Chrysanthemum in Classical Poetry
Chrysanthemum's entry into literary works can be traced back to the Warring States period. Qu Yuan, a great poet of Chu State, wrote in his famous poem Lisao: "Drinking Mulan in the morning makes you dew, and autumn chrysanthemum in the evening makes you lose your English." Although the chrysanthemum in this poem is still an ornament, it does not belong to the real chrysanthemum-chanting poem, but it has become the source of numerous chrysanthemum-chanting poems in later generations.
During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, poems about objects reached a stage of high prosperity, and pure poems about chrysanthemums began to appear. For example, Cheng Gongsui's Ju Fu, Guo Pu's Ju Fu, Yuan's Ju Fu and other works, or describe the appearance, or praise the wonderful use, or praise the quality, are all concentrated expressions of chrysanthemum. Tao Yuanming, a great poet in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, chanted chrysanthemums in his poems such as Drinking, which had a far-reaching influence on later generations.
The Tang and Song Dynasties were the peak of chrysanthemum poetry creation. Almost all famous poets and poets have written poems about chrysanthemums, and their performance characteristics have mostly changed from emphasizing the description of appearance to emphasizing the excavation of connotation, gradually shaping and strengthening the historical and cultural significance of chrysanthemums.
From Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties to the present age, the creation of chrysanthemum-chanting poems has maintained a relatively prosperous situation. While inheriting the traditional theme of chanting chrysanthemums, many more innovative works have appeared.