hwarang of Silla，was heard by the King after drinking tea〈Drawing 1〉.This tea party culture spread among the literary men.There is a record dating from the late Goryeo period that Yi Geo-in(李居仁)cleaned the house，burned incense，brought out alcoholic beverages，boiled and drank tea，recited poems and listened to music in his home，where there were painting，geomungo(six-stringed zither)，baduk board(Korean checkers)，plum tree，orchid，pine tree，bamboo tree，deer and cranes.One can feel catharsis through entertainment presented at such Pungnyu tea parties.A large number of famous painters and calligraphers of Joseon left paintings or writings indicating that they enjoyed drinking tea.For instance，Yi In-mun(李寅文，1745～1821)created a painting under the theme of Pungnyu situation of tea drinking and it’s the iconic piece called“Tea Party Drawing(樓閣雅集茶會圖)〈Drawing 2〉.”Aesthetic beauty was sought in tea sets.Seo Geung(徐兢)of the Song Dynasty wrote in 1123，“(The people of Goryeo)love drinking tea，and this is the reason they create better tea sets such as a black tea cup with gold floral patterns，small celadon tea cups，silver and tea cauldrons.(故邇茶頗喜飮茶益治茶具.金花烏盞翡色小甌銀爐湯鼎.「器皿三」＜茶俎＞)”It is evident in this statement that there was pursuit of aesthetic beauty in tea drinking customs.The concept of“tea enthusiasm”in Korea was not only observed at tea parties but as at the tea rituals(茶儀)of the Imperial Court，written players recited at sacrificial tea rites，and the songs sang at Buddhist rites(茶偈).

3.Modern-day Pungnyu tea parties

Of all the people in East Asia，Koreans especially placed great importance on Pungnyu，the appreciation of the beauty of nobleness and elegance，which they pursued for more than a thousand years.The reason for this was the idea that entertaining oneself in a noble and elegant manner in nature and studying to learn the Great Truth(大道)and practice the virtues were one and the same thing.

The modern-day teaists in Korea also enjoy tea culture that incorporates Pungnyu.In beautiful seasons，they organize a situation of tea drinking in the mountains or by a pond to entertain themselves，and even hold tea parties that include poetry reading sessions and music performances at an old house or a house deep in the mountains.They even have a separate team room in their homes and create their own situations of tea drinking as a way to find courage and happiness in life.There are also clubs that hold tea parties，where various types of genuine tea(茗茶)，transfer tea and food are prepared，and the attendees enjoy beauty through entertainment，conversations，courtesy and beautiful attires.Also，at offering tea rituals(獻供茶禮祭)commonly held by Confucianists and Buddhists are mutually enjoyed by all the participants even though their religions differ.

The tea culture of the East with long history and traditions has become an international daily ritual culture that is easily approachable.The meaning of tea parties extends beyond simply enjoying one's preferred beverage as it is leisure culture that allows participants to let go of their worries and worldly thoughts，appreciate beauty，communicate in a pleasant environment and come together in harmony，thereby offering a healing experiencing and eliminating all conflicts.

Beverages similar to tea are alcohol and coffee，however，the latter two types of beverage do not offer healing to people in the modern-day period who are busy and depressed.Tea drinking not only provides an awakening effect，but it is also a noble and elegant pastime that allows for a happy，slow life，which is in essence Pungnyu.