이규보 茶詩를 통해 본 茶事와 茶德

Works and Virtue of Tea in Lee Gyu-Bo's Tea-poems

Lee Gyu-Bo was a respected writer, politician, and thinker of the Goryeo period. He enjoyed poetry, alcohol, and playing the geomungo (Korean traditional string instrument) so much that he called himself 'Samhokho(love of poetry, alcohol, and geomungo)'. In addition to his love of tea, he admired nature and pondered the laws of nature. Tea was a good way to discipline his mind, and his affection for tea is demonstrated in his poetry, including the 『Dongukyisanggukjib』. As Lee Gyu-Bo is a figure who connects the three kingdom period and Joseon Dynasty, his thoughts and attitudes on tea are important in studying Korean tea culture. However, in reviewing studies on Lee Gyu-Bo, I found insufficiencies in both quantity and quality. Therefore, here, I focused on 43 of his tea poems, including the 『Dongukyisanggukjib』. As a result, I found that he had great knowledge of Korean and Chinese tea and deeply understood the virtue of tea. Lee Gyu-Bo realized that the process of brewing tea helped discipline his mind, and he reached the spiritual realm of 'Dadoilmi (Tea & Zen the same)'.