When did Chinese orchid culture originate?

Orchid is one of the favorite traditional flowers of our people. Its leaf shape is graceful and colorful, the leaf color is evergreen all the year round, and the flowers are noble and pure and fragrant. For thousands of years, it has been known as "Xiangzu", "King's incense" and "the first incense in the world".

The Chinese orchid culture with orchids as the main content created by the working people in ancient China in the long-term social practice is a branch of our national culture. when did it originate? in 1976, archaeologists discovered an ancient primitive culture-Hemudu culture in Yuyao, Zhejiang Province. Archaeological excavations have found that among the many pottery unearthed at the Hemudu cultural site, there is a vessel engraved with a five-leaf plant with flower buds waiting to bloom between the leaves, and a square pattern is engraved under it. According to the textual research of relevant experts, the plant engraved on the utensils is Ruo orchid, which is the deciduous shrimp ridge orchid produced in Zhejiang. The pattern of the rectangular box is a container for growing orchids. From the whole picture, it looks like an orchid bonsai.

Hemudu culture is one of the ancient Chinese cultures. It lasted for 2000 years, equivalent to the Neolithic Age, from about 7000 years ago to 5000 years ago. According to the textual research of unearthed cultural relics, the initial aesthetic consciousness of human beings grows in the process of creating, improving and using tools. In the late Paleolithic period (20,000 to 30,000 years ago), symmetrically drilled stone tools appeared, and the factor of beauty converged into the form of tools. The living utensils engraved with flower bonsai decorative patterns unearthed at Hemudu Cultural site (Neolithic Age) show that ancient human beings gradually identified plants and discovered the ornamental value of flowers for cultivation and appreciation. At the same time, it also shows that human aesthetic concepts are constantly improving with the development of productive forces. Therefore, we can say that Chinese flower culture originated in the Neolithic Age. As recorded in the History of the Road, "there was a golden orchid in the days of Emperor Yao", which was 5000 years ago. Another example is the Chronicles compiled by Wang Jia of Jin Dynasty, which describes that "in ancient times, there were fairy orchids on the ninth floor of Xumi Mountain." Although these are only legends, ancient legends are also cultures, and people would rather believe that they exist regardless of whether they are true or false. Because the ancient beautiful legends not only contain people's ideals and yearning, but also reflect the development of human civilization in ancient times to a certain extent. A botanist once wrote: "Flowers are the cradle of human civilization." If you think about it carefully, the connotation of this sentence is very profound. in ancient times, when people ate the seeds of plants, they would notice the flowers of plants, from expecting to blossom and bear fruit to appreciate the beauty of flowers, and the process of human social activities promoted the promotion of human civilization. Chinese orchid culture also originated here.