Why did the ancients like to use "lotus" to commemorate their past? Do you know the meaning of jade lotus?

Lotus has been a common image in Chinese poetry and songs since ancient times. At first, it was used as a symbol of love. There were a large number of poems and verses about lotus in the Han Dynasty in my country. For example, there is a record in the Book of Songs that compares the lotus to a beautiful woman.

"The face is like lotus and the eyebrows are like willows." Bai Juyi used these lines to describe the beauty of Yang Guifei in "Song of Everlasting Sorrow". Using lotus to describe the beauty's face once again reflects people's love for lotus.

But there are roughly two meanings that are most widely circulated.

The first is integrity. An official should be honest and upright. "Qinglian" is a homonym of "qinglian", which means clean and honest. It represents the holiness of being untainted by the mud. Zhou Dunyi of the Song Dynasty wrote the world-famous "On the Love of Lotus" to express his love for the purity of lotus.

In addition, the lotus is also a symbol of Buddha. In Buddhism, the lotus is considered to be a symbol of the Western Pure Land and the place where the soul is nurtured.

So what are the beautiful meanings of lotus?

Gao Jie

The lotus is a sacred object in Buddhism. Its growth process represents the process of a person getting rid of selfish thoughts and practicing to become a Buddha from this shore to the other shore. Li Bai's poem "The lotus emerges from clear water, naturally without any decoration" also shows that the lotus has natural beauty.

honest

Lotus is the same as Qinglian, which is homophonic with "clean and honest", and is used to describe an honest official who does not go along with the corrupt people. Even in a dirty environment, he can keep himself clean and maintain his noble character. It is also a symbol of gentlemanly behavior.

love

Lotus is the most suitable symbol for pure and beautiful love. In addition, "lotus root" and "couple" are homophones, and the broken lotus root but the connected silk thread represents the lingering love. Wang Bo, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote in his “Song of Picking Lotus” that “the flowers are picked in pairs, and the lotus roots are picked so that they are connected by threads”, expressing the lingering love between men and women.

Friendship

In ancient China, there was a tradition of picking plum blossoms in spring to give as gifts to distant relatives, and picking lotus flowers in autumn to remember loved ones. This shows that the lotus symbolizes the pure friendship between people.

Branch out

There are many seeds in the lotus pod, symbolizing many children and good fortune. Common carvings include a boy sitting on a lotus leaf, holding a sheng in one hand and a lotus seed in the other, symbolizing many children and good fortune.

The lotus combined with other auspicious things also expresses many auspicious meanings. For example, carp or goldfish paired with lotus means surplus every year; lotus and plum blossom together represent harmony and beauty; lotus and osmanthus together represent the birth of sons; the combination of egret and lotus means successive academic success, etc.

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