Plants — Symbol Database

Bamboo is the emblem of integrity under pressure — hollow, jointed, and bending without breaking.

Pine is the emblem of constancy — evergreen, and therefore the plant that holds through the year's hardest part.

Plum blossom is the emblem of flowering in adversity — the plant that opens in late winter before the leaves.

The orchid is the emblem of refined worth that does not advertise — fragrance in an unremarkable plant.

The chrysanthemum is the emblem of autumn and of retirement — the flower that opens as others finish.

The lotus is the emblem of rising unstained — the plant that grows from mud and opens clean above the water.

The peony is the emblem of wealth and of the height of spring — the flower of the richest and most displayed register.

The willow carries the reading of parting and of spring's arrival — and of the pliability that bends without resisting.

Peach blossom carries the reading of spring, of romance, and — in a separate idiom — of the peach-blossom spring utopia.

The peach is the emblem of longevity, and its wood is one of the tradition's principal protective materials.

The apricot carries the reading of spring rain and of the medical profession — the apricot grove is a byword for a physician's practice.

Jasmine is the emblem of small fragrance — the plant valued for scent rather than for show.

The magnolia carries the reading of noble bearing and of early spring — a large flower on bare branches.

Osmanthus carries the reading of autumn fragrance and of examination success — the pun links it to gaining rank.

The camellia carries the reading of lasting beauty — it flowers in cold months and its bloom falls whole rather than petal by petal.

The narcissus is the flower of the new year in the south — grown in water and timed to bloom for the festival.

Wisteria carries the reading of the climbing and the trailing — growth that depends entirely on what it is attached to.

The ginkgo carries the reading of survival and of the ancient — a tree whose lineage is old enough to be called a living fossil.

The cypress carries the reading of the funerary and the enduring — the tree of graveyards and of long duration.

The maple carries the reading of autumn colour and of the reddening — the season read through the leaf.

The paulownia is associated with the phoenix — the tree the phoenix is said to perch in, and a timber of specific use.

The mulberry carries the reading of the household and of sericulture — the tree that feeds the silkworm.

Tea carries the reading of measured conduct and of hospitality — the plant whose preparation is itself a discipline.

Rice is the staple whose name is bound to the word for livelihood — the loss of the rice bowl means the loss of the living.

Wheat is the grain of the north, paired with rice as the second staple and read for the harvest cycle.

Millet is the oldest of the five grains and the one associated with the tradition's origins — the grain of the earliest accounts.

The gourd is the emblem of the container and of the medicine bottle — the dried vessel that carries what heals.

The pomegranate carries the reading of many sons — its seeds are the standard emblem of numerous offspring.

The persimmon carries the reading of事事如意 — the word sounds like the word for affair or matter, giving 'everything as you wish'.

The tangerine carries the reading of good fortune through sound, and is one of the standard New Year fruits.

The kumquat is the New Year potted plant of the south — the name contains the word for gold, and the fruit is left on the tree.

The lychee carries the reading of the southern exotic and of imperial extravagance — the fruit rushed to the capital.

The longan — dragon eye — is named for its appearance and carries the dragon's reflected auspiciousness.

The jujube carries the reading of early arrival — the word sounds like the word for soon, and it is given at weddings.

The chestnut carries the wedding reading through sound — the word is close to the word for son or for establishing.

The walnut is valued for the resemblance of its kernel to a brain and for its hardness — a food and a material.

The lingzhi fungus is the emblem of longevity and of the auspicious find — the plant that appears where conditions are right.

Ginseng is the root that carries the reading of restored strength — the tradition's principal tonic.

Moss carries the reading of quiet neglect and of the unvisited — growth on stone that marks a place unused.

The reed carries the reading of the waterside and of autumn — the plant of the riverbank and of the season's turn.

The iris is a waterside plant of the painting tradition, associated with the fifth month and with the sword-shaped leaf.

The lotus seed carries the wedding reading through sound — the word is close to the word for continuous birth.

The grape enters the tradition as an imported plant associated with the western regions and with wine.

The fern carries the reading of the ancient and the uncurling — a plant whose form has barely changed and whose frond opens from a coil.

Ivy carries the reading of the clinging and the persistent — growth that stays attached whatever it covers.

The scholar tree is associated with the examinations and with official rank — the tree whose name contains the word for the examination graduate.

Mugwort is the plant of the fifth-month festival — hung at the door for its protective association, and used in moxibustion.

Sweet flag is the sword-shaped plant of the fifth-month festival — the leaf read as a blade that cuts what should not enter.

The banana plant is the garden plant of the rain — the tradition's standard image for the sound of rain on broad leaves.

The morning glory carries the reading of the brief — the flower that opens at dawn and closes by midday.

The water chestnut is a pond crop of the south — the tradition reads it as food rather than as symbol.