What are the flower language and legends of the Gesang flower? A complete analysis of its latest symbolism
The Gesang flower is also known as Gesang Meiduo, and there is widespread controversy over exactly what kind of plant it is. In Tibetan, "Gesang" means good times or happiness, and "Meiduo" means flower, so the Gesang flower is also called the happiness flower. For a long time it has carried the Tibetan people's beautiful feelings of longing for happiness and good fortune. Let us take a look below at the flower language and legends of the Gesang flower!
Gesang Flower Language
In Tibet, people often use the Gesang flower to express and give voice to beautiful emotions. It holds a very high place in the hearts of the Tibetan people and is regarded by Tibetan common folk as a holy flower symbolizing love and good fortune. In the long course of Tibetan history, the Gesang flower has existed as a spiritual presence in the hearts of the Tibetan people, becoming a symbol of their pursuit of happiness, good fortune and beautiful emotions. It is beautiful yet not delicate or gaudy, and it often becomes a byword for describing strong women. Because it loves the sunlight of the plateau and does not fear severe cold, wind or frost, it is regarded as a wildflower with the most tenacious vitality on the plateau. It is also the city flower of Lhasa, the capital of Tibet.
The Legend of the High Monk
A very, very long time ago, a severe plague broke out in the Tibetan region. People died in batch after batch, and the local tribal leaders tried every possible means but could not solve it. Then one day, a living Buddha from a distant land passed through this place and used a local plant to cure everyone. But in order to heal the common people, this high monk fell ill from prolonged overwork and unfortunately passed away. Because of the language barrier, people's only impression of the living Buddha was the word "Gesang" that he often said -- the plant used to treat illness. So people called this living Buddha "Living Buddha Gesang," and after that all beautiful things symbolizing hope and happiness were also called "Gesang." From then on, the most beautiful flower on the grasslands was called the "Gesang flower."
The Legend of the Heavenly God
"Gesang" was originally the heavenly god among the various Tibetan deities who governed human suffering and happiness. Because of human greed and ignorance, people recklessly slaughtered the living beings on the grasslands, which angered Heaven, so Heaven sent the "Gesang" heavenly god to the human world to punish humanity. After "Gesang" came to the human world, however, he found that long wars had already left this land without vitality, with plagues raging everywhere. So the heavenly god violated the heavenly decree, helped humanity defeat the plague, and gave humanity a chance to reform. In order to commemorate the heavenly god who saved them, people used the most beautiful and happiest thing in the human world, namely the Gesang flower, to remember him.
The Legend of the Sisters
A very, very long time ago, all flowers were daughters of the same mother, and these girls all lived in one big family. The Gesang flower and the snow lotus were once twin sisters, but later they separated because their personalities and their goals as they grew up were not the same. The snow lotus chose the high Himalayas. After some time, the Gesang flower missed the snow lotus very much, so it traveled a long distance to the Himalayas to see the snow lotus. When the Gesang flower arrived at the Himalayas, the snow lotus had already been covered by ice and snow into a pure white flower shape. The Gesang flower was very sad, so it turned into a fresh flower to accompany the snow lotus, and afterward they were together forever.
The Mongolian Legend
It is said that during the Yuan Dynasty, when the Mongol army entered Tibet and Tibet was incorporated into the territory of China's Yuan Dynasty, the Mongols brought China aster seeds from northern China to Tibet, and from then on they took root and bloomed in Tibet. That era was an unprecedented golden age in Tibetan history after the fall of the Tubo Dynasty. Phags-pa, who was granted the title of "State Preceptor" by Kublai Khan, then created the glorious Sakya, and successfully made the Yuan Dynasty imperial household accept Tibetan Buddhism, and Phags-pa became the imperial preceptor of the Yuan Dynasty. The China aster spread by the Mongols was planted and bloomed in monasteries and in many households, and the people of that era called it the "Gesang flower." The complete Tibetan word for "Gesang" is "Gebasangbu," where "Geba" means era or generations, and "Sangbu" means prosperity; put together, it means "flower of a prosperous age."