□ reporter Lu Yu
At present, in the Caozhou Peony Garden Scenic Area of Heze, Datian peony has entered the leaf bud stage, the emerald green leaves are swaying in the wind, and the full buds are quietly appearing, waiting to bloom. According to peony expert Sun Wenhai, Caozhou Baihuayuan has formed a unique peony king group of the Ming and Qing dynasties in the world, and it is currently growing well.
Heze has an indissoluble bond with peony, and peony flowers are close to the river. The Yellow River is the central axis of Chinese civilization, a river of nature and a river of humanity. The vast Yellow River basin is the culmination of Chinese civilization, and the peony is the most eye-catching color of the Yellow River, it is the flower of loess, the most representative flower of the Yellow River Basin, and the flower that bears the reputation of the national color, and the mother river can be described as a match made in heaven.
In the upper, middle and lower reaches where the Yellow River culture took root, the most outstanding is the peony. As early as more than 800 years ago, there was the cultivation of ornamental peonies in Hezhou (now Linxia, Gansu), and there were many varieties, such as "Wei Zi", "Yao Huang", "Pear Blossom Snow", "Buddha Head Green", "Cinnabar Red", "Er Qiao", "Green Butterfly", "Drunken Yang Fei" and so on. The names of these varieties are similar or identical to those of the ancient peony spectrum and the Central Plains variety group. According to the research of Li Jiajue, a well-known peony expert, these varieties are mainly selected and bred by peony lovers among the local people of all ethnic groups after hundreds of years, and belong to the purple peony variety series. The peony plants here are tall, with a crown of up to two meters and large flowers.
And in Heze, peony and the Yellow River have the most beautiful encounter. "Caoxian peony is the best in the world", a large amount of soil nutrients alluvial in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River, catalyzed by the suitable climate, let the peony find the best home in the arm bend of the Yellow River. From the Ming Dynasty to today, the Heze area has always been the cultivation center of Chinese peony, peony was born in Si, flourished in Si, the essence of the ancient civilization of the Yellow River continues to bloom, and has become the best entry point to interpret the Yellow River culture.
Where and when did Heze peony come from, there are three important channels in the literature and historical materials -
First, through the purchase of seeds. "Cao County Chronicles, Products, Flowers" contains: "Respect Zhou envoy for Shao, beg for dozens of lonely roots, scatter Luoyang Fangzi in the township, it is a big thing." Dai Songcheng's "National Flower Peony Archive" contains: "During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, Zhao Ruibo, a native of Caozhou, Shandong, bought back 10 Luoyang peonies despite the hardships of a long journey. Modern Zhao Shixue's "New Mulberry Fence Garden Peony Spectrum" also contains: "Erqiao...... Flowers out of Luoyang, moved to Caozhou for more than 100 years, a 'Luoyang brocade'. From this point of view, Luoyang, Henan should be one of the sources of peony in Heze.
And then there's the interaction with each other. Qing Guangxu's "Cao County Chronicles, Product Chronicles" contains: "Peony, non-native products, good deeds buy the garden." "This is to say that peony is not an inherent product of Heze. Therefore, some people argue that Heze peony actually comes from Bozhou? What is the fact, Ming "Bozhou Peony History: Benji" contains: "De, Jingjian...... Partial (over) begging for other county rare books to transplant Bozhong. There are peonies since then. "De, Jingma, that is, from 1506 to 1566. "The History of Bozhou Peony" records 9 famous peony products directly from Caozhou, such as: "Meizhou Red ...... Out of Cao County Wang's, alias Meizhou Yun" and "Feiyan Red Makeup...... Obtained from Caozhou Fangjia""Champion Red...... Cao County, also known as 'Cao County Champion Red'".
"The History of Bozhou Peony" is the earliest existing large-scale peony monograph in the mainland, the record of "Caoxian Zhuangyuanhong" and other varieties in the book is the earliest document record that can be traced back to the cultivation of peony in Caozhou, it can be said that "Hongzhijian" is the beginning of Caozhou peony; Hongzhi (1488~1505) is the name of Ming Xiaozong, this record shows that Caozhou peony is earlier than Bozhou peony. The cultivation of peonies in Bo and Cao began in the Ming Dynasty and influenced each other.
Finally, immigrants bring in. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the foreign population in Heze was as high as 60%, and most of these immigrants came from Shanxi. Among them, Fenzhou Prefecture is the main source of immigrants from Heze. According to the "Overview of Villages in Peony District", "Caozhou Peony Garden", "Hundred Gardens", "Ancient and Modern Gardens", "Ningxiang Garden", "Mao's Garden" and "Zhao's Garden" were all built in the Ming Dynasty. "Gazetteer of Heze City (County Level) in Shandong Province" shows that Zhaolou Village (now Guohua Community), Hongmiao Village (now Baihua Community), and Liji Village (now Tianxiang Community) in the peony gathering place were also established in the Ming Dynasty. The "Overview of Villages in Mudan District" also records that most of the ancestors of the villagers in the flower area of Mudan Street were immigrants from Hongdong County, Shanxi. This is reminiscent of the Shanxi immigrants with wild peonies.
Although the way the peony arrives in Heze is different, it is inseparable from the Yellow River. Historically, the Yellow River and peony have blended and jointly interpreted the depth and magnificence of traditional Chinese culture, and also contributed to their own beautiful legends. As early as the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, Xie Zhaozhe, who was an official in Dongping, passed by Caozhou several times and left such a record: "Yu passed through the Caonan Road in Puzhou, among the hundred miles, the fragrance was welcome, and the family garden was planted in the furrow, if the vegetables were natural." "The cultivation of peonies is as common as vegetables, which shows that peony cultivation was flourishing at that time. Xie Zhaozhe also said: "In Caozhou, there are 40 acres of peonies...... As many as one or two thousand, and as few as hundreds. ”
It can be seen from this that the grand occasion of Heze peony more than 400 years ago. At that time, in the northeast area of Heze City, peonies were tired and tired, and there were thousands of purples and thousands of reds. At that time, the peony gardens in Caozhou were even more lined up.
"From seedling to flowering, a peony needs to go through more than ten stages such as germination, expansion, budding, budding, and budding, followed by small wind chimes, large wind chimes, round peaches, flat peaches, translucent, first flowers, and full flowers. Zhao Shouchong, an old florist, told reporters, "From Lilei to small wind chimes is a critical period for the growth of peonies, and florists need to carefully observe each peony." Although I was tired, the whole process was very enjoyable. ”
As Zhao Shouchong realized, florists are cultivating flowers, and flowers are also nurturing people. In the eyes of the florist, the peony flower is a kind of art and a spiritual sustenance. The "Heze County Chronicles" compiled during the Guangxu period recorded a Caozhou man named Li Guifang. He is "less bearable, a student of the government, and a tribute department". When he arrived in the imperial capital, seeing that current affairs were wrong, he returned to his hometown to plant six kinds of flowers led by peonies, and called himself "the master of six flowers". More than 90 years old, like a fairy, salty and respectful. He tried to say in his room: "A generation of villagers, reading and looking for scholars to talk about the ages; ”
Throughout the history of the development of Chinese peony, there is no flower like peony, its development scale with the rise and fall of the country, the survival of the nation and the rise and fall of the wither;
The fate of the peony is driven by the Yellow River and also affects the life trajectory of the gardener. According to the records of "Heze County Native Chronicles", since the Yuan and Ming dynasties, the Yellow River has flooded several times, and Caozhou has borne the brunt. Since the Qing Dynasty, Caozhou has suffered seven major floods, and the peony has been completely submerged.
In the fifth year of Xianfeng (1855), the Yellow River broke from the bamboo forest in Henan Province, Heze suffered from floods, and the north peony field of Zhaolou Village was feasible for boats. Peonies are most afraid of flooding and are in danger of extinction. Flower growers plucked the peonies out of the water and transplanted them to some villages on the east bank of the Zhaowang River, so that the peonies could be preserved.
In 1933, the Yellow River broke from the bamboo forest again, and the water flooded the north of Heze City, and the water depth in the peony garden was two meters. The florists bundled the salvaged peonies into bags and carried them on their backs to escape the famine and ask for food. Even if they are hungry, the gardeners are reluctant to sell the peonies. When the water receded, they returned from other places one after another, planted the peonies they carried on their backs in the high slopes outside the village, and continued to develop peony planting. Unexpectedly, the flood was followed by a drought. Crops have not been harvested, grain prices have skyrocketed, and a peony can't be exchanged for a pound of sweet potatoes. Despite the hardships, the florists were reluctant to accompany the peonies for many years, and were unwilling to convert the peony fields into crops, and tenaciously preserved the peonies in the hungry years. The days eased a little, the iron hooves of the Japanese army stepped into Shandong, and the florists lost the sales of peonies. In desperation, some gardeners had to cut down peonies and plant grains instead, and the peony planting area was reduced by eight or nine tenths.
From 1840 to 1949, Heze peony has been going downhill, the flower field is only 100 acres, and there are only thirty or forty varieties of flower color.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Heze peony regained its vitality, the peony planting area expanded rapidly, and various new varieties also emerged rapidly under the continuous study of craftsmen. Today, Heze as the "peony capital of China", ornamental peony planting area of 50,000 acres, 9 major color systems, ten major flower types, 1308 varieties, with an annual output of 10 million standardized peony ornamental seedlings, is the world's largest planting area, the most variety, the most complete color system, the longest industrial chain of peony production, sales, scientific research, ornamental center. Such achievements live up to the past generations of Caozhou peony craftsmen, but also live up to the Anlan of the Yellow River.