Fengliu, the Aesthetic Way of Life in East Asian Culture
I. F en gliu as a Basic Concept o f East A sian Aesthetics
G e n erally th e n a m e o f a e sth e tic s is given to a b ra n c h o f p h ilo so p h y w hich h as b e e n s h a p e d a n d d e v e lo p e d in E u ro p e a n c o u n trie s, a n d its m ain subjects have b e e n beauty, fin e arts a n d sensual c o g n itio n . H ow ever, th e re is n o g u a ra n te e th a t th e co n c ep ts o f b ea u ty a n d fin e arts fo r W estern p e o p le is necessarily in acco rd with those fo r E astern peo ple. M oreover th e co ncepts o f b ea u ty a n d fin e arts in th e West w ere n o t fixed, a n d have b e e n c h a n g in g co n tin u o u sly in history.
T h e re fo re w hen we East Asian p eo p le study o u r own tra d itio n a l ae sth e t
ics today, it is m o re fru itfu l n o t so m u c h to pay a tte n tio n to th e tra n s la te d w ords o f b ea u ty o r fin e arts u se d in th e W estern lan g u ag e as to fin d o u t o u r ow n c o n c e p ts eq u iv a le n t to th e W estern c o n c e p ts in th e ro le. We c a n n o t assert th a t th e w ords such as b ea u ty a n d fin e arts a re th e m a in c o n c e p ts in East Asian aesthetics. A t least in K o rean trad itio n a l th o u g h t th e values a n d p h e n o m e n a o f beauty a n d fine arts w ere n o t d ea lt with separately, b u t trea ted a n d re g a rd e d as re la tin g strongly to o th e r values a n d p h e n o m e n a . T h ey w ere especially lin k e d to m orals o r ethics, a n d , fu rth e rm o re , so m etim e s su b o rd i
n a te d to th em ac c o rd in g to circu m stances.
In this p a p e r I w ould like to discuss fengliu as a m e th o d o lo g ic a l c o n c e p t o f East Asian aesthetics w hich com prises th re e m ain aspects o f aesth etic stu d ies su ch as beauty, fine arts a n d sensual co g n itio n . In E a ste rn th o u g h t th e c o n c e p t o f fengliu is able to in te g ra te various aspects o f a e sth e tic issues.
It has h a d an im p o rta n t a n d c o n tin u o u s ro le in th e h isto rical d e v e lo p m e n t in East A sian classical aesthetics. F or this re a so n fengliu co u ld also b e called th e basic fo u n d in g c o n c e p t o f East Asian aesthetics.
Fengliu (o r poongryu in K orean a n d fu ry u in J a p a n e s e ) m e a n s »the stre a m o f w ind« in th e literal sense o f th e w ord. It im p lies giving full play to o n e ’s free-sp irited a n d ex tra v ag an t m in d . O n c e , w h en C o n fu ciu s ask ed his p upils a b o u t th e ir h o p es fo r th e fu tu re , th e p u p il Zi-lu re p lie d th a t h e h o p e d to re scu e th e c o u n try from d a n g e r as a p o litician , R an You h o p e d to raise th e w ealth o f th e p e o p le as a p e rso n w orking in th e a re a o f econom y, a n d G ong-X i H u a re p lie d th a t his h o p e was to b ec o m e a g o v e rn m e n t official.
O n ly Z en g Xi d id n ’t reply, so th e M aster asked h im again. Z en g Xi said th a t a t th e e n d o f sprin g , w h en th e m ak in g o f th e S p rin g C lo thes h a d b e e n co m p le te d , h e w ished to go w ith five o r six new ly-capped y ouths a n d six o r seven u n c a p p e d boys, to p e rfo rm th e lu stratio n in th e river I, take th e air a t th e R ain D an ce altars, a n d th e n go h o m e singing. T h e M aster h eav ed a d e e p sigh a n d said, I am w ith Z en g X i.1 T h e case o f fengliu in Z eng Xi m e a n t b re a k in g o ff re la tio n s w ith th e trivialities o f o rd in a ry life.
T his free a n d ex tra v ag an t sp irit can be displayed n o t only in th e atti
tu d e s o n politics a n d society, b u t also in th e re alm o f lite ra tu re a n d taste.
F u rth e rm o re , it can be displayed in re la tio n w ith th e o p p o site sex a n d in th e way o f life. In sh o rt, th e life o f a free m an , s h a rin g th e ben efits o f an u n re s tr a in in g a ttitu d e tow ards th e e n v iro n m e n t a n d a p e rso n a l loftiness is to b e ca lled fengliu. To enjoy a h e r m it’s life a n d to b e ex c e lle n t in »quin
tan« o r th e clean d iscourse a re g o o d exam ples o f fengliu. T h e d isp o sitio n o f th e clea n d iscourse b ec am e »xuanxue«, o r th e p ro fo u n d p hilosophy, as c o m b in e d w ith the tra d itio n o f B ud dhism ; la te r th e p ro fo u n d p h ilo so p h y d e v e lo p e d as Z en -B u d d h ist p h ilo so p h y so th a t it p la c e d th e tra d itio n o f fengliu o n th e side o f th e m in d . Fengliu has a te n d e n c y to raise th e o rd in a ry life to th e ae sth e tic state o r th e w orld o f art. T h e re fo re th e full c o n te n t o f fengliu is n o th in g b u t th e ae sth e tic way o f life.
II. The Origin and Transition o f F engliu
T h e im p licatio n s o f fengliu have b e e n in te rp re te d d ifferen tly w ith th e c h a n g e o f tim es. T h e o rig in al m e a n in g in C h in a im p lie d sim ply a cu sto m h a n d e d d ow n fro m th e p re c e d in g king. In th e H a n p e rio d (206 BC - 220 AD) th e m e a n in g was c h a n g e d to b ec o m e a la u d a b le a n d b ea u tifu l cu sto m in politics a n d ed u c a tio n . L a te r o n it has b e e n u se d to ju d g e th e m e rit o f a p e rso n , to qualify th e a ttitu d e o f life a n d to d e sig n ate th e d o c trin e o f artis
tic beauty. Still la te r it im p lied , o n th e o n e h a n d , th e b eau ty o f n a tu ra l scen ery o r a p e r s o n ’s a p p e a ra n c e an d , o n th e o th e r h a n d , ae sth e tic life in re la tio n to taste o r a m o ro u s life.
T h e c o n c e p t o f fengliu as an expression o f ae sth e tic consciousness was w id e sp re a d in th e p e rio d o f Wei J in (3rd c e n tu ry - 4 th c e n tu ry ). A c c o rd in g to Yuan H o n g ’s b o o k Description on Post-Han Dynasty, th e w ord »feng« m ean s m o ra l in flu e n c e w hich sp re ad s o u tsid e, a n d »liu« m ean s fidelity w hich in clines tow ard the inside. Similarly, th e c o n c ep t o f fengliu, co m prisin g a m oral 1 The A nalects o f Confucius, translated and annotated by A rthur Waley, Vintage Books,
New York, 1938, pp. 154-160.
m e a n in g , su ch as p erso n ality a n d fidelity, was ad v a n ced in th e J in p e rio d . It was m o reo v e r m e n tio n e d ju s t a fte r th e d e sc rip tio n o f an e v e n t th a t was at
trib u te d to an u p rig h t g ro u p o f university stu d en ts w ho stru g g led ag a in st the a rb itra rin e ss o f eu n u c h s. T h e apo stle o f fengliu ac c o rd in g to Yuan H o n g was n o n e o th e r th a n this u p rig h t g ro u p . T his k in d o f fengliu was ca lled
»fengliu o f a celebrity« in th e b o o k Shishuo. In th e J in p e rio d th e fengliu o f a celebrity took o n th e »fengliu o f a h erm it«. F u rth e rm o re , fen g liu im p lie d th e c h a ra c te r a n d th e tu n e o f poetry. In th e usage » fengliu o f poetry«, »feng« sig
n ified th e eleg a n ce o f p o etry a n d »liu« its u n iq u en ess. H e n ce fengliu in th e J in p e rio d w hich was g ro u n d e d o n fidelity, b e g a n to signify b o th th e sp irit o f Taoist s e q u e ste re d life o f sta n d in g a lo o f o f politics a n d business, a n d th e artistic sp irit tin c tu re d w ith th e taste o f th e nobility. It is n a tu ra l th a t fengliu s h o u ld be in flu e n c e d by Taoism , w hich was very in flu en tial in th a t p e rio d . M any Taoists have e lu c id a te d th e ae sth e tic way o f life. An e x a m p le ca n b e fo u n d in th e fam o u s c h a p te r »L et F ancy Roam « by C h u a n g T zu. Fengliu cam e close to th e ae sth etic id ea o f an artistic a n d tasteful life, w hich was su p p o rte d , fo rm e d a n d d ev e lo p e d by th e lu x u rio u s life o f th e clan. In this way in th e J in p e rio d th e c o n c e p t o f fengliu a c q u ire d th e m e a n in g o f an ae sth e tic idea.
T h e m e a n in g o f fengliu b ecam e alm o st th e sam e as th a t o f th e w ord
»ya« o r e leg an ce w hich is o p p o site to »su« o r vulgarism . In th e sixth c e n tu ry th e m e a n in g o f fengliu c h a n g e d again to d esig n ate v o lu p tu o u s beauty. We ca n fin d m any ex am p les in th e p o em s e n title d Yu Tai X in Yongji w h ich was o n e o f th e best an th o lo g ies co m p iled in those days. In th e fifth c e n tu ry th e re e m e rg e d a new m e a n in g , fo r they w ould call fengliu a m an w h o was u n tid y a n d slovenly. F rom th e usage »dissipated fengliu« a t th a t tim e, we p re s u m e th a t th e c o n c e p t feng liu a n d dissoluteness w ere difficult to sep a rate. As King Jia n w e n d i o f th e Yang dynasty in th e sixth c e n tu ry said, »if th e w riting is dis
solu te, it is better,« th e excessive m o v e m e n t o f feelin g was c o n s id e re d to be valuable. T h e im plication o f voluptuousness soo n b eg an to im ply a lewd m an as is know n from th e usage o f »fengliu talent« w hich a p p e a re d in th e T ang p oem s. In th e e n d , th e w ord fengliu was u se d to d e sig n a te a v o lu p tu o u s b ea u ty a n d su g g ested especially th o u g h ts o f a sexual n a tu re .
As we can see, th e m e a n in g o f th e w ord fengliu has c h a n g e d m any tim es. N o n e th e le ss, in co m p o sitio n se n te n c e s it always a c c o m p a n ie d th e fe e lin g o f y e a rn in g a n d reco llectio n , this b e in g tru e from th e T ang p e rio d to th e m o d e rn ages. T his was so b ecau se it is deriv ed from th e m e a n in g o f h e re d ita ry custom s a n d character. T h e C h in ese d ictio n ary Pei Wen Yun Fu lists m o st o f th e usages o f fengliu th a t a p p e a re d in C h in ese classical w rit
ings. T h e usages are re a rra n g e d in to seven g ro u p s in th e m o d e rn d ictio n ary
Ci Yuan. T h ey are as follows: (1) th e re m n a n ts o f a b ea u tifu l custom ; (2) th e physical a p p e a ra n c e a n d a ttitu d e o f a m an; (3) g race o r dignity; (4) th e b rillian ce o f b eautiful scenery; (5) to go against etiq u ette, to m ake o n e ’s own style a n d to express so m e th in g d iffe re n t from o rd in a ry p eo p le; (6) u n u su a l s p iritu a l ability; a n d (7) to call a t p ro s titu te s ’ q u arte rs.
If we re ex am in e the above co n ten ts, we fin d th a t th e first usage d e n o te s th e flow ing o f b ea u tifu l custom s m ad e by th e p re c e d in g king. It m ean s th e tra d itio n o f m orals a n d custom s w hich aim a t th e realizatio n o f a m o ra l a n d political c u ltu re b ase d o n »the Way o f a King«. In s h o rt we in te r p r e t it as g o o d custom s a m o n g th e p e o p le o r as b ea u tifu l custom s o f th e w orld. T h e se c o n d a n d th ird usages signify the individually p re e m in e n t c h a ra c te r o r dig
nity, a n d , fu rth e r, th e visible a p p e a ra n c e in w hich th e c h a ra c te r a n d th e dig n ity w ere m an ife ste d externally. C o n seq u en tly it d e n o te s th e a ttitu d e o f life w hich shows h u m a n m erits in a b ro a d sense. In so m e cases we ca n re g a rd it as th e g race o f w ork o f a r t in g e n e ra l b ec au se it desig n ates th e style o r n o rm o f m usic. T h e fo u rth usage d e n o te s th e ex isten c e o f th e a e sth e tic q u alitie s w hich can be d isco v ered in th e a ttrib u te s o f n a tu ra l th in gs. F o r ex a m p le , th e ae sth etic quality o f eleg a n ce in th e lo n g d ro o p in g b ra n c h e s o f a willow tre e is such a case. T h e fifth a n d th e sixth usage re fe r to th e sp iri
tu al state w hich is ex tra o rd in ary , lofty a n d gracefu l. It is th e asp e ct o f cu l
tu re d eleg a n ce free from th e tram m els o f o rd in a ry life. It signifies th e g re a t
ness o f n o t only a m o ral m en tality b u t also artistic a n d lite rary cultivation.
In sh o rt, it is a re fin e d a n d graceful literati taste. T h e seven th is a tra n sfe rre d m e a n in g in p a rtic u la r w hich im plies a m o ro u s feelings.
T h e g e n e ra l usages o f fengliu are th e on es m e n tio n e d above. T h e basic m e a n in g s u p p o rtin g tho se usages, in brief, signifies th e ex isten c e o f a sp iri
tu al value. T h e c o n te n t was m ainly p olitical a n d e d u c a tio n a l at first, th e n it g ra d u ally sp re a d in to th e sp h e re o f m o ral a n d ae sth e tic value, a n d e v e n tu ally to th a t o f custom s, individuals, n a tu ra l th in g s a n d w orks o f a r t all o ver th e w orld.
III. The Contents o f F engliu 1. F en g liu and Individuality
In Wei J in a n d th e N a n Bei C h ao p e rio d (4 th c e n tu ry — 5 th ce n tu ry ) th e p re ssu re o f tra d itio n a l co n v e n tio n s was d im in ish e d , a n d in stead a n ew te n d e n c y tow ard individualism a p p e a re d , w hich was lin k ed to fengliu. T h e re was a k in d o f rom anticism w hich em phasized the im p o rta n c e to be conscious o f o n e ’s ow n n a tu re a n d o f e m a n c ip a tin g o n e ’s ow n individuality. It was
en tire ly d iffe re n t fro m th e rig o ro u s co u rtesy o r d e c o ru m o f th e p re v io u s p e rio d w hich em p h a siz e d formality. T h e re h a d b e e n a p e rio d like this giv
in g p rio rity to fidelity. To a ttac h g re a t im p o rta n c e to fidelity a n d h o n o u r in this new m o ral e tiq u e tte h a d a s tro n g c o n n e c tio n w ith an e m p h asis o n th e individ ual o r th e self. T h e discovery o f b ea u ty in th e in d iv id u al was o n e o f th e p e c u lia r ch a racteristics o f th e th o u g h ts o f fengliu in th e J in p e rio d .
2. F engliu and Nature
T h e T aoist p h ilo so p h y o f Lao Tzu a n d Chuang Tzu, w h ich is th e basis o f C h in ese th o u g h t, gave re lia b le g r o u n d to th e p e o p le w h o lived in th e m id st o f g re a t p o litica l a n d social upheavals. T h e a r t o f living fo r Taoists m e a n t to » re tu rn to n atu re .« T h e re p re se n ta tiv e p o ets in this p e r io d D ao W e n m in g a n d Shi Lingw in trie d to re tu r n to p a sto ra l n a tu r e in o r d e r to achieve th e e m a n c ip a tio n o f o n e ’s own n a tu re . M any p e o p le s o u g h t tru th a n d beau ty in n a tu re . T h e p e o p le w ho esc ap ed fro m c o r r u p t society w ere ab le to achieve g o o d n ess in n a tu re . F o r th e m n a tu re was th e only e n v iro n m e n t in w hich th ey w ere able to e m a n c ip a te th e ir individ uality freely a n d to regain th e ir original goodness. T hey lo o k ed for A rcadia in n a tu re in w hich they c o u ld fo rg e t re al society. T h e id e a o f th e re tu rn to n a tu re a n d to e m a n cip ate th e indiv iduality was g radually co lo n izin g th e n o tio n o f th e h e r m it’s fengliu. In this way th e id ea o f fengliu, w hich h a d re g a rd fo r th e im pressive
b eau ty o f individuality, cam e to im ply th e beau ty o f n a tu re . 3. F en gliu and the Fine Arts
B oth m usic a n d d a n c e have th e ir ow n stru c tu re s a n d o ffe r u n iq u e im pressions. T h ey have p e c u lia r ch a ra c te rs a n d n o rm s, respectively. T h is also h o ld s tru e in th e case o f poetry. T h e id e a o f fengliu is sim ilar to th a t o f fin e arts, fo r it en a b le s us to discover th e u n iq u e n e ss o f a n d re c o g n iz e th e in d i
viduality in various kinds a n d types. We can fin d th e e x p ressio n » o n e p e r
sonality has o n e school« w hich u se d th e w o rd fengliu in th e c h a p te r o f Bi
ography o f Shi Lingw in by W en S hen. T his usage in fo rm s us th a t fen gliu has th e a ttrib u te o f in d iv id u al item s. T h e b eau ty o f in dividuality in m usic a n d lite ra tu re has two sides. O n e is the individuality o f th e a u th o r o r th e p e r
form er, w hile th e o th e r is th e individuality o f th e w ork o f art. A c c o rd in g to G u Kaizhi, th e m o st im p o rta n t th in g in fig u re p a in tin g is to a n im a te th e individuality o f a p e rso n by tracin g th e divine energy. H e also m a in ta in s th a t th e ex p ressio n o f th e divine p rin c ip le is vital in lan d sca p e p a in tin g . Fengliu is a synonym o f th e w ord such as divine en e rg y o r sp iritu al b rillia n ce, w hich is th e ex p ressio n o f th e divine p rin cip le.
4. F eng liu and the Playing M an
C h in ese c u ltu re h a d flo u rish e d in th e p e rio d o f Wei J in , especially in th e p e rio d o f D ongjin. T h e persons lead in g th e p ro sp e ro u s c u ltu re w ere th e
h e r m it a n d th e n obility o f th a t p e rio d w hich w ere g enerally called th e »sons o f n o b le b irth«. M any fengliu m en from Shi S h u o X in Yu w ere th e y o u th b o rn in p u rp le , i.e. nobility. T h e pow er o f th e n o bility was g re a t a n d th e ir sons h a d th e o p p o rtu n ity to take an active p a r t in th e life o f th e tim e. U n d e r su ch social circ u m sta n ces fengliu d e v e lo p e d rap id ly a m o n g th e so ns o f n o b le b irth , a n d c o n se q u e n tly th e ae sth e tic way o f life fo rm e d a specific fe a tu re o f the intellectual class. At such a tim e the ch a rac te r o f fengliu shifted fro m th e se q u e ste re d life to th e fash io n a b le taste o f th e aristo cratic y o u th living in flo u rish in g towns. T h e m o ral fengliu such as fidelity b e c a m e th e a e sth e tic fengliu o f aristo cratic yo u th in th e J in p erio d .
TV. The Korean Thoughts o f F engliu
T h e first K orean usage o f th e w ord fengliu o r »poongryu« (in K o rean ) is in A Foreiuord to the M onum ent o f Aengrang w ritten by C hoi C hiw on in th e late n in th c e n tu ry in th e S hilla p erio d . A c co rd in g to th e re c o rd , »th e way o f poongryu« was th e m ain practical id e a o f ed u c a tio n . Its c o n te n ts in c lu d e th e th o u g h ts o f C o n fu cian ism , B ud d h ism a n d Taoism . It o rigin ally cam e fro m th e K orean a n c ie n t tra d itio n a l th o u g h t a n d was afterw ards c o m b in e d w ith th o se th re e fo reig n trad itio n s. Som e scholars called th e a n c ie n t tra d i
tio n al th o u g h t »bargo r b rig h tn ess th o u g h t« , o th e rs called it »buru (a rch a ic w o rd fo r poongryu) th o u g h t« .
In K orea the id ea o f poongryu h a d b ee n established in c o n ju n ctio n with th e »hwarang« co rp s w hich was an e d u c a tio n a l a n d m ilitary o rg a n iz a tio n m e a n t to train a n d cultivate th e youth. P erh a p s it was called »the Way« o f poongryu in th e sense th a t it was th e e d u c a tio n a l id e a o f hwarang to b rin g u p an ae sth e tic m an. Its m ain c o n te n ts are as follows: firstly, to le a rn m o rals a n d b ea u tifu l custom s; secondly, to enjoy fine arts in daily living; a n d thirdly, to a p p re c ia te b ea u tifu l n a tu re . T h e first o n e cam e fro m the o rig in al m e a n in g o f fengliu, signifying th a t we co u ld c o n trib u te to th e realizatio n o f m o ral a n d p o litica l c u ltu re by co n tin u o u sly o b serv in g th e tra d itio n a l b e a u tifu l custo m s o f th e p re c e d in g king. T h e sec o n d o n e im plies th a t S hilla p e o p le , especially th e hiuarang, en jo y ed poetry, m usic a n d d an c e, aim in g a t a subli
m a tio n o f th e h u m a n m in d in to u n w o rld lin ess a n d h arm o ny . T h e y o u th hwarang p u rifie d th e ir h e a rts by artistic life, o b ta in e d in n e r h a rm o n y o f m in d , a n d e x p e rie n c e d th e in fin ite fre e d o m o f spirit. T h e th ird d esig n ate s th e m e th o d o f cultivation w hich trains th e m in d a n d body by w a n d erin g over hills a n d waters. T h e hiuarang fo ster faith a n d re v ere n ce to m ajestic n a tu re th ro u g h visiting m o u n ta in s a n d rivers a n d en jo ying b ea u tifu l scenery. T h ey
c o n te m p la te d th e beauty a n d sublim e o f n a tu re a n d p ray ed to n a tu re . T hey b re a th e d th e e th e r o f n a tu re a n d in d u lg e d in it. A t last th ey c o n stru c te d th e unw orldly a n d lofty sp irit w orld w ithin them selves. T h e way o f poongryu was a p rin c ip a l id e a in S h illa c u ltu re , esp e cially as a n e d u c a tio n a l id e a fo r hiuarang, a n d it c o n trib u te d largely to n a tio n a l prosperity.
T h e th o u g h t o f poongryu estab lish ed in th e Shilla p e rio d has played an im p o rta n t ro le in fo rm in g th e tra d itio n o f K orean aesthetics. F o r K ore
ans th e poongryu h elp s seek th e re fin e d a n d h a rm o n io u s s u b lim a tio n o f the h u m a n m ind. It has b e e n always s u p p o rte d by m o ral consciousness. In som e cases it was s u p p o rte d by th e m a g n a n im o u s sp irit o f re c o n c ilia tio n , in o th ers by th e s p irit o f fidelity o r constancy, a n d in som e cases by th e sp irit o f transien ce.
T h e re is an im age o f »a stream o f wind« th a t com es a b o u t u n d e r the in flu e n c e o f th e con sciousness o f fengliu as we know it in its lite ra l m e a n ing. W hile a stream o f w ater is c o n tro lle d by the co n fig u ratio n o f th e g ro u n d , a stream o f w ind e x p e rie n c e s n o re strain ts. At th e b o tto m o f fengliu th e re is a vigorous sp irit w hich stands alo o f o f th e trivialities o f life a n d w an d ers a r o u n d th e em p ty sky. T his stream o f w ind is d iffe re n tia te d by s tro n g a n d w eak c u rre n ts, a n d fast a n d slow on es, d e p e n d in g o n th e tim e a n d place.
T h e re is a soft b re eze in spring, o n th e o n e h a n d , a n d a re fre s h in g b re eze in a u tu m n , o n th e other. A ro u g h ty p h o o n ac co m p an ies a sto rm , w hile a blizzard a c co m p an ies a snow storm . If we lo o k in re tro s p e c t a t th e h isto ry o f K o rean aesth etics fro m th e view point o f fengliu, it a p p e a rs so m etim e s as a stre a m o f w ind ra ise d h ig h a n d so m etim e s ra ise d low. J u s t like th e w ind becom es w arm o r cold, ac co rd in g to seasons a n d to pological circu m stances, fengliu b ec am e m ild (o r »fengya«, a k in d o f eleg an ce) o r severe (»fengci«, a k in d o f sa tire ). In o th e r w ords, th e re exists a positive a n d an affirm ative fengliu, o n the o n e h a n d , a n d a negative a n d rebellio us fengliu, o n th e other.
W h e n K oreans discuss th e characteristics o f th e ir ow n c u ltu re a n d a r t they fre q u e n tly use th e w ord »meot«. Meot is o n e o f th e re p re se n ta tiv e w ords conveying th e K o rean a e sth e tic conscio u sn ess, a n d c a n n o t b e w ritte n in C hin ese ch a rac te rs. A lth o u g h it is u se d in som e cases to in d ic a te th e b eau ty o f n a tu re a n d w ork o f art, it m ainly im plies th e b ea u ty e x p re sse d in h u m a n personality, a ttitu d e , b e h a v io u r a n d way o f life. In this sen se it possesses a p ec u liarity in c o n tra s t to o th e r ae sth e tic categories. It is n o t only o n e o f th e n o rm s o f aesth etic ju d g m e n t b u t also an id ea o f h u m a n cultivation. Meot has d e v e lo p e d as a n o rm o f life to K oreans m o re th a n as an artistic im p lica tio n . It d e n o te s n o th in g m o re th a n spiritu al fre e d o m a n d a m o d e o f life u n r e stra in e d by practical life. In this sense meot is inseparably re la te d to poogryu.
In o th e r w ords meot is a n o th e r n a m e fo r poogryu in m o d e rn tim es. It is a
k in d o f meot to live freely in th e ru ral en v iro n m e n t, leaving b e h in d fam e a n d w ealth a n d d ista n c in g o n e s e lf from the n u m e ro u s everyday events in th e c u r r e n t tim e o f co n fu sio n . B ut meot is d iffe re n t fro m th e life o f a re cluse, fo r it is c o n n e c te d w ith optim ism .
We d o n ’t know exactly w h en th e w ord meot was u se d fo r th e first tim e.
We p re su m e th a t it in d icates th e poongryu w hich p e rm e a te s th e life o f co m m o n p e o p le , w hile th e w o rd poongryu signifies th e ae sth e tic con scio u sn ess o r way o f life o f th e n obility o r th e e d u c a te d literati. We m ay say th a t meot is a new K o rean version o f fengliu. It is n o ta b le th a t meot is o n e o f th e m ain ae sth e tic categories in K orean cu ltu re. At the sam e tim e it is th e e d u c a tio n a l id e a to fo ster »seonbi« o r literati w ho have b o th le a rn in g a n d m orality, as well as sym pathy a n d generosity. J u s t as th e id ea o f h u m a n cultivation o f hiuarang in th e a n c ie n t Shilla p e rio d was poongryu, th e id e a o f h u m a n cu ltivatio n o f seonbi o r lite rati in th e m o d e rn C h o seo n p e rio d was meot. B o th meot a n d poongryu sh a re th e »hung« o r attractiveness a n d th e »shinbaram« o f e x u lte d spirits. B oth sh are th e op tim istic playfulness, o n th e o n e h a n d , a n d m ettle , fidelity, vigorousness, a n d b ro a d -m in d e d n ess, o n th e oth er. F or K oreans »to live w ith meot« o r »to k now poongryu« is th e h ig h e s t p ra ise . Meot a n d poongryu a re co n c ep ts o f th e ae sth e tic way o f life.
I t sh o u ld be n o te d th a t recen tly th e w ord poongryu o r meot h as b e ca m e less u se d th a n in th e past. In m o d e rn society it seem s to b e g rad u ally w ith e rin g away, fo r ev e ry th in g is b e c o m in g »average«. In this p e rio d o f in te rn a tio n a liz a tio n o f c u ltu re its m e a n in g a n d th o u g h ts are b e in g lost little by little. In d e e d , now adays it is m o re sig nifican t to in q u ire in to th e a e sth e t
ics o f fengliu. We have d e fin e d th e fengliu c o n c e p t as follows: it m e a n s to give full play to o n e ’s free a n d ex trav ag an t sp irit w hich stand s a lo o f o f th e trivialities o f life, in spite o f having c o n n e c tio n w ith reality. In su ch a case th e n a tu re offers an o p e n place in w hich th e free sp irit is n o t re stric te d in its m o v em en t. Poetry, m usic a n d liq u o r a re th e in te rm e d ia te item s in o r d e r to give full play to th e free sp irit effectively. Fengliu is a way o f b e h a v io u r o r life w hich has ae sth e tic a n d m o ral ch aracter.
V. Conclusion
R ecently a ja p a n e s e w riter Fujiwara Shigekazu w rote a b o o k o n fengliu.2 H e trie d to suggest fengliu as a m o d e l o f e n v iro n m e n ta l life w hile in q u ir
in g in to th e stru c tu re o f fengliu. A cco rd in g to h im , th e factors s u p p o rtin g 2 Fujiwara Shigekazu, The Thoughts o f Fengliu (Furyu no Shiso), Hosokan, Kyoto, 1994,
p p . 2 6 3 - 2 6 6 .
th e s tru c tu re o f fengliu are as follows: an u n re s tra in e d p o stu re , play, su r
plus, an o p e n m in d a n d body, a n d d e ta c h m e n t. At th e b o tto m o f th ese fac
tors n a tu re is p e rm e a te d deeply. C o n seq u en tly fengliu signifies a com e-and- go a p p ro a c h to b o u n d a rie s a n d o n e ’s p le a su re u n re s tr a in e d by b o th th e su b ject a n d th e ob ject. It is a b o rd e rless re c o n c ilia tio n th a t is n o t involved in th e d istin c tio n b etw een the sub ject a n d th e object. It is a c o rre s p o n d e n c e w ith all th in g s in n a tu re th ro u g h a sen se o f playfulness. It is a way o f living, i.e. a free d e ta c h m e n t w hich is always em p lo y ed to establish c o n ta c t w ith th in g s a n d leave its d ire c tio n to w ind, o p e n in g th e m in d a n d b o d y to all things. It is j u s t th e tim e th a t we have to m ak e a new life m o d e l o r life m a n n e rs g ro u n d e d o n th e ethics covering th e w hole ecosystem w hich consists o f all living creatu re s. A t this tim e I h o p e th a t th e m a n n e rs o f fengliu, w hich ca n b e called th e p o etics o f c o rre s p o n d e n c e w ith all th e th in g s w ith in an ecosystem , will b e resuscitated. I th in k th a t in th e p re s e n t tim e th e e n v iro n m e n ta l im p lic a tio n o f fengliu is very im p o rta n t. I e x p e c t th a t th e id e a o f fengliu will play a n im p o rta n t ro le as a m o d e l o f e n v iro n m e n ta l life a n d still m o re as a m o d e l o f th e way o f life w hich is ab le to cultivate o u r p erso n ality g ro u n d e d o n th e tru e subjectivity o f h u m a n existence.
