Plum Blossom Blooms, Another Spring
When the orchids in the small district are blooming in full glory, it's on the eighth day after the spring equinox. Pure white, blush pink, and pale purple – like mature and elegant women in perfectly tailored cheongsams, gracefully approaching and revealing their exquisite figures, captivating and surprising!
At that time, the early spring weather was still alternating between sunny and cloudy. People said that in the early spring, most flowers didn't need to be deliberately waited for; with a sprinkling of spring rain and a touch of warm sunlight, they quietly competed to bloom. However, the dignified orchid never followed the trend. It still proudly displayed its pure and elegant demeanor amidst the chilling winter winds.
I clearly remember that on the first day of the year, I was wearing a mask and walked along the small district's service corridor, passing by the orchids under the orchid trees. Looking up, the branches of the towering canopy stretched outwards with all their might. At each node, only small buds were visible, but it was clear that they were trying to cluster together and showcase their beauty as early as possible. However, the days that followed were ordinary and busy, and I almost missed the orchid blooming period. On the sixth day of the New Year's Eve, I hurried to purchase daily necessities in the small district and passed by the orchid trees again. Unconsciously, it was like meeting an old friend, and I couldn't help but slow down. Looking up again, the nodes on the branches had swollen with many pale yellow elliptical flower buds, while the fine, dense, tiny hairs on the flower stem shimmered with a hazy circular light in the slanted morning sunlight. It was exceptionally beautiful! The buds of the orchid, always gave me expectations, let me feel relaxed. Now, tree after tree of orchids were in bloom!
With a cultivation history of over two thousand years, the orchid, also known as magnolia or spring flower; is predominantly white, blooming gracefully like jade, bright and pure. Standing at a higher vantage point, after the wind blew, it resembled snow waves and clouds, quite spectacular. Getting closer and examining it carefully, each flower seemed to hesitate and blush with a gentle fondness; each petal radiated an arrogant and charming aura. The spring wind was still chilly, only this pristine orchid swayed in the chilly wind, releasing a fragrance that permeated the air.
The orchid's flower language: sincere gratitude, expressing love, fragrant and rich, pure as jade.
I can perceive its flower language! I admire its purity even more! The gentle breeze caressed the branches, and each orchid seemed like an ethereal, crystalline, jade-bone fairy drifting out of dust, so beautiful that it made people hold their breath.
One of the Four Great Masters of Ming Dynasty, Shen Zhou wrote: 'Dense branches bravely draw the wind, break through silver flowers and jade snow fragrance; friends know that people have good intentions, gently resolve white robes through the curtain.' This may be the best interpretation of the orchid's exquisite elegance and pure jade fragrance.
Li Yu, a literary scholar of the Qing Dynasty, also wrote: 'This does not bloom before leaves sprout, with plum blossoms in a similar rhyme. Thousands of withered and flourishing blooms, all bloom at once, a grand event.' This means that orchids bloom before their leaves grow, with a similar artistic effect to plum blossoms; when the spring breeze gently blows, it's a truly unprecedented event.
Lu Xun called the white orchid 'cold condenses the earth's spring glow' with a dignified and resolute character!
Facing the baptism of winter, it braved the freezing winds and snow to nurture flower buds, even though the flowering period was only about ten days, this graceful orchid never compromised its integrity or wasted a moment of spring light. It buried its thoughts within for an entire winter, only to announce spring when the spring breeze was chilly. And when the flowers of a hundred flowers blossomed, it had already withered its petals and flourished its leaves!
If we compare plum blossoms to messengers sent by the spring wind, then these orchids are like the spring thoughts inscribed on the pages of ancient poetry? It can also be said that orchids are like graceful and elegant women who have crossed time and space from ancient poetry, a 'hui xin lan zhi' character, several times hesitant to speak.
This noble and pure, bright orchid is indeed a flower with character, spirit and soul!
Image from the Internet
