Recently, more than a dozen wood hibiscus trees transplanted in front of the door have blossomed one after another, and the flowers are pink or light red, like butterflies, which is very feminine. Every time I went into the courtyard, I would slow down, walk over and couldn't help but look back at them a few more times. Actually, I didn't know them. That morning, I met Lao Zhu, a flower and wood worker in the courtyard, and went forward to inquire, only to learn that these blooming flowers and trees were called wood hibiscus. I took pictures of them again, searched in the "Baidu Zhiwu", and finally confirmed: wood hibiscus, that is, hibiscus flowers, frost-repellent flowers, wood lotuses, etc., are mallows, hibiscus deciduous shrubs or small trees, native to China. It is known from the Internet that the flowering time of wood hibiscus is from August to October of each year, the flowers are single-born between the branches and armpits, and the petals are round, starting with light red or white at the beginning, and later becoming dark red. Wood hibiscus is also the flower of Chengdu City, and its flower language is slender beauty, chastity, purity. It is said that the five generations later Shu Emperor Meng Chang had a concubine named "Lady Huarui", who was not only feminine and delicate, but also loved flowers. One year she went to visit the flower market, and among the hundred flowers she saw a cluster of hibiscus flowers rolling in like clouds in the sky, and she especially liked it. In order to please the concubine, Meng Chang also issued an edict: Plant hibiscus in Chengdu City; Chengdu has since had the reputation of "Furong City". On May 26, 1983, the Standing Committee of the Ninth People's Congress of Chengdu City decided to officially name the hibiscus flower as the flower of Chengdu City. During the Tang and Song dynasties, there were many great poets who described Mu Furong. Bai Juyi's "Painting Wood Lotus Flower Picture Sending Yuanlang Zhong" "The flower room is like a red lotus flower, and the bright color is as bright as a purple peony." Only the poet can understand love, Dan Qing wrote and Jun looked", vividly depicting the characteristics of the flower nature, flower shape, and flower color of the wood hibiscus, revealing the poet and painter's love and preference for it, and from the poem, you can also read the sympathy and longing for each other between the author and his friends. Wang Anshi's "Wood Hibiscus" "Countless wood hibiscus at the water's edge, dew-dyed swallow fat color is not thick." Just like the beauty of the first drunk, strong lifting of the green mirror to make up", the poet through the praise of the hibiscus flower, expressed his yearning for the delicate water, beautiful and peaceful feelings, so gentle and beautiful poetry, actually from the hands of the strong man who was called "awkward and fair" by the people of the time. I'm not a real fan of flowers and plants. When I was a child, I grew up in the countryside, and I went out in the mountains and fields, and I could see flowers and plants everywhere all year round, and they were never rare. During the more than ten years of study, the cold window is hard to read, and every day is worried about hunger, where is the leisure to linger on flowers and plants? After going to work, the pitiful salary made me shy, and I almost did not dare to "exchange courtesies", and I would not be "obsessed" with red flowers and green grass. Later, after getting married and having children, busy and busy, the world changed, and half of life passed. It wasn't until last year, when one of my daughters had an eyebrow and one of them went to college, that I was idle. So, I pounded flowers and plants, read famous books, tried to write, met literary friends... My leisure time began to shine little by little. The wood hibiscus in front of you is not native to this place, they have been transplanted here for a few years, but they can bloom such delicate flowers. After watching, I suddenly thought: If a person has real talent and practical learning, no matter where he is, should he also be as splendid as a wood hibiscus? I fell into contemplation, then I was relieved.
*About the author: Yan Xiangming: pen name cultivator, member of the Communist Party of China, Hubei Xiaochang people, Xiaogan City Writers Association member, provincial language backbone teacher, has a number of works published in "Hubei Daily Rural New News", "Chutian Metropolis Daily", "Xiaogan Daily", "Xiaogan Evening News", "Writers New Horizons", "China Countryside" magazine and "Hubei Documentary Feature", "Xiaogan Literature" and other public accounts.