전적을 통해 본 고려 차 문화 고찰

A Study of the Goryeo Tea Culture seen through the history books

Goryeo Tea Culture developed, in King Seonjong for everyday life and King Kyojong for ceremony, focused on serving with tea to king in the royal palace. The national ceremonies for any and every thing were performed with tea drinking. Tea was generally listed as the kings present for his subjects or his nation and for obituary gift of the subjects, however, it was appeared from old people to women so that it seems that tea drinking had spread to all levels of the society. There was little founded record about Goryeo tea and only few recorded written history in the Goryeo dynasty about tea ceremony of the royal family. It can be assumed about their interest in it throughout a part of miscellanies. Tea Culture of the Goryeo palace was started as ceremony and it can be considered a drink with the philosophical meaning which keeps with courtesy. The palace ceremony in tearoom centered was importantly used the kings performances of policy, economy, culture and foreign policy. It was unique tea culture that the king and his subjects took their mind off of things with tea before making a decision of heavy penalty. Among the Korean history of tea culture, the Goryeo period left behind the largest number of poetry. Lee Gyubo, the most representative literary man, did not insist that “tea and meditation is a taste”, but asserted that “tea and spiritual enlightenment is a taste” in which he thought drinking tea is cultivating oneself spiritually. Like this, our ancestors tried to clarify their forces in the sense of calm, in other words, it likely be able to fertilize the mind with tea. However, in modern times, the process of being ceremony on integrating tea with manners tend to be formed vanity and extravagance. In reality, tea is recognized as healthy food, it is so unfortunate to see neglecting pure and good at heart which are the simplicity, the clarity, and the symbolic meaning of the unconventionality. Our tea culture of today needs public discussion based on thorough historical research and study for improving the current contradictions. I believed that people should learn how to keep peace of mind with a cup of tea for looking squarely at themselves and that our precious traditional culture with universal values has to be developed by reviving the spirit of tea that is beneficial to life and by accepting social and environmental change.