The Latest Detailed Guide to Rose Flower Language and Legends
Most roses are world-famous ornamental plants, widely distributed across the cold temperate to subtropical regions of Asia, Europe, North Africa, and North America. After roses were introduced to China in the 18th to 19th centuries, they were crossed and repeatedly backcrossed with existing varieties, giving rise to cultivars such as Chinese rose, tea rose, wild rose, and rose. Now let us take a look at the flower language and legends of roses!
The Flower Language of Roses
Beautiful love, the longing of love. In China, roses represent love, and people love to use roses in flower baskets to heighten a joyful atmosphere. When distinguished guests visit, presenting a bouquet of red roses expresses a warm welcome. Young men and women exchanging red roses signifies the feeling of first love. For marriages, giving red or pink roses expresses wishes for the newlyweds' happy marriage and good fortune. Exchanging brightly colored roses during festivals expresses festive blessings.
The Symbolism of Roses
Many ancient civilizations around the world regard the rose as a symbol of truth, goodness, and beauty. In Europe, giving a single rose expresses a declaration of love. In France, a red rose means “I have fallen madly in love with you,” while a white rose means love is quietly budding. Iran has designated the rose as its national flower. The United Kingdom has designated the rose as its national flower, but does not clearly distinguish between roses, Chinese roses, and wild roses; all three are equally cherished, and red roses, like roses, are used as Valentine's Day flowers.
The Legend of the Rose
It is said that long ago, at the foot of Tianmu Mountain in Zhejiang, there lived a family. The daughter was named Qiangwei. Her father had passed away early, and she and her mother depended on each other, living a hard life. A young neighbor named Akang was kind-hearted and eager to help others, and often helped Qiangwei gather firewood and fetch water. As time went by, the two fell in love with each other and privately pledged to marry.
One year, the emperor issued a decree to select beautiful women for the palace, and Qiangwei was chosen. When the girl learned of this, she fainted on the spot. The officials pressed her family, insisting on taking her to the capital. Her mother begged bitterly, and only then did they agree to postpone it for two days. Kind-hearted villagers secretly told Qiangwei to hide deep in the mountains, and if the authorities came looking for her, to say she had died of a sudden illness.
Unexpectedly, word of this leaked out, and a greedy person informed the authorities. The county magistrate reported it to the imperial court, and the emperor was furious, ordering a pursuit: if she was alive, they wanted her person; if dead, they wanted her corpse. Akang and Qiangwei fled together into the deep mountains, but how could walking outrun horsemen? Hearing the hoofbeats drawing near, and to avoid implicating Akang, Qiangwei resolutely leaped off a sheer cliff. Akang was overcome with grief and jumped down after her. The pursuers searched and found two bodies at the foot of the cliff and carried them back to the capital.
When the emperor saw the bodies, he was both angry and hateful, and ordered people to pour oil and burn the corpses, but after burning for a full day and night, the bodies' color did not change and they remained intact. He then ordered people to raise knives and dismember the corpses, but the steel blades could not cut into them. The emperor, enraged and humiliated, ordered the bodies thrown into the sea, but the corpses would not sink. At this point, complaints arose throughout the court and among the people, who condemned the emperor's cruelty. The emperor did not dare continue his misdeeds, and ordered the bodies retrieved and buried together at the foot of Tianmu Mountain.
Before long, a beautiful flower grew on that new grave, with many thorns on its stem. People all said this flower was transformed from the girl Qiangwei, and the thorns were born from Akang to protect Qiangwei, hence the name “Qiangwei” (rose).
Complete Guide to Rose Flower Language
1. Red rose: passionate love. The red flowers give a feeling of passion and boldness. The flower language of the red rose is passionate love, suitable for use when declaring love, and an excellent gift for first-time lovers.
2. Pink rose: vow of love, holding your hand, growing old together with you. Pink roses give off a romantic air, representing “I want to spend my whole life with you” and “I want to marry you,” suitable for use when proposing.
3. White rose: pure love. White is the purest, most flawless color, and the white rose represents pure love.
4. Yellow rose: eternal smile. Yellow is a warm color, and the yellow rose can soothe a restless heart, representing an eternal smile and forever protecting you.
4. Dark red rose: only want to be with you. The dark red rose gives a feeling of firmness and certainty, and its flower language is “only want to be with you” and “only want to know you alone.”
5. Wild rose: romantic love, repentance. Cultivated roses do not bear fruit, but wild roses grow lovely, vivid red fruits. Besides rivaling other roses in appearance, the fruit is also edible. This flower has a poet's temperament, so its flower language is romance.
6. Christmas rose: love in remembrance. The flower language of the Christmas rose is love in remembrance, expressing nostalgia for a love that has passed. If you want to win back a parted lover, you might consider giving a bouquet of Christmas roses.
7. Black rose: gorgeous love. Black is the most mysterious color. The black rose represents gorgeous love, desperate love, hatred, curses, and “you are mine,” expressing obsession and extremism in love, which is the most resplendent aspect of love.
8. Rockrose: rejection. Rockrose is a kind of grass, and herbivorous animals deliberately avoid eating it, mainly because its sap is toxic, and slight contact causes skin redness and swelling. Therefore the flower language of rockrose is -- rejection.
9. Blue rose: despair. Blue is the color of melancholy, and looking at a blue rose, one feels an indescribable sorrow; the blue rose represents despair.
10. Purple rose: imprisoned love. The purple of the purple rose symbolizes love that cannot be obtained. If you love her, express it aloud and let the world witness it for us, but the purple rose is like a confinement, making love impossible to express.