In the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Yang Di (AD 605-6 18), "200 miles of land was divided into Xiyuan ... and all the animals and plants in the world were sent to the capital (now Luoyang, Henan). Yizhou (now Yixian County, Hebei Province) entered 20 boxes of peony. " Sui's Su Zhiwen said, "Peony blooms at five o'clock in Qingming Festival. "This is enough to show that peony is bigger as an ornamental plant.
Peony cultivation began in the Tang Dynasty (AD 6 18-907). Kaiyuan flourishing age is in Chang 'an. Legend has it that there was a man named Song Shanfu who was good at growing flowers. At the call of Li Longji, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, he went to Lishan to plant more than 10,000 plants of different colors (Longcheng Record). Li Bai's "clouds want clothes and flowers, and spring breeze blows the threshold." If it weren't for the head of Yushan Mountain, I would meet Yaotai under the moon. "There are three songs, such as Qing Ping Diao, about peonies of different colors." The peony demon in front of the court failed, and the lotus flowers in the pool were quiet and affectionate. Only peony is the real national color, and bloom is a capital city. "(Liu Yuxi:" Appreciating Peony ")" The imperial city is dying in spring, and it is noisy for a while; * * * If you say peony, you will buy flowers with you. The price is priceless, and the reward depends on the number of flowers: burning a hundred red flowers and stepping on the beam. ..... everyone is used to it, and everyone is obsessed. ..... "(Bai Juyi:" Buy Flowers ") From these poems, we can see the grand occasion of digging peony in Chang 'an, the imperial capital at that time. At this time, peony not only has many kinds of colors, but also has some novel changes and double petals. "There is a peony nest in Xingtang Temple, and Yuanhe has 1,200 flowers. Their colors are positive halo, inverted halo, light red, light purple, purple white, white sandalwood and so on. There are those without crimson, those without hearts inside and outside the leaves, and those with heavy flowers with seven or eight inches painted faces. "("Youyang Miscellany ")" Chiba peony was planted in front of the Muzong Emperor Temple, and bloom was fragrant, and Chiba was big and red. " (Du Yang Za). This also shows that as early as the ninth century, China already had double-petalled peony.
Song, a native of Luoyang in Tang Dynasty, was a single father and was good at gardening. He planted thousands of kinds of red and white peonies, and was respected as a gardener by his contemporaries, which surprised him with his "unique skills". Cherish this superb skill, there is no record passed down from generation to generation. Song Ouyang Xiu's "Three Records of Peony Customs in Luoyang" records that there was a man with a compound surname in Dongmen in the Song Dynasty, who was called "Men Yuanzi". He is a master of grafting peony flowers. The rich man asked him to graft peony in autumn, and then paid for it when he saw it in the next spring. He picked one alive, worth 5,000 yuan. Zhang Bangji's "Mo Zhuang Man Lu" also records that during the Xuanhe period, there was a gardener named Ou in Luoyang who cultivated roots with medicinal materials. The following year, it bloomed in light blue, known as "Ogabi", which is extremely precious and is presented to the court as a tribute every year.
The cultivation and management of peony in Luoyang in Song Dynasty summarized a set of relatively complete and mature experiences in land selection, planting, watering, fertilization, pruning, insect prevention, frost prevention, grafting and breeding. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the cultivation techniques of peony tended to be perfect. The florist made a scientific summary from eight aspects of peony planting, branching, grafting, watering, feeding, medicine and taboo, and put it into practice. The cultivation techniques of ancient Luoyang peony still have certain guiding significance for peony production. On the basis of restoring and inheriting contradictory traditional cultivation techniques, contemporary Luoyang people have made rapid progress in various technologies, especially in promoting peony cultivation, which lasted nearly 200 days from early September to the next year. The control technology of peony flowering period has basically reached the goal of bloom to follow people's wishes all year round.
In Song Dynasty (AD 960- 1279), China Peony Cultivation Center moved from Chang 'an in Tang Dynasty to Luoyang, with more varieties of peony and more systematic cultivation techniques. A number of theoretical monographs appeared, which greatly promoted the study of peony. The works of this period include "Luoyang Peony" by Ouyang Xiu; Zhou's Peony in Yinjiang Luoyang and Flowers and Trees in Luoyang; Max Zhang's "Luoyang Flower Spectrum" and so on. This paper introduces the cultivation and management of peony, and summarizes a set of mature experiences. Ouyang Xiu said: Generally speaking, Luo people have flowers in their homes, but it is difficult to cover them without big trees.
The artificial cultivation of peony in Luoyang began in Sui Dynasty and flourished in Tang Dynasty, with the Northern Song Dynasty as the best. Later, with the transfer of the political center and the destruction of the famous gardens in Luoyang, in the Southern Song Dynasty, peony in Tian Peng, Sichuan Province began to flourish, and a small Luoyang appeared. Judging from more than 60 varieties recorded in Lu You's Tian Peng Peony Spectrum, most of them were introduced from Luoyang. In the Ming Dynasty, there were many old varieties of peony in Bozhou, Anhui Province, all of which were introduced from Luoyang. In Qing Dynasty, Cao Zhou Peony replaced Bozhou Peony, and Luoyang Peony was directly or indirectly related to Cao Zhou Peony, showing the spread and influence of Luoyang Peony. Today, Luoyang Peony has spread to Italy, Germany, France, Japan, the United States, the Netherlands, South Africa, Australia, China, Taiwan Province Province and Hongkong.
Among Luoyang peonies, Yao Huang and Wei Zi are the best and the most peculiar two famous flowers. If peony is the king of flowers, then Yao Huang and Wei Zi can be called "the crown of peony". Speaking of it, there is a wonderful and moving legend about the origin of these two precious peonies in Luoyang.
It is said that in Song Dynasty, there was a poor boy named Huang at the foot of Mangshan Mountain. His father died a long time ago, and he and his mother were the only ones in the family. Huang is honest and has a good conscience. Because his family was poor, he shouldered the burden of life from a very young age and made a living by chopping wood and selling money up the mountain. Every day at dawn, Huang picked up the dry food bag arranged by his mother and hung it on the pole. Then he took a wood knife to say goodbye to his mother and went up the mountain to cut wood.
There is a stone man on the hillside road that must pass up the mountain. No one in the local people explained clearly how this stone man came. Since Huang first saw it on the mountain, he has met it every time he goes up the mountain. Not far from the stone man, there is a mountain spring, which is inexhaustible all year round. When Huang goes up and down the mountain, he often quenches his thirst and washes himself here. There is a peony with purple flowers beside the mountain spring. This peony has grown here for many years, and no local people can understand it. Anyway, when Huang first went up the mountain, it grew there. Like every day, Huang is always the first to come here in the morning, and then he takes off the dry food bag from the pole without losing his childlike interest, hangs it around the neck of the stone man and says, "Brother Stone Man, eat steamed buns!" " Then, he went to the edge of the mountain spring, took a few springs and poured them on the roots of the purple peony, saying, "Sister Peony, drink water!" " After that, Huang Dai went up the mountain to cut wood.
In this way, year after year, he has grown into a strong and handsome young man. But he still cuts and sells firewood every day. He is hardworking, simple and kind. On this day, he cut the firewood as usual, came to the stone man, took off the dry food bag hanging around his neck and said with a smile, "Brother Stone Man, you don't eat steamed bread, I can eat it!" " After eating, he went to the mountain spring to drink a few mouthfuls of spring water, then poured a few handfuls of spring water on the purple peony, and then provoked firewood down the mountain.
On this day, Huang cut a lot of firewood. From a distance, it's like picking two hills, and the connecting rods are bent. Not long after walking, he felt a little tired, so he set up a Mu Cha firewood by the mountain and had a rest. Just then, a girl came down from the mountain. When she approached Huang Shi, she offered to help him collect firewood. This embarrassed Huang. How can a big man let a beautiful young girl bear this burden? He repeatedly waved his hand in disapproval, so anxious that he couldn't even say anything. The girl saw him embarrassed like this. I couldn't help laughing, and then I plunged into it. I stepped forward to grab the firewood, picked it up and walked down the hill. Somehow, I can't catch up with Huang on foot.
In this way, the girl picked the firewood to the Huang family in one breath. At this time, Huang's mother was cooking in front of the stove. When she saw her son bringing back a beautiful girl, she was so happy that she couldn't keep her mouth shut. However, due to the different places and styles of things, she quickly let the girl into the house and offered her seat and poured tea. But if a girl doesn't sit or drink, it's like coming to her home. As soon as the sleeves were rolled up, she went down to the kitchen to help the old man make a fire and roll noodles. She did all the work and was not idle for a moment, which made Huang Niang very happy.
After dinner, go to the yellow market to sell firewood. Huang's mother took the girl's hand and talked about homeliness. The girl said that her name is Zigu and she lives on Mangshan Mountain. Her parents died and she was the only one in the family. Hearing this, the old man wanted her to be his wife. She said this wish to the girl, and the girl shyly agreed. Since then, Zigu has been living in Huang's house. Zigu is ingenious and good at sewing. The peony she embroidered is lifelike, just like the real one. Yellow street sells firewood and brings some peony embroidery to sell, and people always buy it right away. After a while, the family gradually got better. Therefore, their mother Huang urged them to get rid of their marriage as soon as possible. However, Zigu advised her not to worry, saying that she would wait for a period of time until she went to live in Huang's house for 100 days before formally getting married.
What is the reason? It turns out that Zi Gu has a treasure in his mouth all day. Otherwise, she can't officially become a mortal. Her original body is the purple peony beside the mountain spring. Since she set foot in Huang's house and wanted to be his daughter-in-law, she has not only restrained herself, but also asked Huang to take turns to accompany her. She also told Huang again and again that she could only submit to humiliation, otherwise, the two could not get married. What is the wonderful use of the beads in Purple Valley in the yellow toilet? She said it can refresh and strengthen your body, so that you won't feel hungry and tired when cutting wood and carrying loads. In order to test the wonderful use of this orb, one day Huang cut a lot of firewood, but he felt that it was not heavy on his shoulders, so he easily picked it off the mountain. Therefore, he decided that it was really a treasure, and he remembered to install one every day. Moreover, he memorized the days in his mind. Once it lasts for a hundred days, he can marry his son-in-law.
The legend of peony and Wu Zetian
Wu Zetian, a native of Wenshui, Shanxi, is the queen of Tang Gaozong. After the death of the emperor, she proclaimed herself emperor and changed her name to Zhou. She is the only feudal female emperor in the history of China.
Legend has it that after Wu Zetian proclaimed himself emperor in 690 AD, heavy snow fell in the middle of winter, and Chang 'an City was wrapped in silver. Ministers flattered Wu Zetian and said, "Long live the country, and there will be a great earthquake in the world. Now the world is at peace, and the snow shines in good years. Next year, the grain will be abundant, and the country will be safe. "
Wu Zetian was very happy after hearing this. She drinks with ministers, enjoys the snow and writes poems. Wu Zetian borrowed wine to write poems.
"the Ming dynasty swam into the garden and ran into the spring;
Bloom must stay overnight, don't wait for the breeze. "
After writing, she asked the maid-in-waiting to take it to the garden and burn it to inform the flower god.
All the flowers in Shangyuan rested in the dead of winter, ready to offer flowers in the spring, and received an imperial edict from a poem by Wu Zetian, ordering them to open overnight. No one dares to violate the edict of Baihua, and Kao Peony is ignored. Fairy peony said that flowers have their own methods, and Wu Zetian is also the king of mortals. See if she can treat me like a fairy among flowers. She is still resting in the snow, not ready to blossom.
The next morning, the ladies-in-waiting opened the door of the palace, went to Shangyuan and saw bloom all night. All the love, the ladies-in-waiting reported excitedly, "Report to your Majesty, bloom spent the night in Shangyuan!" Wu Zetian also wondered how it could bloom in winter. She went to the bookcase and saw her poem. She understands that imperial power is supreme and no one dares to violate it. Even flowers are obedient. Accompanied by a maid-in-waiting, she went to Shangyuan to enjoy flowers. She was only joking after drinking when she saw the flowers blooming proudly. I didn't expect the order to blossom. Come to Shangyuan. Looking up, the peach blossom, plum blossom, magnolia, begonia, hibiscus and lilac in the garden are all in full bloom, in clusters, in clusters, with colorful colors. Brilliant morning glow sets off flowers, bright white snow sets off green leaves, swaying with the wind, leaning down and leaning up, graceful and charming.
Wu Zetian is very happy. After careful observation, she found that among the flowers and trees, only peony did not open. When Wu Zetian saw this, she flew into a rage and said, "Bold peony, against my will, dare not blossom on my site. Then ordered the peony to be demoted from Chang 'an to Mangshan, Luoyang, so that the peony was adjacent to countless tombs in Mangshan and could never blossom.
Wu Zetian burned peony angrily.
After Wu Zetian exiled the peony to Luoyang, the poor Kao Peony was adjacent to countless tombs on Mangshan, but Luoyang people loved flowers, and when they saw a new flower on Mangshan, they all came to transplant it. Peony failed to live up to the love of Luoyang people. In the second year, all kinds of peonies were in full bloom, and Mangshan was full of flowers. This is the kindness of peony, and colorful flowers bring spring.