What a beautiful surprise! The viburnum carlesii was the favourite flower of my mother. She took me strolling between the blossoming as a baby. I didn't know this variety. Thank you, Debbie, for another enchanting story🫶🫶 🫶
What a fascinating story! Do you happen to know the blooming month of the qonghua? I'm going to visit Nanjing in 3 weeks. If the timing is right, maybe I should visit Yangzhou too.
“Every butterfly is a ghost of a flower, returning to find itself”. Eileen Chang and Yan Ying.
Of course, I am reminded of Eileen Chang's Half a Lifelong Romance, a classic Chinese novel originally serialized in 1948 as Eighteen Springs. Eileen's language, weaving a bitter-sweet romance, remains vivid even though the 1948 Shanghai is long gone... a ghost lingers in the night.
"After a year, it [琼花 qionghua, or Viburnum] withered and could not be coaxed to life. It was returned to the Earth Goddess’s Temple, where it sprouted and blossomed."
Words, pictures, prose, and poetry...your details provide artistic expressions. I could highlight each sentence, as it takes on a life of its own. Thank you, Debbie Lieu.
Hmm... “Every butterfly is a ghost of a flower from the past, returning to find itself,” sounds like a mutated version of the firefly folklore mentioned in the Dream of the Red Chamber.
In 礼记 Liji, the Book of Rites, 卷十六月令第六 to be precise, it was mentioned 腐草为萤, in summer the dead grass transforms into fireflies. It was only grass there.
In the Dream of the Red Chamber, chapter 50, there was a riddle event, and the solution to the riddle of "firefly" was "flower." Because flower is transforming grass. From grass, the association became flower.
Thanks for this explanation, Yu Bird. Ideas certainly do drift! Eileen Chang's friend had probably (possibly?) read Dream of Red Mansions and couldn't remember the quote but was maybe subconsciously influenced by it? I was looking for a photo of a butterfly on a qionghua to go with the preceding poem, and that photo I found was connected to the Eileen Chang story. Or maybe she hadn't, and had just heard too many ghost stories. Either way, it's quite a lovely concept!
What a beautiful surprise! The viburnum carlesii was the favourite flower of my mother. She took me strolling between the blossoming as a baby. I didn't know this variety. Thank you, Debbie, for another enchanting story🫶🫶 🫶
Oh Wow!!! Thats really amazing! So you were exposed to the beauty of viburnum at a very young age! So happy this one touched you Anna! ❤️
What a fascinating story! Do you happen to know the blooming month of the qonghua? I'm going to visit Nanjing in 3 weeks. If the timing is right, maybe I should visit Yangzhou too.
April. Maybe if you are early there might be early blooms? that would be amazing!!
Such a beautiful piece!
Thank you so much, Kalpana!
“Every butterfly is a ghost of a flower, returning to find itself”. Eileen Chang and Yan Ying.
Of course, I am reminded of Eileen Chang's Half a Lifelong Romance, a classic Chinese novel originally serialized in 1948 as Eighteen Springs. Eileen's language, weaving a bitter-sweet romance, remains vivid even though the 1948 Shanghai is long gone... a ghost lingers in the night.
"After a year, it [琼花 qionghua, or Viburnum] withered and could not be coaxed to life. It was returned to the Earth Goddess’s Temple, where it sprouted and blossomed."
Words, pictures, prose, and poetry...your details provide artistic expressions. I could highlight each sentence, as it takes on a life of its own. Thank you, Debbie Lieu.
Thank you so much Paul. A lovely complement 😊
Hmm... “Every butterfly is a ghost of a flower from the past, returning to find itself,” sounds like a mutated version of the firefly folklore mentioned in the Dream of the Red Chamber.
In 礼记 Liji, the Book of Rites, 卷十六月令第六 to be precise, it was mentioned 腐草为萤, in summer the dead grass transforms into fireflies. It was only grass there.
In the Dream of the Red Chamber, chapter 50, there was a riddle event, and the solution to the riddle of "firefly" was "flower." Because flower is transforming grass. From grass, the association became flower.
Ideas do drift a lot.
Thanks for this explanation, Yu Bird. Ideas certainly do drift! Eileen Chang's friend had probably (possibly?) read Dream of Red Mansions and couldn't remember the quote but was maybe subconsciously influenced by it? I was looking for a photo of a butterfly on a qionghua to go with the preceding poem, and that photo I found was connected to the Eileen Chang story. Or maybe she hadn't, and had just heard too many ghost stories. Either way, it's quite a lovely concept!
Fungus of longevity! I’ll have some of that. Is this the same OuYang Xiu who mentored SuShi?
Indeed it is. The fungus is Lingzhi, you’ve probably see it at the markets!!
Looked it up! Not only at the markets and restaurants, but in Wisconsin forests. Recognize this one!