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Tea Culture in East Asia
July - Sept 2004
 Although
millions of people around the world have poured tea for centuries, no one knows
for sure who the first was to drink it. In East Asia, China was probably the first
country to enjoy a cup of tea. The oldest Chinese book devoted to tea is The Classic
Book of Tea (Cha Jing) by Lu Yu (d. 804 ), written during the Tang dynasty (618-907).
It affirms that tea existed in China as early as 3000 B.C., when the legendary
Emperor Shen Nong used it as an herbal medicine. In Japan, tea was introduced
by Buddhist priests who had studied in China during the early Heian period (782-1181).
The earliest account of a formal Japanese tea drinking ceremony was in 815, when
priest Eichu invited Emperor Saga (786-842) to visit his temple after returning
from a trip to China. In Korea, diplomat Dae-Ryeom brought tea seeds back from
China in 828 and planted them in the Jiri Mountains by royal decree, as described
in the 1145 edition of History of the Three Kingdoms (Samguksagi).
The effects of tea on East Asian literature and philosophy have been far reaching.
Traditionally, Chinese poets called tea the "froth of the liquid jade,"
and Taoists considered it to be the elixir of life. Zen Buddhists eulogized tea
for its medicinal properties and drank it to prolong meditation. When the Japanese
and Koreans adopted Chinese customs and manners, they elevated the drinking of
tea to a religious and aesthetic ritual. Sen no Rikyu (1522-1591), one of the
greatest of the Japanese tea masters, applied the four fundamental principles
of Zen to the "way of tea" (chanoyu): harmony (wa), respect (kei), purity
(sei), and tranquility (jaku). In Korea, the tea ceremony (tado) has focused on
only one word, "respect": respect for tradition, respect for etiquette,
respect for science, respect for living, and respect for cleanliness.
In all of East Asia, the atmosphere of the tea ceremony was enhanced by the physical
setting and the instruments used to perform the ceremony. The decorations on the
tea services themselves, the architecture of the teahouses, and the landscaping
of the tea gardens were all designed to work together to heighten the spiritual
nature of the tea ceremony.
Despite the advancement of science and the modernization of society throughout
the world, people in East Asia are still encouraged to participate in the ancient
tradition of the tea ceremony. For young people, taking part in the tea ceremony
is thought to be a way of developing good manners and a calm, harmonious attitude.
As people age, the tea ceremony is seen as a way of sustaining the spirit and,
when performed in the proper setting with one’s peers, as a method for communing
with nature.
With the growth of interest in cultural studies in recent years, the East Asian
Collection has recently developed a collection of historical studies on East Asian
food and drink, costume and fashion, and festivals and holidays. Tea has long
been recognized as China’s national drink, and the popularity of "tea
worship" in Japan and Korea has increased in recent years, and is rapidly
spreading to other parts of the world. We hope this exhibit will help our patrons
better understand one of the most important cultural aspects of East Asian culture
and tradition.
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The View From Cold Mountain: An Exhibit of the Poetry of Hanshan
March - June 2004
“Read the real writers, read Balzac, Hanshan, Shakespeare, Dostoevsky…”
wrote Beat Generation writer Jack Kerouac.
But who was Hanshan? Hanshan, which literally means “Cold Mountain,”
was the pseudonym of a very creative and unconventional poet during the Tang dynasty
(618-907). According to Lu Qiuyin, a 10th century government official, Hanshan
was a poor, shabbily dressed and eccentric scholar who lived as a hermit at Hanshan,
a part of the Tiantai Mountains in the southeastern China. He frequently visited
his friend, Shide, who worked in the kitchen of Guoqing Temple and gave him scraps
of food to take home. The temple later became center of the prominent Tiantai
Sect of Buddhism, active in Japan as theTendai Sect.
Both the Song dynasty (960-1279) edition of Hanshan’s poetry, reprinted
in the Sibu Congkan, and the Complete Collection of Tang Poetry, which was compiled
in the Qing dynasty (1616-1911), have 311 poems written by Hanshan, with a majority
of them in the popular five-word verse style. In addition to the standard Chinese
poetic themes such as loyalty, glory, and family, there are poems describing lovely
court ladies, loneliness, and the brevity of life. As Robert Henricks notes, many
of his most moving pieces depict the beautiful landscape while “symbolizing
the spiritual quest for enlightenment and the difficulties and obstacles one encounters
along the way.”
The most distinguished feature of Hanshan’s poems is the use of colloquial
language. Henricks observes that in some cases Hanshan’s “poems”
are not poems at all but rather “sayings, parables, or aphorisms--many of
them quite clever--that happen to be written in metric, rhymed lines.” Hanshan
was respected not only as the champion of the Buddhist poetry but also as a pioneer
of vernacular literary style in China.
Hanshan became a popular subject for Zen painters during the Muromachi period
(1336-1573) in Japan. In the United States, Hanshan first attracted attention
when Arthur Waley published translations of 27 poems in Encounter in 1954. Three
years later the influential European journal Toung Pao carried an article, “A
Study of Han-shan,” offering new translations. The recent Oscar award winning
movie, Cold Mountain, which contains several striking similarities to Hanshan’s
style, inspired the present exhibit, which has been organized to highlight this
delightful poet’s work to scholars and students alike.
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Champions of Comic Culture in Japan: A Book Exhibit
November 2003 - February 2004
In the field of Japanese studies, scholastic and research interests have shifted
from the economic power in the 1980s to mass culture in the 1990s. This focus
has continued well into the 21st century. One of the significant features of popular
culture in present-day Japan is the flourishing “comic (manga) culture.“
This culture is reflected in the widespread circulation of comic magazines.
The oldest and most famous specimen in Japanese comic art is perhaps a caricature,
dated 745, called the “Daidairon“ which is on display in the Shosoin
Museum in the ancient capital,Nara. Western artists who came to Japan in the mid-19th
century, for example, Charles Wirgman (1832-1891) and Georges Bigot (1860-1927),
exerted a significant influence on comic creators. In the early 20th century,
cartoons and comics began to occupy special columns in daily newspapers in the
process of political democratization in the Taisho period (1912-1926). Under the
depressed economic conditions of the early Showa period (1926-1989), there were
increasing militaristic views as well as proletarian themes in comic materials.
Due to the introduction of American culture in the post-war era, there was a qualitative
change in the style and content of comic publications to respond to the new mass
society.
Among the most popular comic magazines was Shonen Magajin (Youth Magazine),
launched in 1959. By 1966, this weekly reached a million copies, inaugurating
a comic book boom. Meanwhile, the character Tetsuwan Atomu (Astro Boy) in the
series created by Japan’s Walt Disney, Tezuka Osamu (1926-1989), became
an icon of the comic world. According to a recent survey, two-thirds of the Japanese
youth grow up reading this comic. Today, comic readership claims about 40% of
the annual output of all Japanese publishers. Japanese comics achieved a level
of popularity that outstrips the performance of this genre of popular culture
in North America and Europe.
In the Japanese holdings of our East Asian Collection, there are complete runs
of the weekly, Shonen Magajin, and the Tezuka series which are unique titles among
library collections in the United States. We are pleased to display a selection
of materials from these two titles. We also wish to take this opportunity to express
thanks to our donor, Mrs. Sawako Noma of Kodansha International Ltd. in Tokyo,
the publisher of the champions of comic publications. (Hiro Good and Bill Wong)
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The Seal & Chinese Calligraphy: An Exhibit of Resources
May - July 2003
Throughout East Asia, people use a personal seal, a stamp carved with one's
name, to authenticate documents much as people in the West use personal signatures.
However, it does not merely serve for identity purposes: in the world of Chinese
art, a seal plays an important role in the composition of calligraphy and painting,
becoming an integral part of the art work.
Although the size of a seal is usually small, it provides great pleasure as
one appreciates or examines it. Its lines are as beautiful as the lines in calligraphy
and painting. Every tiny space must be thought out carefully and every dot is
crucial to the harmonious integrity of the design.
Seals can be made of bronze, stone, ivory, or wood. Seal-carving can be viewed
as a special form of writing. The prominent Chinese artist, Qi Baishi (1864-1957
) was famous for his technique of “single-stroke treatment”: using
only one cutting stroke for each edge of the line. No line, once done, allows
for re-touching, otherwise, the line becomes “muddy,”just as when
one goes over one's own signature.
This exhibit presents library resources on the art of seals with an emphasis
on calligraphy. It features the art works of calligraphy on woodcuts of enlarged
seals by a local artist, Tseng-Yao (Terry) Sun.
Trained as an engineer, Mr. Sun has practiced calligraphy for relaxation and
enjoyment throughout his professional career. In these works, he has transformed
the mechanical diagrams into artistic expressions. Realizing that the ordinary
seals are too small to be appreciated by the general public, he has developed
a technique of reproducing and enlarging them, cutting the seal images into wood,
annotated with his own calligraphy to create independent and integral art pieces.
Our acknowledgment is due to Mr. Tseng-Yao Sun for his expert advice and help
in organizing this exhibit. It is also our hope that our viewers will appreciate
the literary content as well as artistic styles of these unique art works.
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The Daesan Collection: An Exhibit of Resources
May - September 2002
The Daesan Collection, provided through a 2001 grant from the Daesan Foundation,
contains nearly 600 volumes of current Korean publications in the fields of history,
literature, and cultural and social studies. Approximately a quarter of the collection
is made up of monographic series. Major titles include Taewon Tong-So Munhwa Ch'ongso
(East-West Cultural Series), Tongyanghak Ch'ongso (Asian Studies Series), Yokbi
Hangukhak Yongu Ch'ongso (Series in Korean Studies), Munhak Kwa Chisong Siinson
(Korean Poetry Series), Nanam Munhakson (Korean Short Stories Series), and Tongyang
Kojon Paekson (Oriental Classics Series), which is a selection of original Chinese
classics translated into modern Korean.
While history materials cover all aspects in all periods, the holdings are
especially strong in the areas of socio-political history and institutions of
the Choson Dynasty (1392-1910). The collection includes important resources in
the areas of literary criticism, social custom, politics, and government, which
will support research and instruction at UCI.
In appreciation of the generous support of the Daesan Foundation, we are pleased
to conduct this exhibit which features selected art books. We hope our viewers
will appreciate the importance and beauty of the scholarship and arts of Korea.
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The Tale of Genji & Scroll Paintings
January - April 2002
The Tale of Genji (Genji monogatari), masterpiece of Japanese literature by
the Lady Murasaki Shikiku (975-1114?), was completed toward the start of the 11th
century. It is considered the oldest full novel in the world and one of the finest.
Most of the story is concerned with the loves of Prince Genji and the different
women in his life.
The scroll painting, or illustrated text (emaki), is a type of Japanese art
that strives for a close relationship between painting and literature. This display
presents a selection of the most well-known scroll paintings on the Tale of Genji.
The City of Irvine has recently named a new street in honor of Lady Murasaki.
The beginning of this new century may be regarded as the millennial anniversary
of the Tale of Genji. A new English translation of this novel in 25 years by Professor
Royall Tyler has been published a few months ago. We believe the selection of
this subject is timely and hope our viewers find it stimulating and interesting.
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Physical Features of Traditional Chinese Woodblock Printing
September - December 2001
This exhibit is intended to provide a brief but kaleidoscopic glimpse into
the physical features of a traditional Chinese book. It examines some Chinese
bibliographic terms with a goal to instruct, entertain, and inspire viewers by
leading them through some of the byways of an ancient culture's literary terrain.
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Dunhuang Grottoes: The World's Largest Museum of Frescoes
January - April 2001
Dunhuang and its environs have served historically as a gateway to the "Silk
Road" linking China to central Asia. Over a span of a thousand years, artists
created frescoes and sculptures in 492 cave sanctuaries carved in the hills near
Dunhuang. This collection of cave shrines, which extends over 45,000 square meters,
is considered the largest museum of frescoes in the world. The importance of these
paintings is due not only to their sheer numbers, but also to the cultural intersetion
of East and West illustrated in these works of art. Painted by artists from many
generations, they document the evolution of artistic styles, social ideals, aesthetic
concepts, persoanl experiences, and legends. These resources constitute one of
the most precious cultural treasures in the history of mankind. In recent years,
a great number of publications on the arts of Dunhuang have been published by
Chinese as well as foreign publishers. This display contains a selection of important
holdings on the subject.
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The Chinese Language: Monosyllabic Ideograms
May - August 2001
Chinese writing, like that of many ancient civilizations, originated in the
form of simple pictographs. While others have changed to adopt, at least in part,
an alphabetic or syllabic system of writing, the Chinese have maintained their
tradition of using characters or ideograms. One of the reasons for this may be
that Chinese is considered for the most part to be a monosyllabic language. As
the language evolved, the Chinese syllable developed an increasingly simple phonetic
structure. For each ideogram, this involved a basic syllable plus a movement in
the fundamental pitch of the voice known as tone. This simple phonetic structure
was faciliated by the complex written form of the Chinese language.
Ideograms, or "square scripts," as Chinese characters are usually referred
to, are particularly well suited for the parallels, couplets and palindromes found
in literature. Meanwhile, the monosyllable and tone characteristics of the oral
language enable the creation of short essays with one sound and one rhyme. This
exhibit traces the evolution of Chinese ideograms with illustrations of various
literary forms.
Arnold Toynbee once predicted that by around 2050 Chinese characters would
become the international standard for visual code used in communications, just
as Arabic numerals have become the international standard for written numbers.
On the occasion of the launch of the Chinese Romanization Conversion Project at
UCI, we are pleased to organize this exhibit to reacquaint our viewers with the
Toynbee theory. Romanization is, we hope, only a temporary substitute for ideograms.
Making the original characters accessible online is our ultimate goal.
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Hyakunin Isshu: The Celebrated Japanese Poetry Collection
September - December 2000
 Hyakunin
Isshu is probably the most popular poetry collection in Japan's history. Consisting
of one hundred poems by one hundred poets, it was compiled by Fujiwara-no-Sadaie
(1162-1241) during his sunset years. The preponderance of these poems on the autumn
season and love songs, along with the style of tense passion and sensual beauty,
reflect the compiler's poetic predilections and sentiments. There are at least
five complete translations of the collection available in English. One of the
poems has over forty different versions. The poems also became the basis for a
popular card game, uta karuta, in which participants compete to match the bottom
halves of the poems with their top halves, read aloud by a master of ceremonies.
This exhibit contains original text, commentaries, exegeses, translations, illustrations,
and other documents of these poems. |
Shi Ji Chao: Special Study Notes on the Records of the Grand Historian of
China
May - August 2000
 In
1961, an English translation of Shi Ji used the title: Records of the Grand Historian
of China. It was a pioneering work of general history spanning the time
from the mythical reign of the Yellow Emperor down to the end of the second century
B.C. During the past two millennia, hundreds of different versions and editions
of the Shi Ji's text have been published; its commentaries, exegeses, corrections,
revisions, and studies in textual criticism are even more voluminous. Among
the various types of research, a special style of study notes is called "Chao
(hand-copied)"-- an abstract of the text with personal commentary. Mao Kun,
a prominent scholar-official in the 16th century in China, was well known for
his "Chao" scholarship. In appreciation of Mr. Robert Bonney of Laguna Hills,
California who generously donated a rare 1620 edition of the Mao Kun's book, we
are pleased to conduct this book display. |
The Qing Dynasty Annals
January - April 2000
 In
1985, the First Historical Archives of China, Peking University Library, and Zhonghua
Book Company jointly published a new edition of the Qing Dynasty Annals (Qingshilu)
in Beijing. The scope and contents of this 60-volume set are superior to
an early edition published in Tokyo in the 1930's and reprinted in Taiwan in the
1960's due to some text distorted and deleted for political purposes by the Japanese
government. In appreciation of the generous donors of the new Beijing edition,
we are pleased to present this special display. |
The Ni Tseh Collection on I Ching Studies
September - December 1999
 Consisting
of some 2,000 volumes/items written in Chinese, Japanese, and English, the collection
constitutes a major resource for the study of I Ching (Yijing), or Book of Changes.
This exhibit presents a selection of the various formats of the materials including
rare books, manuscripts, translations, and serial publications with an emphasis
on the illustrations and physical makeup. |
The Yi Dynasty Annals
May - August 1999
 The
original title of the annals is Choson Wangjo Sillok. Two versions of the
Annals are on display: A 49-volume series reprinted by the National Historical
Archives in Seoul in 1986, and a 400-volume set of a modern translation published
by the North Korean government in 1975. |
Chinese Calligraphy: The Art of the Brush
January - April 1999
 As
a scholarly discipline, Chinese calligraphy evokes both intellectual and aesthetic
sensibilities. Each written character is executed and perceived as a pictorial
whole, composed of individual brush strokes which, in turn, are themselves a formal
and artistic means of expression. This exhibit presents major works of the famous
calligraphers in the various styles throughout the ages. |
Noh and Kyogen Masks: The Sublime and Comic in Japanese Theater
September - December 1998
 Masks
are one of the most characteristic and impressive achievements of Noh and Kyogen
theater. They can be classified into twelve groups, six belonging to Noh,
and six to Kyogen. Shallow in construction, most Noh masks are smaller than
the average face. Central to their dramatic quality is a mutable expression
that concentrates on the eyes, carved so that they seem to move, to sadden, to
brighten with the play of shadows caused by slight shifts of the head. In
contrast to sublime Noh masks, those of Kyogen comedies have a joyous extroversion
marked by distorted features. This exhibit presents a selection of the various
types of masks in Japanese theater. |
The Dragon Boats Festival, A Chinese Tradition
May - August 1998
 China's
festivals fall on days fixed by the lunar calendar rather than the Gregorian calendar.
In 1998, the festival took place on May 30 - the fifth day of the fifth month.
This book display presents the UCI Libraries resources on the festival in text
and picture. |
Classical Playwrights of Japanese Bunraku Puppet Theater
January - April 1998
 The
Bunraku puppet theater in Japan was elevated to high art through the collaboration
of two men: Takemoto Gidayu (1652-1714) and Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653-1725).
Takemoto perfected a new style of rhythmic recitation that became a model of puppet
theater narrators. Chikamatsu, known as "The Shakespeare of Japan," supplied a
wealth of textual materials for Takemoto as narrator, material that went for beyond
mere dialogue. Along with the playwrights original texts, commentaries,
and illustration several English translations are presented in the exhibit. |
The Chinese Palindrome (Hui-Wen) Poems
September - December 1997
 Hui-Wen
poems are like palindromes in English, which are statements, phrases, or numbers
that read the same forward and backward. This exhibit highlights historical developments
of this special literary style and displays works of original poems in Chinese,
their English translations, and water-color landscape paintings referring to the
poems by a contemporary poet-linguist-artist. |
Woodcuts: Illustrations from the Chinese Literary Works
May - August 1997
 A
selection of woodcut illustrations from recently acquired reprints of rare books
which may be regarded as a unique feature of Chinese art and book production. |
Seasons in Japanese Poetry
January - March 1997
 A
display of seijiki, handbooks which contain glossaries of words with seasonal
connotations that are used in haiku poetry. |
The Arts of Korea
November 1995 - March 1996
 An
art book series highlighting Korean art treasures of various historical periods
which was donated by the Korea Foundation. |
The Terashima Collection
August - October 1995
 A
sampling of materials selected from the Terashima Collection, including facsimiles
of Three Poets at Minase and of Matsuo Basho's travel record, a colorful illustrated
catalogue of court furnishings, and a limited-edition facsimile of Naiga Kafu's
novella, Bokutokitan, which contains both the manuscript in Kafu's hand and the
copy-edited final page proofs. |
The Digest of the Great Chinese Compendium
May - July 1995
 This
500-volume facsimile of Emperor Chien-Lung's personal Digest of the Great Chinese
Compendium is the only copy in the University of California system. |
Medieval Japanese Poetry
January 1995
 A
selection of renga and haikai in Japanese, with English translations. Recent research
works on medieval Japanese poetry conducted by the UCI faculty are also included. |
Scholarly Publications of the UCI East Asian Studies Faculty
November 1994
 Since
1989, when UCI's Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures was established
in the School of Humanities, the faculty studying East Asia-- its cultures, languages,
political systems, and history-- has grown to 25 with a very impressive record
of research and publication. This exhibit represents some sampling of these scholarly
works on the contemporary scene as well as classical studies. |
The Noma Collection for Japanese Studies
July-August 1993
 Consisting
of some 7,000 volumes of Japanese and English publications, the Noma Collection
was a gift from Mrs. Sawako Noma, President of Kodansha Ltd., Tokyo. The collection
contains both general and scholarly works on various areas of Japanese studies.
The Youth Magazine is a unique weekly title. Our holdings of Gendai Monthly also
constitutes the most complete backfiles in any American academic library. |
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