Lian is not a demon ... Lian is a gentleman of flowers.
When we were young, there was this article in the Chinese textbooks of middle schools. I remember a teacher earnestly saying to us, "The purpose of reciting this article is to learn to be a gentleman, to lead an honest and clean life in any harsh environment, and not to be a deviant person, but to be an upright China person." And the lotus does live up to this sacred ideal, blooming gracefully in countless muddy ponds and lakes and large families' pools and crocks.
the scientific name of lotus is Nelumbo nucifera, which is taken from the Sinhalese word nelumbo. Lotus is the most commonly used plant as a symbol of religion and philosophy. In the past 5, years, lotus has represented sacredness, feminine beauty and purity, resurrection, elegance and the sun respectively. There are still wild lotus in some remote places in Asia, but most of them are used to decorate the scenery and eat. Lotus seeds and lotus roots are common foods in Asia, so many people cultivate them carefully.
Lotus is large and fragrant, usually white and reddish, but there are also carefully cultivated striped and crimson varieties. North America has Huang Lian with yellow flowers. Lotus stems are generally hollow and straight, and lotus leaves are fine and fluffy and do not touch water. After flowering, the flat-topped lotus bears a seed in each hole, that is, lotus seed. The viability of lotus seeds is the longest among plants. In 1951, someone found three lotus seeds 2 years ago in a peat bog near Tokyo, one of which germinated, blossomed and finally bore fruit.
Lotus grows in subtropical and temperate regions such as Central Asia, Indian, China and Japanese. But many people mistakenly believe that lotus is produced in Egypt and the Mediterranean. The ancient Egyptians decorated the "lotus bud" on the top of the temple pillars, imitating the water lily, while Homer's epic "Odyssey" actually drank a drink made of jujube (which has nothing to do with lotus) and entered a state of forgetting troubles.
around 5 BC, lotus was introduced into Egypt, probably brought by Persians. When the Greek writer Herodotus described Egyptian plants, he wrote: "There are some lilies like roses growing in the river; The fruit grows in a pod like a yellow honeycomb. There are many fruits the size of an olive pit that can be eaten, fresh or dry. " What he said is obviously lotus.
The earliest known work of art related to lotus is also a combination of lotus and god. It is a naked statue of goddess with lotus on her head, which was unearthed in the Ganges valley of India and is a relic of 3 BC. The record of the Indian lotus goddess in the literature was first seen in the Vedic literature in India, saying that the lotus god was born in the lotus, stood on the lotus and wore a lotus wreath.
An ancient Indian poet described his lover in ancient Sanskrit: "Your eyes are like lotus buds, your hands are like lotus flowers, such as lotus roots." In the myth of Brahmanism, the god of creation is said to have emerged from the lotus flower born in Vishnu's navel when he entered the country. The Birol people who live in the middle of the Indian subcontinent have a similar statement when explaining the origin of the world: "At first, there was water all over the world, and lotus came out of the water. At that time, the giant god lived in the underworld and came out to the water through the lotus stem, taking the lotus as the seat. "
After the advent of Buddhism, Buddhists also adopted lotus as the main symbol of Buddhism. It is said that after Prince Siddhartha, who later became the Buddha, was born, he immediately took seven steps to the ground and gave birth to lotus seeds step by step. So lotus became a symbol of his birth. Since the first century AD, the statue of Buddha has often been sitting on the lotus platform. His sitting posture, either for lotus or auspicious, has become a typical sitting method for Buddhist monks when they meditate. According to the explanation of the great sun sutra: "the left foot is the upper right first, and the right foot is the upper left, which is called lotus sitting;" One foot is on the right, which is called auspicious sitting. "
Buddhists believe that lotus can reflect the level of practice. They think that if a monk sincerely recites Buddhism, a lotus flower will be born in the Seven Treasures Pool in the West. If he is diligent, his flower will grow bigger and bigger. If he is lazy, his flower will wither. I also believe: "The people of the heavens even? Flying and crawling, and those who went to live in the Amitabha Monastery were all born in Central China in Qibao Chilian. "
With Buddhism, lotus has spread to every corner of Asia. In the Brahmaputra Buddhist altar in Java, in the ancient city of Burj in Myanmar, in the temples in Sukhothai in Thailand and Angkor Wat in Cambodia, in the bell tower in Sri Lanka, on the burial blue in Bali and in Tibet? U, you can see the picture of Lian, the famous six-character mantra of Tibetan Lamaism Buddhism: "? What's up, Bami? Forgive our school? Among them, "Bami" means lotus.
The Japanese mainly associate lotus with death and ghost world. The typical method in japanese ikebana is to use semi-withered lotus leaves and lotus buds, newly-opened lotus leaves and lotus flowers, and unopened lotus leaves and lotus buds to represent the past, present and future respectively.
But China has the deepest relationship with lotus culture. Since ancient times, people in China have loved this kind of plant, thinking that it is a symbol of the noble character of leading an honest and clean life and not being in cahoots with others. Therefore, the poet has praised it as "lotus born in mud, not in tune with mud". In China literature, there are many different names for poems and songs related to lotus, the most common ones are lotus, lotus and lotus.
Chinese paintings take the lotus flower as the symbol of summer, and it is often painted on Chinese porcelain, carpets and costumes. Lotus in full bloom is a sign of harvest and a representative beautiful scenery in summer. Beihai Park near the Forbidden City in Beijing was originally an imperial garden. There was an artificial lake in the park. Most of the lake was covered with lotus leaves. Sometimes the lotus leaves were nearly 2 meters above the water surface, with thousands of elegant and fragrant flowers. You can drive a boat under the lotus leaves.
There are many words about lotus in China. Lotus seeds represent the birth of a noble child, and lotus roots are a good couple. Bingdilian represents a pair of lovers, and breaking the knot means that although men and women break up, their affection is still there.
It is said that in the 5th century A.D., the Southern Qi Dynasty was in a daze, waiting for "cutting gold for lotus flowers to attach to the ground, so that Pan Fei could walk on it", saying, "Lotus flowers will be born step by step!" Therefore, later generations called the steps of beauty lotus, and the feet of women lotus.
This noble aquatic plant can also be eaten, and lotus is cultivated as a cash crop everywhere in China. Its rhizome is lotus root, which contains protein, starch and vitamin C. It is crisp and juicy. It can be eaten raw as fruit, and can also be used to make soup and stir-fry. The empty tube of lotus root is filled with glutinous rice, which is a good dessert after steaming. Steamed lotus leaf rice can use fresh lotus leaves or dried lotus leaves, and the steamed rice has a special lotus leaf fragrance. Nutrient-rich lotus seeds can be boiled with sugar, made into sugar lotus seeds or lotus seed soup, and lotus seeds can also be added to cakes. In Mid-Autumn moon cakes, lotus seed paste is the top grade. Dry lotus seeds can be ground into powder or used for medicine. For example, in Sri Lanka, lotus is a major hemorrhoid medicine.
Lotus has a wide range of uses, and stamens can be used as medicines to treat urinary incontinence and spermatorrhea. Pregnant women in Thailand drink tea with lotus petals that have been offered to God, which is believed to reduce vomiting in the morning and make the baby strong.
Zhou Dunyi also linked the lotus with various types of characters in The Love Lotus, saying, "Chrysanthemum is a recluse of flowers; Peony, the flower is rich; Lotus, the gentleman of flowers is also. " Since ancient times, many people have had this idea. No other plant can blend different Asian cultures in harmony and perfection like lotus.