What can lotus flowers mean?
As one of the top ten famous flowers in China, lotus flowers not only decorate the water landscape with a graceful posture, but also carry profound cultural connotations. This holy flower standing upright on the water has been associated with Chinese civilization since the era of the Book of Songs. Its unique growth characteristics and rich color pedigree together weave a fascinating natural picture. The cultural meaning and spiritual symbol of lotus flowers are a perfect interpretation of the noble and clean character of Zhou Dunyi's "On Love Lotus", the famous ancient line "out of the mud without staining it" accurately captures the core symbolic meaning of lotus flowers. This plant takes root and germinates in the humus rich mud, but it can bloom clean and flawless flowers, just like a gentleman maintaining his noble integrity in the troubled world. Lu Jichang, a court painter in the Ming Dynasty, often used lotus flowers in his paintings, taking the metaphor of "the world is turbid and the world is pure." The multi-dimensional expression of emotional bonds The elegant practice of literati in the Song Dynasty giving each other lotus stems derived from the symbol of friendship that "lotus stems connect to the heart." The physical characteristics of lotus roots are endowed with the meaning of "endless love." The Yuan Dynasty drama "The Legend of the Western Chamber" uses the lotus as a metaphor for the lingering love between Zhang Sheng and Cui Yingying. The lotus seat in Buddhist culture elevates this plant to the level of spiritual belief. The homophonic connection between "green lotus" and "integrity" makes lotus flowers a special symbol of official culture. Lotus patterns were common in the patch pattern of official uniforms in the Ming Dynasty and the crown decoration of imperial censors in the Qing Dynasty. This visual symbol system constructed an important symbol of ancient clean government culture. Analysis of the diversity of lotus color varieties Natural pedigree of basic color systems More than 600 traditional lotus varieties in China have been registered, forming four basic color systems: white, pink, red and purple. The white color system is like "ice clear and jade clean", the pink color system "Drunken Hibiscus" gradually changes into the morning glow color, the red color system "China Red" shows strong enthusiasm, and the purple color system "Purple Qi Coming from the East" exudes mystery and elegance. Hybrid miracles of polychromatic varieties Modern horticultural technology has cultivated polychromatic varieties such as "Jinling Ningcui", and a single plant can show more than three color gradients. The "starry sky peony" cultivated through radiation mutation technology naturally forms star stripe roads on the petals. This breakthrough breeding achievement attracted attention at the 2019 International Water Lilies and Lotus Symposium. The technology of flower type evolution helps the evolution of flower types from traditional single-petal types to heavy-petal types and thousand-petal types, recording breakthroughs in breeding technology. The "Supreme Thousand Peaches" variety has more than 3000 petals per flower. Through genome editing technology, the development genes of flower organs are regulated, extending the viewing period to 45 days, setting a new record for continuous flowering of lotus flowers.
When we stop at the lotus pond, those swaying flowers are not only masterpieces of natural creation, but also a spiritual projection of human civilization. From the image of fragrant grass and beauty in "Chu Ci" to the ecological landscape of modern urban wetland parks, lotus flowers have always blossomed in two dimensions: aesthetic value and humanistic connotation. This lasting charm across time and space is the reason why it has become an eternal cultural symbol. The root.