The national flower of the Republic of China was officially designated as the

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 ...

by the

Executive Yuan The Executive Yuan () is the executive branch of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Its leader is the Premier, who is appointed by the President of the Republic of China, and requires confirmation by the Legislative Yuan. ...

of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeas ...

on 21 July 1964.Government Information Office, Republic of China - National Flower
The plum blossom, known as the ''

meihua ''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 ...

'' (), 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. 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 Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serve ...

Three Principles of the People The Three Principles of the People (; also translated as the Three People's Principles, San-min Doctrine, or Tridemism) is a political philosophy developed by Sun Yat-sen as part of a philosophy to improve China made during the Republican Era. ...

, while the five petals symbolize the five branches of the government:

Legislative Yuan The Legislative Yuan is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for 4-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a parallel v ...

Judicial Yuan The Judicial Yuan () is the judicial branch of the government of the Republic of China on Taiwan.''See'' Constitution arts. 77-82, ''available at'' ''See'' Additional Articles of the Constitution art. 5, ''available at'' It runs a Constitution ...

Examination Yuan The Examination Yuan is the civil service commission branch, in charge of validating the qualification of civil servants, of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). It has a president, a vice president, and seven to nine members, ...

and

Control Yuan The Control Yuan is the supervisory and auditory branch of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Prior to constitutional reforms in the 1990s, the Control Yuan, along with National Assembly (electoral college) and the Legislat ...

.National Flag, Anthem and Flower
/ref> The flower has also been proposed to be one of the national flowers for the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

History

The '' mudan (Paeonia suffruticosa)'' was referred to as the "

national flower In a number of countries, plants have been chosen as symbols to represent specific geographic areas. Some countries have a country-wide floral emblem; others in addition have symbols representing subdivisions. Different processes have been used to ...

" of China during the

Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han pe ...

and

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

era. It was still recognised by many to be the national flower during the

Beiyang government The Beiyang government (), officially the Republic of China (), sometimes spelled Peiyang Government, refers to the government of the Republic of China which sat in its capital Peking (Beijing) between 1912 and 1928. It was internationally r ...

era, amidst calls to designate other flowers such as the ''

Chrysanthemum Chrysanthemums (), sometimes called mums or chrysanths, are flowering plants of the genus ''Chrysanthemum'' in the family Asteraceae. They are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe. Most species originate from East Asia and the center ...

'' to be the national symbol. The Ceremony and Uniform Review Committee of the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

(MOI), Nationalist Government in 1928 proposed that the plum blossom be the National Flower; the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

(MOE) reviewed the proposal and assented to it. The

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance. Lists of current ministries of finance Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Finance and Eco ...

(MOF) had also requested the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...

(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. 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. 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 Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

after the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...

) as an established fact.

Symbolism

As the National Flower, the plum blossom symbolises: *Three buds and five petals - symbolises

and the five branches of the

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

in accordance with the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

*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 Description This principle emphasized harmony between what were considered the five major ethnic groups in China, as represented by the colored stripes of the Flag of the Republic of China, Five-Colored Flag of the Republic: the Han Chinese, Han ( ...

; it also symbolises Five Cardinal Relationships (''Wǔlún''), Five Constants (''Wǔcháng'') and Five Ethics (Wǔjiào) according to

Confucian philosophy Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...

(national philosophy of imperial China for two millennia until 1912, when the Qing Dynasty was overthrown and the

was established) *The branches (枝橫), shadow (影斜), 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 The ''I Ching'' or ''Yi Jing'' (, ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. Originally a divination manual in the Western Zho ...

(Book of Changes)''.

Use of the symbol

As one of the

national symbol A national symbol is a symbol of any entity considering and manifesting itself to the world as a national community: the sovereign states but also nations and countries in a state of colonial or other dependence, federal integration, or even an ...

s of the Republic of China, the plum blossom design has often been utilised on

logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wordma ...

s used by the ROC government. This includes the emblem of the

Office of the President Office of the President can refer to: * Office of the President of Brazil * Office of the President of the People's Republic of China (entity in the Office of the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party) * Office of the President (Republi ...

and the

Chinese Taipei Olympic flag The Chinese Taipei Olympic flag is used by the Republic of China (ROC) Taiwan team, which competes under the title "Chinese Taipei" during the Olympic Games and other events, in place of the flag of the Republic of China. This is a result of th ...

(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: * the rank insignia of

Colonels Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in the

Republic of China Armed Forces The Republic of China Armed Forces (ROC Armed Forces) are the armed forces of the Republic of China (ROC), once based in mainland China and currently in its remaining jurisdictions which include the islands of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu ...

* Obverse side of NT$0.5 coin * Reverse side of NT$10 coin * Watermark of New Taiwan dollar paper notes File:Meihua_ROC.svg,

plum blossom symbol basic form File:Emblem of Office of the President ROC.svg, Seal of the

President of the Republic of China The president of the Republic of China, now often referred to as the president of Taiwan, is the head of state of the Republic of China (ROC), as well as the commander-in-chief of the Republic of China Armed Forces. The position once had aut ...

File:Flag of Chinese Taipei for Olympic games.svg,

File:TWHW1.svg, Symbol of the Sun Yat-sen Freeway File:China Airlines Lineup TPE.jpg,

China Airlines China Airlines (CAL; ) is the state-owned flag carrier of the Republic of China (Taiwan), and one of its two major airlines along with EVA Air. It is headquartered in Taoyuan International Airport and operates over 1,400 flights weekly (inclu ...

aircraft tails feature plum blossoms

References

{{Taiwan topics Flowers in culture National symbols of Taiwan

History

Symbolism

Use of the symbol

See also

References