The language and symbolic meaning of the chrysanthemum, a detailed explanation of the world's flower language

  A traditional Chinese famous flower. It is graceful and varied, yet does not seek favor with delicate and gorgeous looks, but wins with plain elegance and steadfastness, blooming after the hundred flowers have withered. People love its delicate charm, and even more love its proud spirit that blooms in frost and does not fall in the west wind.

  China has endowed it with noble and strong sentiments, and as a symbol of national spirit it is regarded as a national treasure and deeply loved. As a flower that defies frost, the chrysanthemum has always been favored by poets. The ancients especially loved to use the chrysanthemum to express their aspirations, comparing it to their own noble sentiments and unyielding integrity.

  Since the Song Dynasty, there has been an annual chrysanthemum festival among the people. In ancient myths and legends, the chrysanthemum was also endowed with meanings of auspiciousness and longevity. For example, the combination of chrysanthemum and magpie represents “the whole family rejoicing”; the combination of chrysanthemum and pine tree means “prolonging life”, and so on, and it is extremely widely used among the people.

  The chrysanthemum, along with plum blossom, orchid, and bamboo, has been one of the “Four Gentlemen” in the minds of Chinese literati since ancient times. The chrysanthemum is not only a portrayal of the personality and moral integrity of Chinese literati, but has also been endowed with broad and profound symbolic significance.

  1. Symbol of the hermit

  Since it was favored by Mr. Tao Qian, the chrysanthemum became “the recluse among flowers.” Tao Yuanming's "Harmonizing with Guo Zhubu": “Fragrant chrysanthemums bloom in the forest's radiance, green pines crown the rocky ranks. Cherishing this steadfast and beautiful posture, outstanding as a hero beneath the frost.” This precisely reflects his yearning for a quiet and leisurely life. Picking chrysanthemums leisurely beneath the eastern fence, as a pastoral poet and recluse, he endowed the chrysanthemum with a unique, transcendent air of the hermit, and from then on the chrysanthemum possessed the spirituality of the recluse.

  2. Symbol of the warrior

  The one who changed the image of the chrysanthemum as a recluse was, of course, Huang Chao, leader of the peasant uprising at the end of the Tang Dynasty. “In the rustling west wind they are planted all over the courtyard, their stamens cold and fragrance chill, butterflies find it hard to come. If in some year I become the Azure Emperor, I will report that they bloom together with the peach blossoms.” “Wait until autumn comes on the eighth day of the ninth month, after my flowers bloom all other flowers are killed. The soaring fragrance pierces Chang'an, and the whole city is clad in golden armor.” In his poems with obvious implied meaning and inclination, the chrysanthemum became a brave and strong warrior who has weathered many hardships, pleading for the people and carrying out heaven's will.

  At the same time, in Tang dynasty Cen Shen's "On the Ninth Day of the Marching Army, Thinking of My Old Garden in Chang'an": I force myself to climb high, but no one brings wine; from afar I pity the chrysanthemums of my old garden, which should be blooming beside the battlefield. The chrysanthemum also became a representative of soldiers.

  3. Symbol of sorrow