What is the national flower of China?

People generally call peony or plum blossom "the national flower of China", but peony and plum blossom are not official national flowers. In fact, the people of China and the government of China have not officially determined the national flower. Peony and Plum Blossom were the national flowers of China in a specific period (note: before the founding of the People's Republic of China), and they are indeed the two most popular flowers among the people at present, but the government has not made a final decision.

In the Qing Dynasty, Empress Dowager Cixi designated peony as the national flower by imperial edict. The national flower of the Republic of China is plum blossom, which was determined by the national government as 1929.

But the national flower of People's Republic of China (PRC) has not been decided for a long time.

In Chairman Mao's time, because Mao personally loved plum blossom, the mainstream opinion tended to make plum blossom the national flower, but the official did not formally decide. Another group likes peony flowers, which represent reunion and wealth.

At present, most opinions tend to be "two flowers in one country", that is, plum blossom and peony are designated as double flowers. 1994, Chinese mainland held a national flower selection. Peony was selected as the national flower, and orchids, lotus flowers, chrysanthemums and plum blossoms were the "famous flowers in the four seasons", but in the end there were too many differences. In addition, some people advocate that the national flower is single, that is, choose one of plum blossom and peony. Even for people with four flowers in one country, peony, lotus, chrysanthemum and plum blossom represent four seasons respectively.

However, even the most diverse "five flowers in one country" scheme (peony is the national flower, orchid, lotus, chrysanthemum and plum blossom are the four famous flowers respectively) is ambiguous. For example, in autumn, there are not only chrysanthemums, but also well-known flowers such as osmanthus which originated in China. Some people even think that it is a waste to invest too much energy in the selection of the national flower, but the current national flower movement is full of commercial standards and localism (for example, Luoyang and Heze, two major peony producing areas, actively promote the designation of the national flower as peony. The city flower of Nanjing is plum blossom, hoping to make plum blossom a national flower. He is also worried that the decision of the national flower may trigger an upsurge in the selection of national birds, national wood and national wine. They think that the ten famous flowers in China are enough. The people of China and the government of China have not decided on the national flower, but most of the people's voices on the national flower are gathered in: peony or plum blossom; There are still some people who support orchids, chrysanthemums, jasmine flowers and daffodils, and there is no conclusion yet.