Jin Yong and Camellias

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This post was last edited by a senior novice in design on 2017-7-28 at 15:31. The delicate Dali camellias bloom in the cold early spring, and by the time spring arrives in Yucheng, filled with the fragrance of peach and plum blossoms, they bring the charm of spring to Erhai Lake and Cangshan Mountain, as well as endless hope to the Bai people. Through the passage of time, camellias remain resilient in the face of wind, snow, and frost, maintaining their full and beautiful appearance. In people's minds, she is a symbol of beauty. Lu You wrote in a poem: “For three days in the eastern garden, rain and wind prevailed; peaches and plums fell to the ground, leaving it empty.” Only the camellia is particularly durable, with several red branches emerging from the green foliage. Upon seeing the colorful Yunnan camellias in Kunming, Guo Moruo praised them, saying, “It is said that the camellia is the provincial flower; only now have I seen such beauty everywhere in the city.” Everyone says peonies are wonderful, but I think peonies are not as good as tea. 　　The cultivation of camellias in China entered a period of rapid development during the Song Dynasty, when the dynasty established in Yunnan was the “Dali Kingdom”. “\"Li\" means governance; \"Dali\" thus refers to great governance. Over the more than 30 years following the fall of Nanzhao from 902 to 937 AD, three short-lived dynasties emerged in the Erhai region. After establishing his regime, Duan Siping, the founding ruler of the Dali Kingdom, introduced new policies, reformed the old systems, and promoted governance based on ethical principles; he chose the name “Dali”, which meant **regulating various aspects of society in order to facilitate the development of productivity**. With the Dali Kingdom came Jin Yong’s \"Demigods and Semi-Devils,\" and later on, \"The Deer and the Cauldron.\" There are several protagonists in \"Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils,\" and the structure of the story is rather loose. Liang Yung-lung, thanks to his literary skills and his meticulous descriptions, along with a historical backdrop that is partly real and partly fictional, managed to conceal the flaws of the original work such as its absurdity and redundancy. It is undeniable that \"Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils\" still possesses extraordinary charm. It can be said that most readers who enjoy \"Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils\" are familiar with the two camellia varieties, namely \"Eighteen Scholars\" and \"Scratched Beauty’s Face\". When in Yunnan, one must see the camellias. In Heilongtan, Kunming City, Yunnan Province, there is a \"Zao Taohong\" tree that is over 600 years old” ； In Yunhua Township of Tengchong County, Panlong Temple in Jinning County, Jing’an Temple in Yiliang County, Fengshan in Fengqing County, as well as in areas such as Chuxiong, Dali, and Baoshan, ancient camellia trees that are over a hundred years old can be seen everywhere. The most amazing thing is the Ten Thousand Flowers Tea at Yufeng Temple, with ten thousand flowers in bloom. Seeing camellias naturally reminds one of the great novelist Jin Yong. Camellia is a traditional famous flower in China and one of the world’s famous flowers. It is highly valued in the horticulture community around the world for its beautiful plant shape, dark green and glossy leaves, and brightly colored flowers. During the Song Dynasty, the practice of cultivating camellias became increasingly popular. The era depicted in \"Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils\" is the Northern Song Dynasty. In \"Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils,\" the depiction of camellias is taken to its ultimate peak. Many tourists are fascinated and eager to know whether what Jin Yong said is true or not. 　　In his novel, Jin Yong describes it as follows: Duan Yu said, “In Dali, there is a famous variety of camellias called ‘Eighteen Scholars.’ They are the finest in the world; each plant bears eighteen flowers, all of different colors. The red ones are entirely red, and the purple ones are entirely purple, with no mixture at all.” Moreover, the eighteen flowers all have different shapes, each with its own unique beauty. They bloom together and wither together – has your ladyship ever seen such a thing? ”Duan Yu said, “Compared to the ‘Eighteen Scholars,’ the ‘Thirteen Bodyguards’ consist of thirteen peanuts of different colors on one plant; the ‘Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea’ feature eight peanuts of different colors on one plant; the ‘Seven Fairies’ have seven peanuts; the ‘Three Heroes of the World’ have three peanuts; and the ‘Two Qiaos’ consist of one red and one white peanut.” These camellias must be solid in color; if there is red mixed with white, or white mixed with purple, they are of inferior quality. ”Madam Wang couldn’t help but daydream, raising her head and murmuring to herself, \"Why doesn’t he ever tell me?\" ”Duan Yu added, “In ‘The Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea,’ there must be one flower in deep purple and one in light red – those represent Tie Guai Li and He Xian Gu. If these two colors are missing, although it may be a collection of eight different colored flowers, it cannot be called ‘The Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea.’ It would then be referred to as ‘Eight Treasures Decoration,’ which is also a fine variety, but it is one rank below ‘The Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea.’” ”Madam Wang said, “I see. ”Duan Yu added, “As for the ‘Three Heroes of the Wind and Dust,’ there are also genuine versions and inferior ones.” For all genuine products, among the three flowers, the one that is purple must be the largest – that represents the Bearded Hero. The white one is next in size, representing Li Jing, while the red one is the most delicate and smallest, representing Red Fur Lady. If the red flowers outshine the purple and white ones, they are considered inferior quality, with a much lower status. ”Duan Yu pointed at the five-colored camellia and said, \"This type of camellia has one less color compared to the ‘Eighteen Scholars’ variety; its colors are also mixed and not pure. It blooms at varying times, and its flowers vary in size as well.\" It tries to imitate the ‘Eighteen Scholars’ everywhere, but it never succeeds; isn’t that just a person with superficial knowledge? That’s why we call it a ‘failed scholar’. ”Duan Yu added, “Those with white petals and red spots are called ‘Red Dress in White Wrapper’.” Those with white petals, a green tint, and a red stripe are called ‘Scratched Beauty’s Face’. But if there are more red stripes, it is no longer called ‘Scratched Beauty’s Face’; in that case it is called ‘Graceful by the Balcony’. Madam, please consider: all beautiful women are naturally gentle and graceful. If there is a slight cut on their face, it surely wasn’t caused by careless handling of their own appearance, nor by someone else scratching them. Only when playing with parrots might the bird cause a slight cut, which is quite understandable. Therefore, that green tint on the petals is essential; it’s the green macaw. If her face is full of scratches, and this beauty keeps fighting with others, what beauty is there left in her? ”A single camellia flower can bear eighteen different types of blossoms, each with a distinct color; such a variety is beyond the reach of modern horticultural techniques at present. An alternative method is grafting, but the plants resulting from grafting do not meet the definition of a variety in horticulture and cannot be considered varieties. So, does such a camellia variety as the \"Eighteen Scholars\", with flowers in eighteen different colors, each one unique, really exist? The answer is no. There are three varieties with similar names: “Pink Eighteen Scholars,” “Red Eighteen Scholars,” and “White Eighteen Scholars,” but all of them have simple patterns. For example, the “White Eighteen Scholars” have white flowers with red stripes, the “Red Eighteen Scholars” have red flowers, the “Pink Eighteen Scholars” have pink flowers with purple stripes, and the “Pink Three Scholars” have light red flowers. The author has seen a camellia with seven or eight flowers, in five or six different colors; the seller called it an “Eighteen Scholars,” presumably as a result of grafting. As for the “scratched beauty’s face,” it indeed exists; its actual name is “scratched face,” and its appearance is quite consistent with the description in the book. If you're lucky, you can see them in Yunnan. Additionally, the tea described in writer Yang Shuo’s “Ode to the Camellia” is quite well-known among tourists as “Tongzi Mian” tea. “The “boy’s face” camellia has flowers that are initially a light pink color with a slight reddish tint, resembling a young boy’s face; when fully bloomed, they turn white. In ethnic minority areas, the camellia is even regarded as an object of worship. The Dali Bai people regard camellias as the supreme flowers – the kings of all blossoms. From the 9th to the 15th day of the second lunar month, a festival called the \"Flower Worship Festival\" is held; each household piles up flowers in front of its door, with a pot of blooming camellias at the top of that pile. Even the beautiful girls in these households are affectionately called \"golden flowers\".