Latest interpretation of the flower language and legends of the corn poppy
The corn poppy is also known as the beauty of spring, rivaling the peony, and so on. It is an annual herbaceous plant in the poppy family, Papaver genus, with rich flower colors including white, purple, red, and so on. Its blooms are vivid and gorgeous, and in ancient times it was an object of praise for most men of letters, often an image in their poetry, carrying a certain symbolic meaning. Now let us take a look together at the flower language and legends of the corn poppy!
The flower language of the corn poppy
The corn poppy symbolizes parting in life and death, and sad songs. The corn poppy's flowers are rich and varied in color. When in bloom, its thin petals are as thin as silk, smooth and lustrous like satin, and its light flower crowns resemble red clouds and colorful silk. Even without wind it seems to sway on its own, and when the wind blows it appears to float as if about to fly, quite beautiful. The red corn poppy symbolizes great extravagance, charm, and enchantment; the white corn poppy symbolizes comfort, pride, and holy purity; the purple corn poppy symbolizes comfort, rest, and forgetting.
The blooming period of the corn poppy
March to August. The corn poppy is propagated by sowing seeds, usually cultivated as a biennial. It can be sown in spring or autumn. Generally, spring sowing is in March to April, with the blooming period in June to July, while autumn sowing is in September to November, with the blooming period in May to June of the following year. The flowers are solitary at the tops of the stems and branches, covered with pale yellow spreading bristles. The flower buds are oblong-obovate, the anthers are oblong, the ovary is obovate, and the flowers are white, purple, red, and so on.
The legend of the corn poppy
It is said that in the last years of the Qin Dynasty, when Chu and Han contended, Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Western Chu, was defeated and surrounded by Han troops at Gaixia. Knowing that it would be difficult to break out of the siege, Xiang Yu drank at night with his favored concubine Yu Ji. Suddenly hearing Chu songs rising on all sides, he could not help but sing a impassioned lament: “My strength plucked up the hills, my might overshadowed the world. But the times are against me, and my horse no longer gallops. If my horse no longer gallops, what can be done? Yu, oh Yu, what shall I do about you?” Yu Ji also felt that the situation was hopeless, and with tears she sang the "Song of Gaixia" and danced, singing: “The Han troops have already seized the land, Chu songs rise on every side. The Great King's spirit is exhausted; how can this humble concubine live on!” After the song ended, she drew the sword from Xiang Yu's waist, held it across her neck, and immediately blood gushed forth, and her fragrant soul and fair body perished.
Later, on Yu Ji's grave grew a kind of grass, shaped like cockscomb, with opposite leaves, soft stems and long leaves, moving without wind, like a beauty dancing gracefully, charming and lovely. Folk legend says this was transformed from Yu Ji's sincere spirit, so this grass was called “Yu Meiren grass,” and its flower was called “Yu Meiren.” The bright red on the corn poppy's flowers is said to have been dyed by the blood splashed from Yu Ji. It seems that after Yu Ji's death she still remained; she became the Yu Meiren grass, blooming every year in the period between late spring and early summer. Even after turning into a grassy, woody form, she remains persistent, still keeping that same steadfastness and vigil for the Hegemon-King, and as before, ceaselessly showing her smiles and dancing with fluttering garments for the Hegemon-King all year round.