Are cherry blossoms beloved by Chinese as well as Japanese?

[wannabechinaman]

I know the Japanese love sakura, but do Chinese people feel the same fondness for cherry trees?

[anonymoose]

Yes, as they do for plum blossom and osmanthus.

[abcdefg]

I know the Japanese love sakura, but do Chinese people feel the same fondness for cherry trees?

 

Absolutely! Kunming's cherry blossoms are now still in full bloom and people are mobbing in to see them. (The flowers will be gone in another week or so; they are already past their peak.)

 

I went to see them a couple weeks ago and the best places (Such as Yuantong Hill 圆通山) were full of photographers. They bloom earlier here in Kunming than in most of China.

 

 

The cherry blossoms in Wuhan are equally famous, and bloom a little later in the Spring. (Mid April to early May.)

[ZhangKaiRong]

What do you mean by "same fondness"? Chinese people like to watch beautiful flowers, just like every other nation's people. However, they don't have a greater affection to sakura than to any other flowers.

The symbolism behind the flower is way different. In Japan, sakura is a symbol for 物の哀れ (mono no aware, the pathos of things or the ephemeral nature of life), and therefore it is much more generally accepted. It was also a symbol for hope during WW2.

In China, it symbolises feminine beauty and sexuality, therefore it is much more appreciated by women than men. Once I was told that I was being too 搞基 since I went to the hanami at Beijing alone.

 

My experience is that most Chinese people despise the Japanese view of life, they label it as 无限哀愁, and they see the cherry blossom viewing as a manifestation of the "depressed and weird culture".

 

In China, the Flowers of the Four Seasons are treated highly, namely the orchid, the lotus, the chrysanthemum and the plum blossoms.

[Chris Two Times]

In a word, yep.

 

Warm regards,

Chris Two Times

[Demonic_Duck]

The symbolism behind the flower is way different. In Japan, sakura is a symbol for 物の哀れ (mono no aware, the pathos of things or the ephemeral nature of life), and therefore it is much more generally accepted. It was also a symbol for hope during WW2.

 

Damn, that's such a great concept. I think I've seen “mono no aware” before, on one of those lists of “untranslatable words” that float around the internet from time to time.

 

My experience is that most Chinese people despise the Japanese view of life, they label it as 无限哀愁, and they see the cherry blossom viewing as a manifestation of the "depressed and weird culture".

That's interesting seeing as there seem to be a few native Chinese idioms that carry a bit of the same feel to them (“沧海桑田” springs to mind). You sure it's not just because people will take any excuse to hate on Japan? 

 

In China, it symbolises feminine beauty and sexuality, therefore it is much more appreciated by women than men. Once I was told that I was being too 搞基 since I went to the hanami at Beijing alone.

 

...feminine beauty and sexuality is more appreciated by women than men, and if a man appreciates it it means he's gay? Something doesn't quite add up there... 

[ZhangKaiRong]

@Demonic_Duck

 

"That's interesting seeing as there seem to be a few native Chinese idioms that carry a bit of the same feel to them (“沧海桑田” springs to mind). You sure it's not just because people will take any excuse to hate on Japan?"

 

Yes, you're right, but it's a much more complex issue. There was a close relationship between the Tang dynasty China and Heian era Japan, if I remember correctly from my Far Eastern intercultural management classes, cultural relations were the strongest at that time between the two countries. A lot of Tang dynasty poems resembles clear "mono no aware" feelings (like this one from Li Shangyin: 夕阳无限好，只是近黄昏). It definitely had an impact on the Japanese, and also had an impact of later historical periods of China, but to a lesser extent. Poems from 红楼梦 also resembles mono no aware, especially the ones by Lin Daiyu. However, most modern Chinese I met or had a close relationship with disagreed that Chinese like this kind of sentiments. Many of them are preferring materialistic things, and they want to live forever, haha.

 

"...feminine beauty and sexuality is more appreciated by women than men, and if a man appreciates it it means he's gay? Something doesn't quite add up there...   :lol:"

Their point was that girls are associated with cherry blossoms, and they tend to worship its beauty much more as they want to be as pretty, feminine and sexual as the cherry blossom. Chinese guys are thinking that it's a girlish activity to see the cherry blossoms, especially if you go alone.

[Law-West]

ZhangKaiRong already pretty much summed it up, but I would also like to add that in Japan cherry blossoms have various symbolisms that people in China wouldn't necessarily associate it with.

Sakura not only represents fleeting beauty and the 'ebb and flow' of nature, but also a fresh start, since the start of the schoolyear, the time of hiring new employees, and if I recall correctly, the first economical period of the year all more or less coincide with that period of spring.

 

Also, you will see/read about the cherry blossom in both popular media and literature. Whether you watch anime/doramas or read japanese romantic poems, you'll definitely come across this flower in some way. I don't think you could say the same of China. Also, since it has become somewhat of a symbol for Japan itself (although I'm not sure if they think of it that way in China), I can see why it hasn't gained greater popularity in China. Then again, they probably still appreciate it for just being pretty.

[Kobo-Daishi]

In China, the Flowers of the Four Seasons are treated highly, namely the orchid, the lotus, the chrysanthemum and the plum blossoms.

 

In my copy of The Cambridge Encyclopedia of China, edited by Brian Hook, on symbolism in Chinese art, it has as the Flowers of the Four Seasons, Camellia (winter), Peony (spring), Lotus (summer), and Chrysanthemum (autumn). And in some instances, the gardenia is substituted for the camellia.

 

And the Flowers of the 12 Months, it's Prunus (1st), Magnolia (2nd), Peach (3rd), Rose (4th), Crab Apple (5th), Peony (6th), Lotus (7th), Pomegranate (8th), Kuihua (9th), Chrysanthemum (10th), Orchid (11th), and Narcissus (12th).\

 

Kobo.

[dwq]

Talkibg about Japan, it is also a symbol of graduation since the end of a school year is the same as the start of a school year (not sure if there's a holiday in between, certainly not a long one if there is).

Also:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=sakura+saku

sakura saku

Japanese euphemism for exam success (literal meaning: the cherry blossom is blooming)

Students traditionally received a telegram reading simply "sakura saku" (you passed) or "sakura chiru" (you failed).

[Hofmann]

AFAIK, cherry blossoms don't hold nearly the same cultural significance in China. Plum blossoms are comparable though.

[abcdefg]

Their point was that girls are associated with cherry blossoms, and they tend to worship its beauty much more as they want to be as pretty, feminine and sexual as the cherry blossom.

 

That is certainly true in Kunming.

 

[michaelf]

Glad to know that China and Japan can agree on something!