(Translated by https://www.hiragana.jp/)
National flower of the Republic of China - Wikipedia Jump to content

National flower of the Republic of China

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Plum blossom (梅花ばいか)

The national flower of the Republic of China was officially designated as the plum blossom by the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China on 21 July 1964.[1] The plum blossom, known as the meihua (Chinese: 梅花ばいか; pinyin: méihuā), is a symbol for resilience and perseverance in the face of adversity, because plum blossoms often bloom most vibrantly even amidst the harsh winter snow.[2][3] As the plum tree can usually grow for a long time, ancient trees are found throughout China. Huangmei county (Yellow Mei) in Hubei features a 1,600-year-old plum tree from the Jin Dynasty which is still flowering. The three stamens represents Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People, while the five petals symbolize the five branches of the government: Executive Yuan, Legislative Yuan, Judicial Yuan, Examination Yuan and Control Yuan.[1][3] The flower has also been proposed to be one of the national flowers for the People's Republic of China.[4]

History

[edit]

The mudan (Paeonia suffruticosa) was referred to as the "national flower" of China during the Ming and Qing era.[5] It was still recognised by many to be the national flower during the Beiyang government era,[5][6] amidst calls to designate other flowers such as the Chrysanthemum to be the national symbol.[5]

The Ceremony and Uniform Review Committee of the Ministry of the Interior (MOI), Nationalist Government in 1928 proposed that the plum blossom be the National Flower; the Ministry of Education (MOE) reviewed the proposal and assented to it.[5] The Ministry of Finance (MOF) had also requested the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party) to designate the National Flower for the making of new currency. On 28 January 1929, the CEC adopted a resolution to use the plum blossom for various emblems of the state, but regarding the designation of the National Flower, they decided to list it as one of the agendas of the party's 3rd National Congress. The Nationalist Government issued a general order on 8 February 1929, adopting the plum blossom in various state emblem designs.[5] Despite the designation not being approved during the 3rd National Congress, the plum blossom has been widely accepted by society as the symbol of the nation.[5]

In 1964, the MOI advised the Executive Yuan to stipulate it as the National Flower; the latter, in a reply on 21 July 1964, stated that the plum blossom as the national flower "has long been recognised nationwide", and that there was "no need to make an announcement or a press release". The plum blossom was thus recognised by the Executive Yuan as the National Flower of the Republic of China (the country's effective jurisdiction was reduced to Taiwan after the Chinese Civil War)[7] as an established fact.[5]

Symbolism

[edit]

As the National Flower, the plum blossom symbolises:

  • Three buds and five petals - symbolises Three Principles of the People and the five branches of the Government in accordance with the Constitution
  • The plum blossom withstands the cold winter (it blossoms more in colder temperatures) - it symbolises the faithful, the resolute and the holy; it represents the national spirit of Republic of China nationals.
  • The five petals of the flower - symbolises Five Races Under One Union; it also symbolises Five Cardinal Relationships (Wǔlún), Five Constants (Wǔcháng) and Five Ethics (Wǔjiào) according to Confucian philosophy (national philosophy of imperial China for two millennia until 1912, when the Qing Dynasty was overthrown and the Republic of China was established)
  • The branches (枝えだ橫よこ), shadow (影かげ斜はす), flexibility (曳疏), and cold resistance (傲霜) of the plum blossom also represent the four kinds of noble virtues, "originating and penetrating, advantageous and firm" mentioned in the I Ching (Book of Changes).[8]

Use of the symbol

[edit]

As one of the national symbols of the Republic of China, the plum blossom design has often been utilised on logos used by the ROC government. This includes the emblem of the Office of the President and the Chinese Taipei Olympic flag (also known as "Plum Blossom Banner"), which Taiwan uses in place of the Republic of China flag during international sports events, due to political reasons.

Furthermore, the plum blossom design is also part of:

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Government Information Office, Republic of China - National Flower Archived 2011-08-05 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "The Three Friends of Winter: Paintings of Pine, Plum, and Bamboo from the Museum Collection". Taipei: National Palace Museum (國立こくりつ故こ宮みや博物はくぶつ院いん). Retrieved 31 July 2011.
  3. ^ a b National Flag, Anthem and Flower
  4. ^ *People's Daily Online -- Plum blossom, peony proposed to be national flowers
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Cheng, Jie (2016). "南京なんきん国民こくみん政府せいふ确定梅花ばいか为国花はな之これ史し实考". Journal of Nanjing Forestry University (Humanities and Social Sciences Edition) (3): 85–96.
  6. ^ Lu, Erkui, ed. (1915). 辞源じげん. Shanghai: Commercial Press.
  7. ^ Yang, Lester Liyen; Tseng, May; Hwang, Jim; Madden, Ciaran; Marchant, John Scott (eds.). 2018-2019 Taiwan at a Glance (PDF). Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of China. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  8. ^ "國花こっか" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Office of the President, Republic of China. Retrieved 2018-04-08. 我國わがくに的てき國花こっか是ぜ梅花ばいか。梅うめ有三ゆうぞう蕾つぼみ五ご瓣べん，代表だいひょう三民主義及五權憲法，且梅花はな凌しのげ冬ふゆ耐寒たいかん，其所表現ひょうげん的てき堅けん貞剛ていごう潔きよし，足あし為國ためくに人じん效こう法ほう。梅うめ開ひらく五ご瓣べん，象徵しょうちょう五ご族ぞく共和きょうわ，具有ぐゆう敦あつし五倫ごりん、重じゅう五常ごじょう、敷じき五教ごきょう的てき意義いぎ；而梅花はな「枝えだ橫よこ」、「影かげ斜はす」、「曳疏」、「傲霜」同時どうじ亦また代表だいひょう易えき經けい中ちゅう「元もと」、「貞さだ」、「利り」、「亨とおる」四よん種しゅ高尚こうしょう德行とっこう。我國わがくに在民ざいみん國こく53年ねん7月がつ21日にち，經けい行政ぎょうせい院いん正式せいしき核かく定てい將しょう梅花ばいか訂てい為ため國花こっか。
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=National_flower_of_the_Republic_of_China&oldid=1228077736"