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Peony "King of Flowers" Flower Language: Wealth
Peony, also known as Lu Jiu, Shugu, Bailianjin, Peony and Fuguihua, belongs to Paeonia of Ranunculaceae and is a perennial deciduous shrub. It is one of the top ten traditional famous flowers in China, known as the "king of flowers" and enjoying the reputation of "national beauty and fragrance". Li Shizhen's Compendium of Materia Medica records: "Peony is the essence of heaven and earth, and it is the first flower". Ouyang Xiu, a poet in the Northern Song Dynasty, not only sang poems in praise of peony: "The flower of Luoyang is the most suitable, and peony is especially strange in the world." He also wrote three peony monographs: Luoyang Peony Spectrum, Luoyang Local Customs and Luoyang Peony Map.
Peony has always been favored by people for its bright colors, graceful posture, huge and magnificent flowers and pleasant fragrance. People regard peony as a symbol of good luck, happiness and prosperity. Traditional folk flower fairs, flower fairs, flower banquets and flower dances in China are almost all related to peony appreciation. Luoyang used to be an ancient capital, and peony also contains a symbol of "wealth". In addition, many literati gathered here, encouraging flower farmers to have a special liking for peony flowers and forming advantages, thus creating the grand view of "Luoyang Peony is the best in the world".
Speaking of "Luoyang peony is the best in the world", we can't forget another world-famous Shandong Heze, where there is "Caonan peony, the crown in the sea". Heze's original name is Cao Zhou, while Cao Nan may refer to the south of Cao Zhou. In ancient times, Cao Zhou Peony was famous at home and abroad for its large flowers, bright colors, beautiful shapes and strong fragrance. Here, peony is called the top flower, crown flower and king flower. Heze, Shandong is known as the "hometown of peony", and there are many "most" factors here: Heze is the largest peony production base, scientific research base and export base in the world; Every year around Grain Rain, Heze Peony blooms, with hundreds of varieties and thousands of acres of peony in time, which is called "the most peony in China". According to legend, Heze Peony was originally produced from wild peony in Qinling Mountains and was transplanted and cultivated by human beings. As the saying goes, "a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred flowers are red", and the peony flower period is shorter. In order to preserve its beauty, Heze people created bionic peony, such as face carved peony, bone carved peony and knot peony, which followed people's appearance.