[Ko Gyu-hong's Trees and People] A Flower Blooming Alone, Retaining the Grace of a Mentor

Sunamsa Plum Blossoms at Suncheon and Korea's Four Great Plum Blossoms

There is a flower that values rarity over inconvenience, old age over youth, and leanness over obesity. It is the plum blossom. Its pure appearance and clear fragrance appealed to the hearts of ancient scholars, making it a tree symbolizing the "noble dignity of scholars," frequently appearing in old poetry and prose.

According to a press release from the Cultural Heritage Administration, around the weekend of March 20, you will be able to witness the most beautiful scenery of Korea's four great plum blossoms, designated as natural monuments. The "four great plum blossoms" refer to "Seonammae at Seonamsa Temple in Suncheon," "Gobulmae at Baekyangsa Temple in Jangseong," "Yulgokmae at Ojukheon in Gangneung," and "Maehwa at Hwaeomsa Temple in Gurye."

Although the flower is called maehwa (plum blossom), the tree is called maesilnamu (plum tree), so there is no "maehwa tree" in botanical dictionaries. This is because Korean plant names are generally based on the names of their fruits. For example, chestnut trees are named after chestnuts, persimmon trees after persimmons, and apple trees after apples. Since the fruit that appears after the plum blossom falls is called maesil (plum), the tree is called maesilnamu.

There is a certain way to appreciate the tree. You might wonder what kind of complicated appreciation method there could be, but ancient scholars spoke of a special way to appreciate plum blossoms. This shows how exceptional plum blossoms were compared to other trees.

The scenery of Seonamsa Maehwa Tunnel, which hosts a brilliant flower festival in spring.

First is "Maehwa-eum (梅花飮)." Maehwa-eum means that to enjoy this beautiful flower, one should invite friends under the shade of the blossoms, hold a drinking party, and enjoy lively conversations. There is an interesting story related to Maehwa-eum. It is about Kim Hong-do (金弘道, 1745~?), a Joseon painter who was so poor that he had to worry about meals. He wanted to have a plum tree but was restless because he had no money. At that time, one of his paintings sold for 3,000 nyang. Immediately, Kim Hong-do spent 2,000 nyang to buy the tree. Then he spent 800 nyang on a drinking party with friends by the tree, enjoying the flower's fragrance. The money he gave his wife, who stayed up worrying about meals every day, was only 200 nyang. The drinking party took precedence over household expenses. Such a drinking party enjoying the plum blossom's fragrance is called Maehwa-eum (梅花飮).

Due to the pandemic, the plum blossom festival in Maehwa Village, Daap-myeon, Gwangyang, Jeollanam-do, was canceled last year and again this year. It will be the best choice to enjoy Maehwa-eum. Even if not as lavish as Kim Hong-do's, the festival offers a suitable combination of food and drink, and there is no better forest to appreciate the plum blossoms covering the entire mountain. It is the best. We hope the chaotic world settles down and that we can enjoy it abundantly next spring.

Plum blossoms faintly blooming at the tip of the old Seonammae branch.

There is an appreciation method opposite to Maehwa-eum called "Munhyang (聞香)." It is not about smelling the fragrance but "listening" to it. It means enjoying a single flower quietly blooming on a slender branch of an old tree that has not yet fully blossomed, in a calm and undisturbed place. Above all, it emphasizes enjoying the flower's scent in silence and tranquility, truly in "jeogyo (寂寥)"?solitude and stillness?hence the term "listening" to the fragrance. Although Chinese dictionaries include the meaning of "smelling the flower's fragrance," this is a recent convention reflecting past customs. The character "mun (聞)" in Munhyang clearly means "to listen." The essence of Munhyang is that the best way to appreciate plum blossoms is to quietly observe a single flower blooming alone in a serene mountain temple or a scholar's garden, where even the sound of dew drops rolling on orchid leaves can be heard.

Of course, there is no right answer. It is up to each person approaching the tree to choose according to the situation. However, whichever method is chosen, only by gazing long at the plum blossom blooming on an old tree that quietly blooms alone and holds a deep fragrance can one truly reach the essence of this flower.

Even the North Korean defector and painter Kim Yong-jun, who left the essay collection Geunwon Essays, said, "I sit properly in front of the plum blossom blooming like a cloud, carefully controlling my breath so that the subtle fragrance does not get harmed, trying to calm my agitated heart." He added, "Is this reverent feeling when facing the plum blossom any different from the feeling when appreciating great art?" This is a praise that the heart becomes reverent in front of a single flower. The attitude toward the plum blossom's fragrance is no different from that in poet Yi Yuk-sa's song: "Snow falls now / The plum blossom fragrance is faint alone / Here I sow the seeds of my poor song" (from "Gwangya").

Among Korea's four great plum blossoms selected by the Cultural Heritage Administration, the foremost is the "Seonammae at Seonamsa Temple in Suncheon," designated as a natural monument in November 2007. Although all four were designated simultaneously in the fall of 2007, the oldest, largest, and still freshest tree is undoubtedly Seonammae. No tree surpasses Seonammae in scenic value.

Plum blossoms blooming above the gate of the radish pancake house.

Behind the large courtyard of Seonamsa Temple in Suncheon, widely known for its natural outdoor restroom, if you walk around Muujeon Hall and pass by Palsangjeon Hall, you will encounter a plum blossom tunnel lined with about 20 maesilnamu trees. Among this plum blossom colony, the white plum tree and the red plum tree at the center are the Seonammae designated as natural monuments. Outside the colony, Seonamsa's plum blossoms, which herald the spring festival, number over 50 trees. It is truly the best destination for a plum blossom exploration trip. Poet Hwang Dong-gyu described the plum blossom scenery at Seonamsa as "Am I outside the core of the plum blossom, / Seonamsa is all plum blossoms, / Or am I inside?" (from "Pungjang (Wind Burial) 40"). Now, Seonamsa is entirely covered with plum blossoms.

Among the many plum trees, the highlight is the white plum tree standing with dignified grace in the backyard of Palsangjeon Hall. Standing alone apart from the others, it is like the leader commanding the other maesilnamu trees of Seonamsa. This Seonammae, representing Seonamsa's spring, is about 620 years old, making it the oldest living maesilnamu tree in Korea. Although the "Jeongdangmae in Sancheong" was planted about ten years earlier, according to records, the original Jeongdangmae has long since died, and the existing tree is its successor. Moreover, the successor Jeongdangmae is seriously weakened and in a regrettable state.

The scene of the Seonamsa Maehwa Tunnel, which hosts a brilliant flower festival in spring.

Seonammae, about 11 meters tall, is overwhelming in size. Its trunk splits and extends from about adult knee height, spreading widely in all directions, showing the highest dignity a maesilnamu can have. The generous breadth of its branches is unique to Seonammae and cannot be found in other maesilnamu trees. About five years ago, its growth condition rapidly deteriorated, but after careful care, it has regained health.

Besides Seonammae, the "Gobulmae at Baekyangsa Temple in Jangseong" and the "Maehwa at Hwaeomsa Temple in Gurye," also among the four great plum blossoms, are trees in the warm southern region, so their blooming times are similar to Seonammae. Until recently, after visiting these three plum blossoms, there was one more plum tree to see. The remaining one among the four great plum blossoms is the "Yulgokmae at Ojukheon in Gangneung." Yulgokmae, standing alone at the corner of Ojukheon’s backyard, was planted around 1400 when Ojukheon was first built. It was a tree dearly loved by Shin Saimdang. Shin Saimdang loved plum blossoms so much that she named her daughter Maechang (梅窓, Plum Window) and often painted this tree.

The Yulgok plum tree in the backyard of Ojukheon in Gangneung, which Shin Saimdang carefully tended to during her lifetime.

The reason this tree is called "Yulgokmae" is probably because Yulgok was given precedence over Shin Saimdang in naming, but it is difficult to find any special affection Yulgok Yi I showed for this maesilnamu or any poems or writings he left about it. It seems regrettable that it should have been called "Saimdangmae" rather than "Yulgokmae." The Yulgokmae, holding many regrets, has unfortunately deteriorated rapidly in health since two years ago, and it is expected that it will be difficult for it to bloom this spring.

For now, I must prepare my journey. In this chaotic spring of 2022, the only way to soothe the noisy inner turmoil is a quiet plum blossom exploration trip to Seonammae behind the temple buildings of Seonamsa Temple on Jogyesan Mountain in Suncheon, where the world's noisy clamor subsides. It is a spring day that makes one want to listen long to the deep fragrance of plum blossoms blooming on the slender branches of the ancient maesilnamu that has lived with this nation in the spirit of a revered teacher.

Ko Gyu-hong, Tree Columnist