What is the reason orchids are called the Uncrowned King?

The so-called "Uncrowned King" refers to those altruists who are noble in character, broad-minded, outstanding in contribution, and modest and prudent.

The position of the orchid among the hundred flowers is precisely that of the "Uncrowned King."

Qu Jinze said in Linghai Lanyan: "The peony is the king of flowers, a true king; the orchid is the fragrance of kings, an uncrowned king."

The orchid is a thoroughgoing altruist that "does not cease to be fragrant because no one is around," whose "tiny heart is not large, yet it can hold so much fragrance," whose "fragrance covers a whole nation," and which "does not compete with peach and plum for spring."

The spirit of the orchid can be called the spirit of the willing ox: "what it takes in is clear water, what it gives is delicate fragrance." It is the "willing ox" among flowers.

People call the orchid the "Uncrowned King," which fully shows their admiration for the orchid's lofty spirit.

"To have its virtue but not its throne" - this is the position predecessors long ago established for Chinese orchids. If the orchid were given the status of "national flower," then the orchid would no longer be a "national orchid."

Some in orchid circles have complained that orchid growers themselves "lack the will to fight," asking why they do not strive for a true kingship for the orchid. In fact, these people have not truly understood the orchid either.

Zhang Yu of the Ming dynasty long ago made clear the orchid's breadth of mind: "It can be white and also yellow; though no one is around, it is fragrant by itself. Its tiny heart is not large, yet it can hold so much fragrance."

In fact, the predecessors in orchid cultivation already gathered the finest of the hundred flowers under the orchid's varieties. For example, among orchid petal types there are not only "plum petals," "lotus petals," and "narcissus petals," but also "peony petals," "chrysanthemum petals," and so on.

With its broad mind, the orchid embraces the strengths of the hundred flowers, which is enough to prove that the orchid is the gentleman among flowers and the spiritual leader of the hundred flowers.

In the minds of Chinese people, the orchid is forever the Uncrowned King among flowers.