Flowering plants flourish and wither, famous flowers of Yangzhou

Author: Gao Yongqing / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-03-01
Features: The Qionghua plant belongs to the Caprifoliaceae family and the Lonicera genus. It is a highly distinctive garden ornamental plant with strong local characteristics of Yangzhou. The tree has an elegant shape, dense foliage, and delicate-colored flowers, offering a unique ornamental effect. It is a deciduous or semi-deciduous small tree with spreading branches and a spherical crown. Young branches are densely covered with stellate hairs, while old branches are grayish-brown. The leaves are opposite, ovate or elliptical, with a rounded apex and slightly pointed tip, finely serrated margins, and stellate hairs on the underside. The inflorescences are corymbs with large white sterile flowers at the edges, usually eight in number. The center is filled with numerous hermaphroditic flowers. When in full bloom, the flowers are pure white like jade, emitting a fragrant scent. Eight white flowers surround a pale yellow center, appearing delicate and elegant, as described in the Yangzhou Prefecture Gazetteer: "The Qionghua flower is extremely similar to the 'Gathering of Eight Immortals,' with slightly yellow petals and a wonderful fragrance."
The drupes are elliptical, initially bright red, turning black later. The flowering period is from April to May each year, and the fruiting period is from October to November. It is a temperate, sun-loving tree that tolerates partial shade and is quite cold-resistant. It prefers rich, humus-rich loamy soil but does not tolerate waterlogging.
The Qionghua flower is a rare and famous flower in Chinese history and also a legendary flower of Yangzhou. Throughout history, many scholars and literati have written moving poems about it. The story of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty visiting Yangzhou to see the Qionghua flower adds a mysterious aura to this flower. In the Qionghua Collection by the Ming Dynasty scholar Cao Xueqin, there are 71 poems by literati from the Song Dynasty and later. Wang Yucheng, who served as the governor of Yangzhou during the second year of the Zidao era of the Northern Song Dynasty (995), wrote a poem about the Qionghua flower, describing it as follows in his text: "In the Houtu Temple of Yangzhou, there is a flower that is pure white and lovely. Its tree is large, and its flowers are abundant. I do not know what kind of tree it is, but it is commonly called the Qionghua." His poem reads:
"Who moved its tree to the fairyland below?
Light ice in February, frost in August;
If the Princess of Shouyang were present,
She would surely feel ashamed of her plum blossoms."
The poem by Han Qi of the Song Dynasty on the Qionghua flower is widely (popularized) by later generations. The poem is titled Ode to the Qionghua Flower in the Houtu Temple, and it includes the famous line: "In Yangzhou, there is a single flower, unmatched under the heavens;
Year after year in the Houtu Temple,
Only this Qiongyao is precious."
Another poem by Liu Cheng of the Song Dynasty reads: "The (East Wind) makes all trees bloom in splendor,
No flower in the world is as unique as this;
Its fragrance is unparalleled,
And its beauty is like flowing clouds."
Xian Yu, another poet who once served as the governor of Yangzhou, wrote: "Among all flowers in the world, many exist,
But the Qionghua is rare under heaven."
Among the most famous literati associated with the Qionghua flower is Ouyang Xiu. During his tenure as the governor of Yangzhou, he loved the Qionghua flower so much that he renamed the Fanyang Temple to Qionghua Temple and built a "Wushuang Pavilion" beside it to highlight its rarity. He wrote:
"The Qionghua and peony are unmatched in the world,
If I do not write a poem about it, I will regret it.
Having drunk beneath the Wushuang Pavilion,
I knew I had not disappointed the spring of Guangling."
This further enhanced the fame of the Qionghua flower. It is believed that the reputation of the Qionghua flower originated from the enthusiasm of literati during the Northern Song Dynasty. In only the Song Dynasty, nearly 100 poets wrote poems and verses praising the Qionghua flower, emphasizing in their writings that it was a unique product of Yangzhou. For example, Hu Su wrote: "In the five thousand miles of Chu land, only Yangzhou has this single stem." Han Qi wrote: "In Yangzhou, there is a single flower, unmatched under the heavens." Even in the Yuan Dynasty, people still held this view. The poet Chen Yi, in the preface to his Four Poems on the Qionghua Flower, wrote: "The Qionghua is a unique and miraculous tree of Guangling. Its spirit is rooted in Houtu, and it has repeatedly withered and flourished, surpassing ordinary flowers."
In the year of the fall of the Song Dynasty, the Qionghua flower suddenly withered. Modern floral researchers, based on various biological relationships between the "Gathering of Eight Immortals" and the ancient Qionghua flower, have determined that the ancient Qionghua flower was an excellent mutation variety of the "Gathering of Eight Immortals." According to the Hongwu Prefecture Gazetteer: "In the thirteenth year of the Zhiyuan era of the Yuan Dynasty, the Qionghua withered. In the thirty-third year, the Taoist priest Jin Bingrui planted the 'Gathering of Eight Immortals' in its place. From then on, any mention of the Qionghua in the Yuan Dynasty referred to the 'Gathering of Eight Immortals.'"
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