What are the alternative names for the lotus? The latest complete list of lotus aliases
The lotus is the general term for two species of plants in the genus Nelumbo in the family Nelumbonaceae of the order Proteales, a perennial aquatic herbaceous flower with many varieties, divided into two major categories, ornamental and edible, native to the tropical and temperate regions of Asia. In China, records of its cultivation date back as early as the Zhou Dynasty, and it has always been one of the subjects sung and painted by poets and literati through the ages. Now let us take a look together at what alternative names the lotus has!
What are the alternative names for the lotus?
Lianhua, Fuqu, Fentuolihua, Shuizhi, Shuiyun, Shuimu, Zezhi, Shuihua, Handan, Shuidancao, Furong, Shuifurong, Yuhuan, Liuyuechun, Zhongguolian, Liuyuehuashen, Ouhua, Lingcao, Yuzhi, Shuizhongfurong, Shuigongxianzi, Junzihua, Tianxianhua, Hongqu, Xike, Bihuanbianrong, Bianqu, Jinfurong, Caofurong, Jingke, Cuiqian, Hongyi, Gonglian, Fozuoxu, and so on.
The lotus's growing environment
The lotus is an aquatic plant. It likes relatively stable, calm shallow water, and lakes, marshes and ponds are suitable places for it to grow. Its water requirement depends on the variety. Large varieties such as Gudaidian and Hongqianye need a relatively deeper water level, but it must not exceed 1.7 m. Small and medium varieties are only suited to a water depth of 20-60 cm. At the same time, the lotus is very sensitive to loss of water. In summer, if it is not watered for just 3 hours, the lotus leaves planted in a water vat will wilt. If the water is stopped for one day, the edges of the lotus leaves will scorch and the flower buds will wither back. The lotus also very much likes light, and during its growth period it needs a full-light environment. It is extremely intolerant of shade, and when grown in half shade it will show a strong phototropic tendency.
The origins of the lotus's alternative names
1. Hehua (lotus): Li Shizhen explained in the Compendium of Materia Medica: “The lotus stem bears leaves above, and the leaves bear flowers above, hence the name.”
2. Furong: also called “Furong.” The Han dynasty dictionary Erya explains: “Furong is the spreading of the cattail.” In addition, the Shuowen Jiezi says: “Before it opens it is Handan; after it opens it is Furong.” Li Shizhen also said that Furong means “the meaning of spreading beauty,” no wonder the Han dynasty writer Sima Xiangru likened his wife Zhuo Wenjun to a lotus emerging from the water.
3. Shuizhi, Shuihua, Shuiyun, Shuidan, Shuimu, Zezhi: because the lotus is a perennial root aquatic plant, the ancients classified it as a water grass, and the names given to it mostly begin with the character “shui” (water). The Three Kingdoms writer Cao Zhi praised it in his Ode to Furong: “Surveying the flourishing beauty of a hundred plants, none has the unique spirit of this flower,” likening the lotus to the lingzhi of the water.
4. Junzihua, Lingboxianzi, Shuigongxianzi, Yuhuan: according to the Beimeng Suoyan, during the Yuanhe period of the Tang Dynasty (806-820), Su Changyuan lived in Wuzhong (present-day Suzhou) and encountered a young woman in plain clothes with a powdered face, who gave him a jade ring. Not long afterward, he found that lotuses were blooming in the pond in his courtyard, and in the flower center there was also an identical jade ring, but “when broken, it was gone.” Later people therefore also called the lotus Yuhuan.
5. Liuyuehuashen: in the ancient Jiangnan custom, the 24th day of the sixth lunar month was the lotus's birthday, and so the lotus also had the elegant title “Liuyuehuashen.”
6. Jinfurong, Caofurong: in order to express appreciation for the lotus's noble and pure form, Jinfurong and Caofurong were used to compare the rarity of the lotus's character.
7. Xike, Jingke, Cuiqian, Hongyi, Gonglian, Fozuoxu: Xike and Jingke emphasize the lotus's growing environment and its quiet, refined state; Cuiqian is an elegant name for the new lotus; Hongyi is another name for lotus petals; Gonglian is a fine name for lotus petals; and Fozuoxu is another name for the lotus stamens.