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Brief Introduction To The Culture And History of Chinese Peony China is a flower-loving nation and flowers are the soul of nature. The land is famous for the flower and the flower is well known in the land. Since ancient times, the tree peony (Mudan) has been regarded as a symbol of wealth, fortune, luck, prosperity and happiness. At the 6th solar term of the year (Grain and Rain in the Chinese lunar calendar), the blooming tree peonies are boundless and endless. Long
known as the "hometown" of the tree peony, Heze was formerly
called Caozhou in ancient times. The famed Yellow River flows through
Heze and the climate is moderate here with plenty of rain and fertile
soil. The tree peony reaches perfection in Heze, gathering the spirits
of the soil, rain, sunlight and moonlight, and returning buds and
flowers that spill incomparable beauty and fragrance across the land. The
history of tree peony cultivation in Heze is long and can be traced back
to the Sui Dynasty (581A.D-618A.D.). During the Sui Dynasty lived a
famous flower grower named Qi Lu Huan who first introduced the tree
peony into this land, rooting it here permanently. From its introduction
in the Sui Dynasty, the Heze tree peony rose in importance and
popularity during in the Tang Dynasty (618A.D.-907A.D.) and flourished
in the Qing Dynasty(1636A.D.-1912A.D.). By the time of the Ming Dynasty
(1368A.D.-1644 A.D.) and later the Qing Dynasty, the Caozhou Tree Peony
had earned the reputation of being the very best in the world. Farmers
devoted hectares to it just as they did to their food crops. Looking
across the fields in bloom, the scene was wonderful as the colorful tree
peonies connected the land to the sky. Important
tree peony gardens are scattered all over the land. Many of them are
very famousfor their well-known breeds. At present, there are more than
20,000 mu (3400 acre) and over600 breeds of tree peony in Heze. The most
famous gardens are Caozhou Mudan Yuan("Caozhou Tree Peony
Garden"), Heze Bai Hua Yuan ("Heze Garden of a Hundred
Flowers"),and Heze Gu Jin Yuan (Heze Garden of ancient and modern). Wandering
in Heze, you'll find see a veritable kingdom of tree peonies. Visiting
the gardens,you'll find a world of rich colors. "Xue Lian" is
a white tree peony with the brilliance of fallensnow. "Guan Shi Mo
Yu" has a purplish black blossom which shimmers like shiny silk.
"Lan Xiu Qiu" is the champion of the pinkish blue tree peonies
and its blooms resemble anembroidered ball. The light pink flowers of
"Zhao Fen" give off a delicate fragrance. "Wei Zi"is
known as the "Queen of Flowers" for its delicate and charming
color. "Xiang Yang Hong" competes with the sun for its
ravishing beauty. Seeing the flowers and hearing their names can give
you an unforgettably beautiful memory. Travel all over the country, and
you won't find comparable flowers; travel throughout the world, and
you'll understand that the tree peony deserves its title of
"National Beauty and Heavenly Fragrance". The colorsAs
regards color, the red color class is a large family which includes more
than 200 breeds that can be subdivided further into pinkish red, rosy
red, dark red and meat red according to the density of color. "Yi
Pin Zhu Yi" is drenched in scarlet with a fragrance surpassing all
others."Chun Hong Jiao Yan" is just like a cloud with the
morning sun behind it. "Shou An Hong" is crown shape in form
and is surrounded by an air of dignity. The pink color class is another
large family which counts as members the very famous breeds "Gu Ban
Tong Chun" and "Shu Nu Zhuang". Although there aren't as
many breeds in the blue color class, it is not lacking in famous
varieties. "Lan Bao Shi", "Lan Tian Yu" , "Ru
Hua Si Yu",and "Lan Fu Rong" are all ranked in the
loftiest grades in the Kingdom of Tree Peonies. Historically,
the royalty have most cherished the tree peonies' flowers. And if the
tree peony is the "Emperor of Flowers," then the yellow tree
peony named "Yao Huang" is the "Emperor of
Emperors." An incomparable variety esteemed for its rings having
thousands of petals, Yao Huang has been praised as radiating a noble
quality and having a grace likened to the momentum of dragons flying. It
has been noted that Yao Huang produces very few blooms. Perhaps due to
the fact that the blooms are the same yellow as the imperial yellow of
the Emperor's robe, or perhaps because scarce things are precious,
people have desired and coveted it for their own gardens. There is a
historical writing from the Bei Song Dynasty (960A.D.-1127A.D.) which
translates: "When Yao Huang blooms, men and women in the city turn
out in full strength to visit it. Peasants, old and young, crossed
hundreds of miles in order to have a look at it." Yao Huang is
indeed the emperor of emperors. The
crown for the "Queen of Tree Peonies" must fall to the
gorgeous and fragrant purple variety "Da Wei Zi". In the years
of "Zhen Guan" (627A.D.-650A.D.) during the Tang Dynasty,
(618A.D.-907A.D.) the Emperor issued an edict that all officials above
the third grade should wear purple uniforms. Consequently, the color
purple became associated with rank and wealth and tree peonies were
allocated to different ranks according to their colors. Many famous
breeds belong to the purple color class such as the very famous "Ge
Jin Zi", "Zhao Zi" and "Bang Ning Zi".
Incidentally, "Bang Ning Zi" was named for Zhao Bang Ning, a
famous flower grower of the Ming Dynasty (1368A.D.-1644A.D.), who
succeeded in cultivating the breed after many years of effort. The
white variety "Yu Ban Bai" has enjoyed the title of "The
First White Under Heaven" since ancient times. It has sparkling,
crystal-clear flowers with tall and straight branches. Like a young girl
in dressed in white, it shows its noble qualities while dancing on a
gentle breeze. Once, white-colored flowers were shunned, but as times
have changed, more people have been drawn to its unconventional grace
and purity. Other well-known white varieties include "Xue Lian",
"Jing Yu", "Bai Yu", "Qing Xiang Bai" and
"Kun Shan Ye Guang". They each have their own different form
and unique beauty. "Kun Shan Ye Guang" is most alluring for
its shiny flowers that sparkle in the boundless dark of night when all
other flowers disappear from view. It appears like a lantern glittering
in the distance; hence, comes the famous stanza: "Seeing the
twinkling flowers in the moonless night, I thought the gods were holding
a party there." Fairy Tale about tree peony Heze
is a land full of folklore and legends. When in the sea of flowers,
point to any flower and the flower growers will tell you a beautiful
legend or a touching story which relates to it. "Dou Lu" (Pea
Green) is dark green in the bud, gradually fading to pea green at its
prime. It is both delicate and charming, giving off fragrance among the
green leaves, just like a girl freshly awakened from dreams. As the
story goes, once upon a time there lived a young flower grower in Heze
who had always dreamed of hanging a gold plaque designating him
"Number One Flower Grower" over his own gate. One night, he
dreamed that the goddess of flowers told him he could only succeed in
his desires if he would take earth from the beach of the Yellow River
and draw water from the beach of the east sea. Having given these
instructions, the goddess pulled an emerald hairpin from her own hair
and dropped it to the ground. As soon as it touched the ground, the
hairpin disappeared. Thus enlightened by the goddess, the young man
forded rivers and streams, crossed hills and mountains and brought back
soil from the beach of the Yellow River and water from the beach of the
east sea. In reward of his efforts, "Dou Lu" grew from the
spot where the hairpin disappeared. He won the gold plaque for his very
own and "Dou Lu" became a very precious breed. "Zhuang
Yuan Hong" has a large flower beloved for its bright red color. In
ancient times, a person who scored highest in a national examination
conducted by the emperor was designated "Zhuang Yuan," or
Number One Scholar. The emperor wanted to marry his daughter to a
particular Number One Scholar, but he had returned to his hometown to
look for his own sweetheart. To the scholar's surprise, his parents
already had chosen a wife for him who was nearly ten years older than
him. Before his parents could force him to marry the woman, an edict
came from the emperor demanding that he return to the capital to marry
the princess. By the Confucian ethics of Chinese feudal society, he
could neither disobey his parents' order nor refuse the emperor's edict.
In a hopeless quandary, he dropped dead spitting blood. The following
year, a tree peony grew out of his tomb whose flowers were as big as
plates with the red color of the Zhuang Yuan Pao, the uniform worn by
Number One Scholars. The name "Zhuang Yuan Hong" has stuck
ever since. "Qing
Long Wo Mo Chi,"or "Green Dragon Lying in an Ink Pool" is
a traditional black tree peony that is a symbol of dedication. During a
year of terrible drought, most plants died from a lack of water. A
little dragon risked his own life to steal water from the Yao Tai (a
place where the supreme being lives) for the plants. To protect the
dragon from punishment and to repay him for his kindness to her plants,
a tree peony goddess (Flora) flew with him into an Ink Pond and he was
saved. But the peony goddess changed its color to black. Another story
concerning the origin of the black peony tells us that one day in the
second year of the Tian Shou Years (690A.D.-692A.D.) during the Tang
Dynasty (618A.D.-907A.D.), Queen Wu Ze Tian and Princess Tai Ping were
drinking in the Imperial Flower Garden and admiring the snow when they
were greeted by the fragrance of flowers. It was the aroma of winter
sweet (Calycanthus) which was in bloom. Queen Wu Ze Tian rewarded the
winter sweet but to her disappointment, she found only wintersweet,
winter jasmine, narcissus and pelargoniums blooming in the garden. She
wrote a poem and sent it to the god in charge of flowers, which read
"Tomorrow I'll visit the garden; let me know that spring has come.
All flowers are to bloom tonight; don't wait for the spring breeze to
blow." The next morning, hundreds of flowers bloomed and the garden
was full of Springtime. But the tree peonies stubbornly disobeyed the
order and refused to bloom. Queen Wu Ze Tian burst into rage and ordered
them banished from Chang An, the capital at that time. Those tree
peonies which refused to leave Chang An were burned to the ground. The
following year, the burned peonies produced black flowers; the best of
them is named "Hei Hua Kui", which means the Champion of Black
Flowers. Of course, the story is a myth but the art and skill of forcing
flowers to bloom early were developed prior to the Tang Dynasty
(618A.D.- 907A.D.) So there is an underlying current of reality to the
story. Next
is the tragic story of Ge Jin Zi and Yu Ban Bai. Once upon a time, in
Luo Yang in the Province of He Nan, there lived a scholar named Chang Da
Yong who loved peonies very much. He had heard that the Caozhou (Heze)
Peony was very famous and he admired it greatly from afar. There came a
time when he went to Caozhou to visit the estate of a high official who
had a garden with many tree peonies. He lodged there, staying on to
attend the peonies throughout the year and he wrote hundreds of poems
eulogizing the flowers, showing his passion for them. His infatuation so
moved a peony goddess named Gejin that she changed herself into a
beautiful girl and married him. The married couple returned to Luo Yang
and lived there in bliss. In time, Gejin also married her sister, Yuban
(also a peony goddess) to Chang Da Yong's brother, Chang Da Qi. Both
couples soon had a baby which only increased their happiness. One
day, Gejin told Chang Da Yong that her mother was "Mrs. Caozhou"..
This aroused Chang Da Yong's suspicions because he knew of no such name
in Caozhou. To put his mind to rest, he found an excuse to return to
Caozhou and he went back to the official's garden. There he found a poem
to Mrs. Caozhou. Chang Da Yong asked the landlord to explain the meaning
of the poem. Pointing to a big tree peony, the landlord said that the
breed was very famous in Caozhou where it was referred to as "Gejin
Zi" and also "Mrs. Caozhou". Hearing this, Chang Da Yong
became frightened and angry because he was sure that his wife must be a
witch or the daughter of a peony witch. When he returned home, he
recited the poem to his wife, suggesting that she was a witch. The
accusation cut Gejin to the core and she confessed that years ago she
had been moved by Chang Da Yong's love of the tree peony and that she
had fallen in love with him. She had assumed human form to be with him
and to live as his wife, but now that he distrusted her, it was
impossible for her to stay with him any longer. She and her sister Yuban
flew away into the clouds, leaving their children lying on the ground.
When Gejin and Yuban disappeared into the sky, their children also
vanished. From the place where the children had lain, two tree peonies
sprouted, one blooming purple, the other blooming white. The purple
peony was named "Gejin Zi", the white peony was called
"Yuban Bai". The
flower was first introduced to Japan in the eighth century where it soon
became a Japanese favorite renowned as the "Flower of Wealth".
The English obtained peonies in 1787 where its popularity has remained
high. To this day there are direct descendants of these imported plants
at the Royal Botanical Garden in Edinburgh. Peonies were also introduced
at about the same time into Denmark, France and other European countries
where the plants created a great sensation. In 1820, it was brought to
America where it has been treasured and hybridized to a great extent. Herbaceous Peony Having
learned about the tree peony, you may want to know something about
Paeonia lactiflora, the Herbaceous peony. Herbaceous peonies were first
cultivated in China as an ornamental plant although the plant also has
known medicinal qualities. Heze produces more than 200 breeds of
herbaceous peonies; among them are the famous varieties "Huang Jin
Lun", "Da Fu Gui", "Qiao Ling", "Yan Zhi
Dian Yu" and "Lian Tai". Among the most precious
varieties of herbaceous peonies, "Huang Jin Lun" suggests a
golden wheel, having large, round yellow flowers. "Da Fu Gui"
is purplish red in color and has an elegant and poised bearing. "Qiao
Ling" means "ingenuity" and bears small, delicate and
lovely blossoms. Whether
we are talking about tree peonies or herbaceous peonies, wherever the
peony has traveled, its home is still China. China continues to play an
important role in the development of peony breeding and cultivation
worldwide. Tree
Peony, Herbaceous peony and the Art of Painting. In
Chinese art, the disciplines of Flower-bird Painting, Figure Painting
and Landscape Painting are of equal importance. But of these, images of
flowers and birds appeared in painting earlier than the others. Since
the Tang Dynasty (618A.D.-907A.D.) Flower-bird Painting has been an
independent branch of art and the painting of peonies gradually became a
most important theme of Flower-bird painting. The painting displays not
only the inherent beauty of the flowers, but also manifest its cultural
significance of luck and wealth. Although some painters have expressed
political messages with peonies, as a whole, the cultural messages of
luck and wealth are the most recognized. Here we present some choice
peony paintings. You can appreciate the technique of painting in
traditional Chinese art. The spirit of a nation is deeply rooted in each
family, and the soul of the nation is passed down from one generation to
the next through families. Most Chinese families would hang a peony
painting in their drawing rooms demonstrating the Chinese people's
desire for wealth and happiness. ¡¡ |