Tea Spirit in the Poetry of Maewoldangsisayurok

Maewoldangsisayurok is an anthology of poems about Maewoldang's reflections from his travels and observations and serves as a reference point for grasping the reality of Maewoldang's academic orientation and perception of reality during his youth. Maewoldang practiced the tea life of “Daseonilyeo” based on the idea of reconciling the three schools of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Although Maewoldang gave up his civil service, became an outsider, and lived a life of poverty, he was a noble tea person who practiced sharing through socializing that transcended social status with his expert tea knowledge. His tea life was a means to achieve constant self-discipline and enlightenment, and he enjoyed the world of self-transcendence by reaching a state of detachment with freedom not restricted by anything and a transcendental view of nature. Maewoldang, who made a living by growing, picking, and making his own tea, a tea maker who left an unrivaled mark in the history of Korean tea culture. It is believed that Maewoldang's tea spirit, which enhanced its dignity through intercourse that transcended status and country through tea, can help restore relationships through tea, the practice of sharing, and the establishment of a mental culture that restores health through symbiosis with nature.