How did Peonies become the KING of Flowers? Why Chinese people love Peonies so much?

Peonies is known as the King of Flowers. Chinese people have an affinity to the beautiful flower. But did you know that there's a historical legend about the flower that gave it it's status?
Stalk us 👀:
💥Carmen's IG: @harrocarmen
💥Carmen's cooking channel: bit.ly/KOCYT
Why Chinese people love PEONIES so much? The fascinating story of the peony flower

[@WryAun]

I'm loving how you're doubling vocab items in Cantonese! There's so few canto learning resources so this is a great help

[@dj_laundry_list]

Have you been using the cantonese dictionary in pleco?

[@daegudiva]

Empress Wu was an original Bad Ass! I love flowers very much! Hibiscus & Gerber Daisies are probably my favorite!! Love you Carmen!💜❤😊

[@mnkt6424]

Young peonies tend to be wild and unruly, but as they grow and mature they become invaluable. Definitely worth keeping in your garden.

[@rxmach]

i love how you guys are a cantonese friendly channel. it really helps people like me who have moved away from family learn about our history and culture.

[@VulcanTrekkie45]

We have peonies in our garden! Yesterday evening I saw a rabbit stop by the peonies to sniff them. It was so precious

[@zaarkhananal7165]

2:12 the flower conference here cracked me up, 2:46 this part had me rolling though. Loved the voices, reminded me of my mom's storytelling, lol. Who knew that peonies stood against oppression, ha? If I ever grow a garden, I'm going to plant some of those.

[@xiaoxiaojingjing0309]

I'm Chinese and guilty of loving peonies bc of 1. Its my grandma's name and 2. King of flowers and 3. The saying of "its worth dying underneath a peony" 😘

[@Jobe-13]

Really weird how in the ancient world rulers tended to be seen as actual gods on Earth. It wasn’t just an expression or a glamorizing title of fame. To the people they ruled over, they were actual divine beings incarnated as humans.

[@NTDOffTheGreatWall]

that's a good topic to talk about

[@christosvoskresye]

It's totally unlike what's going on in North Korea right now.

[@426mak]

We still have it to a lesser extent with the Divine Right of Kings in Europe, Japan's Emperor claiming descent from the Sun Goddess and Thailand Kings treated as living gods.

[@mooncake5016]

Juust telling people "standing up what's right" might not go into their hearts and soul. By telling a story to covey a message is the best. Thank you, Peony flowers are indeed beautiful but I didn't know the story behind until I watched this video. Folks, don't just take picture of it....keep the meaning and story behind. Do what's right and stand up what's right ✌👍😊

[@BobTheHatKing]

There’s a famous classic Taiwanese song called “White Peonies”「白牡丹」(Pe̍h-bóo-tan) From part of the 2nd verse: “White peony, white blossom (and) petals (If) the spring wind does not come, (the) flower does not bloom (It) does not randomly bloom, (it) does not randomly be pretty” And from the 3rd verse: “White peony, waiting for (a) gentleman to pick (it) Hoping (he’ll) cherish flowers the very first one Not complaining too early, nor complaining too late Rather be picked by (a) gentleman and put in a vase Ah… (would) rather be picked by (a) gentleman and put in a vase!” As my mom beautifully explained it many times throughout my childhood (and continues to to this day whenever the song comes on), the peony represents a pure, innocent and beautiful young woman, waiting to be loved and picked for a bride by her Prince Charming, before her beauty fades and she is left alone. Thanks Carmen for this video, it really helps me understand these lyrics with a deeper understanding! Here are the full Taiwanese lyrics: 白牡丹　笑呅呅　妖嬌含蕊等親君 無憂愁　無怨恨　單守花園一枝春 啊……單守花園一枝春 白牡丹　白花蕊　春風無來花無開 無亂開　無亂美　不願旋枝出牆圍 啊……不願旋枝出牆圍 白牡丹　等君挽　希望惜花頭一層 無嫌早　無嫌慢　甘願乎君插花瓶 啊……甘願乎君插花瓶 Lyrics 作詞：陳達儒 Composer 作曲：陳秋霖 Original singer 原唱：根根 Released: 1939 年 勝利唱片 出版 kzbin.info/www/bejne/f2a1pmiid9Kdgbs

[@su1ka779]

I used to watch you guys in grade 2 (I'm now in grade 8!) I'm so happy you guys started uploading again, I missed you a lot T^T

[@huesoo9827]

The peony is my favorite flower by far!

[@togodbethegloryjohn1464]

Peony, Camellia, Lotus, and Spider Lily are my favorite flowers.

[@TheCelestialhealer]

Brilliant storytelling 🎉🎉

[@miscellaneouschina1280]

Learned something new today, thanks for sharing this story, fascinating!

[@burgerlampost9434]

I never what this flower was called! I see it at my late grandparents old place in Malaysia on furniture. thank you

[@dr.gaosclassroom]

What a wonderful story!!

[@dj_laundry_list]

You left out the most interesting part about mu zi tian and her power dynamics, which involves, um, licking

[@Lonelyeco]

I think I like Zenna's most. 1, because it sounds like my mom's name and 2, they are so pretty!

[@AnnaPotts818swifferbaby]

I'm so happy your channel is back!

[@amysbees6686]

L💖VE Peonies! Thank you, China!

[@1997aiya]

Welcome back to KZbin Carmen :)

[@christineboes5824]

thank you for the history lesson

[@tinathom88]

Thanks for the Canto lesson - super helpful!

[@Jimholy]

Love the sleeves

[@matt_s54]

ahhhhhh im so glad your back >

[@dr.gaosclassroom]

I love your video, especially your power laughs!!

[@The_Bookser]

Do the Chinese have a language of flowers? Like each flower have their own meaning and put some in an arrangement you can convey a message.

[@Neyobe]

To be honest, not that I’m aware of. Some do have meanings and words that follow them, but I am not sure on arrangement

[@The_Bookser]

That's what I want know. Like put together different flowers to tell someone a message they can understand. It might be just gibberish if they do make an arrangement of different flowers.

[@Neyobe]

@@The_Bookser yeah if it’s different flowers it might just be an ordinary bouquet but it’s still really nice and pretty

[@bennu547]

Yes there are flower arrangements that have symbolic meanings. But off the top of my head I don’t know if any are specifically Chinese. Most of the time they’re worldwide meaning. Like for example red and white roses together represent unity. This one in particular is also a flower emblem of England. Symbology is interesting because the same thing can have a multitude of meanings. Like how red and white roses are both an emblem of England and generally represent unity. Another example is one cherry blossom means education and double means false hopes. Magnolias mean nobility and perseverance but in China specifically it means love of nature. Even different colors or species of the same flower could mean something different. Tiger lilies mean wealth, pride and prosperity. Orange lilies mean hatred and dislike It’s something you have to look up if you’re curious or want to know about something specific. A green rose means “I am from Mars” believe it or not. According to my symbology book

[@redfroghead]

I love this type of contents! 😊

[@leostramberg1667]

LOVE watching YOU and showing you to my students as well

[@Sleepydiscotek]

Carmen I love your outfit!!!

[@heatherhandley7505]

This was great!

[@dominichill1492]

I love OTFW channel, because Carmen makes it a great channel as well.

[@lisaboyer8895]

The peony is rhe state flower of Indiana. The grow really well there and you will see them on old gardens.

[@kennethwu115]

Very informative video

[@yeyo9404]

Awesome I always wondered how come . The peonies are so beautiful and deserve a he name king of flowers

[@huytran86]

I love peony

[@BlameThande]

Interesting to contrast this story with the English legend of King Canute and the waves, which is often treated as similar to this due to people only knowing half of it, but in the original story was actually him trying to prove to his fawning courtiers he *didn't* have divine power: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Canute_and_the_tide

[@christosvoskresye]

Well, according to Herodotus, Xerxes (I think it was) had the waters of the Bosporus Strait flogged after they destroyed an enormous pontoon bridge he had built.

[@MaruskaStarshaya]

Cool, my fav flower is peony, I was like "why not watch a vid about it?"

[@nctrenlelove9518]

I love flowers I love cherry blossoms

[@SaheeliRai]

My favorite are gerbera

[@serenityq26]

i love em too. they have glade plugins with peony blossoms and mmm mmm THE BEST. replacing gardenias for me

[@duncanmit5307]

👍👍👍💜💜💜

[@Brandzter96]

Cherry blossoms most def 👌🏻

[@giovannijunior9642]

I don't have a favourite flower. So I'll go search about em!

[@christosvoskresye]

I mostly associate them with the Japanese story "The Peony Lantern".

[@shantiakent1432]

Roses, lilies and peonies.

[@analysis1018]

Never knew that a powerful empress and the charring of peony branches were involved in the creation of modern peonies.

[@tb1rd66]

I love California Golden Poppies

[@user-kv6uo5kz2o]

I like Erythrina variegata or call it Indian coral tree. It represents Okinawa. My beloved country.

[@drskelebone]

When you recognize the corner gif and wish a different one had been chosen. >_< (main guy got fired for being a creep in the office. right background guy is the only one left, all other background guys quit. right background guy is really cool, and is kind of carrying the channel with his wife, but they are both just great)

[@NTDOffTheGreatWall]

Oh didn’t know. Will choose a diff one next time!

[@saphedbarph]

This channel still uploads?

[@Momo-po5tn]

. 牡丹🌼♡♡

[@Super5152]

Not gonna lie, I’m Chinese and I don’t even know about that. 👍👍

[@Ericat257]

Wu Zetian wasn't an "emperor", she was an Emperor. She ruled a golden age. Yes, she did some seriously dark and messed up things... But honestly all rulers did. She did a lot of good for the government and the people. It's because she was a woman in power that she is vilified by later scholars. I'm not one to cry the woman card either.

[@ipad771]

Hi

[@ozgur781sen]

Just wanted to ask do you think of Eurasians with Asian culture as Asian or White?

[@dattebenforcer]

So if a guy likes My Little Peony, is he a Breony?

[@user-bf8bt2wf7d]

Nice flower documentary!! 🐎 But I did not see any Peonies!! 🐎 That was a joke :D Like going to a sushi restaurant seeing ho-ta-te (scallop) on the menu and jokingly saying to the wait That's not a Hot-po-ta-te!! (Hot potato) know what peonies are lol I just think of horses when I read or hear the word :D Like what is Pony-shampoo?xD My favorite flower is green and you roll it up or make brownies with it

[@serenityq26]

i thought it was pronounced pee o nee

[@saphedbarph]

Oh yeah Chen dynasty doesn’t upload

[@bennu547]

I always said peonies like “phonies.” Apparently that’s not right😹 Hands down my favourite flower is cherry blossom🌸🌸🌸They make me so happy. They’re beautiful and there’s the instant connection to Mulan who’s my favourite Disney Princess. I don’t care much for flowers. I mean they’re pretty but cherry blossoms are just so magical and elegant

[@buttarain27]

If you like cherry blossoms, you'd love plum blossoms.