Korean tea ceremony

Korean tea ceremony
Korean name
Hangul	다례
Hanja	茶禮
Revised Romanization	darye
McCune–Reischauer	tarye

The Korean tea ceremony (Korean: 다례, romanized: darye, IPA: [ta.ɾje]) is a traditional form of tea ceremony practiced in Korea. Darye literally refers to "etiquette for tea" or "tea rite" and has been kept among Korean people for over a thousand years. The chief element of the Korean tea ceremony is the ease and naturalness of enjoying tea within an easy formal setting.

Tea ceremonies are now being revived in Korea as a way to find relaxation and harmony in the fast-paced new Korean culture, and continuing in the long tradition of intangible Korean art.

History

Early history

The first historical record documenting the offering of tea to an ancestral god describes a rite in the year 661 in which a tea offering was made to the spirit of King Suro, the founder of the Geumgwan Gaya Kingdom (42–562). Records from the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) show that tea offerings were made in Buddhist temples to the spirits of revered monks.

Important national rituals involving tea drinking were being presided over by the government officials of the "Tabang" department. There is at least one ritual recorded in the Goryeosa Yaeji, or The Official History of Goryeo, mentioned as part of receiving a Chinese messenger to the court.

Joseon dynasty

During the Joseon dynasty (1392–1910), the ritualistic drinking of tea continued and was further refined. "Tabang" sustained and organized the main royal ceremony. The royal Yi family and the aristocracy used tea for simple rites, the "Day Tea Rite" was a common daytime ceremony, whereas the "Special Tea Rite" was reserved for specific occasions. They were codified in the 1474 "National Five Rites" (Gukjo Oryeui, 國朝五禮儀, 국조오례의). These terms are not found in other countries.

But plantation problems changed many ways Korean tea was governed. Unlike tea plantation areas in China or Japan, the climate of the Korean Peninsula is much colder and Tea harvesting season occurs just before the spring. So at that period, the tea tree forested areas in the mountains were still so cold and also dangerous because of wildlife. The old Korean name of tea, 설록("Seollok", 雪綠), means the first flush tea leaf was harvested on the snow field of a mountain. This situation brought much trouble during the Goryeo dynasty and Joseon dynasty.

The tea tree forested area is also the traditional Breadbasket of Korea and the tea leaf harvesting season and cereal seeding season overlap each other. Because of its value, farmers who lived around tea tree forested regions paid a steep tea tax to the king. So harvesting and treating tea leaves is pointed out as the major cause of the decrease in annual tea crop harvest. In the Goryeo dynasty, there were hundreds of appeals by many lieges and scholars such as Lee Je-hyun or Lee Gyu-bo. And finally at the end of the Goryeo dynasty, recorded in the "Yuduryurok(유두류록, 遊頭流錄)", farmers burnt or chopped their tea trees to protest against the tea tax. In the case of the Joseon dynasty, governed based on Confucianism, Tabang was sustained for tea ceremony but reduced the scale of tea production in order to protect the agricultural balance. Because of this, the development of the tea industry was prevented for a very long time. And except for Yangban and the royal family, Korean original tea drinking culture and ceremony remained in a limited area around tea tree forested regions.

However, by the middle of the Joseon dynasty, there appears to have been a decline in tea drinking except for the anniversary ceremonies. It is said, that when the Ming Commander, Yang Hao, told King Seonjo (r.1567-1601) during the Japanese invasion that he had discovered high-quality tea plants in Korea, and that "if you were to sell the tea in Liaodong, you could get a silver coin for every ten pounds of tea. Altogether, that would be enough silver to buy ten thousand horses." King Seonjo, however, replied "We do not have a tea drinking custom in our country."

Post-Joseon dynasty

Towards the end of the Joseon dynasty, commoners joined the trend and used tea for ancestral rites. Silhak scholars, like Jeong Yak-yong, Kim Jeong-hui, had interests in tea "drinking" culture and its production at their exile period on tea forested region. These people corresponded with monks who still had tea drinking culture. It started from Silla and Goryeo dynasty that monks formed and administered tea forests around temples and the tradition passed down as their possession. And Buddhist tea ceremony and drinking culture stylized in the traditional temple. And these two cultural leader group's relationship influenced both Seonbi society and contemporary monks.

Since 1960

After the Japanese occupation and the Korean War, tea culture in Korea became rare, scarce, and was largely forgotten. In the 1960s, Choe Kilsung was commissioned by the Korean Cultural Heritage Administration to investigate tea culture, and found that several temples were cultivating their own private tea gardens. In the 1970s, the "Korean Tea Culture Revival Movement" began in Korea.

In 1973 Lee Gwilye began researching the classics, and in 1979 she founded the Korean Tea People's Association.

Kinds of tea

Main article: Korean tea

The earliest kinds of tea used in tea ceremonies were heavily pressed cakes of black tea, the equivalent of aged pu-erh tea still popular in China. Vintages of tea were respected, and tea of great age imported from China had a certain popularity at court. However, importation of tea plants by Buddhist monks brought a more delicate series of teas into Korea, and the tea ceremony.

While green tea, "chaksol" or "chugno", is most often served, other teas such as "Byeoksoryung" Chunhachoon, Woojeon, Jakseol, Jookro, Okcheon, as well as native chrysanthemum tea, persimmon leaf tea, or mugwort tea may be served at different times of the year.

Korean teas were divided into the five different tastes: bitterness, sweetness, astringency, saltiness and "sourness". Aging is rare and most teas are consumed as fresh as possible, with particular note to new harvests.

Tea regions were famous for producing teas with characteristic compositions of the five taste elements: Jeju Island, contemporarily, has teas with more salt in them due to ocean winds; other elements are brought out by different means of cooking the leaves, or hardness of water.

Teas also evoke four kinds of thought for Korean Buddhists: peacefulness, respectfulness, purity and quietness. Those teas that bring out more of these qualities are prized.

Kinds of Tea Ceremonies

Buddhist monks incorporated tea ceremonies into votive offerings. However, the Goryeo nobility and later the Confucian yangban scholars formalized the rituals into things of beauty.

There are at least 15 major tea ceremonies that are performed, and they include, they are listed according to age and fame:

• Day Tea Rite - Joseon dynasty daily palace tea ceremony
• Special Tea Rite - Joseon dynasty ceremony welcoming visiting foreigners, trade and tribute missions, and at royal weddings
• Queen Tea Ceremony - a special tea ceremony shown upon occasion in royal Korean soap operas: only for women friends, family and servants of the Queen, but often including the Crown Prince.

Matcha, or powdered green tea, has also enjoyed limited popularity in Korea. Tea leaves ground into very fine powder are traditionally associated with the Japanese Tea Ceremony, but in Korea this form of tea has regained a certain amount of regard, especially with Buddhists. Myeong-san cha, or meditation tea is a form of meditation in and of itself. It is said to have been popular among monks practicing meditation for many days without sleep. Matcha contains more nutritional value than even regular ip-cha, or leaf tea. All of the tea leaf is consumed and it contains higher amounts of vitamin C, tannins and polyphenols.

With the advent of Christianity in Korea, this kind of meditation tea is viewed as Buddhist and is largely ignored by many, based solely on religious beliefs. True da-in, or tea people relish the physical and cerebral benefits of matcha.

See also

• Korean tea
• Culture of Korea
• East Asian tea ceremony

References

• Jeon Wan-gil(전완길); Lee Kyeong-hee(이경희). 한국의 다문화와 다구 [Korean tea culture and tools] (in Korean). Sookmyung Women's University. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
• Diana Rosen (July 2001). "Korea: The Other Tea Country". TeaMuse. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
• Yoo Yang-Seok (Fred) The Book of Korean Tea (Seoul: The Myung Won Cultural Foundation, 2007) ISBN 978-89-955021-2-9

External links

• The Korean Way of Tea EasternTea.com
• Tea Culture Exhibition Amore Pacific Museum
• Hadong Mountain Dew Tea Festival, May 19–22 annually
• Myung Won Cultural Foundation English Pages Korean Tea Ceremonies
• Korean Tea Ceremony Encyclopedia