Page 292 - A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols BIG Book

A-Z 285

The peony, symbol of maidenhood

At times, the peony became almost synonymous with ‘flower’ in general. A play

dating from the Ming Dynasty tells how the Empress Wu was arrogant enough to order
all flowers to bloom forthwith: only the peony disobeyed her. This episode is expanded in
Chapters 3–4 of the later novel Jing-hua yuan. In popular parlance a ‘peony’ is a
ravishingly attractive young woman. As folk-songs put it: ‘I’m waiting for the peony to
bloom in the garden.’ ‘When the peony blooms, its perfume spreads for 1,000 miles and
attracts flowers and butterflies’ (here ‘flowers and butterflies’ symbolise the young man,
the peony is the girl); ‘When the peony begins to bloom, it is picked by the young man.’
More specifically, the peony symbolises the female genitalia: ‘When the dew (= semen)
drops, the peony opens.’
In pictures, we find the peony along with the lotus, the plum-tree, and
the chrysanthemum: together, they represent the four seasons, the peony being
the flower of spring. Together with the hibiscus (fu-rong) it means ‘flourishing
(rong) in riches and reputation’. Other groupings are: with the wild apple (hai-tang)
‘May your house (tang) stand in riches and credit’; together with the peach ‘Long life,
riches and reputation’; together with pine-tree and stone ‘Riches, reputation and
long life’.