The Flowers of the Four Seasons ( zh, 四季名花, ''Sìjì Mínghuā''; vi, Tứ quý danh hoa) are a group of flowers found in Chinese and other East Asian (such as Vietnamese) art and culture which represent the four seasons, consisting of:
* (春兰) Chūnlán - Spring
Orchid
Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant.
Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowerin ...
,
* (夏荷) Xiahé - Summer
Lotus,
* (秋菊) Qiūjú - Autumn
Chrysanthemum,
* and (冬梅) Dōngméi - Winter
plum blossom
''Prunus mume'' is an East Asian and Southeast Asian tree species classified in the ''Armeniaca'' section of the genus ''Prunus'' subgenus ''Prunus''. Its common names include Chinese plum, Japanese plum, and Japanese apricot. The flower, long ...
.
They contain three of the elements of the
Four Gentlemen
In Chinese art, the Four Gentlemen or Four Noble Ones (), literally meaning "Four Junzi", is a collective term referring to four plants: the plum blossom, the orchid, the bamboo, and the chrysanthemum. The term compares the four plants to Confuci ...
.
Gallery
File:Ciruelo en flor.jpg, Plum blossoms (contemporary)
File:Orchid - Hu Zhengyan.PNG, Orchid - Hu Zhengyan (1633)
File:Xian'e Changchun Album 08.jpg, '' Chrysanthemums'' from the Xian'e Changchun Album by Giuseppe Castiglione (1688-1766)
File:Elegance of Lotus Looking from Heaven.jpg, "Elegance of Lotus Looking from Heaven" (contemporary)
See also
*
Flower emblems in China
*
Flower emblems in Vietnam
*
Three Friends of Winter
The Three Friends of Winter is an art motif that comprises the pine, bamboo, and plum. . The Chinese celebrated the pine, bamboo and plum together, as they observed that these plants do not wither as the cold days deepen into the winter season ...
*
List of Chinese symbols, designs, and art motifs
A list of Chinese symbols, designs, and art motifs, including decorative ornaments, patterns, auspicious symbols, and iconography elements, used in Chinese visual arts, sorted in different theme categories. Chinese symbols and motifs are more ...
winter flowers (Article)
References
{{reflist
Further reading
*''Flowers Of The Four Seasons: The Fundamentals Of Chinese Floral Painting'', Su-Sing Chow (in English and Mandarin Chinese). Art Book Publishing Co. (1983)
Chinese culture
Chinese iconography
Chinese painting
Vietnamese culture
Vietnamese iconography
Vietnamese painting
Plants in art
Symbols