Pronunciation: hàn dàn

Interpretation: Anciently, the unopened lotus flower was called Nymphaea, i.e., the flower bud.

The Nymphaeaceae is a perennial aquatic herb in the lotus family. It is also known as the lotus flower, and was anciently known as water hibiscus, Nymphaea, and infinity. Native to tropical and temperate regions of Asia.

The lotus is one of the ten most famous flowers in China, and is also the national flower of India. The lotus is a representative of holiness, and is a symbol of sacred purity in Buddhism.

Expanded Information

The Nymphaea rosea buds in March and blooms in June, with large, pink and white flowers that drop their petals and the central rosette grows to maturity, with a honeycomb-shaped rosette. The underground stem is fat and long, with nodes, and is called the "lotus root". The seeds and underground stems are edible.

The word "Nymphaea" in the Dictionary of Commonly Used Characters in Ancient Chinese (Commercial Press, 2005 edition) reads "[Nymphaea] Lotus", and the Dictionary of Commonly Used Characters in Ancient Chinese (Changchun Publishing House, 2007 edition) reads "[Nymphaea] (name) lotus", and in the Standardized Dictionary of Modern Chinese (Foreign Language Teaching and Research Publishing House Language Publishing House, 2004 edition), it reads "Nymphaea, (text) lotus".

Reference Baidu Encyclopedia - Nymphaea