Blooming Alone in an Empty Valley: Orchids in Ancient Chinese Poetry
In ancient China, poets often used specific plants and flowers to symbolize virtues. Among them, the plum blossom, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum were collectively revered as the 'Four Gentlemen' of flowers. The Asian Art Museum in San Francisco houses a 19th-century Japanese calligraphy collection centered on the Four Gentlemen of Flowers. In a previous article, we translated poems about the plum blossom. This article is the second in the series, focusing on the orchid, a flower that symbolized the virtues of a gentleman in ancient Chinese culture.
秋风辞 Autumn Wind Song 汉武帝 （Author: Emperor Wu of Han, 2nd century BC) 秋风起兮白云飞， autumn wind rise connection word white cloud fly 草木黄落兮雁南归。grass tree yellow fall connection word geese south return 兰有秀兮菊有芳， orchid have elegant connection word chrysanthemum have fragrance 怀佳人兮不能忘。 think of beautiful woman connection word no can forget 泛楼船兮济汾河， float building ship connection word cross Fen river 横中流兮扬素波。 cross middle flow connection word raise white wave 箫鼓鸣兮发棹歌， bamboo flute drum sound connection word sing paddle song 欢乐极兮哀情多。 happy happy to the extreme connection word sorrow feelings many 少壮几时兮奈老何！young strong how much time connection word deal with old question word
Translation: The autumn wind rises and sends white clouds flying The grass and the trees have yellowed, and the geese flown south. Orchids and chrysanthemums are fragrant and elegant. I think of a beautiful woman I will never forget. As my flagship crosses the Fen river. We raise white waves navigating the channel. Flutes and drums sound; the oarsmen burst into song. Great happiness can lead to great sorrow. Oh, how much time we had when we were young? How can we deal with growing old?
咏兰 Ode to the Orchid 唐彦谦 (Author: Tang Yanqian, 9th century) 清风摇翠环，clear wind shake green ring 凉露滴苍玉。cold dew drop green jade 美人胡不纫，beautiful person why not wear 幽香蔼空谷。hidden fragrance luxuriant/lush empty valley
Translation: A light breeze makes the emerald circles tremble. Cold dew drips onto the green jade. Why didn’t the gentleman wear one? The empty valley is filled with hidden fragrance.
Translation notes:
The first poem was composed by Emperor Wu of Han, a brilliant and ambitious ruler of the Han Dynasty, while the second was written by Tang Yanqian, a talented poet of the Tang Dynasty. In the first poem, the orchids are described as 'fragrant and elegant,' showcasing a writing technique known as intertextuality. A word-for-word translation of the original Chinese line reads: 'Orchids are elegant, and chrysanthemums are fragrant.' However, through intertextuality, the author conveys that both flowers share the qualities of elegance and fragrance. At the same time, Autumn Wind Song is filled with contrasts and allusions to loss; no one is bringing orchids on the flagship, and their delicate beauty is compared to a woman from the poet’s past. They are not expected to last through all phases of life. In the second poem, the poet uses metaphors to admire the orchid. The orchid flowers are likened to emerald circles, and the leaves to green jade. These exquisite and valuable jewels reflect the poet's deep admiration for the orchid. In the third and fourth lines, the poet suggests why the gentleman did not pick the orchid to wear. The orchids, blooming in empty valleys, symbolize a virtue of beauty, elegance, and fragrance, unbothered by whether their qualities are admired by others. This detachment from seeking approval symbolizes a noble purity, which the poet respects by choosing not to disturb their serene elegance. As in the emperor’s poem, the orchids also seem fragile — trembling orchids that are best left where they are, in an empty valley, rather than being forced into human society. As with so much of Chinese poetry, there is some sense of loss even when admiring virtue and beauty.
Some ancient Chinese emperors were not only rulers but also cultured individuals with a talent for writing poetry. In our previous post, we translated two poems by emperors whose empires were defeated, leading to their capture and imprisonment by their enemies. In contrast, Emperor Wu of Han was known as an ambitious and successful, albeit ruthless, ruler. He is known for his military expansion during his reign, as well as his patronage of musical and poetic arts. It is said that he wrote the first poem in this article during his 40s, when he travelled to Shanxi province to worship the deity of deep earth and soil. During his trip, he received a message that his army had just won a victory on their mission to conquer the south. This poem was therefore written during a time when his empire was strong and his personal power seemed unlimited. The last sentence of the poem contrasted his seemingly unlimited early power with the fact that he wouldn’t be able to stop time and prevent himself from getting old. That’s probably the reason why he seemed to be abusing his power during his later reign ― he put his quest for the elixir of immortality ahead of his subjects’ well being. He even married off one of his daughters to a magician who promised to find the magic elixir. The frustrated emperor later executed his son-in-law for failure to fulfill this promise.
Interestingly, the use of flowers as symbols is not unique to ancient Chinese culture. During the Victorian era, floriography, or the 'language of flowers,' gained popularity as a way for people to deliver secret messages or sentiments through floral arrangements. This concept is often attributed to Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, an English poet and aristocrat. Accompanying her husband, a British diplomat, to the Ottoman Empire, she is said to have observed harem women using coded floral language to secretly communicate with their lovers, though this was likely a misunderstanding of the Turkish game known as 'sélam.' She is credited with introducing this tradition to Britain.