“The osmanthus is the ultimate beauty of the things.” The city flower of Suzhou is sweet-scented osmanthus, which is a symbol of friendship, good fortune and happiness. Suzhou is known as “Garden City”, as the old saying goes, “Chinese garden is unparelled under heaven; Suzhou garden is unparelled in Jiangnan(south of the lower reaches of the Yangze River)”. There are many scenes named after osmanthus in Lingering Garden, Wang Shi Yuan, and Ou Garden. That is so called “rebuild heaven and earth within several meters”.
“物之美者，招摇之桂。”
苏州的市花是桂花，苏州人称之为木樨花，是友好、吉祥和幸福的象征。苏州素有“园林之城”之称，俗话说“江南园林甲天下，苏州园林甲江南”，留园的”闻木樨香轩”，网师园的”小山丛桂轩”，耦园的”樨廊”，以桂点景，咫尺之内再造乾坤。
Unfortunately, there is no osmanthus in Suzhou city this the cold winter. But the plum trees begin to blossom. In Chinese tradition, plum flower is a spiritual symbol of strong and noble characters, which encourages our generations go through difficulty, and create a better life and civilization. Our ancestors are bearing up well against all misfortunes like the plum flowers blossom in the freezing winter.
不幸的是，这个寒冷的冬天苏州市没有桂花。但梅树开始盛开。在中国传统中，梅花是强壮高尚人物的精神象征，鼓励我们的后代走出困境，创造美好的生活和文明。国人就像冬天盛开的梅花，抵御一切不幸，一步步走出绝境。
Plum Blossom’s Fragrance Comes from the Bitter Cold Three Parts
梅花香自苦寒来
There are two versions of Plum Blossom God in our Folk legend. One is poet Lin Kui in the Northern Song Dynasty, who secluded in a lonely mountain beside the West Lake. The other one is said to be Liu Mengmei in the Peony Pavilion of Ming Dynasty. In his dream, he met Du Liniang under the plum tree.
梅花花神有两种说法，一说是北宋诗人林逋，他隐居于西湖孤山，终生不仕。一说是明代戏曲牡丹亭中柳梦梅，在梦中，他在梅花树下遇见为情而死的杜丽娘，其后杜丽娘还魂与柳梦相结合，成就一段曲折姻缘。
Continue Reading →
