According to the historical documents, every Korean Confucians and Buddhists have been handing down traditional tea art philosophy as follows : to achieve one's ideological goal or will, one must follow one's natural character(明德, 性) that received from Heaven and keep up its originality(明明德, 道) with strong determination and act in meditation while drinking tea for the purification of mind and body. The tea art philosophy of Uijae Huh Baeklyeon(毅齋 許百鍊) may similarly be summed up while he was practicing the essential values (honesty and diligence) in life with sincerity(至誠). The purified in order not to be tainted with human desire. Thus, the mind can be strengthened and purified through meditation while drinking a cup of tea. And with the attitude to work patiently, diligently and honestly, the very essence for anybody who wants to live a more truly human life. Whenever absentmindedness brings about laziness, drinking a cup of tea, the mind and will to be sincere is strengthened through meditation to carry out things to the end. He painted with a discipline mind in order to express his spirits and ideas on the scroll, made from Chinese paper(畵宣紙紙), after drinking tea deep in meditation. Uijae managed himself through such a tea drinking life and he made efforts to develop his potential abilities and had achieved his goals. His other ideological goals in life were devoted for the welfare of humankind(弘益人間思想), practiced the three kinds of love(三愛精神) [loving the heaven, the earth and the human beings(愛天, 愛土, 愛家)] and unified the mind and body and struggled to reach the highest enlightenment. Through his tea drinking life as a part of spiritual training, he exerted efforts to disseminate the way of tea so that the people may develop both mental and physical dignity as an exemplary and notable citizens. Furthermore, he ran a tea farm with tea factory and produced black or green tea, sold them in all over the country, and he invested the profits in the agricultural high school. Thus, Uijae was not only an oriental painter but a patriot, a philosopher, and an educator. Importantly, he was a tea artist who revived the tradition of tea culture in Korea.
(0)
(0)