The legend and symbolism of hawthorn

The symbolism of hawthorn

One of the symbols of hawthorn is food. I believe many people have eaten delicacies made with hawthorn, such as candied haws, hawthorn cake, etc., which are very delicious, so its meaning is delicacy.

With the development of literature and art, in recent years, a movie called "Under the Hawthorn Tree" has been sought after and loved by people, and hawthorn has become synonymous with pure love.

The legend of hawthorn

Legend 1

Once upon a time, there was a Tuo Mountain in Shandong Province. At the foot of the mountain there lived a beautiful girl named Pomegranate. Shi Liu fell in love with a young man named Bai Jing. They loved each other and had a deep affection for each other. However, Pomegranate's beauty alarmed the emperor, who sent people to take Pomegranate away and force her to become his concubine. But Shi Liu would rather die than obey, so she lied to the emperor and said that she would mourn for her mother for a hundred days. The emperor had no choice but to find a quiet courtyard for her to live in.

After the pomegranate was snatched away, Bai Jing chased it to Nanshan Mountain and kept watching over it there. Finally, he turned into a small tree. Shi Liu later fled the palace and went to Nanshan Mountain. She was heartbroken when she saw Bai Jing's incarnation. The sad pomegranate also turned into a tree and produced red fruits, which people called pomegranate. But the emperor cut down the tree and ordered that it should not be called pomegranate, but should be called mountain dregs, which means the dregs of the mountain. But people like the strong pomegranate and call it hawthorn.

Legend II

This legend is actually about candied haws.

It is said that during the Shaoxing period of the Southern Song Dynasty, Song Guangzong's favorite concubine fell ill with a strange disease, became pale and thin, and did not like to eat. The imperial physician used a lot of expensive medicines, but they didn't work. The imperial concubine became increasingly ill, and the emperor had no choice but to issue an imperial decree. A quack doctor took down the notice and after looking at the imperial concubine's condition, he said that if one boiled a pulp of tangerine peel with brown sugar and took 5 to 10 of them before meals, the illness would be cured in half a month. The imperial concubine recovered later.

The emperor was very happy, and made the delicacy according to this method. Later, this method spread to the people and became candied haws.