China is also called Hua Xia. Since ancient times, there have been various interpretations and conjectures on these two words, of which “Hua” has the meaning of “flowers”, which means that the blooming beauty of this country and nation is like flowers. So it can be said that the Chinese nation is also a nation in the name of “flower”.

The Chinese people love flowers. The pattern of potted plants was found on the pottery shards excavated in the Hemudu culture site (early Neolithic period, about 7000 years ago). This shows that the history of cultivation of plants and potted flowers in China is longer than we think.

On the excavated pottery from the painted pottery culture period, there are even more flower-shaped patterns that reflect the aesthetics of people at that time.

At this time, Chinese flower culture also began to sprout, which penetrated into all aspects of people’s daily life in the following millennia. Chinese people consider flowers as food and clothing, as teachers and friends, as their important lifestyle. They put their rich and beautiful feelings into flowers and have created countless classics over time. There are so many interesting and wonderful legends, stories, customs and artworks about flowers in China. I will tell you all about them in later articles of this column.

Life’s Bouquet
By Florence Gump