What are the other names for orchids? A quick guide to common aliases
I. Aliases for orchids based on their fragrant characteristics: 1. Guoxiang (national fragrance): This is the highest honor for an orchid. Huang Tingjian, in "Shu Youfang Ting": "When a scholar's talent and virtue surpass the whole country, he is called a national scholar; when a woman's beauty surpasses the whole country, she is called a national beauty; when an orchid's fragrance surpasses the whole country, it is called national fragrance." 2. Guxiang (ancient fragrance): Using "ancient" to describe fragrance means not only that the scent lingers long, but also that its quality is pure and its character simple and elegant. In the seven-character ancient-style poem "Langui Qu" by Sadula of the Yuan Dynasty: "The secluded orchid blows ancient fragrance day after day; the beauty does not come, and the stream flows long." The orchid waits for the beauty, and only the beauty is worthy of enjoying these waves of secluded orchid ancient fragrance.
I. Aliases for orchids based on their fragrant characteristics:
1. Guoxiang (national fragrance): This is the highest honor for an orchid. Huang Tingjian, in "Shu Youfang Ting": "When a scholar's talent and virtue surpass the whole country, he is called a national scholar; when a woman's beauty surpasses the whole country, she is called a national beauty; when an orchid's fragrance surpasses the whole country, it is called national fragrance."
2. Guxiang (ancient fragrance): Using "ancient" to describe fragrance means not only that this scent lingers long, but also that its quality is pure and good, simple, elegant, and clean. In the seven-character ancient-style poem "Langui Qu" by Sadula of the Yuan Dynasty: "The secluded orchid blows ancient fragrance day after day; the beauty does not come, and the stream flows long." The orchid waits for the beauty, and only the beauty is worthy of enjoying these waves of secluded orchid ancient fragrance.
3. Xiangzu (ancestor of fragrance): Many plants, especially flowers, have rich fragrance, but none has the delicate fragrance of the orchid, so people call the orchid the ancestor of fragrance. Wang Hao and others of the Qing Dynasty in "Guang Qunfang Pu", volume 44: "The orchid's secluded fragrance is clear and far-reaching, rich enough to cling to clothing, and does not fade for ten days; it often blooms in early spring. Even after ice and frost, it remains lofty and at ease, so in Jiangnan the orchid is regarded as the ancestor of fragrance." "Qing Yi Lu" also records: "Although the orchid puts forth only one flower, the room is also richly fragrant and striking, and it does not fade for ten days, so in Jiangnan the orchid is regarded as the ancestor of fragrance."
4. Wangzhexiang (king's fragrance): Guo Maoqian of the Song Dynasty in "Yuefu Shiji, Yilan Cao Xu": "Qin Cao says: 'Yilan Cao' was composed by Confucius. Confucius... returned to Lu from Wei, and in a hidden valley saw a fragrant orchid growing luxuriantly alone. He sighed deeply and said: 'The orchid should be the king's fragrance, yet now it grows luxuriantly alone and is mixed with ordinary grasses.' Thereupon he stopped his carriage, took up his qin, and played it, grieving that he had not met the right time, and entrusting his words to the fragrant orchid." Of course, in ancient times the greatest enjoyers of rare flowers and unusual plants were emperors and empresses, high officials and nobles, and powerful gentry families; "king's fragrance," however, is understood by later people as likely meaning the king of fragrances.
5. Diyixiang (first fragrance): "Guang Qunfang Pu" says: "The orchid has no equal, and is called the first fragrance." No other fragrance can keep pace with orchid fragrance, so it stands first, is the first fragrance, and is also called "the finest fragrance under heaven."
6. Shibu (ten paces): Qiao Yi, "Youlan Fu": "It thins the autumn wind while its fragrance fills ten paces; it bathes in bright dew while its flowers scatter over nine mu." The orchid is the national fragrance, spread afar by clear wind, with secluded fragrance unending, and is called "ten paces." Han Boyong, "Youlan Fu," also records: "Its fragrance extends within ten paces, its luxuriance within nine mu." Thus "ten paces" became another name for the orchid.
7. Xinxin (heart's fragrance): The rich fragrance of the orchid refreshes the heart and spleen and brings comfort and joy, so the orchid is called "heart's fragrance." Hao Jing, "Youlan Shi": "How lush the secluded orchid's quiet grace; heart's fragrance makes one forget delight in the eyes."
8. Qingzhongxiang (light and heavy fragrance): The fragrance of the orchid is carried by clear wind, and the orchid's atmosphere also slightly shows lightness or heaviness according to the force of the wind, so this became another name. Emperor Taizong of Tang, "Fanglan": "In the sunlight, uneven shadows; in the wind, fragrance carried light and heavy."
II. Aliases for orchids based on their color characteristics:
1. Danying (red tip): Some orchids are red, such as the orchid variety "Zhao Shifu" listed in "Guang Qunfang Pu": "The color is purple, with fifteen sepals; when first budding it is very red, and when it opens it is as dazzling as evening clouds, with color even more crystalline and bright." Another example is "Ma Datong": "The flower head is slightly large, with some pointing upward, and many red halos within." Thus Chen Youzhang, "Youlan Fu": "It opens pale yellow stamens and suddenly closes, and lifts red tips, how far away." "Red tip" became an alias for the orchid.
2. Zhurui (vermilion tassel): Rui means the appearance of a drooping flower. Chen Zi'ang, "Ganyu," second poem: "In secluded solitude it empties the forest's color; vermilion tassels cover purple stems." On purple stems, vermilion tassels stand out, meaning it is about to bloom.
3. Hongrong (red bloom): Red flowers. Li Bai, "To a Friend": "The orchid does not grow by the door; it is otherwise a grass of the idle courtyard. Long bullied by frost and dew, its red bloom has already grown old." After the orchid is damaged by autumn frost, the red fades and withers, and the flowers and leaves grow old.
4. Use (secluded color): Orchid leaves are generally dark green, so secluded color also became an alias for the orchid. Zhang Jiuling of the Tang Dynasty wrote 12 poems in "Ganyu," often using orchids and cassia to represent himself, showing a firm and unchanging, upright and unyielding character. The first says: "Purple orchids bloom on an empty path; bright dew takes away their secluded color." The Tang Dynasty landscape poet Wei Yingwu also has the line: "Purple orchids hold secluded color."
III. Aliases for orchids based on their posture and bearing:
1. Jingzi (quiet posture): Yang Wanli's five-character ancient-style poem "Inscribed on the First Blooming of Huihua": "In the lamp dream one gains secluded richness; the moon writes and transmits quiet posture." "Quiet posture" expresses the plain, quiet, and elegant living form of orchids and huilan.
2. Beijin (covering paths): In ancient times, orchids were often found on long sandbars by the water, so Ruan Ji's "Yonghuai Shi" has the line "Gaolan spreads over the paths." Emperor Wen of Wei, Cao Pi, also has the line "Autumn orchids cover secluded ravines," and Cao Zhi also has the line "Autumn orchids cover long slopes." It can be seen that autumn orchids grow very luxuriantly.
3. Ru meiren (like a beauty): Su Shi's five-character ancient-style poem "Inscribed on Yang Cigong's Spring Orchid" begins with full praise: "The spring orchid is like a beauty; unpicked, she blushes and offers herself." "Like a beauty" praises both its graceful, slender standing form and, of course, also implies a quality of chastity and purity.
4. Ziqiao (purple uplifted): Orchid leaves rise upward and then naturally bend, very leisurely and elegant. Chen Youzhang's "Youlan Fu" begins by describing this state: "How uplifted is this fine plant, alone forming national fragrance..., therefore purple uplifted for ten paces, its name spreads through nine mu; from below it rises together, its roots knit and its stems tower, its leaves spread more densely, and double yang is not yet late."
IV. There are even more substitutes for orchids based on their qualities:
1. Xiuzhi (fine quality): Yan Shigu, "Youlan Fu": "Singing of fine quality in the Chu fu, spreading fragrant fame in Han chapters." One word, "fine," fully summarizes the orchid's character. Emperor Xuan of Liang, "Lan Shi": "When it blooms, it does not contend in season; holding its fine quality, it yields to light frost."
2. Youke (secluded guest): "Secluded" is another quality of the orchid; secluded color and secluded fragrance also grow in secluded forests and secluded valleys, so calling the orchid a secluded guest is just right and hits the mark in one phrase. "Sanyu Zhuibi" records: "Zhang Minshu took twelve flowers as twelve guests, and the orchid as the secluded guest." This also personifies the orchid.
3. Dainü (waiting maiden): The orchid is a close friend of women; langgui, lanfang, lanshi, lanmeng, and lanzhao are all connected with the orchid, and because of this the orchid appears especially fragrant and extraordinary. "Cailan Zazhi" records: "The orchid is fragrant when planted together with a woman, hence it is called waiting maiden." The orchid also has the deep affection of children.
4. Gaobiao (lofty standard): The orchid's noble character and integrity have long been praised. Xiang Ziyin of the Song Dynasty, "Huanxisha," first stanza: "Among green jade clusters are purple jade branches; secluded flowers, sparse and pale, are even richer in fragrance; they do not let red powder stain their lofty standard." Of course, "lofty standard" here seems to refer to the green leaves standing above the secluded flowers, but its meaning lies in praising the orchid's elegant and spiritual quality.
5. Linggen (spiritual root): Spirit is another special quality of the orchid; it is not only connected with fine quality, but also seems related to the story of Duke Wen of Zheng's concubine dreaming of an orchid and giving birth to a son, so the ancients also called the orchid "spiritual root." The Ming Dynasty poet and painter Wen Zhengming wrote the seven-character regulated verse "Jianlan": "Cherish the spiritual root from east of Ou; two clumps of dark blue-green blow fragrance like jade." "East of Ou" refers to present-day Wenzhou and the northeastern Fujian area.
6. Yu shanren ju (dwell with good people): Comparing the orchid to a good person is also a kind of honorific title. The allusion comes from "Kongzi Jiayu": "Confucius said, to dwell with good people is like entering a room of zhi and orchids."
7. Xinliehou (Marquis of Fragrant Ardor): Xin refers not only to secluded fragrance, but also to noble and pure character. "Qing Yi Lu" records: "In the second year of Baoda of Tang, the sovereign visited Yinxiang Pavilion and admired new orchids, and ordered the garden director to take fine soil from Huxi as material for banking up the Marquis of Fragrant Ardor." This is another personified elegant title.
8. Yin Fengchu (drawing in the young phoenix): Fengchu refers to Pang Tong of the Three Kingdoms period, who was as famous as Zhuge Liang. The ancients compared the orchid to the worthy scholar Fengchu to express admiration. Yang Jiong of the Tang Dynasty, "Youlan Fu," says: "Formerly I heard that orchid leaves relied on the dragon diagram, and again it is said that the orchid forest draws in the young phoenix." From then on the orchid gained another name of an ancient worthy and wise scholar.
V. Aliases for orchids based on the season in which they grow:
1. Qingfen (clear fragrance): This refers to spring orchids. Spring has much rain and is suitable for orchid growth; if spring sun appears, then the secluded posture bursts forth, deep red and pale white, showing even more a thousand charms and a hundred graces. Song Lian of the Ming Dynasty, in the five-character ancient-style poem "Lanhua Pian," praises at the beginning: "The warm sun shines on nine mu; clear fragrance nourishes the green orchid." Therefore "clear fragrance" is an elegant name for the orchid.
2. Ji Luomei (following the fallen plum): This also refers to spring orchids. At the end of winter and beginning of spring, the orchid puts forth small buds. Yang Wanli of the Song Dynasty, in the first couplet of the seven-character regulated verse "Lanhua," says: "On a snowy path it secretly opens pale green flowers; icy roots wildly put forth small red buds." Here "snow" and "ice" not only carry meanings of color and purity, but also indicate that its growing season is spring when plum blossoms fall. Chen Youzhang's "Youlan Fu" has the line "It sends forth fragrance in the spring sun," and Su Zhe wrote two seven-character quatrains in "Youlanhua," the first saying: "Spring flowers wish to monopolize the craft of autumn wind; they urge out the secluded orchid to follow the fallen plum." From then on "following the fallen plum" also became an alias for the orchid.
3. Qiufang (autumn fragrance): Orchids include spring orchids, autumn orchids, and other varieties; autumn orchids send fragrance in autumn days. Li Yan of the Han Dynasty: "How late the autumn orchid blooms; harsh frost withers its branches." Fu Xuan of the Jin Dynasty: "Autumn orchids shade the jade pond; the pond water is clear and fragrant." These all praise autumn orchids. The Tang Dynasty poet Chu Kexi even said: "Among the clustered orchids there are many autumn butterflies." Therefore in ancient poems it is said "the orchid is fragrant in autumn," and "autumn fragrance" became an alias for the orchid.