(1) A symbol of national prosperity
When peonies are in bloom, they are full of flowers and brilliant. In the prosperous period of the Tang Dynasty, the whole country fell for it, and the peony flower season became the carnival of the capital Chang 'an. Liu Yuxi, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, couldn't help but praise: "Only peony is the true national color, and the capital moves when it blooms." Later, Li Zhengfeng wrote a famous sentence, "The national color is full of wine, and the fragrance is dyed at night", and even more, there is a good poem written by Pi Rixiu about peony: "When the residual red is exhausted, it will be fragrant, and it will be called the King of Flowers, and it will boast of chinese odyssey's beauty and monopolize the first spring in the world". Angel Han, a university student in Zhaowen Museum in the Northern Song Dynasty, praised peony with "national splendor". Thus, since the Tang and Song Dynasties, peony has become a symbol of good luck, happiness and prosperity, and it has been continued from generation to generation. In 1959, Premier Zhou Enlai said in Luoyang: "Peony is the national flower of our country. It is elegant and magnificent, and it is a symbol of the prosperity, happiness and happiness of our Chinese nation". Today, this cultural symbolic meaning of peony has been given a new meaning, because it very aptly represents the beautiful image of China's reform and opening up, with a bright future, and has distinctive characteristics of the times, expressing the ideals and aspirations of people of all ethnic groups throughout the country.
(2) Expectation and pursuit of a rich life
Peony flowers are purple and gorgeous, giving people a sense of wealth in temperament. Since the Song Dynasty, peony has been called "the flower of wealth". Speaking of the Song philosopher Zhou Dunyi's "Love Lotus Theory", he wrote: "Since Li Tang, the world has loved peony very much". "Peony, the flower is rich". Since then, peony has been closely linked with the word "wealth". Xu Wei, a famous Ming painter, wrote on the theme of Mo Peony Poetry: "Fifty-eight years of poverty and lowliness, why did you ever miss Luoyang Spring?" Otherwise, there will be less marriage and fat, and the rich flowers will write in ink. " He also called the peony "the flower of wealth". n Zhao Shixue of Heze in Qing Dynasty wrote "The Theory of Peony Wealth", and he wrote; "I see a peony flower, Grain Rain is open, the national color is unparalleled, and there is a unique wealth. What is comparable to this gorgeous person in the fragrant garden?" "That is to say, with the wealth of peony, it is rich, rich without arrogance, not a gentleman but a real gentleman; It is expensive, expensive and not awkward, and it is also a recluse. " In paintings and various arts and crafts of past dynasties, peony, as a symbol of wealth, has different meanings when combined with other flowers, birds and rocks.
It should be mentioned that in the old society, the word "wealth" seems to be a symbol of wealth and status in the exploitation stage. In fact, the word "wealth" itself is not occupied by the exploitation stage. In a certain sense, the development of human society is driven by the pursuit of material wealth and spiritual wealth. Confucius, the sage, said, "Being heartless and rich and expensive is like a cloud to me." He only opposes being rich and heartless, despises grabbing wealth by heartless means, and does not regard wealth as evil and heresy. In fact, in the folk culture mentioned later, the word wealth is widely used. Peony is endowed with rich character, which is precisely the essential connotation of peony winning the love of the broad masses of the people. In the old society, the poor working people were always thinking that they could get rich. The pursuit of wealth can be said to be the innate nature of human beings. For thousands of years, generations of China people have gone through hardships in their pursuit of a better life. Today, China's * * * production party has clearly stated that poverty is not socialism, and the fundamental way out for China is to take the road of * * * and prosperity. Peony represents the expectation and pursuit of the people.
(3) High moral integrity with strong bones and strong heart, not afraid of powerful people
People love peony, and it also endows peony with an excellent character that can represent the spiritual strength of the Chinese nation. In the legend of Wu Zetian's demotion of peony, Wu Zetian went to the garden in winter and ordered the flowers to open in a limited time. The flowers were awed by power and had to open. The peony alone did not bloom on time, but was ordered by Wu Zetian to be set on fire and demoted out of Chang 'an. In "Autumn Weng Encounters Fairy", a group of evil slaves destroyed the flower garden, and it was fairy peony who came in time to save the destroyed peony flower and severely punished the mob. Peony is not afraid of powerful people and evil forces, and is highly praised. She is considered to be "not particularly rich and gorgeous, but strong and strong, especially higher than thousands of flowers". As a "rich flower", peony is not delicate and fragile. She used to grow in the vast mountains. In modern times, due to the shrinking forest area and indiscriminate digging of medicinal materials, wild peony can only grow tenaciously in cliffs. On the arid and barren land of the Loess Plateau, she still blooms gorgeous flowers. As the Song of Peony sings, she really shows the virtue of "dedicating beauty to the world", a kind of selfless dedication.
Besides, in people's minds, peony is also the embodiment of beauty and the symbol of purity and love. The folk song "Huaer", which is widely circulated in northwest China, refers to peony, which is also the name of the man to the woman in the duet.
the country is prosperous, the family is rich and safe, and people like happiness and auspiciousness. These characteristics and meanings are both in peony!