Selections from Ancient Books on Orchids

Author: Mo Lei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-04-01
Features: The Chinese people deeply love and cultivate orchids, naturally internalizing the essence of orchids within their hearts. From the time of the great sage Confucius, who, upon seeing fragrant orchids flourish alone in hidden valleys on his return journey, sighed, "Orchids should be the fragrance of the king," orchids have been imbued with profound cultural significance. Among China's various flowers, the cultural heritage of orchids is particularly rich. This book selects four representative ancient orchid classics—A Fragrant Record, Mirror of Orchids and Daffodils, Four Discourses on Orchid Cultivation, and Secrets of Orchid Cultivation—from the vast, glorious, and diverse history and culture of Chinese orchids. It allows fellow orchid enthusiasts to understand how ancient people nurtured orchids and how they identified orchid varieties. The book contains authentic knowledge in many aspects. Our motherland has a long history, and the Chinese civilization is outstanding. After Confucius sighed, "Orchids should be the fragrance of the king," there followed many praises of orchids, such as Qu Yuan of the Chu State, in his Li Sao, describing how he "wove autumn orchids into his belt." The Chinese people deeply love and cultivate orchids, naturally internalizing the essence of orchids within their hearts, and engaging in endless conversations with them, which gave rise to literary orchids and ancient orchid classics like A Fragrant Record, Mirror of Orchids and Daffodils, and Four Discourses on Orchid Cultivation. This book presents these works to a broad readership, allowing them to understand how ancient people nurtured orchids and how they identified orchid varieties.