Chinese Plum Flower

The Chinese plum flower is the blossom of the Prunus mume, a species of Asian plum that originated in South China, but can now be found throughout Korea, Vietnam and Japan. The flower blooms in late winter, usually January or February. The flowers range in color from pristine white to deep red and are a favorite subject for painting in traditional and modern paintings of East Asia.

The Chinese Plum Flower as an Artistic Subject

The Chinese plum flower is one of the most depicted objects in traditional Chinese art and poetry. It has been a staple of Chinese culture for centuries. Its blossoms are depicted as both a symbol of winter and as a harbinger of the coming spring. Because it blooms while there is still snow on the ground and before any of the other plants it has often been referred to as a symbol of perseverance in the face of hardship. In recent years it has also been used metaphorically to represent the revolutionary movement in China.

Cultural uses of the Chinese Plum Flower

Due to its atheistic beauty and its metaphorical representation of resilience and perseverance the Chinese plum flower has been used frequently in Asian cultures as a symbol. In China it is part of the artistic groupings of "Three Friends of the Cold" and the "Four Gentlemen." It is often used to depict nobility and used as decoration during the Chinese New Year. In Japan it is seen as a symbol of spring and also as a protective charm against evil. You will often find it planted in the north-east part of a garden because that is the direction from which evil is believed to come. In Taiwan the Chinese Plum blossom is recognized as the national flower of the Republic of China. It was designated such by the Executive Yuan of the Central Government on July 21^st, 1964. It was chosen because of its metaphorical resilience to adverse conditions. Also, its triple grouping of stamens represents the Three Principles of the People and the five petals represent the five branches of the Republic of China's government.

Sources:

Chiyomi UEMATSU, Tetsuo SASAKUMA and Yasunari OGIHARA, "Phylogenetic relationships in the stone fruit group of Prunus as revealed by restriction fragment analysis of chloroplast DNA", Jpn J Genet., Vol. 66 59-69 (1991) . www.jstage.jst.go.jp

National Symbols, National Flower, www.gio.gov.tw