Peony, a native flower of China, has thousands of years of natural growth and 2,000 years of artificial cultivation. The flowers are large, beautiful, colorful, and fragrant. They are praised by the people of all ages, and have high ornamental and medicinal value. Since the Qin and Han dynasties, the "Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing" was carried by medicinal plants. There is no shortage of text. Peony culture has been formed including multi-disciplines including botany, horticulture, pharmacology, geography, literature, art, folklore, etc. It is an integral part of Chinese national culture and folklore, and it is a complete body of Chinese national culture. A cell can gain insight into the general characteristics of the Chinese nation ’s culture, and this is the phenomenon of “cultural holography”.

 

Peony culture is compatible with many sciences, and its composition is very extensive. It includes all cultural fields such as philosophy, religion, literature, art, education, customs, and people's conditions. The cultural information provided in the peony culture can reflect the basic overview of national culture and conform to the "holographic law" in the universe.

 

(I) Auspicious Rich Culture

(Two) aesthetic culture

(3) Literature and Culture

(IV) Horticulture Culture

(5) Tourism culture

(VI) Local Culture

(7) Biological culture

(8) Pharmacological Culture

Peony culture is part of national culture. Compared with other types of culture, peony culture has its own characteristics:

 

Peony culture is a combination of spiritual civilization and material civilization. Judging from the history of the development of peony in ancient and modern times, this is indeed the case. Peony development is in its heyday, peace in the heyday is like peony, and peony culture is the same.

 

Peony culture-lucky and rich

The use of cultural symbolism is a major feature of traditional Chinese culture. In Chinese language and culture and various art forms, various methods are often used, such as metaphors, pictographs, homophonics, etc., to express a certain symbol or allegory in people's lives and thoughts, and then to express people's and national ideals and wishes. , Yearning and pursuit.

 

In traditional Chinese culture, the cultural symbolic meaning of flowers has a richer content. There are no less than a hundred species of signs and patterns composed of flowers, among which the peony is the most. Because people love peony, as far as peony is concerned, its flowers are graceful and luxurious and dignified and rich, which has led to many associations, and derived from it A series of cultural symbolic meanings, and form the basic connotation of peony culture.

 

The season of peony blossoms, the flowers are brilliant and brilliant. Once in the Tang Dynasty, the country was dumped all over the country, and the peony season became the carnival in the capital Changan. Since the Tang and Song dynasties, peony has become a symbol of auspicious happiness and prosperity. For thousands of years, generations of Chinese people have been thinking about being able to become rich on the journey of pursuing a better life. Peony is representing the people Hope and pursuit, in the eyes of the people, peony is also the embodiment of beauty, a symbol of purity and love. The nation is prosperous, family is rich and safe, people are happy and auspicious. These characteristics and meanings are both in the peony! As a symbol of richness, peony, combined with other flowers, birds, and rocks, shows its combination with wealth. Different morals.

 

Peony culture-artistic atmosphere and aesthetic characteristics

The intrinsic beauty and quality of beauty expressed by the peony itself have caused countless writers and inkers of all ages to pour over and intoxicate them. They did their best to depict and sing songs, and thousands of popular poems and essays with the theme of peony emerged. , As well as various paintings and artworks. Numerous peony poems and essays occupy a place in the history of Chinese literature, and form the basis of peony literature. The peony poems left by some great literary masters in the Tang and Song dynasties and beyond still radiate brilliance. Peony poems have a wide range of content. Poets often borrow things to sing, and learn from ancient metaphors. Many psalms have deep thoughts, expressing the poet's persistent spiritual pursuit and unique aesthetic taste. At the same time, they show concern for the destiny of the country and the nation and for life Awareness and understanding. Therefore, poets, painters and artists of all ages have been fond of peony, and the poetry, calligraphy and painting based on peony are widely spread. Named peony products, trademarks and decorative patterns of peony on a variety of daily life are endless. There have been many works of barking peony, painting peony and singing peony. In the "Four Hundred Peony Poems of the Past" edited by Yang Maolan, there were 125 in the Tang and Five Dynasties, 167 in the Song Dynasty, 27 in the Jin and Yuan Dynasties, 37 in the Ming Dynasty, and 67 in the Qing Dynasty. There were 419 in total. Its content reflects the style and hobby caused by the peony to the society from all aspects.

 

Among the many ancient folk songs and modern songs in China, there are many works that use peony as the material. These peony songs (folk songs) are euphemistic, fresh, and beautiful. Listening to their songs makes people radiate a love for life and enjoy the spiritual beauty of beauty.

 

In China's oldest Book of Songs, there are lyrics that use peony and peony as love tokens: "Give it to peony." This peony refers not only to peony, but also to peony. Because peony was originally unknown, it was collectively referred to as "peony".

 

Among the many modern and modern folk songs, the "Flowers" in Qinghai and Gansu and the "Flora Basket" of Henan folk songs are the most popular. "Hua'er" is a form of oral singing that is spread by the people. It combines the local customs and customs to express people's love for their hometown and yearning for a better life. The "Flower Basket" expresses the joy and joy of a group of girls picking peony up the mountain through beautiful tunes. Listening to their songs, it seems to be a charming rural village.

 

There are many modern songs that praise Peony. Among them, the most widely circulated movie is "Red Peony" episode "Song of Peony". The song praises the character of the peony, narrates the experience of the peony, and gives people a vigorous passion.

 

Peony-based painters have recorded Yang Peihua's painting of peony as far back as the Northern and Southern Dynasties (550-577). By the Tang Dynasty, there were more painters of peony. According to Dong Shou's "Guangchuan Painting Post", the Tang Dynasty painter "The peony painted by Bian Xie is a wonderful business and has a good luster." Five Dynasties Southern Tang Dynasty (923-936) Xu Xi's "Peony Picture" with a pen Elegant, lively and interesting. In the Ming Dynasty, Xu Wei painted the peony with a splash of ink, which was a pioneering work. In the Qing Dynasty, Shouping painted peony, was beautiful and elegant, and was self-contained. In modern times, the famous painter Wang Xuetao once painted a large number of peony paintings, with different expressions and vitality. The peony painting painted by the master Qi Baishi is concise with a pen. Often, he talks about a few strokes but is full of vitality.

 

The colorful colors of the peony, the varied flower patterns, the refreshing aroma, and the charm expressed by the silk-like petals on the huge flowers give people a unique natural beauty. The re-creation of poems, paintings, and other art forms has sublimated the natural beauty of peony, thus showing a richer artistic beauty, and making its image permanent in people's lives in various art forms. The aesthetic characteristics expressed in the peony culture need to be further explored and considered in the future to make it more developed.

 

Peony Horticulture Culture

The cultivation and application of peony can not be separated from science and technology. It involves biology, breeding, pharmacy, horticulture, gardening, economics and many other disciplines. Among them, the content of flowers and horticulture is the most abundant.

 

The earliest applications of peony were mainly medicinal. To this day, the root bark of peony, "Danpi", still plays an important role in Chinese herbal medicine. The medicinal plant was the earliest recorded peony's "Shen Nong's Herbal Classic". The book was authored by the Qin and Han dynasties as "Shen Nong", and it is impossible to check the specific age.

 

For thousands of years, peony has been in various poses and has a great reputation. The most important reason is that peony is prone to mutate biological characteristics. The basic conditions for the peony to change from the wild to the countryside and courtyard, and from wild to cultivated, are a qualitative leap in the history of peony development and culture. Changes in various environmental conditions have caused significant changes in the biological characteristics of the peony. The flowers have changed from single petals, semi-double petals to double petals, to the appearance of Taiga flowers; the flower color has also evolved from a few colors to nine. Large color series; the variety has developed from dozens to thousands. After a long-term practice of flower farmers and in-depth summary by horticulturalists, a set of peony cultivation techniques has gradually formed. Among them, peony root grafting with peony flowers and flower dyeing method are the creations of Chinese working people and important contributions to flower gardening.

 

The Song of Luoyang Peony, written by Song writer Ouyang Xiu, not only recorded the distribution of peony in the country at that time, the reason for Luoyang peony's fame, but also recorded the origin of peony varieties, naming principles, breeding methods, evolution laws, Cultivation techniques and folk customs of peony appreciation. Such creative methods that combine peony cultivation with peony culture are also important features of ancient works of horticulture. This is the crystallization of the wisdom of working people of all ages, a precious cultural heritage, and an important document for the future study of the history of Chinese peony cultivation and culture.

 

Since Tang Xuanzong ordered Song Danfu to plant 10,000 peony in Laoshan and create the peony garden, activities of introducing and planting peony throughout China, activities of cultivating new varieties, and gathering famous products from all over the world to build peony special gardens have been flourishing In the middle of Gansu, the farm peony garden created by Han, Hui, Dongxiang and other peasants of various ethnic groups is scattered, forming a beautiful landscape full of Longyuan characteristics.

 

Peony culture--tourism atmosphere

Chinese peony is full of prosperity, bathing in spring glory, unprecedented prosperity, in many places where peony is produced. A grand peony flower festival is held every year to promote peony culture. At that time, Huacheng was crowded with people, watching the flowers stand shoulder to shoulder, laughing and singing, the flowers of all kinds of purple and red, like the intoxicated people converged into a sea of ​​joy. The blossom of the peony brings appreciation to thousands of people. As a result, an atmosphere of travelling due to peony has been formed, which has continued to be a tourism of peony culture. Peony has developed in the flourishing age, and peace in the prosperity of the peony season. Judging from the history of the development of peony in ancient, modern, Chinese and foreign countries, this is indeed the case. It can be described as "the time when the country was prosperous, and the flower was prosperous." History once proved this profound philosophy.

 

Peony Local Culture —— "Bring You With Flowers"

Peony in different regions can reflect different rural flavors.

 

Known as "The Land of Guangwu Renaissance, Home of Peony of the Han Dynasty", there are seven Han peony plants in the Han Dynasty that can be called "living fossils of the world". Before and after the annual rain, the fragrance is spit and the fragrance is miles away.

 

Around the cultural history of peony of the Han Dynasty for more than two thousand years, a large number of beautiful legends and folk stories have been produced: At dawn, the monks suddenly felt the aroma hit people, and in shock, they saw a pair of boys and girls, dressed in red, floating Entering the temple, rushing to chase after it, without entering the ranks, the peony and paeonia followed, which caused a sensation in the four towns, and people rushed to watch, while the fairy child and the fairy entered the ground into flowers, and the male made the peony. Walking by the shin, word of mouth, women and children know. At that time, Wang Mang usurped the Han, and the world was in chaos. Wang Lang used the name of Liu Ziyu, and Handan became the emperor. He regarded Liu Xiu as a confidant. He repeatedly sent soldiers to hunt Liu Xiu, and Liu Xiu escaped from Wang Lang to hunt. Once, Liu Xiu was pursued by Wang Langjun alone to the south of Wucheng City, panicking the road, hiding in the blooming peony bush in the Mituo Temple in Beihao Village, and escaped. In order to thank the peony for his life-saving grace, he wrote a poem on the broken wall: "King Xiao escaped from the deserted village, and the temples of the wells were all very desolate. Only a few peony flowers were loyal to the king." Because the peony of Baixiang saved the life of Emperor Guangxiu Liu Xiu of Han Dynasty, the name of Han peony was derived from it.

 

Even more amazing is that the emperor died, and the Chinese peony was prophesied with white flowers; Guotai Minan, and the Chinese peony was prosperous with red flowers. Five unique characteristics of Chinese peony are different from other domestic peony:

First, the age. It has been recorded in the Han Dynasty for more than 2000 years.

Second, the same flowers. A Chinese peony can produce flowers of different shapes at the same time.

Third, Hualian loves his native land, and he doesn't live in another place.

Fourth, the inexplicable mystery-the emperor drove the white flowers as a sign.

Fifth, there is aura-flowers are abundant in years, flowers are in decline. "

 

To this day, the Chinese peony still perceives many major events in the Republic with her color and number of flowers, and the people's style of viewing flowers is still very prosperous.

 

Biological characteristics of peony

Peony has two periodic changes throughout its life (live) process. One is the change in the life cycle; the other is the change in the annual cycle.

 

The change of the peony life cycle is like other higher plants. Life begins with the formation of an embryo, and finally the plant dies. In the middle need to go through the embryo (seed formation) stage, juvenile stage, weak stage, mature stage and old stage. That is to say, "People who are peony seeds are young in two years, weak in four years, strong in six years, and strong in eight years." "Spiders, one year is weak, two years are strong, and eight years are Ai, Twelve years old, and fifteen years old. "However, after 15 years of peony growth and flowering, it does not mean that the entire life cycle of the peony is almost over, but that its blooming flowers have weakened. If flower farmers can carefully cultivate and strengthen management, it is common for peony to grow for four, fifty, or even a hundred years. The change of the peony cycle can obviously be divided into two different periods according to its activity law, namely the growth and development period (including reproduction) and the relative dormant period. The growth and development period starts from the bud germination in spring every February to the end of October, and the relative dormancy period starts from the dead leaves to the budding of Hunchun.

 

Peony Pharmacology Culture

Peony, a native flower of China, has thousands of years of natural growth and 2,000 years of artificial cultivation. The flowers are large, beautiful, colorful, and fragrant. They are praised by the past generations and have high ornamental and medicinal values. The origin of the peony culture, if you enter the poems from the Book of Songs, it is about 3000 years ago history. In the Qin and Han dynasties, the peony was recorded in the "Shen Nong's Materia Medica" with medicinal plants, and the peony has entered pharmacology.

[Pharmacological effects and clinical application of peony skin]

1. Anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects: Paeonol, the main ingredient in peony, can inhibit the swelling of rats' feet caused by dextran, acetic acid and carrageenan; paeonol can also inhibit the abdominal cavity of mice caused by acetic acid or 5-HT Or increased capillary permeability of guinea pig skin. Clinical application of compound Dahuang Mudanpi Decoction to treat appendicitis. In vitro test, the decoction has antibacterial effect on more than ten kinds of bacteria, and the active ingredient is gallic acid.

2. Effects on the central nervous system: Paeonol has analgesic effect on mice. Intraperitoneal injection or oral administration can reduce spontaneous activity of mice and significantly prolong the sleep time of mice caused by cyclohexidine. Convulsions caused by pentylenetetrazol, strychnine, nicotine and electrical shock. It is clinically compatible with other drugs and is often used for amenorrhea and dysmenorrhea.

3． Antihypertensive effect: Danpi decoction or paeonol has antihypertensive effect on anesthetized dogs, rats or renal hypertensive dogs. Clinically, single-flavored peony skin has also been used in the treatment of hypertension, with short-term effects.

4． It is used clinically to treat acute and chronic appendicitis, bacillary dysentery, and allergic rhinitis.

[Selected Literature]

"Pearl Sac": Peony is the essence of heaven and earth, and is the head of flowers. The leaves are yang, and the host is also; the flowers are yin, and the fruit is also true. Dan is red, and fire is also. It can diarrhea in the yin cells.

"Compendium of Materia Medica": Red flowers are good, white flowers are good.

"Sichuan Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine": Treatment of irregular menstruation and abdominal pain in women.

"Folk Compilation of Common Herbs": Regulating Menstruation and Activating Blood.