What do orchids symbolize? A detailed explanation of orchid symbolism

Since ancient times, people have regarded orchids as a symbol of nobility, elegance, patriotism and unwavering fidelity. 

The symbolic meanings of orchids: nobility, elegance, patriotism and unwavering fidelity. Orchids represent unwavering love for the one who is not met. The flower language of orchids: beauty, nobility, virtue.

The orchid is a precious, wondrous herbaceous plant that grows in deep mountains and wild forests. "Evergreen, it braves the bitter cold; smiling, it passes the midsummer" (a line by Zhang Xueliang). Its character is noble, its branches and leaves are elegant, and its flowers are delicately fragrant and fresh. It is a spirit, an art, a sentiment and a realm, a culture rooted in the long history of the Chinese nation. Its character and style have become a symbol of the ideal personality of the Chinese people.

Confucius, the founder of Chinese orchid culture, used the spiritual temperament of "the fragrant orchid grows in a secluded valley, yet does not cease to be fragrant because no one is there; the gentleman cultivates the Way and establishes virtue, and does not change his integrity because of poverty and hardship" to symbolize a personality that remains firm and upward-looking, unshaken by poverty or disappointment. The patriotic poet Qu Yuan cultivated and praised orchids, expressing his own integrity of not drifting with the tide, not colluding with petty men, and remaining pure while all the world is muddy. Lu Xun, a modern Chinese writer, politician and thinker, loved orchids from childhood, and his deep bond with orchids added luster to orchid culture. Commander-in-Chief Zhu De loved orchids all his life, and even during the hard years of war he could not forget them; after the founding of the People's Republic of China, he vigorously promoted and spread orchid culture education, and gave famous orchids he had carefully cultivated for many years to many flower parks; Beijing Zhongshan Park, Shanghai Botanical Garden and others all have orchids he donated. Zhang Xueliang cultivated orchids with great care, and he evaluated orchids thus: "The orchid is the gentleman among flowers; its fragrance is light, its posture is elegant, and the realm of the orchid is deep and distant." He wrote a poem for orchids: "Its fragrance is renowned throughout the four seas, and it settles in ten thousand homes; its leaves stand embodying uprightness, its blossoms beautiful yet not ostentatious."

Famous painters in our country's history such as Zhao Mengjian, Zheng Sixiao, Zheng Banqiao and others, the orchids they painted expressed the elegant temperament, noble soul and rich spiritual connotations of the orchid, delighting the eye, cleansing the heart, and cultivating character, becoming excellent masterpieces passed down through the ages; and more cultural celebrities such as Confucius, Qu Yuan, Li Bai, Du Fu, Su Shi, Lu You and others, their acts of loving orchids, planting orchids and chanting of orchids made orchid culture a uniquely long-standing traditional culture and an excellent culture, and a symbol of noble and outstanding personality. All those who appreciate orchids, plant orchids, love orchids and chant of orchids draw moral strength from the orchid, thereby consciously shaping and elevating their own personality and breadth of mind, cultivating their character and enriching their spiritual world. Orchid culture nurtures, supports and drives generation after generation of people to love and grow orchids. Moreover, in the process of planting orchids, cultivating orchids, appreciating orchids, writing about orchids, painting orchids, and developing, selecting and breeding new and fine orchid varieties, orchid culture is inherited, broadened and developed. The various orchid events held frequently every year, the publication of a large number of orchid books and so on have powerfully promoted the orchid industry and the flourishing of orchid culture. And the selection of the orchid as the city flower in places all over the country, the building of orchid villages, specialized orchid markets, orchid theme parks, museums and so on have further deepened the atmosphere of orchid culture, enabling orchids and orchid culture to be better promoted and popularized, to enter thousands of households, and to write a new chapter of orchid culture.