There are many reasons. The following are the reasons for the vacancy of China's national flower:
general situation
More than 100 countries in the world have established the national flower, and China is the only big country that has not yet established the national flower. Because there is no national flower, at the APEC meeting in 200 1 year, there was a paragraph in the news report that "peony, the national flower of China, is the background"; 1999 At the Kunming World Horticultural Exposition, the vacancy of the national flower became the century regret of the ancient country. There are about 30,000 kinds of flowers in the world, and there are1000-20,000 kinds of flowers in China. Many countries in the world, especially European countries, praise that "China has no flowers, no gardens".
The development of history
In fact, China's flower culture complex has a long history. China people appreciate flowers, not only the color and appearance of flowers, but also the personality implication and spiritual strength of flowers. Tao Yuanming's Picking Chrysanthemums under the East Hedge, Lin Jinghe's Thin Shadow Oblique, Zhou Dunyi's Mud Without Staining, Confucius' Lan Ying Wang Xiang, Su Dongpo's "I'm afraid I'll fall asleep in the night, so I light a candle to make up my face" ... More than half of China's paintings are flowers. Some people spend their whole lives just to draw one or more flowers. It is not easy to draw a flower well. How many women in China are named after flowers? How many flowers are used as names by women in China? In the eyes of foreigners, this is simply incredible.
China began to cultivate peony in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. In the Tang Dynasty, peony, known as a national beauty and fragrance, conformed to the aesthetic psychology of the society at that time and was known as the king of flowers. "Only peony is the true national color, and the capital moves when it blooms", "Every family visits peony in three seasons". From these poems, it seems that the Tang people's infatuation and preference for peony can be vaguely seen. In the Qing Dynasty, Cixi officially designated peony as the national flower by imperial edict. In the history of literature and art, the number of Mei poems and paintings is enough to make any kind of flowers fall behind. The edition of Cihai 19 15 reads: "Peony is the national flower of China".
1929, plum blossom was once identified as the national flower by the national government. From the perspective of flowers, we can interpret a history of China and a cultural history of China. 1982, Hong Kong's Ming Pao published a social commentary "In favor of taking plum blossom as the national flower", in which there was a cloud: "From Cao Mengde's whip to Meilin, luring soldiers to' look at plum to quench thirst', to Lin Hejing's eternal famous sentence' The shadow is light and the fragrance floats in the dusk', which has been inextricably linked with the daily life and cultural spirit of China people for thousands of years. If China chooses the national flower, it must be plum blossom, which will only be considered as the national flower by China, because it is rare in other countries. ..... In fact, if the two sides of the strait use the same national flower, it will really help the spiritual harmony of the people of China. " In the same year, with the strong support of some famous botanists and entrusted by botanical society of china, the editorial department of Botany magazine launched a national flower discussion, which won the strong support of relevant departments and the positive response of the broad masses of the country, and wrote articles in succession to participate in the selection. The voting results show that plum blossom is the most recommended national flower, followed by peony and chrysanthemum. People who love plum blossom think that plum blossom is the flower of China and the flower of spring belief. Plum blossom is a specialty of our country and a symbol of nation and hero. Plum blossoms are beautiful and fragrant, tall and straight, standing proudly in the cold and snow. They are home in all corners of the country, spread for thousands of years, and spread all over Wan Li. They are the soul of China and represent the integrity of China. [1] netizens summarized the reasons for choosing the national flower as follows: China has a long flower culture and has a profound spiritual influence on China people; The choice of national flower reflects the importance of biodiversity; The continuous expansion of international communication needs to express friendly will through a medium; It is helpful to promote the development of China's flower industry. We should have our own national flower as a symbol of national image and national spirit. When overseas travelers see plum blossoms and peonies in China, they will naturally have a sense of self-improvement.
"Spring is the beginning of a year, and Mei is the best." The spirit symbolized by plum blossom can best represent the Chinese nation. Plum blossoms have been endowed with virtue since ancient times. Plum blossom has a long history of application and cultivation. As early as 7000 years ago, our ancestors began to apply plum blossom, and began to cultivate and introduce plum blossom 3000 years ago. 1929, the national government designated plum blossom as the national flower. 1942 Professor Zeng Mian published a paper on the classification of plum blossom varieties, Plum Blossom: The Scenery of China, which showed the plum blossom in Wuhan East Lake.
National Flower (English Special Issue). Taiwan Province Province still regards plum blossom as the national flower. Teresa Teng sang plum blossoms: "Plum blossoms are fragrant all over the world. The colder the weather, the more it drives. The tenacity of plum blossoms symbolizes our majestic Greater China. Look, plum blossoms are everywhere. Where there is land, there is. It is not afraid of snow, ice and rain. It is my national flower ... "This song has been sung all over. [ 1]
"The national color is full of wine, and the clothes are dyed at night." The cultivation history of peony was recorded as early as Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. In the Tang and Song Dynasties, the cultivation techniques of peony had made great progress. In the Tang Dynasty, peony was more beautiful and was known as the "Flower King". "Spring breeze is proud of horseshoe disease. I watch Chang 'an flowers all day. "The Chang 'an flowers here are peony flowers. The Ming Dynasty moved its capital to Beijing and planted peonies everywhere in Gokurakuji. In the Qing Dynasty, a prince went to Gokurakuji to see peonies. The title was "National Flower Temple".
At present, peony planting has been formed in many places in China, which has promoted the local economic development and increased farmers' income. When the seventh Peony Appreciation Festival was held in Chaohu City, Xia, Mayor of Chaohu City, pointed out: "The purpose of Peony Appreciation Festival is to set up a stage for culture, sing opera for economy and sing opera for science and technology." Why are you so nervous about which flower can be selected as the national flower? Some insiders have analyzed that there are other interests besides the love of flowers and flower culture. Once a flower is awarded the glorious title of "national flower", it and the development of related cultures, industries and trade associations will receive unprecedented attention, and its economic benefits are immeasurable.
Vacancy analysis
According to the regulations of China Forestry Society, the selection of national flowers must meet four conditions: first, it is widely distributed; Second, the appearance should be beautiful; Third, it should have profound cultural connotation; The fourth is to have certain economic value.
Some scholars immediately questioned that the requirement of "wide distribution" was inappropriate, which seemed reasonable but too subjective, because what everyone liked was not necessarily the most widely distributed species, and the giant panda was not widely distributed, but it was a national treasure that everyone loved. In the same way, "beautiful appearance" should not be a rigid rule, because there is no uniform standard for "beautiful". China has a vast territory and a complex population. The picture circulated by all ethnic groups is peony in Heze, Shandong.
The difference of unity, such a requirement is especially meaningless; Whether it is a "national tree" or even a "world tree", it is just a tree without much connotation. "Song Qing is proud of snow and shows its strength" is just a literary language, which is not sufficient.
It is understood that peony and plum blossom have many voices in the selection of China's national flower in the past. Professor Chen Junyu was the earliest expert who advocated the selection of national flowers in Chinese mainland. As early as 1982, he put forward the suggestion that plum blossom should be the national flower. Later, the idea of "one country, two flowers" (peony and plum blossom) was put forward, which caused great repercussions at home and abroad.
Many experts believe that it is more appropriate to have two flowers in one country. Plum blossoms can represent the Yangtze River valley, and peony can represent the flowers in the Yellow River valley. One tree and one shrub symbolize spiritual civilization, industrious and indomitable character of China people, material civilization, prosperity and peace. Respecting plum blossom peony as the national flower can inspire people of all ethnic groups and Chinese people at home and abroad to continue to strive for self-improvement and strive for the happiness and prosperity symbolized by peony. 1994, China held a grand national flower selection. Peony was selected as the national flower, and orchids, lotus flowers, chrysanthemums and plum blossoms were the "four seasons famous flowers". However, the National People's Congress thought that the differences between the parties were too great to make a resolution, and finally it was dropped. It can be said that it was really difficult for people to adjust.
Those countries with small land area, short history, single culture and uncomplicated ethnic structure can easily choose their own national flowers, such as Australian acacia, Dutch tulip, French vetiver iris, German cornflower and Thai water lily ... There are not many people, so it is easy to unify their opinions and take care of them comprehensively, and it is easy to draw a conclusion that China's papaya is not very popular.
Peony and plum blossom are also different in culture. Peony is popular, which is the representative of ordinary people's appreciation of taste. Compared with the group appreciation taste of peony, viewing plum blossom is more of an individual aesthetic experience, because it has always been dominated by sensitive intellectuals. There is no doubt that plum blossom and its symbolic spirit are endowed by intellectuals of past dynasties. When times are bad, they expect themselves to be plum blossoms and personify them, even "plum-wife cranes". The poor and limited sensory entertainment of the general public, in addition to hard work, will inevitably point to something with strong colors and festive colors, such as peony, and the "thinness" of plum blossom in the aesthetic sense may not even arouse its inner voice. At present, China has not yet decided whether to use peony distributed in the Yellow River valley or plum blossom distributed in the Yangtze River valley as the national flower in the modern sense, and the relevant parties in China are hesitant about this.
All people
The National People's Congress is the highest authority, exercising state power on behalf of the whole people, and its functions and powers are legislation, supervision, appointment and removal, etc. Obviously, the selection of the national flower is not within its terms of reference. "Mr. Chen has made many appeals to avoid the premature finalization of the issue of' one country, one flower' and left a permanent regret. People's hearts should be respected, and public opinion should not be violated. It is not so much that Mr. Chen used his body to stop the speeding of the national flower wheel (one country, one flower) a few years ago, but that Mr. Chen's concept of one country, two flowers represents most public opinion and basic national conditions. "
In addition, in the past two decades, NPC deputies have repeatedly put forward the proposal of taking "Plum Blossom" as the national flower. At most, more than 70 people, including Mr. Guan Shanyue and Mr. Zhang Wencai, jointly proposed plum blossom as the national flower, but nothing was achieved.
Since the selection of the name "Guo" should truly reflect the interests of the majority of the people, which animal and plant varieties can win the aura of the name "Guo" should not be decided by the relevant institutions or experts first, but only by the people in an appropriate way, because such selection does not have any scientific research effect. This choice should not be subordinate to economic or other purposes, such as developing tourism. -This is also different from the selection of "Top Ten Famous Mountains in China" some time ago. The selection of the top ten famous mountains really bears the responsibility of "improving the overall image of China's mountain resources". At this time, it is understandable to properly consider tourism. National tree, national bird, national flower and top ten famous mountains all have different added values. [ 1]
Dr. Tao of China Academy of Social Sciences believes that the national flower has the symbolic meaning of the national business card, and the formulation of evaluation criteria is a major event that concerns all aspects of relations and interests, and directly affects the fairness of the selection process and results. You can't arbitrarily deprive the public of the right to speak and vote in the formulation of selection criteria, and just award chinese society of forestry.
Choice dispute
1986165438+1October 20th, the "Top Ten Traditional Flowers in China" was jointly sponsored by Shanghai Culture Publishing House, Shanghai Landscape Architecture Society, Editorial Department of Landscape Architecture magazine and Friends of Life column of Shanghai TV Station. The selection results were plum blossom, peony, chrysanthemum and orchid in turn. Because this famous flower selection activity in China has formed a 1 14 expert jury headed by Professor Chen Junyu, which is a nationwide selection, and because the result was obtained in 1987, it is often called "1987 China Top Ten Famous Flowers Selection Activity". 1986 in the national flower election, although many people voted for peony, chrysanthemum and other famous flowers, there was no objection from all walks of life to the final election result-plum blossom.
It is also known that according to the Proposal No.0440 (1994) of the Second Session of the Eighth National People's Congress, "Suggestions on Developing the National Flower Evaluation in China as soon as possible", it was approved and transferred to the Ministry of Agriculture, and the China Flower Association was instructed to take charge of the specific organization work. In March of the same year, a leading group for the selection of national flowers was set up, with the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) Vice Chairman Chen as honorary leader and He Kang as leader, to carry out national flower selection activities. After discussion by the expert group, the conditions for the selection of China's national flower are determined as follows: Since the China Flower Association organized and led the discussion of the national flower, China Flower News has successively published the news that many celebrities and the general public have had a heated discussion on the selection of the national flower. According to the China Flower News, plum blossom, peony, chrysanthemum, orchid, rose, rhododendron, camellia, lotus, osmanthus, narcissus, pomegranate, wintersweet, spring jasmine, peach blossom, rhododendron, Clivia, day lily, camellia, Daphne, Lagerstroemia indica and Gardenia have been nominated as candidates for China's national flowers. After nearly ten months of discussion, the task has been successfully completed.
According to the results reported by 3 1 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, there are 1 1 provinces in favor of four flowers in one country (peony, plum blossom, chrysanthemum and lotus). Two provinces put forward a new four-flower plan, that is, exchanging orchids for lotus flowers. After research, the leading group of national flower selection unanimously agreed that "Peony" is the national flower of our country. Other popular orchids (spring), lotus (summer), chrysanthemum (autumn) and plum blossom (winter) are the four famous flowers in China. The new election results turned to peony, but many people expressed their opposition, including scholars and artists with high social visibility, and even expressed some opinions at important high-level meetings. As a result, the National People's Congress shelved the decision of peony as the national flower on the grounds of "too great disagreement". At this point, the mass national flower selection activity has come to an end. In this selection from 65438 to 0994, two major peony bases in China-Luoyang City, Heze City, Shandong Province, and Peony Branch of China Flower Association-jointly established the National Peony Competition Office with representatives from more than ten provinces and cities that use peony as the city flower or produce and study peony.
opposition
Not long ago, a gentleman named Yang wrote in People's Daily: "Do we still have to comment on the national flower, national tree and national bird? In the article, he objected to the selection and thought that "there are many more important things waiting for us to do than evaluating the national flowers, trees and birds" and many things are "much more important than evaluating the national flowers, trees and birds that have little practical significance".
"The species in nature are equal, and we humans don't need to classify them. No matter which kind of national tree, bird or flower you choose, it will certainly make a large number of people unhappy, especially intellectuals, because their idols have lost the election and their unchangeable thoughts and feelings have been hurt. If we choose the national tree, national bird and national flower to pursue beauty, or to improve people's awareness of environmental protection, then after evaluating the national tree, national bird and national flower, we will also evaluate the national fish, national insect, national bird and national beast ... forever. " A scholar commented on Xinhua News Agency. com。
Without a national flower, there is no harm to national sovereignty, national spirit and national future.
On the contrary, almost any choice is driven by huge economic benefits. All localities and industry associations are so keen to compete for the name "Guo" because it will bring immeasurable value and influence to the industry and local economy and reputation.
In the 1980s, plum blossom was the first, and peony was in Asia. On the other hand, peony is king, and plum blossom ranks second. In the selection of 1994, the competition between them reached a white-hot stage, and even evolved from the competition between flowers to the competition between provinces and cities. Luoyang, Henan Province set up the "Peony as the National Flower Leading Group" headed by the mayor himself, with the participation of Shaanxi Xi and Shandong Heze, and jointly set up the "National Peony as the National Flower Evaluation Office", and the four parties lobbied peony as the national flower. Finally, the two candidate schemes determined by experts are one flower in one country (peony) and four flowers in one country (peony, lotus, chrysanthemum and plum blossom).
An ordinary national flower selection has almost turned into an eight immortals crossing the sea, so you can sing and I will appear. Today, nearly 10 years later, the problem still deserves our reflection.
seminar
On September 20th, 2005, China Horticultural Society, Beijing Landscape Architecture Society and Shanghai Landscape Architecture Society jointly held the "China National Flower Selection Seminar" in Beijing. Most delegates supported the choice of peony and plum blossom as the "dual national flowers" of China. However, there are also different opinions and advocate "one country, one flower".
In the autumn of 2005, the Chinese Flower Association suggested that peony should be the national flower at the meeting held in Chengdu, and reported it to the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC), hoping to make peony the national flower at the two national conferences in 2006. Some experts and scholars who oppose peony strongly question it. On June 5438+ 10, 2006, Academician Chen wrote to the leaders of the Central Committee, the National People's Congress and the State Council, expounded the concept of "one country, two flowers", and published relevant articles in Internal Reference for circulation by the central leaders.