What is the flower language of the white orchid? Let us learn about its legend and story
A Tang Dynasty poet praised it: "Gazing at the white orchid morning and evening, even in old age one finds spring again." If you admire the magnolia every day and breathe in its rich fragrance, you can keep a youthful heart despite growing old, hold onto the years, and remain forever young. The white orchid is deeply loved by consumers for its special effects in beauty care, bathing, food, and medicine. Now let us take a look at the flower language and legends of the white orchid!
What is the flower language of the magnolia?
Pure love, sincerity, gratitude.
What does it mean to give a white orchid? ⟧7⟧The magnolia represents gratitude. The magnolia often blooms large white flowers amid lush greenery, and its fragrant scent gives people an indescribable elegance, truly fresh and lovely. Because its plant is tall and its flowers bloom relatively high, it sways in the wind with a spirited air, like a heavenly maiden scattering flowers, very charming. New poems have grown old and are unbearable to hear; south of the Yangtze, a desolate lodge is cut off by autumn clouds. Passionate, it does not change its color year after year; through the ages its fragrant heart is offered to you.
Magnolia flowers represent gratitude. Magnolias often bloom with large white flowers amid lush greenery, and their fragrant scent conveys an indescribable elegance that is truly fresh and lovely. Because the plant is tall and the flowers bloom at a higher position, they sway in the wind with a spirited charm, like a heavenly maiden scattering flowers, very endearing. New poems have grown old and are unbearable to hear; the desolate lodge in Jiangnan is separated by autumn clouds. Affectionate and unchanging in color year after year, a heart of fragrance through the ages is held ever more for you.
The legend of the white orchid
It is said that long ago, at the foot of Mount Emei, there was a poor young man surnamed Li who made a living by picking up dog dung. He was born ugly, and people all called him Li Gou'er. When Gou'er grew to seventeen or eighteen, he saw that many young men in the village had married and started families, and he envied them greatly, hoping that such a day would come for him too.
One year, Li Gou'er heard that many young people in the village had gone into the mountains to gather orchids and sell them, and had made a fortune. He grew eager and also wanted to go into the mountains to gather orchids to sell, so that he could save up silver and marry and start a family.
One day, Li Gou'er followed the villagers into the mountains to gather orchids, but he found no orchids and got separated from the others. He came to the foot of a cliff, hungry and thirsty, and sat down leaning against the rock wall. Thinking of how miserable his fate was, he felt resentful, and could not help but pound the rock wall with his fist. Unexpectedly, with a "creak," the rock wall suddenly disappeared, and drifting clouds rolled and then spread out. In an instant, a wondrous world appeared. Li Gou'er craned his neck and looked: inside, there were sun, moon, stars, and planets in the sky, and plants, trees, flowers, and birds on the ground. Nearby there was a lawn, and on it were all the orchids he wanted to gather. These orchids were green as if dyed, blooming with all kinds of orchids and giving off waves of delicate fragrance that stirred the heart.
Li Gou'er was overjoyed, thinking how much money these orchids would sell for if he took them back. He stepped into the lawn and saw one orchid blooming with a snow-white flower, its petals like jade, its several-lipped center glistening. Delighted, he bent down to pull it. Suddenly someone patted his shoulder. He looked up and saw an old woman in blue-black clothes smiling at him, asking: "Li Gou'er, you want to steal my immortal herb, the white orchid!" Li Gou'er blushed and just grinned foolishly. The old woman said again: "This immortal herb of mine is a priceless treasure. If you take it back to the mortal world and plant it in fertile soil, after three days it will grant you one wish. The secret is to think of what you need in your heart and smell the white orchid with your nose." After saying this, the old woman disappeared.
Li Gou'er was overjoyed to have met an immortal. He bent down and had just pulled up that white orchid when he heard a burst of music, the immortal realm vanished, and he was standing in his own courtyard, holding that white orchid with its pungent fragrance.
Following the immortal's instructions, he planted this orchid in the fertile soil of the courtyard. Three days later, this wondrous immortal herb came to life, and the beautiful white orchid silently gave off fragrance, filling the courtyard with scent. Li Gou'er thought excitedly: My greatest wish is to have a wife. But what kind should she be? A beautiful one would be beyond his match, and an ugly one would be hard to look at. Ah, just ask for an ordinary-looking one, a bit bigger, as long as she has strength to work.
Once he made up his mind, he squatted beside the white orchid, thought of a big, sturdy woman, and smelled the white orchid with his nose. Suddenly the white orchid flashed and turned into a ball of white mist. The mist dispersed, and sure enough a woman appeared. This woman was tall and large-framed, broad-shouldered and round-waisted, looking very strong. She smiled and said to him: "My name is Bai Lanhua, and I am willing to spend my life with my husband."
Li Gou'er was so happy he could not close his mouth. Holding her hand, he said: "Gou'er may be ugly, but he is diligent; he may be poor, but he knows how to cherish a woman."...
After that, Li Gou'er truly cherished his wife. At home he rushed to do the work every day, and when he went out to pick up dog dung he worked harder than before. His wife's looks were not much, but her heart was kind, and she was very considerate of him. She said that picking up dog dung was dirty and tiring, and no longer let him do that trade. Li Gou'er said that without picking up dog dung he had no way to make a living. His wife laughed and said it did not matter. She pointed into the air, and shining white silver appeared on the table, piled into a small mountain. Li Gou'er had never seen so much silver and danced with joy.
Bai Lanhua was very capable. She hired people to tear down the broken house and built a new one; she had Gou'er take off his ragged shirt and put on a beautiful mandarin jacket; she said Gou'er was weak, so every day she cooked many delicacies from mountains and seas to nourish him.
Under his wife's careful care, Li Gou'er soon grew strong, and he also became younger and more handsome. He began to feel rather pleased with himself, and his eyes began to steal glances at the young women in the village. Somehow, the more he looked at the young women in the village, the prettier he found them, and the uglier his own wife seemed. He regretted it, thinking: I should have wished for the most beautiful woman. He felt wronged, and gradually began to look down on his wife.
Li Gou'er grew fat and lazy. He did not want to do the work at home, roamed around all day, often went to gambling houses and brothels, became corrupt and degenerate, and spent money like water.
When Bai Lanhua saw that he had changed heart, she was very sad. She advised him to conduct himself properly. He admitted it with his mouth, but not a word could enter his heart. He thought that since his wife was an immortal, the money would never run out, and there was nothing he, Li Gou'er, could not handle. He still did as he pleased, gambling and whoring all day, stopping at nothing.
There was no one in the area who did not know about Li Gou'er's family background. Seeing that he had suddenly become as rich as the God of Wealth, they all found it strange and suspected that his money came from unknown sources. Someone wrote a petition and submitted it to the Emei County office to accuse him.
The county magistrate of Emei was a corrupt official named Zhu Can, who judged cases by money, not by reason. Seeing that the accusation was against a poor bachelor who spent money like water, he also found it strange, so he sent runners to Li Gou'er's village to investigate. Upon investigation, they found that in Li Gou'er's home there was a woman of unknown origin. Zhu Can devised a plan and summoned Li Gou'er to the county office, where he hosted a banquet for him and made him tell the origin of his wife. Li Gou'er had never seen the county magistrate before. Now that he was invited to a banquet and asked to tell the origin of his wife, he was flattered beyond measure, and quickly told the whole story of how he went into the mountains to gather orchids, how he obtained the white orchid, and how he made the white orchid become his immortal wife. When Zhu Can heard this, he was both jealous and delighted. His eyeballs shifted, and he said: "Li Gou'er, the gambling house is not as good as the official court, and a beauty is not as good as an official's black gauze cap. How about exchanging your big sturdy wife?"
"Exchange wife" - Li Gou'er hesitated, but on second thought: "Being an official brings prestige, can bring honor to one's ancestors, and with power and influence one can do whatever one wants, with no worry about silver or women." So he nodded and agreed.
When Zhu Can saw that Li Gou'er had agreed, he immediately wrote an exchange contract and had him press his fingerprint on it.
The next day, Li Gou'er brought Zhu Can back home. He proudly told his wife about using her to exchange for the official's black gauze cap. When Bai Lanhua saw that her husband had actually done such a wicked thing, she trembled with anger, but she still gently advised him to take back the contract from the county magistrate, and not to forget the days when he had been a bachelor. When Li Gou'er saw that she had exposed him, he was both ashamed and angry, and cursed her as an ugly woman who wanted to cling to him for a living.
When Bai Lanhua saw that he was ungrateful and beyond saving, she glared hatefully at the county magistrate, then turned and said to Li Gou'er: "Gou'er, do not regret it!" With that, she walked straight into the bridal sedan.
Seeing that the deal was done, Li Gou'er quickly asked for Zhu Can's black gauze cap and put it on his head. When Zhu Can saw Bai Lanhua enter the sedan, he quickly told the bearers to return to the county office. At this moment, Li Gou'er suddenly discovered that the black gauze cap on his head was made of paper. He was furious at being cheated and wanted to rush out and stop the sedan. Zhu Can flew into a rage and ordered the runners to rush forward and give Li Gou'er a good beating. Then he set fire to his beautiful new house and had the bearers carry Bai Lanhua away.
Zhu Can's group had just carried the bridal sedan to a mountain hollow when the sedan suddenly became extremely heavy, and the bearers had to stop and rest. When Zhu Can saw this, he was furious. He did not believe the sedan could become heavier, so he cursed and walked toward the bridal sedan. Just as he was about to lift the curtain to see what was going on, the curtain suddenly shook violently, and a giant python rushed out from inside, frightening him out of his wits and killing him on the spot. Strangely enough, this python did not harm anyone else. It swayed its head and slowly swam toward Mount Emei.
Now, when Li Gou'er came to, he saw that the house had been burned down, and he had become a bachelor again, so he had no choice but to carry the dog-dung basket again and go back to his old trade.
Thus it is: the beauty of flowers should spread beautiful kindness throughout the world; the fragrance of flowers should spread fragrant love through society; the purity of flowers should offer pure sincerity to the ten directions; the colors of flowers should form ties with others through colorful good hearts. People are not as good as flowers, and even flowers can do nothing about it.