The meaning of plum blossom

Plum branches fall in spring. The ancients said that Mei has four virtues, the primary core is Yuan, flowering is constant, the result is profit, and maturity is festival. There is another saying in later generations: Five-petal plum blossom is the symbol of Five Blessingg. First, happiness, second, luck, third, longevity, fourth, smoothness, and fifth, the peace we want most. These are the symbolic meanings of plum blossoms.

Spring comes first, which is the most precious place of Mei.

Plum blossom, not afraid of cold, independent early spring. It is ahead of the east wind and conveys the news of spring to people, and is known as "the first branch of the east wind". With its indomitable spirit and tenacious will, plum blossom has always been regarded as a symbol of noble character and noble temperament. Yang Wei, a poet in the Yuan Dynasty, intoned: "Xiang Xuehai dares to produce thousands of flowers, and a tree leads the spring scenery alone.

Plum originated in China and has been planted in China for at least 3000 years. There is a record in The Book of Songs that "there are plum blossoms, but there are actually seven points". 1975, a plum pit was found in the bronze tripod unearthed from the tomb of Yin Ruins in Anyang, Henan Province, with a history of 3200 years. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the wind of loving beauty was very strong. People have changed from picking plums as the main purpose to enjoying flowers. "Shi Mei is famous for its flowers." People use plum blossoms and plums as gifts and sacrifices. By the Han, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the art of plum blossom and Yongmei was more prosperous. "Miscellanies of Xijing" contains: "The forest garden was built in the early Han Dynasty, and it was far from different trees, including honey plum and rouge plum." Then he said, "There are Tongxin Mei, Ziti Mei and Li Youmei in Hanshang Forest Garden." Lu Kai of Jin Dynasty was the nephew of Lu Xun, a famous Wu Dong, and once served as prime minister with elegant words. Lu Kai has a literary friend in Chang 'an, Ye Fan (the author of the Book of Were Han). When he returned to the earth in spring, he picked a plum blossom from Jingzhou and mailed it to Ye Fan, with a short poem: "Fold the plum blossom and give it to the people in the faucet;" Jiangnan has nothing, talk about a spring. " Since Lu Kai, plum blossom has been used to convey friendship, which is a well-known story.

In the Southern and Northern Dynasties, there were many poems about plum blossoms. "Jinling Zhi" says: "Princess Shouyang, the daughter of Emperor Wu, lies under the eaves of Zhangdian. Plum blossoms fall on her forehead, and she can't get rid of them. No plum makeup is effective. " This may be the beginning of the beautiful plum blossom pattern.

According to historical records, Cho Se Ung, a native of Sui Dynasty, met the plum blossom fairy in Luofu Mountain, and the story was touching. It shows that people also loved Mei Chengfeng at that time.

Plum blossoms in Gushan, Hangzhou were famous in the Tang Dynasty. When the poet Bai Juyi left Hangzhou, he wrote a poem "Remembering Plum Blossoms in Hangzhou, and sending a small thank-you note to recall the past". The poem says: "I have been in Yuhang for three years, and I am drunk with Meihua;" Wuzu Temple is as snowy as snow, and Gushan Garden is as beautiful as makeup. Song Huan, a famous minister in the Tang Dynasty, felt at home when he saw plum blossoms in full bloom in Dongchuan's official residence, so he wrote "Plum Blossom Fu", which included such praise words as "Being alone in early spring and taking care of the whole day". If you dare not change your nature, you can marry a gentleman for one day. Besides, many famous artists, such as Du Fu and Li Bai, have poems by Yongmei. Jiang Caiping, once favored by Li Longji, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, liked plum blossoms. According to Biography of Mei Fei, "I live on the threshold of a fence, and I learned to plant some branches ... and gave me plum blossoms, but I can't go at night because I'm still worried about flowers. Shang (Tang Dynasty) was called because of its hobbies. "

In the Northern Song Dynasty, Lin Bu (Hejing), Chu Shi, lived in seclusion in the lonely mountain of Hangzhou. He was unmarried and had children, but he planted a plum crane named "Mei Wife Crane", which was passed down as an eternal story. There is a famous sentence in his poem "Xiaomei in the Mountain Garden": "The shadows are shallow, and the fragrance floats at dusk." It is a vivid portrayal of plum blossom, a household name, and is known as the eternal swan song.

Fan Chengda in the Southern Song Dynasty was a famous painter, Yongmei, who performed plum art and remembered plum. He collected 12 plum blossom varieties in Bifan Village, Shihu, Suzhou, and wrote the first plum blossom monograph in China (even the whole world) in186.

1 19 1 In winter, poet and musician Jiang Kui lived in Shihu Meiyuan, Fan Chengda, when plum blossoms were in full bloom. He wrote a new song by himself and added two words, named Dimfragrance and Thin Shadow, which were very balanced and highly praised by Fan.

In the Yuan Dynasty, there was a Wang Mian who loved Mei, Mei, Mei and Mei. He lived in seclusion in Jiulishan and planted thousands of plum trees. His self-proclaimed residence is "Plum Blossom House". He also painted ink plums with dense flowers and vigorous brushwork, and sometimes used rouge as boneless plums, which was unique. His poem Mo Mei is famous all over the world: the first tree in the West Wild Goose Lake, my home, all the flowers are faint ink marks, and no one needs to praise the color, only the fresh air is full of Gan Kun. "Wang Mian also wrote a biography of plum blossoms, which changed the story of" looking at plum blossoms to quench thirst "in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms into an interesting fairy tale: General Cao Cao got lost in the March, and the sergeant was very thirsty and wanted to see Mei. Meizhou people said, "I (Cao Cao's nickname) covet Ding Han, and people will not agree with it. "My family is innocent. Be careful not to talk to others. I can't hide. " Wang Mian compared his personality with praising plum blossom and despising powerful people.

Lu Fangweng Yongmei, a patriotic poet in the Southern Song Dynasty, wrote in his poem "Bu Operator": "There is no intention to fight for spring, a group of people are jealous, smashed into mud and crushed into ashes, and only the fragrance remains." Yongmei shows the loneliness of the poet's talent, and always maintains noble morality and upright sentiment no matter how much setbacks he encounters. Comrade Mao Zedong did the opposite and wrote Yongmei: "There are hundreds of feet of ice on the cliff and beautiful flowers. Joe doesn't fight for spring, he only reports it. When the mountain flowers are in full bloom, she laughs in the bushes. " Full of revolutionary heroism and optimism. Mao Zedong also praised the spirit of "Plum Blossoms are full of snow" in another poem "Winter Clouds", which is not afraid of cold and independent of early spring.

In addition to countless poems by Yongmei, there is an anecdote in the history of China painting: Song Boren, a famous painter in the Song Dynasty, loved plum blossoms all his life. In order to draw plums, he planted many plum trees. Whenever plum blossoms are in full bloom, he carefully observes them from morning till night under the plum blossom tree, and depicts the various forms of plum blossoms from germination to flowering, from blooming to withering, and arranges them into one hundred pictures, named Plum Blossom Spectrum. In order to praise his plum blossom painting "West God", later generations called his plum blossom painting "Plum Blossom West God Spectrum". Wu Changshuo, a modern historian, once said in a poem that he "handed down from generation to generation and copied Mei in Song Dynasty".

Plum blossom is not only a precious flower in China, but also very popular abroad, but it is still cultivated in the East abroad. Japanese plum was handed down from China, and so was North Korea. There is also the "Mei Society" organization in Japan, which specializes in publishing "Mei". It was introduced to Europe in the19th century and to the United States at the beginning of this century. Now all countries in the world have cultivated it, but it is not as prosperous as the eastern countries.

Mei's hometown is in western Hubei and eastern Sichuan. According to Compendium of Materia Medica quoted from Tao Hongjing's Bielu of Famous Doctors, "Shimei was born in Hanzhong Valley", while "Xiang Hanchuan, Shu Jianghu and Huailing all have it". "Flower Mirror" said: "Gu Mei is famous for martial arts, Xing Wu, West Lake, Huiji, Siming and other places." "Flower Mirror" said in Mei's annotation: Wild plum grows in Danba County in the upper reaches of the Dadu River in Sichuan, in the valley area with an altitude of 1900 ~ 2000 meters, and in the mountainous area with an altitude of 1900 meters in Huili County in the Yalong River Basin. In ancient times, Xing 'an Mountain in Guangxi and Dayuling at the junction of Jiangxi and Guangdong were all places rich in plums. Luofu Mountain in Zengcheng County, Guangdong Province has always been famous for its rich plum blossoms, and "Luofu Mountain" later became another name for plum blossoms.

The life span of plum trees is very long, usually three or five hundred years, or even more than a thousand years. The ancient beauty after vicissitudes of life is the first ancient beauty promoted by the ruins of Jiangxin Ancient Temple in Huangmei County, Hubei Province, in addition to Tang Mei and Song Mei in Chaoshan, Hangzhou. It is weather-beaten, its trunk has turned gray-black, and it blooms in the cold every year, and the whole flowering period reaches winter and spring. There is also a "Liang Meiwei" in the "National Day Ancient Temple" in Tiantai Mountain, Zhejiang Province, which has a history of 1300 years. Legend has it that it was planted by Master Zhikai, the founder of Tiantai Sect of Buddhism. Although this plant has withered several times, it has been carefully cultivated and rejuvenated. The trunk is old and tall, surrounded by twigs. Thousands of plums were planted on the tree a few years ago.

A Qing Dynasty Liang also recorded such a thing in his "Essays on Two Kinds of Autumn Rain temples", which said: "There is a Gu Mei in Huaiti Temple, which is more than ten miles east of the city, and it is said that it is a matter of the Song Dynasty. In the middle of Kangxi, the tree suddenly died and was resurrected for forty years. There are more and more branches and the flowers in the yard are shining. " During the reign of Ting Anne Daoism, Ruan Yuan, a famous scholar, wrote the title "Reviving the Soul". It's not surprising that plum trees live long. It's amazing that dead trees can meet spring. Therefore, one of the characteristics of Mei is that the older she is, the more energetic and promising she looks. There has always been a saying that "old plum blossoms lack peony".

The fragrance of plum blossoms has always been fascinating. It is thick but not bright, cold but not light. The graceful charm and elegant and pleasant fragrance are incomparable to other flowers. However, what is more valuable is the plum blossom spirit. Mei is known as the soul of the Chinese nation for her strong character, upright character, frosty spirit and early spring breath. "The north wind blows down people, and the ancient wood is as strong as iron; A flower in spring, snow in Wan Li. " People call pine, bamboo and plum "three friends of the old cold", and regard plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum as "four gentlemen", appreciate plum's nobility, elegance, coldness and firmness, and regard plum as a confidant and gentleman. May is well deserved.