the flowers of war

TheLanguageofFlowers

Sweetflowersalonecansaywhatpassionfearsrevealing.

—ThomasHood

花卉语言是一种美丽的语言,每一朵、每一束鲜花都传递着人们的感情。“此时无声胜有声”，

千言万语，尽在花语中。

"Myloveislikeared,redro,that’snewlysprunginJune..."SowrotethetalentedScottishpoet,

RobertBurns,andweallrecognizetheredroastheultimateflowersymboloflove.

Forhundredsofyearsflowershaveheldhiddenmeanings,derivedfrommythology1,

mythology[mi'θɔlɔdʒi]神话folktales,quet2yound

orreceivebringsaspecialcodedmessage,dependingontheflowersyouchoo.

Inthe1600s,alanguageofflowersdevelopedinConstantinople(capitaloftheTurkishEmpire)

ryWortleyMontagubroughttheflowerlanguageandflower

meaningsfromTurkeytoEnglandin1716.

In1819,LouiCortambert,underthepennameMadameCharlottedelaTour,wroteand

publishedwhatemstohavebeenthefirstdictionaryoftheflowerlanguage,entitledLe

smallbook,butitbecameapopularreferenceonthesubject.

DuringtheVictorianera,thereignofQueenVictoriafrom1837to1901,themeaningand

ianwomenespeciallypickedupthesilent

languagethatallowedthemtocommunicatefeelingsandmeaningsthatthestrictrulesofcorrect

behaviorwouldnotallow.

In1884,awholebookonthesubject,entitledTheLanguageofFlowers,byJeanMarsh,was

mepopularandrespectedandhasbeenthestandardsourceforflower

meaningversince.

Bluebell—constancyandeverlastinglove

TheLatinnameforthisflowerisEndymion,dess

putEndymionintoaneverlastingsleep,llsaresaidto

helppreventnightmares.

Forget-me-not—trueloveandremembrance

Mythologydescribesforget-me-notastheflowerchonbyabraveknight3asagiftforhis

knelttogatherthetinyblueflowers,hefellintoariver

andwassweptaway,callingtohisloveto"forgetmenot".

Lily—innocenceandpurity

ItisudinchurchesasasymboloftheVirginMary’tedtotheGreekgoddess

Hera,thewifeofZeus,thebeautifullilywassuppodlyformedfromdropsofHera’sspiltbreast

Greekmarriageceremonies,thepriestudtoplaceacrownofliliesmixedwithears

ofwheatonthebride’shead,asasymbolofinnocenceandfertility4.

LilyoftheValley—returntohappiness

Abeautifullyscented5flower,itisbelievedthatthelilyofthevalleyprotectsyourgardensfrom

loomssuppodlygrewfromEve’stearswhenshewascastoutoftheGarden

ofEden.

Narcissus—lf-loveandvanity6

Theflowe

ignoredthelovelyEcho,andsowaspunishedbyfallinginlovewithhisownreflectioninapool.

ThegodsbelievedNarcissuswoulddieofstarvation7,sotheytransformedhimintothedelicate

formofscentedflower,sohecouldstaythereforever.

Olive—peace

kmythology,theolivetreewasconsideredaholy

treeblesdbyAthena,reeks,itreprentedpeaceand

power,andwreathes9ofoliveleaveswereplacedontheheadsofbravewarriors10andOlympic

athletes.

Peony—shynessandbeauty

ernfolktales,thepeonywas

linkedtothemoon,andwasbelievedtohavebeencreatedbythemoongoddesstoreflectthe

moon’sbeams11duringthenight.

Notes:

ogyn.神话

tn.花束

n.(欧洲中世纪的)骑士,武士

ityn.丰产

dadj.芬芳的

n.自负,虚荣

tionn.饥饿,饿死

n.治疗；药品

n.花环,花冠

rn.(尤指旧时的)战士,勇士,武士

.光

TreasureBox

bluebell蓝钟花；风铃草

forget-me-not勿忘我

lily百合花

lilyofthevalley铃兰

narcissus水仙

olive橄榄

peony牡丹；芍药

Poppy—remembrance,sleep

RedpoppiesgrowwellindisturbedearththroughoutWesternEurope,and

aftertheNapoleonicwarsthelandwascoveredinredpoppies,aswere

flowerbecamethesymbolofallthesoldierswhohadfallenduringbattle.

"InFlandersfieldsthepoppiesblow

Betweenthecross,rowonrow..."

—JohnMcCrae,InFlander’sFields

Romary—remembrance

Latinfor"dewofthea",ryissaid

toliveforthirty-threeyearsbe-foreitdies."

There’sromary,that’sforremembrance."

—Shakespeare,Hamlet

Ro—thetraditionalflowerofValentine’sDayandlove

ItsnamecomesfromaRomanlegendofawoman,

pursuedbymanysuitors1,whofinallybecamesoimpassionedthattheybroke

geredthegoddessDiana,whoturned

f

differentcolorscannddifferentmessages.

Red

Redrosarethetraditionalsymbolforloveandromance,aswellas

isoftentheromanticgiftgiventoyour

loveonValentine’sDay.

Pink

Asasymbolofgraceandelegance,thepinkroisoftengivenasan

scanalsoconveyappreciationaswell

asjoyfulness.

Yellow

Thebright,sunnycoloroftheyellowroevokes3afeelingofwarmth

mfeelingsassociatedwiththeyellowroare

,theyellowrois

anidealsymbolforjoyandfriendship.

White

Whiterosreprentinnocenceandpurity,andaretraditionally

associatedwithmarriagesandnewbeginnings.

Orange

Withtheirblazingenergy,orangerosaretheembodiment4ofdesireand

rosoftensymbolizepassionandexcitement,andare

etoforangeroswillnd

ameaningfulmessage.

Lavender5

Theuniquebeautyofthelavenderrohascapturedmanyheartsand

aditionallyudtoexpressfeelingsofloveat

firstsight.

Snowdrop—hope,purity

Oneoftheearliestspringflowersthatarriveduringcoldconditions,

itisknownasthe"flowerofhope"—asignoflifereturningtotheearth

afterthelongwintermonths.

Tulip—fame,perfectlover

OriginallyawildflowergrowinginCentralAsia,Tulipisnamed

ros,differentcolorsbring

theirownmeanings:red—adeclarationoflove;yellow—hopelesslove;

striped—beautifuleyes.

Violet—faithfulnessandmodesty

WhenNapoleonBonapartemarriedJophine,shewassaidtohaveworn

violets,rentlywore

alocket7containingvioletshehadgatheredfromJophine’sgrave.

Withtheknowledgeabove,youshouldbeabletoasmblea

meaningfulgiftofflowersorabouquetthatconveysacomplexthought.

Wraptheflowersappropriatelyandprenttheminasignificantmanner.

Atlast,justtobecertainthatyoureffortsarenotmisinterpreted,it’s

advisabletoattachwiththeflowersacardthatfullyexplainstheir

meaning.

Notes:

n.求婚者

.刺,棘

.唤起,引起(感情或形象)

mentn.典型,化身

ern.淡紫色

n.(穆斯林和印度教男教徒用的)包头巾

n.盒式项链坠TreasureBox

poppy罂粟花romary迷迭香ro玫瑰snowdrop雪花莲tulip郁金香

violet紫罗兰

Links

JohnMcCrae’sInFlandersFieldsremainstothisdayasoneofthemost

memorablewarpoemverwritten.

InFlandersFields

—ByJohnMcCrae(1872-1918)

InFlandersfieldsthepoppiesblow

Betweenthecrossrowonrow,

Thatmarkourplace;andinthesky

Thelarks,stillbravelysinging,fly

Scarceheardamidthegunsbelow.

aysago

Welived,feltdawn,sawsuntglow,

Lovedandwereloved,andnowwelie

InFlandersfields.

Takeupourquarrelwiththefoe:

Toyoufromfailinghandswethrow

Thetorch;beyourstoholdithigh.

Ifyebreakfaithwithuswhodie

Weshallnotsleep,thoughpoppiesgrow

InFlandersfields.