Can Sichuan pepper be used to symbolize love? Let’s look at the plants that symbolize love in the Book of Songs

Love is a universal and abstract emotion of human beings, and it is an eternal topic of human beings. Plants are often used as tokens to express the spiritual world of human beings. Regarding how to express love, the implicit Chinese ancestors have already given us many examples. In addition to the well-known rose (or Chinese rose), who else can represent the heart of lovers?

Gardenia, Gardenia, Holding Your Hand

Gardenia is a popular flower during graduation season. It mostly blooms in June. It is pure white, fragrant and sweet, making it the " graduation flower " in the hearts of students.

Gardenia is an evergreen shrub of the Rubiaceae family and the genus Gardenia. Its flowers are simple and elegant, and it emits a charming fragrance. Its dried and mature fruits can be used to extract gardenia yellow pigment , which can be used in dye applications and is a natural colorant. As early as in the "Han Guanyi", it was recorded that "gardenia and madder were produced in the dyeing garden to dye imperial clothes", which shows that the ancients had already discovered this characteristic of gardenia and applied it to clothing dyeing. The fruit of gardenia contains dehydroxygardenia glycoside (dài), which has certain medicinal value.

Gardenia is native to China and is cultivated in most parts of the country. The excellent characteristics of gardenia make it widely used in gardens and also very suitable for home planting.

Gardenia (Photo source: China Plant Image Library)

" We will be together through life and death. I will hold your hand and grow old with you. " This frequently used line expressing love that lasts till death comes from the "Drumming" chapter of the "Bei Feng" in the Book of Songs. This line was originally a promise between soldiers, but has been extended to describe the eternity of love in modern times. "Gardenia" and "holding you" have the same pronunciation, and the petals of the gardenia are born with the same heart, which means "togetherness". It is definitely the flower that represents love.

Gardenia is the smell of early summer. It is not as hot and intense as being in love, but more like the tender and beautiful first love. So, when you want to express your love to someone but are too shy to say it, you might as well use gardenia to help you!

Peach Blossom Beauty

On this day last year, the faces of people and the peach blossoms were reflected in this door.

The person’s face is nowhere to be seen, but the peach blossoms still smile in the spring breeze.

After failing the imperial examination in Chang'an, the Tang Dynasty poet Cui Hu encountered a beautiful girl in the southern suburbs of Chang'an. The girl's beautiful face and the blooming peach blossoms complemented each other, making her look particularly rosy. The poet fell in love with her and missed her after they parted. Later, Cui Hu visited the girl again but failed to meet her, leaving behind a quatrain that will be passed down through the ages.

Peach blossom beauty, love at first sight, but never meet, never get. For thousands of years, the pain of chasing love has been the same for ancient and modern people. And a woman like peach blossom has become a high evaluation of the woman of your choice.

"The peach tree is young and tender, with bright flowers. It is a good match for the family when it is married. The peach tree is young and tender, with abundant fruits. It is a good match for the family when it is married. The peach tree is young and tender, with lush leaves. It is a good match for the family when it is married."

This is a narrative lyric poem from the Book of Songs: Zhou Nan. This poem describes the beautiful scene of a young woman getting married, and uses the bright and luxuriant peach blossoms to metaphorically represent the beauty of a woman. Yao Jiheng of the Qing Dynasty commented on this poem in his General Theory of the Book of Songs: "Peach blossoms are the most gorgeous, so they are used to metaphorically represent women, and this is the origin of the poetry and prose that eulogizes beauties throughout the ages."

"Peach blossom luck" has always been a symbol of "opposite sex luck" in Chinese culture. Mid-spring, when peach blossoms bloom, is also considered a good time to talk about love.

Peach, a plant of the genus Prunus in the Rosaceae family, is native to China and is widely cultivated in various provinces and regions, and is planted all over the world. As a relatively common cultivated plant, peach is deeply loved by people. In recent years, many peach blossom towns and peach blossom scenic spots have emerged in various places. Peaches are mainly divided into two categories: fruit peaches and flower peaches. There are many ornamental peach species, the most common ones are pink peach, red peach, red flower pink peach, crimson peach, etc.

Peach blossoms are plump, colorful, and bright, just like the beautiful face of a young girl. They also fit the beautiful and romantic image of love in people's hearts. Therefore, it is most appropriate to use peach blossoms as the flower that represents love.

Copyright image, no permission to reprint

Can Sichuan pepper also represent love?

People who like to watch palace fighting themes know that in movies and TV dramas, the bedroom where the empress of the Han Dynasty lived was called the Pepper Room. Peppers have many seeds, and the fruits hang on the branches, giving people a sense of abundance and joy. There is a type of pepper that has fruits gathered into rooms, also called pepper rooms. The use of the pepper room to refer to the empress's residence in the Han Dynasty was to take the meaning of having many children and auspiciousness.

Sichuan pepper (common name), also known as pepper (Book of Songs), huǐ, big pepper (Er Ya), Qin pepper, Shu pepper (Compendium of Materia Medica), is a small deciduous tree of the genus Zanthoxylum in the Rutaceae family. Whether it is flowers, leaves, or fruits, pepper is rich in fragrance and can be stored for a long time. It was used as a spice in ancient times. Later, the "numbing" in Sichuan pepper became the sixth flavor in addition to the five flavors in China, and it is closely integrated into the lives of Chinese people.

I regard you as a thorn, and you give me a handful of peppercorns. In the Book of Songs, Chen Feng, Dongmen Zhiwu, it is written that young men and women meet secretly and give each other gifts. The man gives the woman a bunch of mallow flowers, and the woman gives the man a handful of peppercorns. Peppers are fruity and are often used to describe women. In ancient times, when women gave men peppercorns, it also meant that they would pledge their love to him.

Among the crowd of people sending flowers, holding a bunch of peppercorns to propose may be unique and give you a better chance of success.

Sichuan pepper, copyrighted image from the gallery, no permission to reprint

Wish to be a twining branch on the ground

In the first year of Yuanhe reign of Emperor Xianzong of Tang Dynasty, Bai Juyi, a great poet of the late Tang Dynasty, traveled across time and space, looked back at history, and heard the whispers of lovers in the Changsheng Palace.

On July 7th, in the Changsheng Palace, in the middle of the night, when no one was whispering.

I wish to be a pair of wings in the sky and a pair of branches on the ground.

The end of the world may come, but this hatred will last forever.

The Song of Everlasting Sorrow is a popular long narrative poem written by Bai Juyi, which reproduces the oath of love and the tragic love between Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and Yang Guifei on a moonlit night. People of that era believed in love persistently and expressed their feelings passionately and unrestrainedly. " I wish to be a pair of wings in the sky and a pair of branches on the ground. " It has also become a poem that has been passed down through the ages to express the loyalty of love.

So the question is, what kind of plant is "Lianlizhi"? "Lianlimu" originated from the Tang Dynasty poetry, Bai Juyi's "One Hundred Rhymes of Poems in Response to Dreaming of Spring": " The cage is closed for a solitary bird, and the sword divides the Lianli wood. " "Ciyuan" "Lianli" entry says: " The grasses and trees with different roots, the branches and trunks grow together, which was considered a good omen in the old days ." "Lianlizhi" is not a certain plant, but refers to the shape of two different trees growing entwined. Literati and poets use this literary image to express lingering love.

In nature, some plants grow together or in association with each other . As long as they meet the symbiotic form of trees, they can be considered as such. Think about it, you are in me, I am in you, we share the same hardships and grow together. This is simply a model of perfect love. When plants show affection, humans have no chance.

Another virtualized object like the twin branches is the twin flowers. Twin flowers are a phenomenon in the plant kingdom and a common phenomenon in flowers. The pedicle refers to the part where the flower or fruit is connected to the branch. Twin flowers refer to two flowers connected to one pedicle. Common ornamental flowers such as lotus and chrysanthemum can have twin flowers. Chinese people like to express their aspirations and emotions through objects. When they see twin flowers blooming, they naturally have hopes and yearnings for beautiful love.

Copyright image, no permission to reprint

The incense of eternal love

Knotwood, a deciduous shrub of the genus Knotwood in the family Thymelaeaceae, is also known as knotted flower and snow-blooming . Knotwood branches once a year, with each branch branching into three small branches, each node forming a trifurcated shape, and is also known as the trifurcated tree.

The jasmine flowers bloom in February, when the weather is still cold, and are considered to be early spring flowers. The jasmine flowers are golden yellow with fuzz, and the yellow flowers are clustered on the branches, which is very lovely. When they bloom, the fragrance is strong and the fragrance is overflowing.

The jasmine is also known as the "dream flower". It is said that if you have a dream at night, get up early in the morning and tie a knot on its branches when no one is watching, if it is a good dream, it will come true, and if it is a bad dream, it will be resolved.

The branches of the osmanthus tree are soft and can be tied into a knot without breaking. The flowers are numerous and fragrant, hence the name. Because the osmanthus tree can be bent without breaking, some lovers will tie a love knot on it, hoping to be together forever and have a long-lasting love. In some places in China, the osmanthus tree is called the "love tree" .

Jiexiang, copyrighted image, unauthorized reproduction

Red beans are the most nostalgic

"The exquisite dice are filled with red beans, do you know how deep my love for you is?"

When I first saw this poem, I was deeply shocked by the beauty of Chinese poetry. The red beans embedded in the dice are a metaphor for deep lovesickness. Can you play dice at such a high level?

This line of poetry comes from Wen Tingyun, a late Tang poet who was good at writing about boudoir love. Even more popular is Wang Wei's poem " Red beans grow in the south. How many branches will bloom in spring? I hope you can pick more, as this is the most nostalgic thing. "

There are many plants called red beans. Which kind of red beans is the acacia bean mentioned by the poet? At present, it is generally believed that there are the following two types.

Acacia

Abrus precatorius, also known as chicken pearl, acacia bean, is a vine plant of the genus Abrus precatorius of the Fabaceae family. The acacia seed is attractively bright red on top, and there is a small black piece at the bottom of the red seed, also called "black mouth" or "lover's tears".

Abrus precatorius, Image source: China Plant Image Library

There are many jewelry products made of abrin seeds on the market, such as bracelets, etc. It should be noted that the seeds of abrin seeds contain a protein called abrin toxin (abrin) , which is highly toxic and can cause poisoning if ingested by mistake, and even death in severe cases.

In the "Tang Materia Medica", red beans and acacia seeds are regarded as the same plant, and the name "acacia seeds" is often taken as evidence that it is acacia red beans.

Sea red bean

Sea red bean is a deciduous small tree, a kind of red bean tree, which is commonly found in Lingnan area of ​​China. The seeds of sea red bean are slightly flat, a bit like heart shape, and the seeds are bright red, which also means lovesickness.

The fruit of the sea bean is hard and can be made into ornaments. Because the fruit is hard and not easy to rot, it is also used to symbolize loyal love.

Sea red bean, image source: Wikipedia

At present, the seeds of the acacia seed are red and black, and are highly poisonous. The seeds of the sea red bean are all red, and the fruit is heart-shaped, so many people tend to believe that the sea red bean is the "acacia red bean" mentioned by Wang Wei. However, due to the long time and few clues, it is still impossible to prove exactly which family the red bean Wang Wei mentioned belongs to.

Some people also raised the question, don’t the red beans used to make red bean paste and red bean porridge deserve such a romantic meaning?

Adzuki beans are herbaceous plants of the genus Vigna in the leguminous family. They are the red beans that we often make porridge and soup. The seeds are slightly flat and dark red. They are rich in protein and vitamins and are often used for food.

Foodies said, red beans are easy to get and delicious, so why not use them as a token of love? Of course you can. The cultural meaning of plants is also given by people in their long-term social and cultural life. Food and love are both mundane, and using red beans as a token of love is also full of romance.

Conclusion

"Zheng Feng·Zhin Wei" : "They joked with each other and gave each other peonies. " "Wei Feng·Wooden Gua": "You threw me a wooden gua, and I responded with a jade pendant. It was not a reward, but a token of our everlasting friendship. " Our ancestors also used peony, hibiscus, lotus, calamus, etc. to express their love.

Throughout history, humans from ancient times to the present have always shown amazing imagination and creativity in the pursuit of love. Since the agricultural civilization, people have established deep feelings with flowers, plants and trees, and have gained a lot of wisdom from nature. Those plants and people have achieved mutual understanding and spiritual fusion, and have been endowed with human emotions, becoming a sweet assist in obtaining beautiful love.

This article is produced by Science Popularization China, produced by Chen Changli (Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences), and supervised by the Computer Network Information Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences

Some of the pictures and cover pictures in this article are from the copyright gallery, and the pictures are not authorized for reprinting.