I love orchids, and orchids love me too; this is my orchid-growing romance.

Promoting Chinese orchid culture and spreading orchid knowledge.

I love orchids, and orchids love me; the four seasons keep their time, and the warm fragrance arrives as promised. Among all orchids, the showy ones are noble and dignified, resolutely never flirtatious, delicate without being coquettish or vulgar, carrying an aloof and elegant spirit like that of immortals; among the cymbidiums, some are elegant, with icy flesh and jade bones, pure as snow and serene, just like a clear breeze and bright moon, and no single word "pure" can fully describe them. That is why Chinese literati across the ages have composed many fine works praising orchids and cymbidiums, some using objects to represent themselves, some expressing feelings through scenery, some declaring their aspirations through fragrance. Many fine poems like songs have endured for a thousand years without ceasing.

The famous patriotic poet Qu Yuan devoted his whole life with utmost loyalty and wisdom, worrying for his country and its people. Though he cherished lofty ambitions, he was repeatedly slandered and alienated. During his exile he was grief-stricken and lonely, and often took orchids and cymbidiums as his companions, writing many immortal poems. In "Nine Songs: Master of Fate" Qu Yuan once sang in praise of the beauty of orchids: "The autumn orchid and the elsholtzia, spread out below the hall. Green leaves and white branches, their rich fragrance assails me; the autumn orchid so green, green leaves and purple stems. The hall is full of beauties, yet suddenly only I am singled out by a glance." This poem is devoted to the graceful bearing of the orchid, truly elegant and free, full of vitality, like a vivid painting, overflowing with ink fragrance and trailing purple clouds. In other works such as "Li Sao" and "Nine Songs," Qu Yuan also wrote in succession: "I planted nine fields of orchids, and set a hundred mu of cymbidiums," "I bathed in the orchid soup and washed in fragrance, stitching autumn orchids to wear as a pendant," "The days grow dim and it will soon be over; I knot the hidden orchid and linger," "Each household wears mugwort filling the waist, and says the hidden orchid is not to be worn." This way of keeping company with orchids, befriending them, and using them to express his inner vision and state of mind fully reveals the precious quality and character of Chinese literati: though repeatedly suffering hardship, their spiritual pursuit remains unswerving.

The gentleman loves orchids, and orchids and cymbidiums favor the gentleman. Regarding Qu Yuan and orchids, there is also a very interesting legend: during the reign of King Huai of Chu, Qu Yuan was framed by treacherous ministers, stripped of his office and dismissed. He returned to his old hometown of Guizhou, which is present-day Zigui County, Hubei Province, and set up a school at Jiuwan Stream below Xiannv Mountain, personally teaching the local disciples, determined to cultivate more talent for the state of Chu. According to legend, the line in "Li Sao," "I had planted nine fields of orchids," refers to this very place. It is said that one day the Orchid Fairy of Xiannv Mountain went out for pleasure. As she rode her auspicious clouds past this place, she suddenly heard Qu Yuan's voice lecturing. So she descended from her cloud and stood beneath the window, listening attentively. The thin Qu Yuan had the bearing of an immortal; he waved his hands and spoke passionately, telling entirely of how to revive the state of Chu. His unswerving patriotic spirit deeply moved the Orchid Fairy, so as she left she deliberately cast a spell and transformed the three blooming orchids beneath the window into spirits. Strangely enough, after these orchids received the immortal magic, they took root as soon as they entered the soil, sprouted new shoots the next day, extended branches and leaves on the third day, burst into bud and bloomed on the fourth day, grew from a single plant into a clump on the fifth day, and from a clump into a root-mass and thicket on the sixth day. In this way, after class each day Qu Yuan led the students to plant them along the stream, and as time went on orchids spread across the mountains and plains. The woodcutters in the mountains all said with delight: "This magical mountain village of ours really ought to be renamed Zhilan Township." Afterwards, the orchids spread from three fields to six fields, and from six fields gradually to nine fields. From then on, this clear stream below Xiannv Mountain was also called Jiuwan Stream. From then on, the orchids by Jiuwan Stream flourished more each year, their fragrance intoxicating, their beauty shining over the Chu skies! Nowadays in Hubei, at the occasional Zhilan Temple, one may see the celebrated orchid variety "Dafu Su," said to have been Qu Yuan's favorite in his day. Later generations, in order to commemorate and honor this great patriotic poet, have greatly respected and treasured it. If one places a pot on a desk in a study, it must be a joy for a reader.

In legend, Qu Yuan had an indissoluble bond with orchids; in reality, the widely circulated poems praising orchids all reflect his figure. The literary form he created, "Chu Ci," that is, the style of "ci and fu," for thousands of years has not only shone brilliantly by celebrating the beautiful image of orchids, but also, by displaying orchids, has expressed various laments and pursuits. Orchid - ci and fu, ideal - life: Qu Yuan and the orchid achieved eternal life in their perfect blending. In poems such as "Li Sao," "Nine Songs," and "Nine Chapters," Qu Yuan wrote of how he planted orchids, cultivated orchids, stitched orchids, gathered orchids, and cut orchids. He placed infinite hope in orchids: "I had planted nine fields of orchids, and also set a hundred mu of cymbidiums... when the branches and leaves are tall and luxuriant, I will wait for the time to cut them." He took orchids as friends and treated them as kindred spirits: "The days grow dim and it will soon be over; I knot the hidden orchid and linger." He took orchids as ornaments to express his own purity like fragrant grass: "Girding on Jiangli and Bijhi, I stitched autumn orchids to wear as a pendant." He also worried that orchids might wither in the autumn wind and cold dew and follow the vulgar crowd, changing their integrity and losing their fragrance: "The times are chaotic and ever-changing; how can one stay long? Orchids and angelicas have changed and lost their fragrance; sweet flag and calamus have turned into weeds." The above are only a few examples of orchids cited in "Li Sao," from which one can see how deeply Qu Yuan loved orchids, praised them, poured his feelings into them, and used them to satirize. Here the orchid is not a simple metaphor or a trigger for emotion, but a symbol, an entrustment, an incarnation of spirit and personality.

Sources show that the orchid is not only the figure and incarnation of the gentleman, but also a auspicious grass. Where a place thrives and flourishes, orchids will grow luxuriantly; if a household is not going smoothly, one may plant several more pots in the hope of turning things around. As early as the Wei and Jin period, Ji Kang, one of the "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove," once praised orchids in verse: "Luxuriant orchid mist, planted there in the Central Plain. Green leaves grow in secluded profusion, beautiful blossoms rich and abundant. Fragrant, fragrant cymbidium aroma, carried by the wind and spread abroad, about to enter the pepper chamber, exhaling fragrance in the dragon pavilion. I look at those autumn grasses, and lament - only to soar." This poem uses autumn grass as a metaphor; it not only praises the color and fragrance of the orchid, but also emphasizes its role of fragrance in the pepper chamber, fully expressing the poet's admiration and attachment to orchids.

Chen Zi'ang, a great talent in the history of Chinese literature and a poet of the Tang Dynasty, also once praised orchids in a poem: "The orchid grows in spring and summer, how green and lush. In the secluded empty forest its color stands alone, red blossoms emerging from purple stems. Slowly the white day grows late, slender autumn winds arise. The years' splendor all shakes down; what becomes of its fragrant intent!" This poem first describes the luxuriance of orchid leaves, then recounts the beauty of orchid flowers, then tells of the orchid's fearlessness as it bathes in the autumn wind, and finally sighs with sorrow at the orchid left in the wild ridges. Through different laments about the orchid in the four seasons, the poet entrusts his own unrecognized talent and aspirations, depicting scenery and stating his aims, with deep feeling.

Zhu Xi, the great master of Neo-Confucianism in the Song Dynasty, also wrote many poems praising orchids, such as "Praising the Cymbidium": "Today's flower has gained an ancient name, more beautiful and fragrant still. Content, one wishes to forget words; how could dusty tomes grow old?" So it turns out that the Confucian master who expounded the classics and discoursed on the Way could not only comment on the classics of predecessors, but also freely express his innermost preference and joy, even at times speaking contentedly beyond restraint, forgetting himself in delight. Another example is "Orchid Stream": "Bright wind floats over the jade-green stream, orchids and angelicas day by day lean and sway; all year no one gathers them, their fragrance known only to themselves." Here he not only depicts the orchid's disappointment when no one appreciates or picks it, but also shows sympathy and concern for the orchid's lonely circumstances. Another example is "The Autumn Orchid Has Withered, I Return Its Roots to Xuegu": "When autumn comes, a hundred grasses fade, lonely cold dew nourishes. Once the orchid bank withers, weeds cannot be controlled. Sitting upright, I think of separation and solitude, with nothing to leave to those I think of. I wish to entrust my solitary regret, and set the end of the year as the appointed time." In the autumn wind and cold dew, the orchid withers, its leaves decay, but its dragon roots do not wilt; the whole poem is filled with firm faith in the future.

The ancients were like this, and modern people are the same. The famous anti-Japanese general Zhang Xueliang loved orchids all his life. He believed that "the orchid is the gentleman among flowers; its fragrance is light, and its bearing is elegant." In his later years he once said he "lived a life in which beauties and famous flowers delighted together." "Famous flowers" meant orchids. In a poem praising orchids he wrote: "Its fragrant name is known throughout the four seas, and it has settled in ten thousand homes. Its leaves stand containing upright spirit, its blossoms beautiful without ostentation. Evergreen, it battles severe cold, smiling through high summer. Truly the gentleman among flowers, its graceful bearing entrusts nobility." Words of gold and jade, with profound meaning, its praise of the orchid is all the more penetrating.