Why does the peony become the "national flower" by surpassing the peony?

Although there is no final conclusion, if asked what China's national flower is, many people's first reaction is peony.

Peony is one of the most representative plant groups in China . All wild species of peony are unique to China , and the development and changes of peony varieties are deeply connected with China's historical changes. At the same time, they are also profoundly influencing Chinese culture . We can see the prosperity and wealth of the Tang Dynasty in the Central Plains peony, the cultural collision of the Song Dynasty in the Jiangnan peony, and the rise and fall of the country in the repeated peony craze and decline.

The most colorful of all flowers | Fanghong / wiki commons

Wuming was once called "wood peony"

Although the peony is much more famous than the peony today, the name peony appeared much earlier than the peony. Before the Qin Dynasty, the ancients did not distinguish between peonies and peonies, and mostly referred to them as peonies . In the Qin and Han Dynasties, China began to call peonies "wood peony", just like the West still calls peony "peony" and peony "tree peony". However, not long after, the name "peony" also appeared, and completely replaced "wood peony" in the Tang and Song Dynasties.

The name of peony means the male of red flowers . "Mu" refers to male animals and male plants. In peony, it has an extended meaning - a plant that can reproduce asexually (vegetatively) and old plants produce new plants; and "Dan" refers to the fact that most peony flowers are red. Li Shizhen explained in Compendium of Materia Medica: "Although it bears seeds, it has seedlings on the roots, so it is called Mu, and its flowers are red, so it is called Dan."

That being said, the varieties of peonies we see today are more common in various shades of pink | 663highland / wiki commons

In fact, only wild or nearly wild peonies can actively reproduce new plants through underground stems and root cuttings. Most peony varieties need human help to reproduce asexually. Fortunately, peonies are a type of plant that can easily reproduce asexually. There are many ways to reproduce them - you can divide the plants before the plants go dormant in autumn; you can use more robust peonies and peony roots for grafting ; you can also layer (ring or cut the branches and press them into the soil) to encourage the branches to take root and grow new plants.

As the name of peony became more popular, the plant itself gradually became less famous than peony, and no one has ever been as popular as peony since then. In the General History written by Zheng Qiao of the Southern Song Dynasty, it is mentioned that "peony had no name at first, so it was named after peony, just like hibiscus was named after hibiscus. Peony came out late, and it became famous in the Tang Dynasty. As the rich and powerful competed for it, peony became a declining plant." In fact, the name "peony" was recorded in the Eastern Han Dynasty, but the popularity of this name did start from the Tang Dynasty.

Only the peony is the true national beauty

China has been cultivating ornamental peonies since at least the Eastern Jin Dynasty . The graceful silhouette of peonies can be seen in Gu Kaizhi's "Picture of the Goddess of the Luo River", but peonies really began to become popular in the Tang Dynasty.

Peony is a symbol of the Tang Dynasty , and Wu Zetian is famous for demoting peonies. According to legend, she once made all flowers bloom in the severe winter, except for peonies, so she was angry and demoted peonies from Chang'an to Luoyang. In some versions of the story, there is even a saying that Wu Zetian ordered a fire to burn all the peonies, and explained that this was the reason why the peonies were withered.

However, after Wu Zetian became emperor, she changed Luoyang (Eastern Capital) to the capital (Shendu) and lived in Luoyang for a long time afterwards - from this it is not difficult to see the clumsiness of this story.

Zhang Daqian's Peony Painting

In fact, Wu Zetian's attitude towards peony was completely opposite to the legend, and it was she who started the legendary story of peony in the Tang Dynasty. Wu Zetian's hometown Xihe produced peonies, and Wu Zetian transplanted the peonies from her hometown to the Dongdu Garden (Shangyuan) in Luoyang for the first time , and since then, peonies have become popular in the palace. In the preface to "Ode to Peony" written by Shu Yuanyu of the Tang Dynasty, it is written: "In Xihe, the hometown of the Queen Mother, there are many fragrant houses, and there are peonies under them, and their flowers are unique. The Queen Mother sighed that there was a lack of Shangyuan, so she ordered to transplant them there, and since then, the peonies in the capital have flourished day by day."

Zhang Daqian's Peony Painting

During the Kaiyuan period, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang's love for peonies increased compared to that of Empress Wu Zetian, thus pushing the "peony fever" to its first peak . At this time, peonies to the people of the Tang Dynasty were more like tulips to the Dutch in the 17th century. Peonies were favored in the palace, and officials and nobles also sought after them. Later, peonies began to be planted everywhere among the people, and a craze for buying and cultivating peonies began. Peonies are not only flowers for people to enjoy, but also a symbol of money and power. The last poem "Buying Flowers" in Bai Juyi's series of poems "Ten Poems of Qinzhong" describes the inflated prices of peonies and the scene of people going crazy for peonies:

Spring is coming to an end in the imperial city, and the noise of carriages and horses is heard passing by.

When we talk about peonies, we go buy flowers together.

The price is not fixed, the reward depends on the number of flowers.

Hundreds of bright red flowers, five neat bundles of white.

A tent is set up above for protection, and a fence is woven beside for protection.

Sprinkle water and seal with mud, the color remains the same after moving.

Every family has its own customs, and everyone is confused.

There was a farmer who happened to come to buy flowers.

I bowed my head and sighed alone, a sigh that no one could understand.

A bunch of dark flowers will earn you a tribute from ten households.

Although the subsequent Anshi Rebellion had a certain impact on the peony craze, the political situation gradually stabilized during the reign of Emperor Xianzong of the Tang Dynasty, and people's enthusiasm for peonies was rekindled, and the price of peonies was driven up to a new height . Li Zhao recorded in "Supplement to the History of the Tang Dynasty" that "the nobles in the capital have been fond of peonies for more than 30 years. Every spring, the carriages and horses are like crazy, and it is shameful not to indulge in them. The Jinwu shop is outside the official enclosure, and temples and monasteries plant them for profit. One stalk can be worth tens of thousands of yuan." During this period, the peony also established its status as the "national beauty" with the praise of a number of literati, such as Liu Yuxi's "Appreciating Peonies":

The peony in front of the yard is wild and unrestrained, the lotus in the pond is pure and emotionless.

Only the peony is the true beauty of the country; the capital city is moved when it blooms.

During the Song Dynasty, although the peony culture declined due to long-term wars, it soon reached another peak with the recovery of the economy. People's love for peonies has continued unabated, especially in Luoyang, the city of peonies. Ouyang Xiu even recorded in "Luoyang Peony Records" that "People in Luoyang... do not name peonies, but simply call them flowers. Their meaning is that among all the real flowers in the world, only peonies are so famous that it can be seen without being called peonies. This is how much they love and value them."

Peony paintings by Zhao Chang (left) and Zhang Daqian (right)

During this period, the number of peony varieties increased rapidly. In "Luoyang Peony Records", Ouyang Xiu listed dozens of varieties. In "Luoyang Peony Picture", Ouyang Xiu also wrote, "The flowers have changed a hundred times in forty years" , which shows that under the strong pressure of artificial breeding, the appearance of peonies has changed much faster than in the natural environment. However, he also said in "Luoyang Peony Picture" very sincerely, "I used to remember dozens of varieties, but I have forgotten them ten and a half years ago." The peonies I saw in the botanical garden last year, only a year later, I have forgotten most of them. I really want to shake hands with Ouyang Xiu in the air. The "Yao Huang" and "Wei Zi" that Ouyang Xiu often missed are also the two most famous peony varieties in the Song Dynasty, and they can still be seen today .

Traditional peony variety "Yao Huang" | Yu Tianyi

At the same time, due to the continued popularity of peony culture, peony cultivation began to be introduced all over the country. As the Southern Song Dynasty moved its capital to Shangqiu and then to Lin'an, the peony culture also came to the south of the Yangtze River .

The climate in the south of the Yangtze River is completely different from that in the Central Plains. According to the book "Chinese Peony", most of the Central Plains peonies introduced to the south of the Yangtze River "are good in the first year, bad in the second year, and return to their native land in the third year". However, even so, the Central Plains immigrants who fled to Hangzhou still missed peonies and began to try to cultivate them in the south of the Yangtze River, retaining a few Central Plains varieties suitable for cultivation in the south of the Yangtze River and further domesticating them. In addition, people have also discovered a peony native to the south of the Yangtze River that is more resistant to humidity and heat - Yangshan peony (Fengdan). The peonies that migrated south and Yangshan peonies together formed a new group of Jiangnan peony varieties .

Later, the peony's footsteps further reached the southwest, and the peony in Pengzhou, Sichuan, also began to flourish.

Traditional peony variety "Zhaofen" | Yu Tianyi

Now, peony varieties are planted all over the country, and there are different variety groups in each place. In addition to the most prosperous Central Plains peony , there are Northeast peony in the north, Northwest peony and Southwest peony in the west. These variety groups each have their own characteristics.

Chinese Peonies Are Everywhere in the World

As mentioned earlier, peony was called wood peony in ancient times, and it is also classified as a peony. All peonies belong to a branch of the peony genus - Section Moutan. The Moutan section is a very special type of the peony genus. They have woody stems that other peony species do not have . This is also the most clear way to distinguish between peonies and peonies.

Peonies that have just sprouted. Peonies do not keep their above-ground parts over the winter | themarthablog.com

The peony we usually talk about is scientifically named Paeonia suffruticosa, which refers to a collection of hybrid varieties of the peony group. This is the same as the modern rose (Rosa × dilecta) and petunia (Petunia × atkinsiana). Due to the long history of cultivation, the peony varieties we see today are almost all hybrids of various wild peonies . Hybrid peonies come from several wild species - dwarf peonies , purple-spotted peonies and Yangshan peonies . They have been cut down and dug by humans for thousands of years, and the wild populations are now in danger.

The traditional two-color variety "Er Qiao" (above) and the traditional blue variety "Lantian Yu" (below) | Yu Tianyi

In addition to the hybrid varieties of the peony group, we can still see varieties bred from a single peony species today, mainly the purple-spotted peony and Yangshan peony varieties.

The purple-spotted peony (P. rockii) is easy to identify. It has a very obvious purple spot at the base of its petals , which is as eye-catching as the pupil in the eye. In many botanical gardens, we can see old purple-spotted peony trees. When in bloom, the treetops are covered with flowers, which is very spectacular. Among the Central Plains peonies, the varieties with dark spots at the base of the petals are all related to the purple-spotted peony, and the Northwest peony can also be called the purple-spotted peony variety group, almost all of which are derived from the selection or hybridization of purple-spotted peonies.

Various varieties of purple-spotted peonies | Yu Tianyi

Yangshan peony (P. ostii) is widely distributed, reaching as far east as Chaohu and Ningguo in Anhui. It is more resistant to humidity and heat than the wild species mainly produced in the Loess Plateau, so it is cultivated more in Jiangnan. The cultivated Yangshan peony is called "Fengdan". In addition, its other important identity is oil-producing and "medicinal" peony. Yangshan peony and purple-spotted peony are two species that have long been mainly used for oil extraction and traditional medicine. Under artificial breeding in another direction, the seeds of oil-producing peonies have become larger, with a higher oil content , and their adaptability is stronger than that of ornamental peonies.

Yangshan peony varieties, Fengdan series, "Fengdan White" | Yu Tianyi

There is another wild peony in the southwest, the Yunnan peony (Purple Peony, P. delavayi), which is widely distributed and has many different types, such as purple purple peony, yellow yellow peony, yellow with dark spots and brown spots, white silver lotus peony, etc. However, due to its relatively small flowers, it has rarely been involved in peony hybridization.

Most of the other peony species have a narrow distribution. The ovate-leaved peony (P. qiui) is only distributed near Shennongjia in Hubei and Xixia County in Henan; the Sichuan peony (P. decomposita) is only distributed in the Minjiang and Dadu River basins; and the large-flowered yellow peony (P. ludlowii), an important hybrid parent that brings the yellow color to peony varieties, is only distributed in Linzhi, Tibet.

Sichuan peony | Hong DY & Pan KY (1999) Acta Phytotaxonomica Sinica. 37(4):351-368

However, people have now begun to pay attention to the wild resources of peonies. Milin County, Nyingchi City, holds the Milin Yellow Peony Tibetan Medicine Culture and Tourism Festival every year. While introducing this important and rare species of large-flowered yellow peony to the public, it also carries out "seed actions" and "seedling transplant actions" to better protect the large-flowered yellow peony.

Since the late Qing Dynasty, China has gone through a long period of war, and many old peony varieties have disappeared or dispersed. The names of many ancient varieties do not match the current varieties ; however, even so, peony still has a very important position in the hearts of the Chinese.

Modern red variety "Coral Terrace" (above) and modern black variety "Black Sea Gold" (below) | Yu Tianyi

In modern times, the peony that was introduced to other countries has become more prosperous , and reflects the different aesthetic tendencies of each country. Japanese peonies rarely have double petals with invisible flower centers. They are basically large and wide, with thin petals and pure colors.

Japanese varieties "Lianhe" (above) and "Yachiyo Tsubaki" (below) | Yu Tianyi

Since the beginning of the 20th century, European and American peonies have used large-flowered yellow peonies as parents, and have hybridized to produce a series of yellow or yellowish varieties , such as the American variety "Hai Huang" which is now very common in China. However, China only began to use large-flowered yellow peonies to hybridize and breed new varieties in recent years.

The American variety "Hai Huang" that I raise myself is a hybrid of large-flowered yellow peony and peony | Yu Tianyi

The internationalization of horticultural flower breeding has long been an irreversible trend. The aesthetic tendencies of different cultures collide, influence and blend with each other, creating our colorful flower world today and meeting more diverse aesthetic needs - even the peony, which has the most "Chinese characteristics", is no exception.

Author: Yu Tianyi