What Makes the Chinese Plum One of the Most Iconic Symbols in Art and Poetry
The symbolism of flowers and fruit in Chinese fine art: 花朵 Huā duǒ
The symbolism of flowers in Chinese art is very rich this survey has many individual flowers each with its ain specific significant. From very early times courtyard homes had a small garden at its center. The character for flower 花 huā has an interesting origin. Every bit a found 'magically' transform from producing green leaves into producing flowers the character uses a head over heels representation to show this metamorphosis nether the radical for a 'plant'.
The twelfth day of the second lunar calendar month is a pocket-sized festival to celebrate Spring and the emergence of leaves and flowers. Information technology is dedicated to the goddess of flowers 百 花深 Bǎi huā shēn. Early spring blossom was particularly valued and decorated houses for the Spring Festival. For a long while it was the custom of women to habiliment a garland of flowers in their pilus although white and blue flowers are unlucky and avoided. Flowers have long been associated with girls and young women, and a picture of a blossom may stand for one. A prostitute was often referred to as a 'flower'.
Particular flowers are often depicted with a specific bird considering they have the same symbolic meaning, and so a crane and a pine tree both represent longevity. The four friends of the flowers are the consume, oriole, bee and butterfly. While the three friends of winter are the pine, bamboo and plum blossom.
A basket of flowers is the keepsake of Lan Caihe 蓝采和 who is one of the Eight Daoist Immortals. Each month is associated with a flower but the list varies from place to identify. Here is a list that follows the traditional Chinese lunar months starting at Chinese New year (not January):
1st: plum; 2nd: apricot; 3rd: tree peony; fourth: cherry blossom; fifth: magnolia; 6th: pomegranate; seventh:lotus; 8th:pear or quince; 9th:cassia or mallow; 10th:chrysanthemum; 11th:gardenia; twelfth: poppy.
In that location is also a seasonal association likewise, the four virtuous plants 四 君 子 sì jūn zǐ are spring: orchid or magnolia, summer: peony or lotus, fall: chrysanthemum and winter: plum or bamboo. These make up the iv 'flower tiles' of the game of Mahjong.
迟开 的 花 未 必 不 香
A late-blooming bloom is non necessarily defective in fragrance
Information technology's never too tardily to effort something new.
花 花 世界
Life full of feel. Dazzling world of excitement
Earth seething with life.
心 花怒放
The bloom of the heart in full bloom
Full flowering of joy.
走 马 看 花
Looking at the flowers while riding a equus caballus
To have a cursory look at something. Smug.
Fruit
After the flowers comes the fruit. For a skillful number of the plants in Chinese symbolism it is the fruit rather than the flowers that are portrayed in artwork. And so in this section we also include apples, aubergines, oranges, peaches, pomegranates and walnuts.
Here is an extensive list of flowers and fruit that are noted for their Chinese fine art symbolism:
Apple 苹 果 píng guǒ
Older varieties of apple tree prefer a cooler, moister climate than is generally available in People's republic of china, so apples used to be imported from Korea and Nippon making them an exotic luxury. Wild Chinese apple copse in Northern China are Malus spectabilis 海棠 hǎi táng which does not produce sweet fruit but are admired for their flower in spring. The similar sounding 堂 táng means 'hall', so a picture of apple blossom tin represent the habitation in a painting. 玉堂 Yù táng 'Jade Hall' is another name for the illustrious Hanlin Academy and therefore represents a wish for scholarly achievement. The combination of apple and magnolia together gives the phrase 玉堂富 贵 yù táng fù guì pregnant 'be wealthy and honored'.
Wild apple blossom may represent female dazzler, peradventure from the historic Yang Guifei being termed the 海棠女 Hǎi táng nǚ 'Paradise-apple maiden' . 'Apple' in Chinese sounds the same as 平 píng 'peace, calm' so an apple tree is a hidden wish for peace. Together with a persimmon 柿 shì an apple wishes success in business affairs ( 事 shì).
Apricot 杏 xìng
Apricots represent the second calendar month of the traditional calendar as that is when they are in blossom. Apricots and the closely related almond represent female elegance, possibly because the large seed is ovoid shaped like the eyes of an Oriental beauty. A red apricot represents a woman having an affair. Sometimes an apricot is painted together with Regal women to express the wish for fortitude in sorrows. All parts of the apricot tree are used in traditional medicine.
A field of apricots can stand for wish for success in examinations every bit celebrations traditionally took identify in an apricot grove.
Aubergine 茄子 qié zi
The eggplant or aubergine is used to symbolize an official because of the shape of the attachment to the stem looks like the hat of an official. More crudely its overall shape may bring to mind the penis.
Because qié zi sounds a bit like 'cheese' it is used in China to encourage people to grin while taking a photo.
Azalea 杜鹃花 dù juān huā
Some wild azaleas have a red blotch on the bloom which has led to them being called 'cuckoo flowers' in Sichuan because the local cuckoo has a red pharynx. In Europe, the cuckoo blossom ➚ is a completely dissimilar species (Cardamine pratensis) that flowers at the time when cuckoos make it from Africa. Azalea stamens can exist collected and used as a balmy narcotic. Whole mountains are covered with azaleas in China making them a magnificent sight when in blossom. The Dabie mountains in Hubei are particular famous for its flowering azaleas. It frequently symbolizes female dazzler in painting while in clan with butterflies azaleas suggest creative ability in art.
Bamboo 竹 zhú
Image for Google Art Projection ➚ available under a Creative Eatables license ➚
Bamboo is such an important plant in Red china that we have written an extended section all about bamboo. Bamboo is used for every conceivable purpose from scaffolding to food and firecrackers to paper. Bamboo in art symbolizes longevity and steadfastness as it is both long lived and evergreen. Equally an evergreen it is, together with pines and plums, regarded as one of the three friends of winter. As a lush institute it represents summertime in the 四 君 子 Sì jūn zǐ 'Four Gentlemen'. The bamboo stem (culm) is hollow and its leaves droop so it represents modesty: (虚 xū means both modest and hollow). Along the stem are the joints 节 jié which also means 'festival' and 'moral integrity'. It's straight, un-branched addiction exemplifies virtue and honesty. Information technology is supple, graceful and very useful – making it a suitable paragon of virtue for both Confucians and Daoists.
The character for laughter uses the radical for bamboo suggested by the rocking and rustling of bamboo plants in the current of air. Bamboo explodes, noisily, when burnt and so was originally used for the casing of fire crackers 爆竹 bào zhú 'exploding bamboo'. Bamboo is also i of the 'suits' in the game of Mahjong. The character to limited good wishes 祝 zhù sounds like and then bamboo every bit a ornament expresses a wish for peace and happiness. Together with plums it may represent husband and married woman in a painting. Considering it is such an quintessential motif in Red china, some painters have defended their lives to painting nothing except bamboo.
Basket 篮子 lán zi
A basket of fruit symbolizes the Chinese Daoist immortal Lan Caihe. Lan Caihe is portrayed equally a woman or an hermaphrodite and plays heavenly music. The basket symbolizes riches and is pop as a wish for good luck at the Leap Festival.
Bean 豆 dòu
Beans are a major source of protein for the many vegetarians in China. The beans are processed into bean curd 豆腐花 dòu fǔ huā or 豆 花 dòu huā – it is from Japan that we get the name 'tofu'. 'Dou' sounds like to 到 dào 'to attain; to arrive' then it sometimes has that symbolic pregnant. The dried beans mixed with h2o make a milk-like liquid : soy milk 豆浆, dòu jiāng and this is then left to coagulate into soft bean curd blocks. "Eating edible bean curd" is sometimes used as a euphemism for making love.
种 瓜 得 瓜 种 豆 得 豆
Found melons and you will harvest melons; plant beans and you will harvest beans
Alive with the consequences of your actions.
Roughly equivalent to: Reap what you sow.
Canteen gourd 葫芦 húlú
The large, tough fruit of the gourd institute 'Lagenaria siceraria', when stale and hollowed out makes a water-tight container. This inexpensive and useful gourd was used every bit a water container from ancient times in China (especially southern China where the plant grows best). It often forms as a 'double' gourd - the shape has a distinct waist between upper and lower bulges. Information technology has as well been used every bit a buoyancy aid for children and could be forced to grow into a shape to form a suitable container in which to keep a cricket as a pet. Information technology formed an allegorical characteristic of the wandering Daoist good who would use it to store his magic potions. Hù 护 sounds the aforementioned and ways 'protect' while 祜 hù means 'approval'. In fable, a Daoist master could exist trapped in a gourd and later sally just like the story of the genie and the magic lamp. By association a flick of such a magic gourd is used to fend off evil.
The gourds are often painted, usually with flower and leaf motifs to match the shape of the gourd. A gourd is associated with one of the 8 Immortals Li Tie Guai 李 铁拐 with wisps of white smoke emanating from the magic potion within the gourd. In a picture big 瓜 guā and pocket-sized gourds 瓞dié together with 蔓màn 'creeper' (sounding similar 万 wàn 'numerous') represent a wish for many descendents 瓜瓞绵绵 equally the gourds contain many seeds.
Cabbage 菜 cài
Cabbage as ( 白 菜 bái cài 'Chinese cabbage') or 青 菜 qīng cài 'green cabbage' has a lucky connotation because 财 cái ways 'wealth, money'. The central symbolism is that the core is white and pure then is a person's nature. One of the nigh famous pieces of jade sculpture is a cabbage with a locust and katydid now at the National Palace Museum ➚ in Taiwan.
The best known diversity of Chinese cabbage is called by its Cantonese name of Bok Choy ➚ with white stems and nighttime dark-green leaves but there is besides Napa cabbage which is 'White Cabbage' 白 菜 bái cài just to confuse matters.
Cherry 樱桃 yīng táo
The cherry tree grows in northern and central Prc, the wild species are fairly biting in taste and so were used mainly for medicines. Its name in Chinese ways 'baby peach'. A color of a woman's lips are often likened to a crimson and in general is associated with youthful dazzler. Information technology is considered 1 of the flowers in the garden of the Queen Mother of the West and from that longevity. The phrase 'eating cherries' has to be used with care equally it is another euphemism for making love.
Chrysanthemum 菊 jú
The chrysanthemum is a much loved flower in Mainland china and is often portrayed in pictures. It is a symbol of joy and a wish for peaceful retirement. It sounds similar to 居 jū 'to reside, to endure' and 久 jiǔ 'long time'. The pine and chrysanthemum together emphasize the wish for a long life as in 松菊犹存 sōng jú yóu cún 'The pine tree and chrysanthemum outlast all things'. A motion picture of a chrysanthemum with ix quails symbolizes a wish for nine generations to live in peace in the home 九 世 同 居 jiǔ shì tóng jū. The plant represents the season of autumn and so contrasts with the plum which is the flower of late winter. It tin can withstand frost and so exemplifies stoicism in the confront of disappointments in life.
At that place are many varieties of chrysanthemum in a great range of colors and flower shapes. Its importance can be judged by the fact that the 9th month in the traditional calendar is named the 'chrysanthemum month'. The petals can be used to make a soothing, herbal tea and the petals are also used to flavor wine which is often drunkard at the Zhong Yang or Double Ninth Festival. The love for chrysanthemums spread to Japan, and the Emperor of Japan's throne is known equally the Chrysanthemum Throne ➚.
Cinnamon 桂 guì
The Chinese cinnamon or Cassia spice tree (Cinnamomum cassia) is native to southern Mainland china. Its aromatic bark has been used in cooking for thousands of years. Guì huā 桂花 tin also refer to the Osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans) or 'sweet olive' or 'tea olive'.
The urban center of Guilin 桂林 in Guangxi is named afterward the many osmanthus copse that have been planted there. Osmanthus flowers give a fine fragrance which is given the same grapheme equally cassia. The osmanthus blossoms in the 8th lunar month and then the month was called 桂月 guì yuè. When depicted with the plum which flowers in Jump information technology denotes a wish for never ending fragrance – a long honorable life. With pomegranate and gourds it gives the wish for many successful sons. Information technology sounds the aforementioned as 贵 guì 'expensive, noble, valuable' and then the fine scent became associated with passing the Imperial examinations and as well because it blooms at the time when the examinations were held. The inscription 桂子 兰 孙 guì zǐ lán sūn expresses a wish for noble sons and grandsons.
It is a fast growing tree and at that place is a legend that there was a giant cinnamon tree which grew so fast that its possessor could never keep it under control. There is also a legend that the moon has a magical cassia tree which generates a drug giving immortality.
Creeper 蔓 màn
A creeping plant often with tendrils (particularly vines) is sometimes used in paintings to symbolize immortality. This is considering 蔓 màn sounds a bit like 万 wàn 'ten,000, myriad, numerous, forever'. If the motion picture shows roots (柢 dǐ) of a tree this symbolizes numerous generations ( 代 dài). Grapes and grapevines are a mutual motif on Ming dynasty porcelain. Vines are often shown in combination with rats, gourds and grapes.
Cypress 柏 bǎi
Cypress trees live to groovy former historic period; fifty-fifty though gnarled and twisted they nonetheless put out lush green growth. They are often planted near burial grounds, so accept a similar association to that of yew trees ➚ in Europe.
A cypress symbolizes longevity and can likewise symbolize 'a hundred' as it sounds the aforementioned as 百 bǎi every bit in the wish 'may you have a hundred sons'. In some dialects information technology is pronounced bo which is the same as 伯 bó which means 'earl, count' then may also symbolize a wish to for chore promotion.
Finger lemon 佛手 fó shǒu
The finger lemon is a pocket-sized citrus tree (Citrus medica) which bears a strange fruit with finger-like protuberances. It has been called 'Buddha's mitt' (佛手 fó shǒu) or 'Finger lemon'. It is rarely eaten in China, merely instead hung upward to give a fresh, citrus fragrance to a room. Symbolically it wishes a prosperous and long life considering it sounds like 福寿 fú shòu 'skillful fortune and longevity'. In this regard it may be shown alongside a butterfly to express a wish for a long and happy retirement. It is besides a adept luck talisman by gamblers.
Ginseng 人参 rén shēn
Like the mandrake ➚ in Europe ginseng has long been associated with magical powers considering its root is shaped like a human torso (and hence the utilize of 人 rén 'person' in its name). Information technology was believed that it cried when it was pulled out of the basis. From its coincidental shape it has been used every bit a powerful magic ingredient. It is now a well-known health tonic, but with no proven efficacy, it was originally harvested in Shanxi province, but now comes mainly from farms Jilin province and Korea. It has been collected then voraciously that is extinct in the wild in Cathay.
Jujube 枣树 zǎo shù
The jujube tree (sometimes called the Chinese date tree) bears succulent fruit. Because the audio zǎo is the same equally in 早 zǎo 'early' a picture of a jujube portrays the wish for 'soon'. If combined with a lychee in a picture this tin can be taken to hateful a wish for children to be born soon or if combined with a cinnamon tree a desire for quick promotion to high office.
Lychee 荔枝 lì zhī
The Lychee or Lichee is best known for its white juicy fruit produced in late summer; the flesh of the fruit surrounds a large, gnarled kernel. In fine art it symbolizes summer and a wish for children, and and then has a part in the marriage celebration. If lychees are combined with water chestnuts they symbolize cleverness: 伶俐 líng lì. The fruits are considered yang in traditional medicine and and so are eaten to start an backlog of yin.
Lily 百 合 bǎi hé
The species of lily most prized in Red china is the 'day lily' (Hemerocallis ➚) whose blooms just last ane mean solar day. The transitory nature of the flowers is said to assistance yous forget your troubles. Its rapid sequence of flowers makes it a symbol for childbearing and is therefore a suitable gift for newly weds. The grace and dazzler are associated with foot binding as an Emperor extolled the virtue of the tiny anxiety in terms of 'wherever she steps a lily flowers' and so bound feet became termed 'gilt lilies'.
Irises are also called 百 合 bǎi hé and are considered practiced for keeping evil at bay particularly at the Dragon boat festival where they were used to decorate doorways.
Lotus 荷花 hé huā
The lotus is a much revered motif in Chinese art. Its symbolism comes from Buddhism, information technology is a plant that grows in the stinking mud of marshes and nevertheless produces pure white flower, so it symbolizes transformation from evil to good. Information technology directly symbolizes summertime, purity and fruitfulness. The lotus is too known as 莲 lián in Chinese and homophones to lian requite it symbolic meanings: 廉 lián 'incorruptible, modest'; 连 lián 'joint, continuous, successive'; 联 lián 'unite, join'. Another name for the lotus hé brings other associations through the homophones 和 hé 'harmony, union' and then ii lotus flowers symbolize the wish for marital harmony. At that place are many other associations: one of the viii immortals He Xiangu holds a lotus flower; equally well as one of the Heavenly twin (He-he) boys; a lotus with a goldfish symbolizes the wish for an affluence of gold; with a duck a wish for happiness; with a heron a desire for progression... the listing is nearly endless. Like the lily, the lotus has been associated with bound feet to express their dazzler.
Information technology belongs to its own botanic family Nelumbonaceae ➚ dissever from the somewhat similar h2o lily. All parts of the plants have their own name and usage; the fruits and leaves every bit food; the seeds every bit medicine. The wheel-similar course at the center of its bloom symbolizes the wheel of life.
The most well known Buddhist mantra 'Om mani padme hum' 唵嘛呢叭咪吽 ǎn ma ní bā mī hōng can exist very roughly transliterated equally "May I become like the jewel of the Lotus. Amen" 叭咪 bā mī equally 'padme' is the Tibetan name for lotus. The Buddha is said to have contemplated a bank of lotus plants; some mired in mud; some in bud; some beneath h2o. He saw these plants as representing the people he wished to flourish with full purity of listen. The Lotus Position ➚ (padmāsana) is a compact cantankerous-legged position for meditation inspired by the construction of the lotus.
藕断丝 连
Although the lotus root may exist cut, its fibered threads are still connected
Friendship survives adversity.
Magnolia 木 兰 花 mù lán huā
The magnolia is a much loved blossom in Prc. Over the centuries varieties have been selectively bred for early flowering, bloom size and color. An early flowering diversity is chosen 欢 春 花 Huān chūn huā 'the flower that welcomes the Spring'. Legend has it that at in one case only the emperor himself and his closest favorites were immune to grow the shrub.
Like the peony it symbolizes female beauty and so with a butterfly symbolizes a young man'due south quest for love. Magnolias are also known every bit 玉 兰 花 yù lán huā 'jade orchid flower' and together with a crab apple 海棠 hǎi táng and peony requite 玉堂富 贵 Yù táng fù guì the meaning of a wish for wealth and honor equally 'Jade Hall' (yutang) was the academy of scholars. In a painting with bees and magnolia give the meaning of self-esteem. The bark of the plant is used in traditional medicine.
The name 木 兰 Mù lán is well-nigh associated with a warrior-maiden who took to the military to salve her father from forced service some fourth dimension in the Period of Disunity; she served many years and rose to a high rank and the whole time her true gender went undiscovered. The story was made into a successful Disney animated film 'Mulan ➚' (and a less successful re-brand ➚).
Maple 枫木 fēng mù
In a typical 'sounds similar' allusion, a 枫 fēng maple in a pic confers the wish for an appointment because of the identically sounding 封 fēng 'grant, confer'. The idea of a wish for appointment to a skillful job tin be expressed past a monkey seeking a red box in a maple tree, where the package represents the seal of office ( 封 侯褂印 fēng hóu guà yìn).
Melon 瓜 guā
The round melon fruit represents a pregnant woman's 'bump' and is full of seeds and so in a painting symbolizes a wish for many children (sons). Melons are frequently shown with vine like foliage. The town of Turpan in Xinjiang is famous for growing many sweetness melons in the hot summer estrus.
Mulberry 桑 sāng
The hollow trunk of the mulberry tree 浮桑 fú sāng was considered the resting place of the sun and Imperial rulers; and so it became associated with where the lord's day rises each twenty-four hours.
Mulberry trees are very widely planted in Red china because they are the nutrient found of the silkworm. A mulberry tree was considered sacred during the Shang dynasty maybe because of the silk connection. They were considered unlucky if placed in front of a house considering 桑 sāng sounds like 丧 sàng which means 'loss, mourning and death'. In some areas a twig of mulberry was worn to indicate that you lot were in mourning.
指桑骂槐
Pointing to the mulberry tree when the locust tree is to blame
Deliberately deflecting criticism to someone or something else - often to protect friends or family.
Narcissus 水 仙 shuǐ xiān
As it sprouts and flowers each year in Jump the Narcissus is chosen literally a 'water immortal' and in a painting may symbolize the immortals and proficient fortune. Stones, bamboo and narcissii together give the wish 'may the immortals grant a wish for a long life'. The flowering time is only right for the New Year festival. Families force them to flower early by growing in a pot with water and pebbles. Information technology is particularly treasured in Fujian province.
There is a similar and often confused plant – the Sacred Lily 万 年 青 wàn nián qīng (Rohdea japonica) which is similar to the arum lily as it has cherry berries just strap-like leaves like the narcissus. Equally a gift it gives the wish for a venture to prosper for 万 年 wàn nián ten thousand years .
Onion 葱头 cōng tóu
From the late 19th century onwards onions have come to symbolize cleverness equally 葱 cōng sounds the aforementioned as 聪 cōng 'clever, sharp witted, wise'.
Opium 阿芙蓉 ā fú róng
For centuries opium was initially used as a medicine. Information technology was when opium was smoked that it became addictive and acquired problems. Opium poppies were grown in the south w of China - particularly in Yunnan. The poppy flower appears on some porcelain and represents the twelfth month.
Originally it was not illegal to purchase opium, but there was a ban on importing the drug into China. The British inherited an opium production area in northern Bharat and began the opium merchandise with Red china when they conquered India. This opium was purer and cheaper than that produced in China and began to exist illegally imported. Information technology was the middle ranking officials who seem to have suffered most from addiction and this brought the whole Imperial assistants to near plummet.
Orange 橘 jú
Oranges are grown in southern Red china and are popular presents for children. The grapheme 桔 jú is made upward of the radical 木 mù 'wood' and 吉 jí 'lucky'. Too ju sounds close to 祝 zhù 'to wish' then information technology symbolizes a wish for practiced fortune. Persimmons and tangerines together requite a wish for success in all things. Lots of oranges and tangerines are consumed at the New year festival. A tribute of oranges used to be sent from Fujian province to Beijing in time for the Spring festivities. Also orange peel is considered an constructive medicine.
The boy Lu ji is put forwards as an example of devotion to parents because when he was given some oranges instead of eating them himself he gave them to his mother. A male child shooting an arrow at three oranges indicates a wish for him to come beginning (hit the target) in all iii levels of examination, hither the orange is just a symbol for a circumvolve 圆 yuán to form 连 中 三 元 lián zhòng sān yuán.
Orchid 兰 lán
The orchid and particularly its fragrance is associated with female beauty, it stands for modesty and refinement. Although beautiful it tends to grow in pocket-size groups in isolated areas rather than as a great mass of blooms. At that place are very many dissimilar types of wild orchid in China which are highly prized. Lan is a popular girl's name.
The orchid was even praised by Confucius as an emblem of the perfect homo. Together with bamboo the orchid is considered an platonic subject for painting. The power to capture the daintiness and fragility of the flowers and leafage is a great skill. According to the Yi Jing 'marital sharpness is cleaved when they are in harmony, the words of harmony are as fragrant equally orchids'. The early on poet and statesmen Qu Yuan, immortalized by the Dragon Boat Festival, likened the career of scholars to fragrant orchids that can only prosper under a wise and just ruler. Information technology is one of the four noblemen ( 四 君 子 sì jūn zǐ) that represent the four seasons where it stands for Spring. Cultivation of orchids in Chinese gardens goes back a long time, the first book on their care dates back to 1233.
Young women who did not want to ally joined the Golden Orchid Society in Guangdong in the 19th century. The club was violently suppressed as it was considered immoral for a woman non to wish to ally.
Peach 桃 táo
Peaches are a common art motif. The most famous clan is with the peaches of immortality that grow in the gardens of the Queen Mother of the West (Xiwangmu). These trees bear fruit only in one case every 3 thousand years. The god of longevity is often portrayed emerging from a peach. The monkey rex stole some of the fruits causing consternation in heaven and required the intervention of the Jade Emperor according to the very famous story: The Journeying to the West.
Peach trees are grown throughout China and many parts of the plant are used in traditional medicine. The timber is reputed to keep away demons and branches were placed at the archway to houses at New Year for this purpose (this is probably due to the homophone 淘 táo 'to eliminate').
A peach orchid was the setting of a very famous event in Chinese literature. In the 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' 三 国 志 演 义 Sān guó zhì yǎn yìLiu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei swear an oath of enduring loyalty to ecah other in a peach orchard.
Merely as in Europe, jump is a favorite time for marriages and as this is the season for peach flower, they are associated with union. The fresh complexion of a girl is likened to the blush of a peach. A birthday greeting tin can sometimes be represented as a peach tree on a mountain with bat and waves to give the greeting 福 如 东 海寿比南 山 Fú rú dōng hǎi shòu bǐ nán shān 'may your good fortune exist every bit deep as the Eastern Ocean and you live as long as the Southern Mount'.
Pear 梨 lí
Pears are a long lived fruit tree, as they can survive for 350 years, and and so they symbolize a wish for a long life. Withal dissimilar near other fruits the pear has a unfortunate homophone equally 离 lí means 'carve up; divide' so information technology should never exist given as a present to a couple. For the same reason information technology is inappropriate at the Hungry Ghost Festival as that would bespeak separation from the spirit of the ancestors. Pear blossom with raindrops is considered ane of the most beautiful sights so is associated with a beautiful daughter. Parts of the plant are used as medicine for fever and diarrhea.
Tang Emperor Xuanzong instigated an operatic troupe in his pear orchard and so members of the theatrical profession are known as 'followers of the pear orchard' 梨 园 子 弟 lí yuán zǐ dì.
Peony 牡丹 mǔ dān
The tree peony is 1 of the almost loved flowers in Mainland china. It became mudan afterward centuries of being known as 芍药 sháo yào possibly due to the appearance of a red variety (as dan is one word for 'scarlet'). White peonies 白牡丹 bái mǔ dān correspond talented immature girls with wit as well as beauty. A peony symbolizes, as many flowers practice, a young daughter. 'The Peony Pavilion' 牡丹亭 mǔ dan tíng is a very famous Kunqu Opera 昆曲 about immature dear. The peony has a double flower and that has led to a hidden meaning of a wish for repeated riches. The tree peony can grow quite tall 6 anxiety [ii meters] and alive for a hundred years. Districts in Henan and Shandong provinces concenter many visitors during the flowering season, information technology is regarded with the same affection as the rose is in the west.
The flower was much admired in the works of the great Tang poets. On occasions it is considered the flower of spring and competes with the lotus, chrysanthemum and plum for supremacy. Together with the peony all four flowers stand for the whole year. A legend has Empress Wu Zetian ordering all flowers to bloom out of season and when the peony disobeyed she had it dug up and burned. The wellness of a garden peony was thought to presage that of its owning family, if it should fall ill it was an ill omen. In combination with other symbols such every bit the phoenix, pheasant and peacock a peony represents a good reputation.
Persimmon 柿 shì
The persimmon is grown for its big juicy fruits and is sometimes called the 'Chinese fig'. It grows well on mountain slopes in northern China. The fruits are orange and shaped like beef tomatoes. The brilliant orange/red color makes it suitable for festive decorations.
Every bit 事 shì 'matter; concern; affair' sounds the same, it is used to combine with other objects to give adept wishes for an undertaking. With oranges (tangerines) it ways 'good luck in your affairs' with an apple it means 'contentment in affairs'. A persimmon with a pino tree and an orange wishes good luck in 'a hundred business matters' ( 百 事 吉 利 bǎi shì jí lì). It is often planted in temple gardens every bit information technology is said to have iv virtues: long life; sheltering birds; giving shade and freedom from insect pests.
Pine 松 sōng
The pine tree is ane of the iii friends of winter - together with plums and bamboo because information technology is evergreen and does non drib its needles. It is a favorite subject in Chinese landscape paintings. It symbolizes longevity, solitude and steadfastness; as the needles grow in pairs it is also a symbol of married bliss. With a crane a pino tree gives the wish for a peaceful and long life.
Pine copse are commonly planted around graveyards (see as well cypresses) perhaps due to the association of longevity or may be due to a legend that the graveyard demons 罔象 wǎngxiàng are kept away past them. It was forbidden to cutting down any tree planted in a graveyard - under pain of death. Bunge'south pine ➚ 白 皮松 bái pí sōng is widely grown as an ornamental pine tree in parks and gardens.
松籁 Sōng lài or 松涛 sōng tāo is the music of pine trees as the wind soughs through its needles and branches and is much loved past the poets. A pine tree at the foot of the sacred Mountain Taishan, Shandong was granted an official's title by the first Qin Emperor Shihuangdi - the 'Welcoming-Guest Pine', but information technology has been replaced a number of times over the succeeding centuries.
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Kim Dramer'southward short video about the three friends of winter
Plum 梅 méi
The welcome blossom of plum trees in late winter has made the plum tree a popular found. It is one of the three friends of winter with the bamboo and the pine tree. It is besides widely known by the character 李 lǐ which is fabricated upwards of ii elements 'wood' and 'child' suggesting the prolific fruits produced by the tree. 桃李 Táo lǐ 'peaches and plums' is a phrase to refer to schoolhouse children. The iv plants plum, bamboo, orchid and chrysanthemum represent the four seasons of the year - wintertime through to fall (the 四 君 子 sì jūn zǐ four gentlemen).
Because the flowers sally earlier the leaves and information technology takes a long fourth dimension to come into flower information technology is associated with longevity. Information technology is often shown with a crane, another symbol of longevity; with a ruyi is is a wish for a peaceful, long life. A plum tree at Huangmei, Hebei is believed to be ane,600 years old. A pop pattern has plum flower over croaky ice to symbolize Spring. Every bit the Chinese Spring Festival may fall as late as mid-February, it flowers at the stop of the Chinese season of winter.
The Daoist philosopher Laozi is said to have been born beneath a plum tree. It has been a pop subject for poetry for centuries. The Song poet Lin Bu is said to have spent his spare time feeding cranes and planting plum trees near West Lake, Hangzhou. The five petals of the blossom represent one of the many 'fives' in Chinese symbolism including the 5 gods of prosperity; five good fortunes; 5 good luck gods so on.
望梅止渴
Gaze at a plum to quench thirst
Offer hope by thinking of something currently out of achieve.
Pomegranate 石榴 shí liu
The pomegranate fruit is skirt full of seeds, and as seed in Chinese 子 zǐ also means children, it chiefly symbolizes a wish for many children. This can be emphasized by portraying children with pomegranates in a picture. The pomegranate is sometimes known equally the 'Chinese apple'. The starting time trees were brought into People's republic of china from Afghanistan during the Han dynasty. It is an advisable equally a wedlock gift with the inscription 榴开 百 子 liú kāi bǎi zǐ 'the pomegranate brings forth a hundred seeds/sons'. Information technology sounds the aforementioned as 十 六 shí liù 'sixteen' so is also associated with commemorating a sixteenth birthday. In symbolism a pomegranate may represent a wish for a title to be continued into the next generation as 世 shì ways 'generation; noble'. The pomegranate is the emblem of the tenth month of the traditional calendar.
Rose 蔷薇 qiáng wēi
In Europe the rose is one of the most frequently seen motifs and often represents love with its bloom, fragrance and thorns. Non so much in Cathay, despite the fact that many species of rose planted in Europe and America originate from Prc. Information technology may symbolize youth and together with bees, sweetness, merely more commonly will exist seen on goods destined for export.
Walnut 胡桃 hú táo
The walnut may have come to China quite late, the term 胡 hú probably relates to people to the north of China who introduced the tree after the Han dynasty. 胡桃 Hú táo also means 'flirt' considering of a story of a couple who were estranged for a long while, when the hubby (named Hu) returned he flirted with his own wife as he failed to recognize her. So a walnut has come to symbolize a flirtation.
Willow 柳 liǔ
The widespread willow is a very useful tree. Information technology provides material for all sorts of purposes including baskets, ropes and firewood. Information technology is associated with Bound and therefore besides with romance. The grace of a willow tree is ofttimes compared to the meekness and amuse of a young adult female. In combination with a swallow it symbolizes artistic power. Willow is believed to keep evil spirits at bay and is often seen in the form of a willow broom at the Qing Ming festival for this reason. It is widely prescribed in traditional medicine, and this has proven efficacy as willow bawl is a source of salicylic acrid - aspirin.
The famous willow pattern on porcelain, widely exported to Europe and imitated past European potters, immortalizes the tale of young love. A poor swain falls in dear with the daughter of his rich employer. Many of the elements in the willow blueprint pattern chronicle to incidents in the story. A willow tree is featured prominently and hence the proper noun.
When people left habitation they were often given willow twigs as a departing gift as li sounds the same as 离 lí 'to part'. Willow will sprout readily from cuttings and so a tree could exist planted to requite a continual reminder of habitation.
Wood oil tree 梧桐 wú tóng
At that place are several trees given the full general term 同 tòng including the Parasol tree (Firmiana simplex ➚) and Paulownia imperialis ➚. Because tong also ways 'shared, joint, together' the tree represents a wish for a shared and peaceful life. As it lives for a long time information technology besides symbolizes longevity. A magpie 喜鹊 xǐ què in a wutong tree symbolizes 'joy together' 禧同 xǐ tóng.
Paulownia imperialis produces an oil that is very useful for preserving wood - and from this comes its English name. Its wood is as well used to make excellent guqin musical instruments. The tree is associated with the phoenix and also the yin property. As the phoenix is such an auspicious creature wutong trees were planted in the hope information technology may attract 1 to state on it.
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