What is the flower language of osmanthus chinensis
As one of the top ten famous traditional flowers in China, osmanthus has carried a unique cultural code since ancient times due to its rich aroma and golden color. Whenever the autumn wind brings a refreshing season, what kind of emotional code is hidden in the overflowing fragrance of osmanthus? What cultural genes have those legends that have been passed down for thousands of years revealed for us? Let us decode the deep meaning of this autumn fragrance through the prism of plant culture. Interpretation of the cultural symbol of osmanthus osmanthus The gift of the God of Harvest The osmanthus blossoms in August of the lunar calendar is the autumn harvest season, and its golden color forms a visual echo with the plump rice ears. In the Jiangnan area, farmers often dry newly harvested rice together with osmanthus, forming a bumper harvest of "golden osmanthus accompanied by golden rice." This seasonal characteristic makes osmanthus flowers a concrete symbol of a bumper harvest of grain, and has derived idioms such as "Toad Palace Comes to Osmanthus" that symbolize success in a career. The thousand-year inheritance of love tokens "Taiping Guangji" records the wedding customs of Tang Dynasty. The bride must have osmanthus branches in her hair, meaning "a noble son coming to the door." Modern botanists have found that the linalool component contained in the volatile oil of osmanthus flowers can stimulate the secretion of dopamine. This natural "love catalyst" may be the scientific basis for the ancients to use it as a token of love. The spiritual totem of eternal watch In Suzhou's classical gardens, the landscape technique of "double laurels in court" is common. Two symmetrical laurels express the vision of family prosperity. This configuration implicitly conforms to the philosophical thought of "Two Elements and Four Images" in the Book of Changes, and sublimates the plant landscape into a material carrier of the cosmology. The spiritual decoding of the legend of sweet-scented osmanthus, the moral enlightenment of the legend of Xianjiu, the legend of Xianjiu Lady evolved in different versions in the Song Dynasty's "Taiping Huanyu Ji". The plot of "referring to blood turning into springs" in the story is in line with the spiritual core of "Jingwei and reclamation of the sea" in "The Classic of Mountains and Seas", demonstrating the Chinese nation's moral pursuit of "sacrificing oneself for others." Modern psychological research points out that such legends shape the altruistic personality characteristics of Chinese people through collective unconscious influence. Scientific metaphor of the Moon Palace myth The legend of Wu Gang's attack on Guangxi contains ancient astronomical wisdom. The characteristics of laurel's "coming in with cutting" coincide with the observed phenomenon of periodic changes in craters on the lunar surface. The ancients embodied this astronomical spectacle into mythical narratives, creating a unique scientific expression paradigm. The modern cultural value of osmanthus flowers In the selection of the New Ten Scenery of Hangzhou's West Lake,"Manlong Guiyu" was elected with a high number of votes, confirming the continuation of osmanthus culture in contemporary times. Landscape scientists use the principles of sound-landscape design to incorporate the sound of falling flowers and the sound of wind shaking branches and leaves into the landscape system to create a multi-dimensional cultural experience space. The modern expression of this traditional symbol is a vivid footnote to cultural confidence.
From the "Aid the Big Dipper and Drinking the osmanthus syrup" in "Chu Ci" to the selection of city flowers in modern cities, osmanthus has always been the cultural coordinate of the spiritual world of China. When we stare at the golden flowers as fine as stars, what we see is not only the plants themselves, but also the collective memories of thousands of years of civilization. This cultural gene that travels through time and space is passed down from generation to generation with every wisp of cinnamon fragrance.