The flower language and cultural meaning of banyan trees

Banyan tree flower language

Important memories, friendly, affable.

The cultural meaning of the banyan tree

Fuzhou is known as the "Banyan City" for its banyan trees.

According to legend, during the Zhiping period of the Northern Song Dynasty, the prefect Zhang Boyu led the people to fight floods and disaster relief, but unfortunately he fell ill. Zhang Boyu accepted an old man's suggestion to "plant banyan trees to conserve water and soil" and planted banyan trees outside the yamen himself. He also asked the people to plant 15,000 banyan trees inside and outside the city. Five years later, "the whole city was covered with green shade, and there was no need to open an umbrella in the hot summer." Fuzhou then got the nickname "Banyan City".

In fact, more than 1,300 years ago, there were many banyan trees growing in government offices, squares, and hillsides in Fuzhou. In the Complete Tang Poems, Wang Shenzhi was canonized as the King of Langya, and Weng Chengzan from Fuqing was ordered to go to Fuzhou to announce this matter on behalf of Emperor Zhaozong of Tang. Wang Shenzhi gave him a farewell banquet at the Xinfeng City Dike and wrote the poem "In the year of Jiazi, I was ordered to return home to Rongcheng to be enthroned as the King of Fujian and lowered the flag at the Xinfeng City Dike to bid him a farewell banquet". This also shows that the nickname "Rongcheng" was already in use in the late Tang Dynasty.

In the eyes of Fuzhou people, banyan trees not only play an effective role in regulating the city's climate, but are also full of treasures: banyan trees contain rubber components and can be used as rubber raw materials; their thick roots can be used to make bonsai root carvings; they are warm in nature and astringent in taste, and drinking them in wine is very helpful in treating bruises and injuries, and also has analgesic effects.

In modern and contemporary Chinese literature, there are many poems and essays with banyan trees as their theme. Some of them have even been included in textbooks, and have influenced generations of people. For example, Ba Jin's "Bird's Paradise" and Huang Helang's "Banyan Tree in Hometown". The former describes how the banyan tree's fibrous roots penetrate into the soil and grow into aerial roots, thus forming a forest of one tree and connecting into one, making the tree crown a paradise for birds, which is very interesting. The latter describes the banyan tree's drooping roots, thick shade covering the ground, and its crown like a giant umbrella, which protects against cold winds in winter and scorching sun in summer. The description is vivid and touching.

Fortunately, in 1985, the Fuzhou Municipal Government designated the banyan tree as Fuzhou’s “city tree”; and in 1997, the Standing Committee of the Fujian Provincial People’s Congress designated the banyan tree as the “provincial tree”. When the beautiful city of Fuzhou celebrated its 2200th anniversary, Fuzhou TV filmed a commemorative documentary: "2,200 Years of Fuzhou", the first episode of which was named "The Longevity of Banyan Tree".

For thousands of years, the banyan tree has been the patron saint of this city, making the land of Fuzhou majestic and interesting. Nowadays, when people walk on the streets of Fuzhou and see the banyan trees sprouting new green leaves in the sunshine, it is hard not to be inspired by the imagination. A hundred years later, when future generations look at the green banyan trees before them, they will certainly be grateful for the achievements of their predecessors just as we are now. The banyan trees and people will become part of this city.