Jo o sik Min

Fengliu, the Aesthetic Way of Life in East Asian Culture

I. F engliu as a Basic Concept o f East A sian Aesthetics

G enerally th e n am e o f aesthetics 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 ev elo p ed in E u ro p e a n co u n tries, a n d its m ain
subjects have b e e n beauty, fine arts a n d sensual cognition. However, th e re
is n o g u a ra n te e th a t th e co n cep ts o f beauty a n d fine arts fo r W estern p e o p le
is necessarily in accord with those for Eastern people. M oreover th e concepts
o f beau ty a n d fine arts in the 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 erefo re w hen we East Asian peo p le study o u r own trad itio n al aesthet­
ics today, it is m o re fruitful n o t so m u ch to pay a tte n tio n to th e tran slate d
w ords o f beau ty o r fine arts u sed in th e W estern lan g u ag e as to fin d o u t o u r
own co n cep ts eq u iv ale n t to th e W estern co n cep ts in th e role. We c a n n o t
assert th a t th e w ords such as beauty a n d fine arts are the m ain co n c ep ts in
East Asian aesthetics. At least in K orean trad itio n al 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 were n o t dealt with separately, b u t treated
a n d re g ard e d as relatin g strongly to o th e r values a n d p h e n o m en a . T hey were
especially lin k ed to m orals o r ethics, an d , fu rth e rm o re , som etim es su b o rd i­
n a te d to th em acco rd in g to circum stances.
In this p a p e r I w ould like to discuss fengliu as a m eth o d o lo g ic al c o n ­
ce p t o f East Asian aesthetics w hich com prises th ree m ain aspects o f aesthetic
studies su ch as beauty, fine arts a n d sensual cognition. In E astern th o u g h t
th e c o n c e p t o f fengliu is able to in teg ra te various aspects o f ae sth etic 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 istorical d e v e lo p m e n t
in East Asian classical aesthetics. For this reaso 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 ryu in Ja p a n e se ) m ean s »the
stream o f wind« in th e literal sense o f th e w ord. It im plies giving full play to
o n e ’s free-sp irited a n d extravagant m ind. O n ce, w hen C onfucius asked his
pupils ab o u t th eir h opes for the future, the p upil Zi-lu re p lie d th a t h e h o p e d
to rescu e th e c o u n try from d a n g e r as a politician, R an You h o p e d to raise
th e w ealth o f th e p eo p le as a perso n w orking in th e a rea o f econom y, a n d
Gong-Xi H u a re p lie d th at his h o p e was to b ecom e a g o v ern m e n t official.

Filozofski vestnik, X X (2 /1 9 9 9 - X IV ICA Supplement), pp. 131-139 131

 Joosik M in

O nly Z en g Xi d id n ’t reply, so the M aster asked him again. Z eng Xi said th a t

a t th e e n d o f spring, w hen the m aking o f the S pring C lothes h ad b ee n com ­
p leted , h e w ished to go with five o r six new ly-capped youths a n d six o r seven
u n c a p p e d boys, to p e rfo rm th e lustration in the river I, take th e air at the
R ain D ance altars, a n d th e n go h o m e singing. T h e M aster heaved a d e e p
sigh a n d said, I am with Z eng X i.1 T he case o f fengliu in Z eng Xi m e a n t
b re a k in g o ff relatio n s with th e trivialities o f o rd in ary life.
T his free a n d extravagant spirit can be displayed n o t only in the atti­
tu d es o n politics a n d society, b u t also in the realm o f lite ra tu re a n d taste.
F u rth e rm o re , it can be displayed in relatio n w ith the o p p o site sex a n d in
th e way o f life. In short, th e life o f a free m an, sh arin g the benefits o f an
u n re s tra in in g attitu d e tow ards th e en v iro n m e n t a n d a p erso n al loftiness is
to b e called fengliu. To enjoy a h e rm it’s life a n d to b e ex c ellen t in »quin­
tan« o r th e clean discourse are g o o d exam ples o f fengliu. T h e disposition
o f th e clean discourse becam e »xuanxue«, o r th e p ro fo u n d philosophy, as
c o m b in e d with the trad itio n o f B uddhism ; later the p ro fo u n d p h ilosophy
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 lace d th e tra d itio n o f
fengliu o n th e side o f the m ind. Fengliu has a ten d en cy to raise the o rd in ary
life to th e aesth etic state o r th e w orld o f art. T h e re fo re the full c o n te n t o f
fengliu is n o th in g b u t th e aesthetic way o f life.

II. The Origin and Transition o f Fengliu

T h e im plications o f fengliu have b ee n in te rp re te d differently with the

ch a n g e o f times. T h e original m e an in g in C hina im p lied sim ply a custom
h a n d e d dow n from the p re c e d in g king. In the 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 ecom e a lau d ab le a n d beautiful custom
in politics a n d ed u c atio n . L ater o n it has b ee n u sed to ju d g e the m e rit o f a
p erso n , to qualify th e a ttitu d e o f life a n d to d esignate the d o c trin e o f artis­
tic beauty. Still later it im plied, o n the o n e h a n d , th e beauty o f n atu ra l scen­
ery o r a p e rs o n ’s a p p e a ra n c e an d , o n the o th e r h a n d , aesthetic life in re la­
tio n to taste o r am o rous life.
T h e c o n c e p t o f fengliu as an expression o f aesthetic consciousness was
w id esp read in th e p e rio d o f Wei J in (3rd cen tu ry - 4 th cen tu ry ). A cco rd in g
to Yuan H o n g ’s b o o k Description on Post-Han Dynasty, the w ord »feng« m ean s
m o ral in flu en c e w hich spreads outside, a n d »liu« m ean s fidelity w hich in ­
clines tow ard the inside. Similarly, the concept o f fengliu, com prising a m oral

1 The A nalects o f Confucius, translated and annotated by Arthur Waley, Vintage Books,
New York, 1938, pp. 154-160.

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m ean in g , such as p ersonality a n d fidelity, was advanced in th e J in p erio d . It

was m o reo v er m e n tio n e d ju s t after the d escrip tio n o f an ev e n t th a t was at­
trib u ted to an u p rig h t g ro u p o f university students w ho struggled against the
arb itrarin ess o f eu n u ch s. T h e apostle o f fengliu acco 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 kind o f fengliu was called
»fengliu o f a celebrity« in the b o o k Shishuo. In the J in p erio d th e fengliu o f a
celebrity took o n th e »fengliu o f a herm it«. F u rth erm o re , fengliu im p lied the
ch a ra c te r a n d th e tu n e o f poetry. In the usage »fengliu o f poetry«, »feng« sig­
n ified th e eleg an ce o f p o etry a n d »liu« its uniqueness. H en ce fengliu in the
J in p e rio d w hich was g ro u n d e d o n fidelity, b eg an to signify b o th th e spirit
o f Taoist seq u e ste red life o f stan d in g alo o f o f politics a n d business, a n d the
artistic sp irit tin c tu re d with the taste o f th e nobility. It is n a tu ra l th a t fengliu
sh o u ld be in flu en c ed by Taoism , w hich was very influential in th a t p erio d .
M any Taoists have elu cid ated th e aesth etic way o f life. An ex am p le can be
fo u n d in th e fam ous c h a p te r »Let Fancy Roam « by C h u an g Tzu. Fengliu
cam e close to th e aesthetic idea 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 developed by th e luxurious 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 acq u ired the m e a n in g o f an
aesth etic idea.
T h e m e an in g o f fengliu becam e alm ost the sam e as th a t o f th e w ord
»ya« o r elegance w hich is opposite to »su« o r vulgarism . In th e sixth ce n tu ry
th e m e an in g o f fengliu ch a n g ed again to designate v o lu p tu o u s beauty. We
can fin d m any exam ples in the poem s en title d Yu Tai X in Yongji w hich was
o n e o f th e best anthologies com piled in those days. In the fifth ce n tu ry th ere
em e rg e d a new m ean in g , for they w ould call fengliu a m an w ho was untid y
a n d slovenly. From th e usage »dissipated fengliu« at th a t tim e, we p re su m e
th a t th e c o n c ep t fengliu a n d dissoluteness w ere difficult to separate. As King
Jian w e n d i o f th e Yang dynasty in the sixth ce n tu ry said, »if th e w riting is dis­
solute, it is better,« th e excessive m o v em en t o f feeling was c o n sid e re d to be
valuable. T h e im plication o f voluptuousness soon began 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
poem s. In th e e n d , th e w ord fengliu was u sed to d esig n ate a v o lu p tu o u s
b eau ty a n d suggested especially th o u g h ts o f a sexual n atu 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 eth eless, in co m p o sitio n sen ten c es it always a c c o m p a n ie d the
feelin g o f y ea rn in g a n d recollection, this b ein g tru e from the T ang p e rio d
to th e m o d e rn ages. T his was so because it is derived 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 hinese dictionary Pei Wen Yun Fu
lists m ost o f th e usages o f fengliu th a t a p p e a re d in C hinese classical w rit­
ings. T h e usages are re a rra n g e d into seven groups in th e m o d e rn d ictionary

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Ci Yuan. T h ey are as follows: (1) the rem n a n ts o f a b eautiful custom ; (2) the
physical a p p e a ra n c e a n d a ttitu d e o f a m an; (3) grace o r dignity; (4) th e
brilliance o f beautiful scenery; (5) to go against etiquette, to m ake o n e ’s own
style a n d to express so m eth in g d iffe ren t from o rd in a ry p eople; (6) u n u su a l
sp iritu al ability; a n d (7) to call at p ro stitu te s’ q u arters.
If we reex am in e the above contents, we find th at the first usage d en o tes
th e flow ing o f beau tiful custom s m ade by the p re c e d in g king. It m ean s the
trad itio n o f m orals a n d custom s w hich aim at th e realization o f a m o ral a n d
political cu ltu re based o n »the Way o f a King«. In sh o rt we in te rp re t it as
g o o d custom s a m o n g th e p eo p le o r as beau tifu l custom s o f the w orld. T h e
seco n d a n d th ird usages signify the individually p re e m in e n t ch aracter 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 ifested externally. C onsequently 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 som e cases we can re ­
g a rd it as th e grace o f w ork o f a rt in g en eral because it designates th e style
o r n o rm o f m usic. T h e fo u rth usage d en o tes th e existence o f th e aesth etic
q u alities w hich can be discovered in the a ttrib u tes o f n a tu ra l things. F or
ex am p le, th e aesthetic quality o f elegance in th e lo n g d ro o p in g b ra n c h e s
o f a willow tree is such a case. T h e fifth a n d th e sixth usage re fe r to th e spiri­
tu al state w hich is extrao rd in ary , lofty a n d graceful. It is th e aspect o f cul­
tu re d eleg an ce free from the tram m els o f o rd in ary life. It signifies th e g re at­
ness o f n o t only a m oral m entality b u t also artistic a n d literary cultivation.
In sho rt, it is a re fin ed a n d graceful literati taste. T h e seventh is a tran sferre d
m e a n in g in p artic u la r w hich im plies am orous feelings.
T h e g en eral usages o f fengliu are the ones 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 those usages, in brief, signifies th e existence o f a spiri­
tual value. T h e c o n te n t was m ainly political a n d ed u c atio n al at first, th e n it
g rad u ally sp re ad in to th e sp h e re o f m oral a n d aesthetic value, a n d e v e n tu ­
ally to th a t o f custom s, individuals, n atu ra l things a n d works o f a rt all over
th e w orld.

III. The Contents of F engliu

1. F en g liu and Individuality

In Wei J in a n d the N an Bei C hao p e rio d (4th ce n tu ry —5th cen tu ry )
th e p re ssu re o f trad itio n al conventions was d im in ish ed , a n d instead a new
ten d en c y tow ard individualism a p p eared , which was linked to fengliu. T h e re
was a k in d o f rom anticism which em phasized the im p o rtan ce to be conscious
o f o n e ’s own n a tu re a n d o f e m a n c ip a tin g o n e ’s own individuality. It was

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en tirely d iffe re n t fro m the rig o ro u s courtesy o r d e c o ru m o f th e previous

p e rio d w hich em p h asized 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 attach g re at 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 stro n g c o n n e c tio n w ith an em p h asis o n the
individual o r th e self. T h e discovery o f beauty in th e individual was o n e o f
th e p ec u lia r ch aracteristics o f the 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 Taoist philosophy o f Lao Tzu a n d Chuang Tzu, w hich is th e basis
o f C h in ese th o u g h t, gave reliab le g ro u n d to the p e o p le w ho lived in th e
m id st o f g re at p o litical a n d social upheavals. T h e a rt o f living fo r Taoists
m e a n t to » re tu rn to natu re.« T h e rep resen tativ e poets in this p e rio d D ao
W en m in g a n d Shi Lingw in trie d to re tu r n to p asto ral n a tu re in o rd e r to
achieve th e em an c ip atio n o f o n e ’s own n atu re . M any p e o p le so u g h t tru th
a n d beauty in n a tu re . T h e p eo p le w ho escaped from c o rru p t society w ere
able to achieve go o dness in n atu re . F or th em n a tu re was th e only e n v iro n ­
m e n t in w hich they w ere able to em an c ip ate th e ir individuality freely a n d
to regain th eir original goodness. T hey looked for A rcadia in n a tu re in w hich
they co uld fo rg et real society. T h e id ea o f th e re tu rn to n a tu re a n d to e m a n ­
cip ate th e individuality was gradually colonizing th e n o tio n o f th e h e r m it’s
fengliu. In this way the idea o f fengliu, w hich h ad re g a rd fo r th e im pressive
b eauty o f individuality, cam e to im ply th e beauty o f n atu re .
3. F engliu and the Fine Arts
B oth m usic a n d d an c e have th e ir own stru ctu re s a n d o ffer u n iq u e im ­
pressions. T h ey have p ecu liar ch aracters a n d norm s, respectively. T his also
ho ld s tru e in th e case o f poetry. T h e id ea o f fengliu is sim ilar to th a t o f fine
arts, fo r it en ab les us to discover the u n iq u en ess o f a n d reco g n ize th e in d i­
viduality in various kinds a n d types. We can find the ex pression »one p er­
sonality has o n e school« w hich u sed th e w ord fengliu in th e c h a p te r o f Bi­
ography o f Shi Lingwin by W en Shen. T his usage inform s us th a t fengliu has
th e a ttrib u te o f individual item s. T h e beauty o f individuality 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 er­
form er, w hile th e o th e r is the individuality o f the w ork o f art. A c co rd in g to
G u Kaizhi, th e m o st im p o rta n t th in g in figure p a in tin g is to an im a te the
individuality o f a p erso n by tracing the divine energy. H e also m ain tain s th at
th e exp ressio n o f th e divine p rin cip le is vital in landscape p ain tin g . Fengliu
is a synonym o f th e w ord such as divine en erg y o r spiritual b rilliance, w hich
is th e exp ressio n o f the divine p rinciple.
4. F engliu and the Playing M an
C h inese c u ltu re h a d flo u rish ed in the p e rio d o f Wei J in , especially in
th e p erio d o f D ongjin. T h e persons leading the p rosperous c u ltu re w ere the

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h e rm it a n d th e nobility o f th at p erio d w hich w ere generally called th e »sons

o f n o b le birth«. M any fengliu m en from Shi S huo X in Yu w ere th e youth
b o rn in p u rp le , i.e. nobility. T h e pow er o f th e nobility 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 rt in the life o f the tim e. U n ­
d e r such social circum stances fengliu d ev elo p ed rapidly a m o n g the sons o f
n o b le b irth , a n d co n se q u en tly the aesth etic way o f life fo rm e d a specific
featu re o f the intellectual class. At such a tim e the character o f fengliu shifted
fro m th e seq u e ste red life to the fashionable taste o f th e aristocratic youth
living in flo u rish in g towns. T h e m oral fengliu such as fidelity b ecam e the
a esth etic fengliu o f aristocratic youth in the J in period.

TV. The Korean Thoughts o f Fengliu

T h e first K orean usage o f the w ord fengliu o r »poongryu« (in K orean)

is in A Foreiuord to the M onument of Aengrang w ritten by C hoi C hiw on in the
late n in th ce n tu ry in th e S hilla period. A ccording to the re co rd , »the way
o f poongryu« was the m ain practical id ea o f ed u c atio n . Its co n ten ts in clu d e
th e th o u g h ts o f C onfucianism , B uddhism a n d Taoism . It originally cam e
from th e K orean an c ie n t trad itio n al th o u g h t a n d was afterw ards c o m b in ed
w ith th o se th re e foreign traditions. Som e scholars called the a n c ie n t trad i­
tio n al th o u g h t »bargo r b rightness thought«, o th ers called it »buru (archaic
w o rd fo r poongryu) thought«.
In K orea the idea o f poongryu h a d b een established in co njunction with
th e »hwarang« corps w hich was an ed u c atio n al a n d m ilitary o rg a n iz atio n
m e a n t to train a n d cultivate the youth. P erhaps it was called »the Way« o f
poongryu in th e sense th a t it was the ed u catio n al id ea o f hwarang to b rin g
u p an aesth etic m an. Its m ain co n ten ts are as follows: firstly, to learn m orals
a n d beau tifu l custom s; secondly, to enjoy fine arts in daily living; a n d thirdly,
to a p p reciate b eau tifu l n atu re . T h e first o n e cam e from the original m e a n ­
in g o f fengliu, signifying th at we could co n trib u te to the realization o f m oral
a n d po litical c u ltu re by co n tin u o u sly o b serving the tra d itio n a l b ea u tifu l
custom s o f th e p re c e d in g king. T h e second o n e im plies th at S hilla p eo p le,
especially th e hiuarang, enjoyed poetry, m usic a n d d ance, aim ing at a subli­
m atio n o f th e h u m a n m in d in to unw orldliness a n d harm ony. T h e yo u th
hwarang p u rifie d th e ir h earts 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 the infinite freed o m o f spirit. T h e th ird designates
th e m e th o d o f cultivation w hich trains the m in d a n d body by w andering over
hills a n d waters. T h e hiuarang foster faith a n d reverence to m ajestic n a tu re
th ro u g h visiting m o u n tain s a n d rivers a n d enjoying beautiful scenery. T hey

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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 prayed 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 ed in it. At last they c o n stru c te d the
unw orldly a n d lofty spirit w orld w ithin them selves. T he way o f poongryu was
a p rin c ip a l id e a in S hilla c u ltu re , especially as an 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 atio n al prosperity.
T h e th o u g h t o f poongryu established in the Shilla p e rio d has played
an im p o rta n t ro le in fo rm in g the trad itio n o f K orean aesthetics. F o r K ore­
ans th e poongryu helps seek the re fin ed a n d h arm o n io u s su b lim atio n o f the
h u m a n m ind. It has b een always su p p o rted by m oral consciousness. In som e
cases it was s u p p o rte d by th e m ag n an im o u s spirit o f reco n ciliatio n , in o th ­
ers by th e sp irit o f fidelity o r constancy, a n d in som e cases by th e sp irit o f
transience.
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 en c e o f th e consciousness o f fengliu as we know it in its lite ral m e a n ­
ing. W hile a stream o f w ater is co n tro lled by the configuration o f the g ro u n d ,
a stream o f w ind ex p erien ces no restraints. At the 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 anders
a ro u n d th e em pty sky. This stream o f w ind is d iffe ren tiated by stro n g a n d
weak cu rren ts, a n d fast a n d slow ones, 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 reeze in spring, o n th e o n e h an d , a n d a re fre sh in g breeze
in a u tu m n , o n th e other. A ro u g h typhoon accom panies a sto rm , w hile a
blizzard acco m p an ies a snow storm . If we look in re tro sp e c t a t th e history o f
K orean aesthetics from the view point o f fengliu, it ap p ears som etim es as a
stream o f w ind raised hig h a n d som etim es raised low. J u s t like th e w ind
becom es warm o r cold, acco rd in g to seasons an d topological circum stances,
fengliu becam e m ild (o r »fengya«, a k in d o f elegance) o r severe (»fengci«, a
k in d o f satire). 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 rebellious fengliu, o n th e other.
W h en K oreans discuss th e characteristics o f th e ir ow n cu ltu re a n d a rt
they freq u en tly use th e w ord »meot«. Meot is o n e o f th e rep resen tativ e w ords
conveying th e K o rean aesth etic consciousness, a n d c a n n o t b e w ritten in
C hinese ch aracters. A lthough it is u sed in som e cases to in d icate th e beauty
o f n a tu re a n d w ork o f art, it m ainly im plies the beauty exp ressed in h u m a n
personality, attitu d e , b eh av io u r a n d way o f life. In this sense it possesses a
p eculiarity in co n tra st to o th e r aesthetic categories. It is n o t only o n e o f the
n o rm s o f aesthetic ju d g m e n t b u t also an idea o f h u m an cultivation. Meot has
d ev elo p ed as a n o rm o f life to K oreans m o re th an as an artistic im plication.
It d e n o te s n o th in g m o re th a n spiritual freed o m a n d a m o d e o f life u n re ­
strain ed by practical life. In this sense meot is inseparably re la ted to poogryu.
In o th e r w ords meot is a n o th e r n am e fo r poogryu in m o d e rn tim es. It is a

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k in d o f meot to live freely in the rural 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 istan cin g o n e se lf from the n u m e ro u s everyday events in
th e c u rre n t tim e o f confusion. 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 hen the w ord meot was u sed for th e first tim e.
We p re su m e th a t it indicates th e poongryu w hich p erm e ates th e life o f com ­
m o n p eo p le, w hile the w ord poongryu signifies th e aesthetic consciousness
o r way o f life o f th e nobility o r the ed u c ated literati. We m ay say th a t meot
is a new K o rean version o f fengliu. It is n o tab le th a t meot is o n e o f the m ain
aesth etic categories in K orean culture. At the sam e tim e it is the ed u c atio n al
id ea to foster »seonbi« o r literati w ho have b o th learn in g a n d morality, as well
as sym pathy a n d generosity. J u st as the idea 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 ea o f h u m a n cultivation o f
seonbi o r literati in th e m o d e rn C h oseon p e rio d was meot. B oth meot a n d
poongryu sh are th e »hung« o r attractiveness a n d th e »shinbaram« o f ex u lted
spirits. B oth share the optim istic playfulness, on the o n e h a n d , a n d m ettle,
fidelity, vigorousness, a n d broad-m indedness, o n th e other. F or K oreans »to
live w ith meot« o r »to know poongryu« is th e h ig h e s t p raise. Meot a n d
poongryu are con cepts o f the aesth etic way o f life.
It sh o u ld be n o te d th a t recently th e w ord poongryu o r meot has b e ­
cam e less u sed th a n in th e past. In m o d e rn society it seem s to b e gradually
w ith erin g away, fo r everything is b eco m in g »average«. In this p e rio d o f in ­
tern a tio n a liz atio n o f c u ltu re its m ean in g a n d th o u g h ts are b ein g lost little
by little. In d e e d , nowadays it is m o re significant to in q u ire in to th e ae sth e t­
ics o f fengliu. We have d efin e d th e fengliu c o n c e p t as follows: it m ean s to
give full play to o n e ’s free a n d extravagant spirit w hich stands 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 such a case
th e n a tu re offers an o p e n place in w hich the free sp irit is n o t re stric ted in
its m o v em en t. Poetry, m usic a n d liq u o r are th e in te rm e d ia te item s in o rd e r
to give full play to th e free spirit effectively. Fengliu is a way o f b eh a v io u r o r
life w hich has aesth etic a n d m oral character.

V. Conclusion

R ecently a ja p a n e s e w riter Fujiwara Shigekazu w rote a book on fengliu.2

H e tried to suggest fengliu as a m o d el 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 ccording to him , th e factors su 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 .

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th e stru ctu re o f fengliu are as follows: an u n re s tra in e d p o stu re, play, sur­
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 these fac­
tors n a tu re is p e rm e a te d deeply. C onsequently 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 leasu re u n re s tra in e d by b o th the
su b ject a n d th e object. It is a b o rderless re co n ciliatio n th at is n o t involved
in th e d istin ctio n betw een the subject a n d the object. It is a c o rre sp o n d e n c e
w ith all things in n a tu re th ro u g h a sense 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 ployed to establish c o n ta c t with
th in g s a n d leave its d irec tio n to w ind, o p e n in g th e m in d a n d body to all
things. It is ju s t th e tim e th a t we have to m ake a new life m o d el o r life m a n ­
n ers g ro u n d e d o n the ethics covering th e w hole ecosystem w hich consists
o f all living creatu res. A t this tim e I h o p e th a t the m an n ers o f fengliu, w hich
can b e called th e p oetics o f c o rre sp o n d e n c e with all the th in g s w ithin an
ecosystem , will be resuscitated. I th in k th a t in th e p re se n t tim e th e e n v iro n ­
m en tal im p licatio n o f fengliu is very im p o rtan t. I ex p e ct th a t th e id e a o f
fengliu will play an im p o rta n t role as a m o d el 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 el o f th e way o f life w hich is able to cultivate o u r perso n ality
g ro u n d e d o n th e tru e subjectivity o f h u m a n existence.

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