#52 𝓛𝓸𝓽𝓾𝓼 𝓲𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓕𝓸𝓬𝓾𝓼

This article highlights the significance of lotus flower in Chinese culture and how it was the theme when Antony Blinken visited China recently.

The recent meetings between Antony Blinken and Wang Yi, and also between Blinken and Xi Jinping have thrown up a special mention - lotus flower 荷花 in the Chinese media. This is because it was being featured in their respective meeting avenues, see below photos.

The background of the meeting between Blinken and Wang Yi features the calligraphy of a contemporary poem written by Qiao Yu 乔羽 on the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. It is a beautiful poem which illustrates the Chinese philosophy and culture, and so I attempted a translation below.

𝕹𝖔𝖙𝖊𝖘/𝕿𝖍𝖔𝖚𝖌𝖍𝖙𝖘

✨Lotus flower has significance in Chinese culture as it embodies a noble and pure characteristic which is cherished when refer to humans. This is because there is a saying 出污泥而不染 i.e. the lotus blooms are pure and untainted despite being rooted in the mud.

Such exemplary characteristic is one of the unique traits of a Chinese gentleman junzi 君子，and thus if every person and country are noble-minded when dealing with the one another, then it would become a win-win situation for the person and the world.

Also, 荷 hé rhymes with 合 hé (co-operation) and 和 hé (peace), and there is a Chinese idiom 以和为贵 yǐ hé wéi guì i.e. harmony is to be prized. Therefore one could deduce that the presence of lotus flowers in the meetings depicts that the Chinese leadership hoped that both US and China would work together to achieve global peace for the world.

✨There is a line in the poem that is worth exploring : 和你吹面不寒的杨柳春风 which I have translated as "And you are akin to early Spring cooling breeze from the wind that shakes the willow and it is blowing on one’s face".

This sentence actually borrows from the lines "沾衣欲湿杏花雨，吹面不寒杨柳风" from a poem by Southern Song poet Seng Zhi Nan (僧志南). The two lines mean that “the apricot blossom rain seems like it wants to drench my clothes, and the wind blowing on the face is cooling which resembles that it is from the wind that shakes the willows. “ Here apricot blossom rain means the early Spring rain as apricot blossoms are present during that time.

I thought the line 和你吹面不寒的杨柳春风 illustrates how a conducive environment like the idyllic surroundings of Diaoyutai would help the guest feel welcome and facilitate productive meetings. This is because after one has experienced the cold harsh winter with the chilling wind howling, the wind in the early Spring is cooling and thus it is a delightful experience.

Here the willow 杨柳风 also means that the willow is shaking due to the wind and it looks like life has began again after the hibernation of animals in winter which seems life has come to a standstill.