Hibiscus flower

Hibiscus flower

　　The hibiscus flower (also known as the cotton rose)

　　is universally adored for two main reasons. First, its breathtaking beauty and remarkable daily

　　color changes—from pale pink in the morning, to light red during the day, to deep red by evening—captivate and enchant all who see it. Second, it possesses a unique trait called "frost defiance." Blooming from the ninth to the eleventh lunar months when most flowers have withered, it bravely flowers despite the frost. As the poet Bai Juyi wrote: “Fear not autumn’s loneliness without companions; when the water lilies fade, the cotton roses bloom.” Su Dongpo further praised its character, saying, “To call it frost-defying is still an understatement; it seems most at home with the frost.” Thirdly, every part of the hibiscus plant is valuable—the flowers and leaves can both be used medicinally. Li Shizhen noted that using hibiscus flowers and leaves to treat “abscesses, swellings, and malignant sores is wonderfully effective.”

　　The people of Changde have long cherished the hibiscus flower, cultivating it widely throughout history, when it once bloomed abundantly across the land. When Qu Yuan was exiled to Changde and witnessed this splendid sight, he

　　wrote in his poem “Nine Songs”: “Plucking vines from the waters, gathering hibiscus from the treetops.” In the Ming Dynasty, Chen Hongmou recorded in the “Jiajing Changde Prefecture Annals”

　　that it was listed as one of Changde’s most remarkable “products”: “The cotton rose, also called frost-defying, is named for blooming in the ninth month. It comes in red

　　and white varieties, with both single and double petals. Those that open white in the morning and gradually turn red by afternoon are called ‘drunken hibiscus.’”

　　Although the hibiscus flower has enjoyed longstanding fame in Changde’s history, few people today cultivate it or know that Changde is its true place of origin. This mystery was unraveled thanks to the research of Mr. —, who solved the puzzle of Changde being the authentic home of the hibiscus.

　　After Mao Zedong’s 1961 poem “Answering a Friend,” a seven-character regulated verse, was published, Shi Ximin, the then Minister of Propaganda for the Shanghai Municipal Committee, asked Mr. — about the meaning of “In the land of hibiscus, the morning glow shines everywhere.” On March 13, 1900, Mr. Qiao Mu replied: “The ‘land of hibiscus’ refers to Hunan,

　　which Mao Zedong derived by reinterpreting a line from the late Tang poet Tan Yongzhi: ‘Autumn winds sweep ten thousand miles through the land of hibiscus.’” He also pointed out that the term “hibiscus” has two meanings—one referring to the lotus, the other to the cotton rose—and both interpretations are valid, since the cotton rose, according to herbal texts, originates from Dingzhou, present-day Changde in Hunan.

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　　See “Collected Letters of —,” People’s Publishing House, May 2000 edition)

　　. Thus, the hibiscus in “In the land of hibiscus, the morning glow shines everywhere”

　　has its true origin in Changde.

　　Mr. Qiao Mu’s assertion is well-supported. First, the Tang Dynasty’s Su Song, in his “Illustrated Pharmacopoeia,” clearly records: “The cotton rose comes from Dingzhou; its leaves are harvested in the ninth month to treat sores and swellings—this is precisely the plant.” Second, when Li Shizhen wrote the “Compendium of Materia Medica” in the Ming Dynasty, he followed the “Illustrated Pharmacopoeia” and conducted an on-site investigation in Changde, confirming that the cotton rose from Dingzhou was the authentic “genuine medicinal material.” He recorded it in the “Cotton Rose” section of the “Compendium,” stating that its bark could be made into rope, and its flowers and leaves could be used medicinally, with miraculous efficacy in treating abscesses and swellings.

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　　While cultivating the hibiscus flower, the people of Changde also nurtured a spirit as resilient and indomitable as the hibiscus’s “frost defiance,” creating many glorious chapters in history. Today, although fewer hibiscus flowers are planted, the people’s “frost-defying” spirit remains—a fundamental driving force behind our city’s continuous reform, opening up, and remarkable progress. Let us all join hands to nurture and cultivate this hibiscus flower of Changde, so that it may bloom even more

　　luxuriantly and brilliantly.

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