小癡 許鍊의 차 생활 고찰

Contemplation upon Heo Ryun's involvement in tea culture

Heo Ryun, an artist in the 19th century of the second half of Joseon Dynasty, greatly influenced the painters in Honam region of Korea with his traditional southern school painting style. He learned from his lifelong teacher Kim Jeong-hui the spirit of Korean tea culture as well as poetry, writing, and painting. Cho Eui, who is called the star of Korean tea, interacted with Kim Jeong-hui, Shin Wi, Kown Don-in, Hong Hyun-ju, and so forth, with Dae-heung temple in Hae-nam county as the center of the interaction. In addition, Cho wrote books such as Dongdasong and Dashinjeon and set up the theoretical basis of Korean tea. Such legacy of tea was carried by Heo Ryun, who had opened the period of southern school painting style in the late Joseon Dynasty, onto Heo Hyung and then Heo Baek-ryun. The legacy transmission also embraced Heo Ryun’s artistic value and even the spirit of tea together. So far, most of the research papers and academic journals on Heo Ryun have focused only on his paintings with an artistic perspective. However, this paper sheds a light on the fact that Heo Ryun was also one of those who were deeply involved in tea culture, by looking into his letters exchanged with his friends and acquaintances and his poems and paintings on tea. From the view of tea culture, both Cho Eui and Kim Jeong-hui are qualified enough to attract the attention of the tea academia. For example, Cho wrote the book Dongdaesong which exerted an enormous influence on Korea tea, while Kim made tea-related paintings and writings. On the other hand, although Heo Ryun clearly studied under Cho Eui and Kim Jeong-hui, it seems to have been difficult to recognize his involvement in tea culture since he did not publish any book on tea. In this paper, therefore, the author describes that Heo Ryun was definitely involved in tea culture by referring to his autobiography Sochishilrok, poems collection Unrimjobjeo, and paintings on tea, where his idea and spirit on tea are expressed. Lastly, the author explains that those who are involved in tea culture can learn the real spirit on tea from Heo Ryun’s later life when he lived in an atelier in his hometown, while refraining from worldly desires, being content amid poverty, and taking pleasure in acting in an honest way.