Orchid Variety Yushen Su: Wu Yingxiang's Discussion

     I. The Name and Its Origin

Yushen lan is also known as Yuzhen, Yuzhen, Baipao lan, Yuchen, Yuchen, Paohua, Zhaohua, Zhaolan, Chujiabai, Yugan, and so on. According to the explanation in the Kangxi Dictionary, the character "zhen" has two readings: (1) pronounced shen, meaning fish roe; (2) pronounced chen, same sound and meaning as chen (sink). The zhen in Yuzhen lan is the same as the character chen, pronounced chen; I previously wrote it as shen, and this should be corrected.

According to the record in "Tracing the Fragrant Countenance of Yuzhen" by Mr. Chen Renshui of Yongfu Middle School in Zhangping, Fujian (Chinese Orchids, 1993, issue 4), there is a passage whose authenticity I consider relatively high. He wrote: ... When this su orchid is at its most luxuriant it can reach 12 flowers, with a particularly delightful fragrance and pure white, crystalline flower color. If the buds are thrown into a stream, they look like water bubbles, and some call it "Baipao lan" (white bubble orchid); when children played, they often sank the orchid petals into the mountain stream to play hide-and-seek, and the children's playful words "orchid bathing" gave it the name "Yuchen" (bathing sink); those pure white, crystalline petals floating in the clear, slow-flowing stream would not sink straight down and were not easy to find, so the children often said "the sunken fish has fled," giving it the names "Yuchen" (fish sink) and "Paohua" (running flower). In Min dialect, "Paohua" is homophonous with the Mandarin "Zhaohua," "Yuchen" (fish sink) is homophonous with "Yuzhen" (fish pillow), "Yuchen" (bathing sink) is homophonous with "Yuzhen, Yuzhen" (jade pillow, fish pillow), and "Baipao lan, Pao lan, Yushen" refer to the flower petals being clear and translucent, like a fish sinking in water without a trace.

In the "Ranking of Grades" section of the Jinzhang Lanpu, there is a record that "Zhaohua is also an extraordinary rarity beyond the grades." It can be seen that Zhaohua comes from the Min dialect Paohua.

     II. Records in Ancient Texts and Transmission

In the Song dynasty work Jin'e Lanpu - Narrating Orchid Appearance and Substance by Zhao Shigeng, it is recorded: "Yuzhen lan, twelve sepals, flower petals clear and translucent, just like a fish pillow; when picked and sunk in water, no shadow can be pointed to. The leaves are rather stiff, green in color; this is a rare variety of white orchid."

What is recorded in Wang Guixue's Wangshi Lanpu is basically the same as in the Jinzhang Lanpu: "Yuzhen lan is also called Zhaolan, with twelve sepals; the flower petals are clear and translucent, just like a fish pillow; when picked and sunk, no shadow can be pointed to. The leaves are rather stiff, green, with tips slightly curved. This is a rare variety of white orchid."

It can be seen that Yuzhen lan existed as early as before the books by Zhao and Wang were written. Having passed through the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, it still multiplies in various places down to the present day. However, neither of the above two books states its place of origin. According to Mr. Chen Renshui's account, the place of origin of Yuzhen lan is Beishan Village at the border between Longyan and Zhangping in Fujian. During the Northern Song period, two great clans surnamed Lei and Lu originally lived there. First the Lei clan possessed Yuzhen lan, and after migration it was passed to the Lu clan, and in the Qing dynasty the Lu clan passed it to the Chen clan ancestor Chen Ruji (an imperial rear guard and General Weiyuan of the Qianlong era), who was an orchid enthusiast and friendly with Zheng Banqiao and others of the time. Thereafter, it was continuously handed down into modern times.