{"id":3879,"date":"2026-09-05T05:16:19","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T05:16:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chinaculturepro.com\/?p=3879"},"modified":"2026-09-05T05:19:39","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T05:19:39","slug":"%e4%b8%ad%e5%9c%8b%e8%8a%b1%e5%8d%89%e8%b1%a1%e5%be%b5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chinaculturepro.com\/zh_hk\/chinese-flower-symbols\/","title":{"rendered":"\u4e2d\u570b\u82b1\u5349\u8c61\u5fb5\u53ca\u5176\u6587\u5316\u542b\u7fa9"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Quick Answer: What Do Chinese Flowers Symbolize?<\/span><\/h2>

Chinese flowers can express moral character, religious ideals, social status, seasonal change, or wishes for family life. Their meanings are contextual rather than fixed. In literati art, plum blossom (\u6885\u82b1, m\u00e9ihu\u0101), orchid (\u5170\u82b1, l\u00e1nhu\u0101), and chrysanthemum (\u83ca\u82b1, j\u00fahu\u0101) may represent resilience, refinement, or reclusion. In Buddhist art, lotus (\u83b2\u82b1, li\u00e1nhu\u0101; also \u8377\u82b1, h\u00e9hu\u0101) commonly evokes purity and spiritual transcendence. Peony (\u7261\u4e39, m\u01d4d\u0101n) became closely associated with courtly splendor, rank, and prosperity.<\/p>

Other meanings depend on a flower\u2019s season, accompanying motifs, inscriptions, and the object\u2019s purpose. A blossom in a naturalistic painting may simply establish spring or autumn, while the same flower on a wedding textile or porcelain vessel may participate in a rebus. For example, lotus beside fish can form a wish for continuing abundance, but an isolated lotus does not automatically mean wealth. These associations are artistic and cultural expressions, not promises of luck, romance, health, or material success.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

A lotus on a Buddhist sculpture usually points toward purity and transcendence. Put lotus flowers beside fish on a Ming- or Qing-dynasty vessel, however, and the image may become a rebus for continuing abundance. The plant is similar, but the religious and secular meanings are not interchangeable.[1][2]<\/sup> This is the central rule of Chinese flower and plant symbolism<\/a>: identify the flower, then read its date, medium, inscription, companions, and use. A fixed \u201cone flower, one meaning\u201d dictionary cannot reliably explain Chinese art.<\/p>\n\n

12 Chinese Flower Symbols and Their Meanings at a Glance<\/h2>\n

The table below compares widely documented associations rather than assigning permanent definitions. A flower may carry more than one meaning, and an uninscribed flower-and-bird painting may be observational or decorative rather than auspicious. This context-first approach also applies across the broader system of Chinese symbols and meanings<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n
Flower<\/th>Common traditional associations<\/th>Typical contexts<\/th>Do not assume<\/th><\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Peony (\u7261\u4e39, m\u01d4d\u0101n)<\/td>Courtly splendor, high status, prosperity, and a flourishing age<\/td>Tang and later court culture; Ming\u2013Qing painting, textiles, and decorative objects<\/td>It does not promise personal wealth and is not the legally designated national flower of the People\u2019s Republic of China.<\/td><\/tr>\n
Lotus (\u83b2\u82b1, li\u00e1nhu\u0101; \u8377\u82b1, h\u00e9hu\u0101)<\/td>Buddhist purity and transcendence; literati integrity; harmony or abundance in specific rebuses<\/td>Buddhist sculpture and textiles, scholar painting, porcelain, and embroidery<\/td>A lotus alone does not automatically mean money, marriage, fertility, or \u201ccontinuous abundance.\u201d<\/td><\/tr>\n
Plum blossom (\u6885\u82b1, m\u00e9ihu\u0101)<\/td>Courage in adversity, integrity, the recluse, winter beauty, and approaching spring<\/td>Winter landscapes, ink painting, scholar art, and later New Year compositions<\/td>Not every plum image is a New Year blessing or \u201cgood news\u201d motif.<\/td><\/tr>\n
Orchid (\u5170\u82b1, l\u00e1nhu\u0101)<\/td>Quiet fragrance, refinement, modest talent, and moral cultivation<\/td>Literati ink painting, studio objects, and Four Gentlemen (\u56db\u541b\u5b50, s\u00ec j\u016bnz\u01d0) subjects<\/td>It is not traditionally a wealth charm, and classical painted orchids are not necessarily modern florist orchids.<\/td><\/tr>\n
Chrysanthemum (\u83ca\u82b1, j\u00fahu\u0101)<\/td>Autumn, reclusion, integrity in later life, vigor, and later birthday wishes<\/td>Tao Yuanming themes, autumn painting, and Ming\u2013Qing longevity objects<\/td>It is not exclusively a funeral flower, nor does every chrysanthemum mean longevity.<\/td><\/tr>\n
Peach blossom (\u6843\u82b1, t\u00e1ohu\u0101)<\/td>Spring, youthful beauty, encounters, and romance in appropriate literary or wedding contexts<\/td>Spring poetry and painting, garden scenes, and some marriage imagery<\/td>Peach blossom is not the longevity peach fruit.<\/td><\/tr>\n
Osmanthus (\u6842\u82b1, gu\u00echu\u0101)<\/td>Autumn elegance, Mid-Autumn imagery, examination success, and noble prospects<\/td>Moon-palace subjects, autumn scenes, scholar objects, and examination wishes<\/td>The gu\u00ec\/\u8d35 wordplay is a cultural wish, not a guarantee of rank or success.<\/td><\/tr>\n
Narcissus (\u6c34\u4ed9, shu\u01d0xi\u0101n)<\/td>Late winter, the promise of spring, cultivated elegance, and literati reflection<\/td>Ink painting, scholar art, and New Year display<\/td>It should not be reduced to a generic \u201cgood-luck flower.\u201d<\/td><\/tr>\n
Magnolia (\u7389\u5170, y\u00f9l\u00e1n)<\/td>Purity, cultivated elegance, and the beauty of refined gardens<\/td>Palace gardens, bird-and-flower painting, and compound auspicious designs<\/td>A magnolia by itself does not form the phrase \u201ca hall filled with gold and jade.\u201d<\/td><\/tr>\n
Lily (\u767e\u5408, b\u01ceih\u00e9)<\/td>Harmony, a lasting marriage, and wishes that affairs come together well<\/td>Documented wedding and decorative art, as well as modern flower gifts<\/td>The link to \u767e\u5e74\u597d\u5408 is character-based wordplay, not a complete strict homophone.<\/td><\/tr>\n
Daylily (\u8431\u8349, xu\u0101nc\u01ceo)<\/td>Motherhood, relief from worry, maternal affection, and historical wishes for sons<\/td>Mother-and-child imagery, textiles, and paintings made for family occasions<\/td>These historical associations do not imply fertility treatment or emotional protection.<\/td><\/tr>\n
Camellia (\u5c71\u8336\u82b1, sh\u0101nch\u00e1hu\u0101)<\/td>Winter-to-spring flowering, garden beauty, and the seasonal atmosphere of New Year displays<\/td>Bird-and-flower painting and seasonal arrangements<\/td>Without an inscription or companion motif, it has no single nationwide auspicious meaning.<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

The safest short reading therefore has two parts: name the best-supported association and state the conditions under which it applies. \u201cPeony can signify rank and flourishing court culture in decorative art\u201d is more accurate than \u201cpeony always means wealth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Five Core Flower Traditions in Chinese Art and Literature<\/h2>\n\n

Peony: Courtly Splendor, Status, and Power<\/h3>\n

Peony rose to exceptional prominence in Tang court culture. Its large, layered blossoms suited an aesthetic of magnificence, and later writers and artists called it the \u201cking of flowers\u201d and the \u201cflower of wealth and rank.\u201d A Smithsonian painting of peonies explains that the flower was a favorite at the Tang court and became a symbol of status and power.[3]<\/sup> Ming\u2013Qing decorative art carried those associations into paintings, porcelain, embroidery, and domestic objects.<\/p>\n

\u201cWealth and rank\u201d describes an inherited cultural ideal, not an automatic forecast of money. A naturalistic peony study may primarily display brushwork or seasonal beauty. Nor should the familiar legend that Empress Wu ordered peonies to bloom and banished them when they refused be treated as secure court history. The deeper chronology and competing interpretations belong to the dedicated guide to peony meaning in Chinese culture<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

Lotus: Buddhist Purity and the Gentleman Ideal<\/h3>\n

Lotus has several especially distinct lives in Chinese visual culture. Buddhist images use its emergence from muddy water as a model of purity, integrity, and transcendence; lotus thrones and lotus-patterned textiles belong to that religious vocabulary. A Smithsonian object record explicitly connects the flower with these Buddhist qualities.[2]<\/sup> In the Confucian literary tradition, Zhou Dunyi\u2019s essay \u201cOn the Love of the Lotus\u201d recast it as a gentleman who remains untainted by a corrupt environment.<\/p>\n

Secular decorative art can redirect the motif. Lotus may sound like li\u00e1n, \u201ccontinuous,\u201d while h\u00e9 in \u8377 can invite associations with harmony in particular compositions. Paired with fish, children, or birds, the plant can participate in different rebuses. The full image\u2014not the flower alone\u2014determines the reading. See the separate study of lotus meaning and symbolism<\/a> for the religious, literary, and decorative branches.<\/p>\n\n

Plum Blossom: Courage, Hope, and the Scholar in Winter<\/h3>\n

Plum blossom opens on apparently bare branches during the cold season. Chinese scholar-artists therefore used it to think about endurance, purity, solitude, and the return of life before spring is fully visible. Smithsonian interpretation also associates plum blossom with courage in adversity, the transience of beauty, renewed hope, and the scholar or recluse.[4]<\/sup> The craggy branch and sparse flower could communicate disciplined character as readily as seasonal beauty.<\/p>\n

Later auspicious compositions added other meanings. A magpie positioned on the tip of a plum branch can activate the rebus \u201cjoy reaches the brows,\u201d because m\u00e9i (\u6885, plum) and m\u00e9i (\u7709, brow) are homophones. Without the magpie, placement, or relevant inscription, that phrase should not be assumed. The distinction between scholar painting and festive design is central to understanding plum blossom symbolism<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

Orchid: Quiet Fragrance and Moral Refinement<\/h3>\n

The orchid of Chinese literati painting is usually rendered with long, narrow leaves and modest blossoms, often growing beside rocks. It is commonly associated with Chinese cymbidiums rather than the large, showy Phalaenopsis orchids familiar from modern flower shops. Scholar-artists valued its unobtrusive fragrance and its ability to suggest refinement, elegance, virtue, and talent that does not advertise itself.[6]<\/sup> <\/p>\n

Orchid is also one of the Four Gentlemen (\u56db\u541b\u5b50, s\u00ec j\u016bnz\u01d0), together with plum, bamboo, and chrysanthemum. That system treats plants as models for moral self-cultivation, not as devices for obtaining luck. Botanical labels in historical collections can still vary, so inscriptions and museum cataloguing should take precedence over a viewer\u2019s guess. The separate pages on orchid symbolism<\/a> and the Four Gentlemen<\/a> develop these points.<\/p>\n\n

Chrysanthemum: Autumn, Reclusion, and Later Longevity Wishes<\/h3>\n

Chrysanthemum first establishes an autumnal world. Its strongest literary association is Tao Yuanming, the poet who withdrew from official life and wrote of gathering chrysanthemums by the eastern fence. In art, the flower may therefore evoke reclusion, independence, and a life ordered by personal principle rather than office. A Smithsonian painting of chrysanthemums and pine explicitly links the subject to Tao Yuanming and the idea of reclusion.[5]<\/sup> <\/p>\n

Because chrysanthemums flower late and withstand autumn cold, later birthday and decorative art could also use them for vigor and long life. That layer does not erase the older seasonal or recluse traditions. Modern memorial use of white and yellow chrysanthemums is another context again. A flower in a Yuan-style ink painting, a Qing birthday object, and a contemporary funeral arrangement should not receive the same reading. Explore these layers in chrysanthemum meaning in Chinese culture<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

Flowers for Love, Family, Motherhood, and Success<\/h2>\n

Chinese art has no single \u201cflower of love\u201d or universal blossom for family success. These meanings arise when a plant appears in the right textual, ritual, or pictorial setting. The distinctions below prevent several common errors.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n
Flower or motif<\/th>Meaning in a specific context<\/th>How the meaning forms<\/th>Key limit<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>\n
Peach blossom<\/td>Youthful beauty, attraction, meeting, or romance<\/td>Spring poetry, garden imagery, and later marriage or romantic contexts<\/td>The blossom is not the immortality peach; see peach symbolism<\/a> for the flower\u2013fruit distinction.<\/td><\/tr>\n
Lily<\/td>Marital harmony and wishes for a union that lasts<\/td>The written elements \u767e and \u5408 encourage associations with \u767e\u5e74\u597d\u5408, \u201ca harmonious union for a hundred years,\u201d in documented decorative contexts.[10]<\/sup> <\/td>This is semantic and visual wordplay, not a strict whole-word homophone; a botanical study of a lily may carry no wedding meaning.<\/td><\/tr>\n
Daylily<\/td>Motherhood, maternal affection, and relief from worry<\/td>Historical literature and art connected xu\u0101nc\u01ceo with forgetting cares and used xu\u0101nt\u00e1ng, \u201cdaylily hall,\u201d as a respectful reference to a mother. Some works also preserve an old wish for sons.[8]<\/sup> <\/td>The imagery does not produce pregnancy or remove distress in real life.<\/td><\/tr>\n
Osmanthus<\/td>Literary success, distinguished children, or noble prospects<\/td>Gu\u00ec (\u6842, osmanthus) and gu\u00ec (\u8d35, noble or esteemed) are exact homophones in Mandarin; autumn flowering also aligned with the traditional examination season.[9]<\/sup> <\/td>The examination meaning needs a scholar, child, inscription, or related context. More detail appears in osmanthus symbolism<\/a>.<\/td><\/tr>\n
Pomegranate blossom and fruit<\/td>The flower may mark the season; the ripe, open fruit can express wishes for many descendants<\/td>The fruit\u2019s many visible seeds support family-proliferation imagery.[9]<\/sup> <\/td>A single red pomegranate blossom does not automatically signify fertility.<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

These are visual and verbal wishes, not practical mechanisms for marriage, fertility, examination results, or social advancement. Readers comparing motifs for a ceremony can consult the broader guides to Chinese symbols for love<\/a> and Chinese wedding symbols<\/a>, while still checking the object\u2019s actual date and use.<\/p>\n\n

Chinese Flowers by Season and Festival<\/h2>\n

A familiar artistic sequence associates orchid with spring, lotus with summer, chrysanthemum with autumn, and plum blossom with winter. This is a useful organizing convention, not a compulsory national flower calendar. Chinese regions differ in climate, and artists sometimes select a plant for literary or compositional reasons rather than botanical timing.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n
Season or occasion<\/th>Common flowers<\/th>What the setting may emphasize<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>\n
Spring<\/td>Orchid, peach blossom, magnolia<\/td>Growth, fragrance, gardens, youth, and new encounters<\/td><\/tr>\n
Summer<\/td>Lotus<\/td>Water scenery, abundance of life, Buddhist purity, or gentlemanly integrity<\/td><\/tr>\n
Autumn<\/td>Chrysanthemum, osmanthus<\/td>Reclusion, later-life resolve, Mid-Autumn atmosphere, or examination associations<\/td><\/tr>\n
Winter and early New Year<\/td>Plum blossom, narcissus, camellia<\/td>Endurance, the approach of spring, and seasonal display<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Two festival associations are relatively durable: chrysanthemum with the Double Ninth Festival and osmanthus with the Mid-Autumn season. Yet neither association exhausts the flower\u2019s meaning. New Year \u201cofferings of the season\u201d might combine plum, narcissus, camellia, fruit, rocks, or antique objects in changing regional and historical arrangements. Zhao Mengjian\u2019s celebrated narcissus handscroll, for example, can evoke the promise of spring while later inscriptions also frame it through loyalist memory and scholar identity.[7]<\/sup> That complexity is why narcissus meaning<\/a> cannot be reduced to \u201cNew Year luck.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

How to Tell Similar Chinese Flower Motifs Apart<\/h2>\n\n

Plum, Peach, and Cherry Blossoms<\/h3>\n

Plum blossoms are often painted on older-looking, leafless branches and can open in white, pink, or red during the cold season. Peach blossoms more often belong to leafy spring gardens, youthful figures, romance, or peach-related narratives. Cherry blossoms also appear in Chinese gardens and spring imagery, but the internationally familiar equation of cherry blossom with fleeting life and falling \u201csakura snow\u201d is especially associated with Japanese culture. It should not be imposed on every Chinese spring scene.<\/p>\n

Color and petal count are unreliable on their own. Painters simplify forms, decorative artists repeat stylized blossoms, and old pigments change. When the image is ambiguous, use the work\u2019s title, inscription, associated figures, seasonal setting, and museum identification. Do not relabel a Chinese plum or peach motif as \u201csakura\u201d merely because the flowers are pink.<\/p>\n\n

Lotus and Water Lily<\/h3>\n

Lotus and water lily are botanically distinct. Sacred lotus belongs to the genus Nelumbo; its leaves and flowers commonly rise above the water on long stalks, and its seed receptacle forms a conspicuous cone-like pod. Water lilies belong to Nymphaea, and their leaves and many flowers generally rest on or close to the surface.[11]<\/sup> <\/p>\n

Historical English catalogues sometimes used \u201clotus\u201d loosely, while highly stylized art can suppress botanical clues. The safest method is to follow the museum\u2019s current object title and compare the leaf, stalk, and seedpod. Botanical identification helps, but it does not determine cultural meaning by itself: a correctly identified lotus still requires religious, literary, or decorative context.<\/p>\n\n

Chinese Literati Orchids and Modern Orchid Imagery<\/h3>\n

Classical ink orchids usually have calligraphic, blade-like leaves and restrained flowers, sometimes emerging beside rocks. The brushwork itself matters: controlled leaf strokes could display the artist\u2019s training and ethical self-fashioning. Modern commercial orchid imagery often centers on large, vividly colored Phalaenopsis blooms. Both may be called \u201corchid\u201d in English, but they do not belong to the same visual convention.<\/p>\n

A historical inscription using l\u00e1n is more important than a modern viewer\u2019s species guess. Conversely, a contemporary greeting card with large florist orchids should not automatically inherit every literati association. The artist may be using a global decorative flower rather than citing scholar culture.<\/p>\n\n

What Does Furong Mean?<\/h3>\n

Furong (\u8299\u84c9, f\u00far\u00f3ng) is context-sensitive. Shui furong, \u201cwater furong,\u201d commonly refers to lotus, while mu furong, \u201cwood furong,\u201d identifies Hibiscus mutabilis, often called cotton rose. Translating every occurrence of furong as \u201chibiscus\u201d can therefore turn a lotus poem into the wrong plant; translating every occurrence as \u201clotus\u201d creates the reverse error.<\/p>\n

Check whether the plant grows from water or on a woody shrub, whether seedpods or broad lotus leaves appear, and how the title or inscription names it. This same principle applies to stylized magnolia and other garden flowers: visual identification and textual naming must work together. The dedicated guide to magnolia meaning<\/a> addresses its own compound motifs.<\/p>\n\n

Traditional Art Meanings vs Modern Flower-Gifting Etiquette<\/h2>\n

Traditional image interpretation and modern bouquet etiquette are related only indirectly. A Song painting may use a flower to express brushwork, season, or the artist\u2019s moral position. A Qing porcelain or embroidered panel may combine several motifs into a rebus. A present-day bouquet operates within contemporary social conventions shaped by florists, global media, local habits, and the recipient\u2019s preferences.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n
Context<\/th>Evidence to prioritize<\/th>Responsible interpretation<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>\n
Historical painting<\/td>Inscription, artist, genre, date, and collecting history<\/td>Begin with natural observation, literati character, or a documented literary allusion.<\/td><\/tr>\n
Porcelain or embroidery<\/td>Companion animals, objects, written characters, and the object\u2019s function<\/td>Test whether the whole composition forms an established rebus; consult Chinese porcelain patterns<\/a> or Chinese embroidery symbols<\/a> as appropriate.<\/td><\/tr>\n
Festival display<\/td>Festival, place, household tradition, and historical period<\/td>Describe the seasonal wish without presenting a local custom as a nationwide rule.<\/td><\/tr>\n
Modern bouquet<\/td>Occasion, recipient, current local convention, and personal preference<\/td>Modern flower language may be useful, but it should not be presented as an ancient code.<\/td><\/tr>\n
Tattoo or brand design<\/td>Creator\u2019s stated intention and the complete design<\/td>Modern reinterpretation is legitimate when it is labeled as such; see Chinese tattoo symbols<\/a> for cultural-use boundaries.<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Red roses, carnations, and tulips now have familiar gifting associations in China, but those conventions largely belong to modern global flower culture rather than classical Chinese art. White flowers and chrysanthemums are common in contemporary mourning, yet \u201cnever give any white flower in China\u201d is too absolute. Occasion, region, family practice, and the recipient matter more than an internet prohibition. For historical objects, the methods of interpreting Chinese symbolism in art<\/a> remain the better guide.<\/p>\n\n

What Chinese Flower Symbols Do Not Automatically Mean<\/h2>\n
\n\n\n
Common claim<\/th>More accurate interpretation<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>\n
Every Chinese flower has one permanent meaning.<\/td>Meaning changes with period, medium, inscription, use, and the complete composition.<\/td><\/tr>\n
Every flower image is auspicious.<\/td>Many flower-and-bird paintings record nature, demonstrate brushwork, or express a private literary mood.<\/td><\/tr>\n
Peony is the official national flower of the People\u2019s Republic of China.<\/td>Peony is culturally prominent, but no national flower has been formally established through a definitive state designation.[12]<\/sup> <\/td><\/tr>\n
Peach blossom and peach fruit both mean longevity.<\/td>Peach blossom usually belongs to spring, youth, or romance; the immortality peach and birthday peach fruit carry longevity wishes.<\/td><\/tr>\n
Every lotus is a Buddhist symbol.<\/td>Lotus also appears in literati painting, seasonal water scenes, and secular rebus designs.<\/td><\/tr>\n
White chrysanthemum means only death.<\/td>Chrysanthemum also signifies autumn, reclusion, vigor, and\u2014on later birthday objects\u2014long-life wishes.<\/td><\/tr>\n
Flower color or blossom count has one nationwide luck code.<\/td>No single color-and-number system applies across Chinese periods, regions, media, and occasions.<\/td><\/tr>\n
Japanese hanakotoba can decode Chinese paintings.<\/td>The traditions overlap in plants but developed different interpretive rules and cannot be substituted for each other.<\/td><\/tr>\n
A flower image can change love, health, or finances.<\/td>These motifs communicate human hopes; they have no demonstrated supernatural effect. For carefully bounded longevity imagery, see Chinese symbols for longevity<\/a>.<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n\n

FAQs About Chinese Flower Symbols<\/h2>\n\n

What Is China\u2019s National Flower?<\/h3>\n

As of September 2026, the People\u2019s Republic of China has not formally established one official national flower. Peony and plum blossom are prominent candidates, but public polls, professional recommendations, and widespread cultural recognition are not the same as a definitive legal or state designation. A 2024 response reported by CCTV said that views remained divided and that the conditions for designating a national flower were not yet mature.[12]<\/sup> <\/p>\n\n

Which Chinese Flower Symbolizes Love?<\/h3>\n

There is no single Chinese flower of love. Peach blossom can suggest attraction, youth, or romantic encounters in spring and literary settings. Lily can express marital harmony in documented wedding or decorative compositions, while peony sometimes appears in images of feminine beauty and prosperous marriage. The object\u2019s use, companion motifs, and inscription determine whether love is actually intended.<\/p>\n\n

Which Chinese Flowers Symbolize Longevity?<\/h3>\n

Chrysanthemum can carry wishes for vigor and long life on later birthday objects, although its older meanings include autumn and reclusion. The strongest peach-related longevity image is the immortality peach or birthday peach fruit, not peach blossom. Pine is also central to Chinese longevity art, but it is a tree rather than a flower. These are cultural wishes, not claims that an image or plant prolongs life.<\/p>\n\n

Are Chrysanthemums Funeral Flowers in China?<\/h3>\n

White and yellow chrysanthemums are widely used in modern Chinese mourning, but chrysanthemum is not limited to funerals. In classical painting it can establish autumn or evoke Tao Yuanming\u2019s withdrawal from office. On some Ming\u2013Qing birthday objects it can suggest vigor and long life. Date, color, medium, inscription, and occasion must be considered together.<\/p>\n\n

Is Cherry Blossom a Traditional Chinese Symbol?<\/h3>\n

Cherry blossoms appear in Chinese gardens and spring imagery, but they do not have one fixed meaning across Chinese tradition. The internationally familiar symbolism of sakura as radically brief beauty and falling blossoms is especially associated with Japan. It should not be used automatically to identify or interpret plum blossom, peach blossom, or an unspecified pink blossom in Chinese art.<\/p>\n\n

Sources<\/h2>\n

[1] The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Image as Word: A Study of Rebus Play in Song Painting<\/a><\/p>\n

[2] Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art. Lotus-Patterned Textile, F1911.163t<\/a><\/p>\n

[3] Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art. Peony Painting, F1901.172<\/a><\/p>\n

[4] Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art. Plum Blossom Painting, F1916.478<\/a><\/p>\n

[5] Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art. Chrysanthemums and Pine, F1943.10<\/a><\/p>\n

[6] Ashmolean Museum. Collecting the Past: Scholar\u2019s Taste in Chinese Art, Part II<\/a><\/p>\n

[7] The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Zhao Mengjian, Narcissus, 1973.120.4<\/a><\/p>\n

[8] Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art. Wu School Daylily<\/a><\/p>\n

[9] Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art. Vase with Osmanthus and Pomegranates, F1954.127a\u2013e<\/a><\/p>\n

[10] National Palace Museum. Auspicious Lily Imagery in Qing Decorative Art<\/a><\/p>\n

[11] Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Sacred Lotus<\/a><\/p>\n

[12] CCTV News. National Forestry and Grassland Administration Response Concerning a National Flower<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u6bd4\u8f0312\u7a2e\u4e2d\u570b\u82b1\u5349\u8c61\u5fb5\uff0c\u5f9e\u7261\u4e39\u3001\u84ee\u82b1\u5230\u6885\u82b1\uff0c\u4e86\u89e3\u85dd\u8853\u3001\u6b77\u53f2\u3001\u7bc0\u6176\u53ca\u8996\u89ba\u8a9e\u5883\u5982\u4f55\u5851\u9020\u5176\u542b\u7fa9\u3002<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3884,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[252],"tags":[255],"class_list":["post-3879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chinese-symbols-meanings","tag-flower-and-plant-symbolism"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chinaculturepro.com\/zh_hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3879","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chinaculturepro.com\/zh_hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chinaculturepro.com\/zh_hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinaculturepro.com\/zh_hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinaculturepro.com\/zh_hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3879"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinaculturepro.com\/zh_hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3879\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3883,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinaculturepro.com\/zh_hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3879\/revisions\/3883"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinaculturepro.com\/zh_hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chinaculturepro.com\/zh_hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinaculturepro.com\/zh_hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinaculturepro.com\/zh_hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}