• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.84-94
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• 2013

This study scrutinizes the titles of serial poems on Japanese Apricot, which have lucid characters on season and time changes, having been appreciated and recited by the scholars in the Choseon Dynasty era and analyses the records of Zhang zi(1153~1235), a writer in Song(宋) Dynasty in China, having presented the objects harmonizing perfectly with Japanese Apricot. The results of this study categorizes the objects of Japanese Apricot appreciation and establishes the landscape characteristics on Japanese Apricot appreciation affiliated with as follows. First, the objects of Japanese Apricot appreciation are categorized into 'form of blossoms', 'natural feature(景物)', 'place of tree planting', 'the picturesque scene(景色)' and 'behavior'. Second, the scholars regarded the single trees whose branches are grotesque as the objects of appreciation and enjoyed them. They preferred white and single petal Japanese Apricot and admired red Japanese Apricot which has Taoism images. Third, they admired pines and camelias which represent fidelity and strength and valued Japanese Apricot with cranes which remind themselves of solitary scholars. Fourth, they appreciated the images of Japanese Apricot reflected on the water, and the poetically inspiring atmosphere where the trees are planted by the window. Fifth, the moon and snow were crucial weather conditions for appreciating. cold weather and time from night to dawn were ideally suited for enjoying. Sixth, they enjoyed blossoms in various fashions like bottling(甁梅), potting(盆梅), green-housing(龕梅), searching(龕梅) and black-and-white painting(墨梅) with a view to seeing blossoms earlier than the usual flowering time. Moreover, they used paper drapes, bead curtains, mirrors and ice lamps for active appreciation. They also listened to the sound of Piri(wind) and Geomungo(string), played go and drew tea with noble and elegant beauties when they enjoyed Japanese Apricot. The scholars influenced by the neo-Confucianism, which contemplates the objects, attached the specific sentiments like memories, grieves, dreams and farewells to Japanese Apricot and appreciated them. As stated above the scholars enjoyed the landscape including the picturesque scene like climate-weather, time-season and human behaviors not to mention the physical beauty of Japanese Apricot themselves and objects in company with Japanese Apricot including animals and plants.