Is plum blossom the national flower?

Not at present, because the dispute between peony and plum blossom has never ended, and peony occupies a traditional dominant position.

The choice of national flower must meet four conditions: first, it is widely distributed; Second, the appearance should be beautiful; Third, it should have profound cultural connotation; The fourth is to have certain economic value.

Twenty years have passed, and the national flower selection has never been successful. Some people applaud, some people oppose and some people question. Recently, the Forestry Society of China once again began to organize the selection of the national flower, which has been submitted to the National People's Congress for deliberation. This time, the deer are competing and the waves are rising again-

National flower vacancy

There are about 30,000 kinds of flowers in the world, and there are1000-20,000 kinds of flowers in China. Many countries in the world, especially European countries, praise that "China has no flowers, no gardens". At present, more than 100 countries in the world have established their own national flowers, and China is the only big country that has not yet established a national flower.

Because there is no national flower, at the APEC meeting in 200 1 year, there was a paragraph in the news report that "peony, the national flower of China, is the background"; 1999 At the Kunming World Horticultural Exposition, the vacancy of the national flower became the century regret of the ancient country.

In fact, China's flower culture complex has a long history. China people appreciate flowers, not only the color and appearance of flowers, but also the personality implication and spiritual strength of flowers. Tao Yuanming's Picking Chrysanthemums under the East Hedge, Lin Jinghe's Thin Shadow Oblique, Zhou Dunyi's Mud Without Staining, Confucius' Lan Ying Wang Xiang, Su Dongpo's "I'm afraid I'll fall asleep in the night, so I light a candle to make up my face" ... More than half of China's paintings are flowers. Some people spend their whole lives just to draw one or more flowers. It is not easy to draw a flower well. How many women in China are named after flowers? How many flowers are used as names by women in China? In the eyes of foreigners, this is simply incredible.

China began to cultivate peony in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. In the Tang Dynasty, peony, known as a national beauty and fragrance, conformed to the aesthetic psychology of the society at that time and was known as the king of flowers. "Only peony is the true national color, and the capital moves when it blooms", "Every family visits peony in three seasons". From these poems, it seems that the Tang people's infatuation and preference for peony can be vaguely seen. In the Qing Dynasty, Cixi officially designated peony as the national flower by imperial edict. In the history of literature and art, the number of Mei poems and paintings is enough to make any kind of flowers fall behind. The edition of Cihai 19 15 reads: "Peony is the national flower of China". 1929, plum blossom was once identified as the national flower by the national government. From the perspective of flowers, we can interpret a history of China and a cultural history of China.

Therefore, some netizens summed up the reasons for choosing the national flower as follows: China's long-standing flower culture and its profound spiritual influence on China people; The choice of national flower reflects the importance of biodiversity; The continuous expansion of international communication needs to express friendly will through a medium; It is helpful to promote the development of China's flower industry.

We should have our own national flower as a symbol of national image and national spirit. Overseas travelers will naturally feel a sense of self-improvement when they see plum blossoms and peonies in China. When foreign friends see China's national flower, they will say China.

National flower opposition

Not long ago, a gentleman named Yang wrote in People's Daily: "Do we still have to comment on the national flower, national tree and national bird? In the article, he objected to the selection and thought that "there are many more important things waiting for us to do than evaluating the national flowers, trees and birds" and many things are "much more important than evaluating the national flowers, trees and birds that have little practical significance".

"The species in nature are equal, and we humans don't need to classify them. No matter which kind of national tree, bird or flower you choose, it will certainly make a large number of people unhappy, especially intellectuals, because their idols have lost the election and their unchangeable thoughts and feelings have been hurt. If we choose the national tree, national bird and national flower to pursue beauty, or to improve people's awareness of environmental protection, then after evaluating the national tree, national bird and national flower, we will also evaluate the national fish, national insect, national bird and national beast ... forever. " A scholar commented on Xinhua News Agency. com。

Without a national flower, there is no harm to national sovereignty, national spirit and national future.

On the contrary, almost any choice is driven by huge economic benefits. All localities and industry associations are so keen to compete for the name "Guo" because it will bring immeasurable value and influence to the industry and local economy and reputation.

In the 1980s, plum blossom was the first, and peony was in Asia. On the other hand, peony is king, and plum blossom ranks second. In the selection of 1994, the competition between them reached a white-hot stage, and even evolved from the competition between flowers to the competition between provinces and cities. Luoyang City, Henan Province has set up a "National Flower Peony Leading Group" headed by the mayor himself and attended by Beijing, Xi, Shaanxi Province and Heze City, Shandong Province. Together, the "National Peony Evaluation Office" was established, and the four parties lobbied peony to be the national flower. Finally, the two candidate schemes determined by experts are one flower in one country (peony) and four flowers in one country (peony, lotus, chrysanthemum and plum blossom). The selection team organized 3 1 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions to vote, and Peony won with 18 votes.

An ordinary national flower selection has almost turned into an eight immortals crossing the sea, so you can sing and I will appear. Today, nearly 10 years later, the problem still deserves our reflection.

Who owns the flower base?

For more than 20 years, why has there never been a selection of overseas flowers?

According to the regulations of China Forestry Society, the selection of national flowers must meet four conditions: first, it is widely distributed; Second, the appearance should be beautiful; Third, it should have profound cultural connotation; The fourth is to have certain economic value.

Some scholars immediately questioned that the requirement of "wide distribution" was inappropriate, which seemed reasonable but too subjective, because what everyone liked was not necessarily the most widely distributed species, and the giant panda was not widely distributed, but it was a national treasure that everyone loved. In the same way, "beautiful appearance" should not be a rigid rule, because there is no uniform standard for "beautiful" or not, and such a requirement is particularly meaningless because of China's vast territory, complex population composition and great differences in national traditions; Whether it is a "national tree" or even a "world tree", it is just a tree without much connotation. "Song Qing is proud of snow and shows its strength" is just a literary language, which is not sufficient. What's more, the connotation of traditional culture is profound. For example, Confucianism, which talks about the "golden mean", is a kind of culture, and anti-golden mean laws are also a kind of culture. How to express it with several kinds of flowers, birds, fish and insects?

It is true that China has a vast territory and a profound flower culture, so it is difficult for a country to represent the natural, plant and human conditions of the whole country.

It is understood that peony and plum blossom have many voices in the selection of China's national flower in the past. Professor Chen Junyu was the earliest expert who advocated the selection of national flowers in Chinese mainland. As early as 1982, he put forward the suggestion that plum blossom should be the national flower. Later, the idea of "one country, two flowers" (peony and plum blossom) was put forward, which caused great repercussions at home and abroad.

Many experts believe that it is more appropriate to have two flowers in one country. Plum blossoms can represent the Yangtze River valley, and peony can represent the flowers in the Yellow River valley. One tree and one shrub symbolize spiritual civilization, industrious and indomitable character of China people, material civilization, prosperity and peace. Respecting plum blossom peony as the national flower can inspire people of all ethnic groups and Chinese people at home and abroad to continue to strive for self-improvement and strive for the happiness and prosperity symbolized by peony. 1994, China held a grand national flower selection. Peony was selected as the national flower, and orchids, lotus flowers, chrysanthemums and plum blossoms were the "four seasons famous flowers". However, the National People's Congress thought that the differences between the parties were too great to make a resolution, and finally it was dropped. It can be said that there is no consensus.

After all, the selection of the national flower is a very serious matter. We would rather be careful than make a hasty decision, otherwise it will cause eternal regret.

Comparatively speaking, countries with small land area, short history, single culture and uncomplicated ethnic structure can easily choose their own national flowers, such as acacia tree in Australia, tulip in the Netherlands, vetiver iris in France, cornflower in Germany and water lily in Thailand ... There are not many people, so it is easy to unify their opinions and take care of them in an all-round way, and draw a conclusion acceptable to everyone.

The flower base in China is not very popular.

National flower evaluation

Why must the National People's Congress decide on the selection of the national flower?

The selection of the national flower will not happen in the era of war and turmoil, nor will it happen in the era of hunger and cold. The choice of the national flower is a prosperous move, which shows that China society has moved towards peace and prosperity.

But must the selection of the national flower be reported to the National People's Congress? By analogy, in the future, the selection of all "Guo" brands such as national wine, state banquet, national bamboo, national fruit and national grass must be reported to the National People's Congress for decision. Won't the National People's Congress become an industry selection committee? Moreover, the national flower obviously cannot be compared with the national flag, national emblem and national anthem, because the latter is a symbol of a sovereign country, and the national flower has no such symbolic significance.

The National People's Congress is the highest authority, exercising state power on behalf of the whole people, and its functions and powers are legislation, supervision, appointment and removal, etc. Obviously, the selection of the national flower is not within its terms of reference.

Since the selection of the name "Guo" should truly reflect the interests of the majority of the people, which animal and plant varieties can win the aura of the name "Guo" should not be decided by the relevant institutions or experts first, but only by the people in an appropriate way, because such selection does not have any scientific research effect. This choice should not be subordinate to economic or other purposes, such as developing tourism. -This is also different from the selection of "Top Ten Famous Mountains in China" some time ago. The selection of the top ten famous mountains really bears the responsibility of "improving the overall image of China's mountain resources". At this time, it is understandable to properly consider tourism. National tree, national bird, national flower and top ten famous mountains all have different added values.

Dr. Tao of China Academy of Social Sciences believes that the national flower has the symbolic meaning of the national business card, and the formulation of evaluation criteria is a major event that concerns all aspects of relations and interests, and directly affects the fairness of the selection process and results. You can't arbitrarily deprive the public of the right to speak and vote in the formulation of selection criteria, and just award chinese society of forestry.

On the issue of selecting the national flower, the most important thing is to have a set of open and fair procedures and standards, and at the same time, there must be extensive participation of the whole country. Imagine if, like 1986, the public's enthusiasm for participation has not been mobilized at all, and more than one billion citizens only cast a pitiful vote of150,000, but they want to introduce such a selection result without extensive participation to the world as a nationally recognized "national X". Is this selection activity rallying or disintegrating the public's patriotic enthusiasm?

Professor Chen Junyu once said: "The constitutions of all countries only stipulate the national flag and the national emblem, and no country has included the national flower in the constitution. It can be seen that the national flower should be popularized and the opinions of the masses should be widely sought. "

Therefore, although the selection of the national flower is solemn, its political or economic significance is very limited and it is not suitable for political activities. We should treat it with a normal heart, and the determination of standards and the final conclusion should respect the opinions of the people.