This study is planned to consider the arbor poetry of Gollyun Choe Changdae (1669~1720), one of the key figures of Soron who worked actively in the late 17th century till the early 18th century and find the periodic meanings of his arbor poetry.
First, paying attention to the time when Choe Changdae created his arbor poetry and the background of his creation, this article has examined what the arbor meant to Choe Changdae. Considering the time when Choe Changdae created his arbor poetry and the background of his creation, we can see that most of the poems were written when he was with his family or relatives, including his father Choe Seokjeong, uncle Choe Seokhang, maternal uncle Lee Inyeop, maternal cousin Lee Hagon, or close friends like Hong Setae or Lee Hayeong. This fact allows us to conclude that for Choe Changdae, the arbor was space where he could see and be with his family or relatives.
Next, focusing on the fact that Choe Changdae created his arbor poetry in the form of Yue-fu poetry (樂府詩) which can be hardly found in arbor poetry written by previous literary persons, this paper has examined two pieces of poems, <Choyeondaega> and <Moonwoljeongga>, written as Yue-fu poetry. Choe Changdae wrote his poems about the feelings he had in the arbor more freely with unique expressions and contents getting out of imitating or sticking to an old tradition using Yue-fu poetry. Here, the arbor was recognized by Choe Changdae as the space of Jarak (自樂) to find pleasure on one’s own.
From the latter half of the 17th century, there was a noticeable trend that the arbor was regarded as space to enjoy everyday life personally, and the space of Jarak was stressed. One of the new trends of Chinese poetry in the 18th century is to pursue one’s personality and try new things, and this kind of aspect is found in various ways such as a poem’s contents, lyricism, the choice of poetic styles, or writing styles. Part of that can be found in Choe Changdae writing his arbor poetry as Yue-fu poetry. As written above, Choe Changdae’s arbor poetry not only shows us his changed consciousness about the arbor in the late 17th century but also lets us glance at the new trend of Chinese poetry in the 18th century.