Lotus in Poems
Furthermore, the lotus flower is the most frequently used object in poems. “Hang my head and touch the lotus, it is as clear as water,” says one poet to envision the purity of love. A “lotus-like face” is the greatest possible compliment for a women’s external charm. “A lotus coming out of water” refers to the beauty of nature without any artificial features. Ode to the Lotus Flo, written by Zhou Dunyi, a poet of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), describes the lotus as the “fairy of flowers” and the lotus’s purity rising out of the muddy swamp, settled in its sublime position, as the “gentleman of flowers”.
Connotations of Lotus
Lotus as beauty: As early as in the Book of Poetry, which was written 3,000 years ago, there have been writings associating lotuses with beauty. In Guofeng, part of the Book of Poetry whose contents mainly concern the common senses of nature and everyday life, the skills of production and the principles of adoration and sacrifice, one man compares the beauty of the love he had felt for a long time to a lotus on the other side of the river. He was overwhelmed with grief over their long separation
Lotus as symbol of love: Though the lotus loot breaks, the two parks may still link with each other through fibres of lotus root. The correlation is usually used to describe the reconciliation or constancy of love between couples.
Lotus as symbol of harmony: In Chinese, the word for lotus is pronounced “HE,” the same as the word which means harmony. So in folk paintings, the images of two fairies, holding a lotus and a box in their hands, are used to symbolize auspiciousness and harmony.
Lotus as symbol of rectitude: In Chinese, the word for a lotus of a light blue color is pronounced similarly to the word for rectitude. The lotus is used to illustrate an official’s incorruptibility.
The Lotus’s meaning in Buddhism: Buddha is sometimes depicted sitting on a Lotus flower, symbolizing the one who overcame the pain that prevails in the material world and became enlightened, just like the Lotus flower, which starts to grow in the dirty and muddy water but manages to surpass the water and produce a perfect flower. The water, in many different belief systems, represents the material world, or the physical realm.
Lotus Festival
Legend has it that the 14th day of June in the Chinese lunar calendar is the lotus’s birthday, commonly known as the Lotus Festival. This custom originated in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and on that day people, especially in southern China, will hold various kinds of celebration activities. They come to a lotus pond and enjoy the graceful scenery of lotuses. Boating upon the lake is another entertaining activity. With a gentle breeze caressing their cheeks, people admire the bright moonlight and drink in a boat painted with lotus patterns, lotus lanterns on its prow and on either side of the bank. Every year in Zhuozheng Yuan Garden, Suzhou, there will be lotus birthday celebrating festivities, which are extraordinarily busy. Enjoying lotuses and picking up lotus root are two of the traditional customs of the Chinese nation.
By Qu Ran
Editor: Liu Fang
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