Flowers have birthdays too.

In order to mark the arrival of spring and the blossoms it brings, the Chinese people, ever since ancient times, have celebrated the 15th day of the second lunar month as Flower Day. On that day people would not only go out into the countryside to admire the handiwork of the goddess of flowers, but they would also invite the flowers into their homes as guests and set aside vessels for them to rest and blossom in, providing them with a grand and sumptuous reception.

To the eyes of the ancient Chinese, flowers were the condensed essence of Heaven and Earth. Besides enjoying them on spring outings, they also plucked them and used them as decorations, expressing their feelings and thoughts through different arrangements. In this way, flowers entered every corner of Chinese life. People created suitable flower arrangements no matter what the season, mood, or occasion, using natural flowers and objects at hand.

Opening the window on a clear morning after a night of spring rain, they would look out on the newly washed earth and see perhaps a grove of slender green bamboo. Breaking off several stalks, they would place them in a vase of blue and white porcelain to accompany them in the study as they read.

Or on festive holidays, chrysanthemums, orchids, lilies, pine, and peach branches would be meticulously arranged in an old jug and set out in the main hall, where their rich, magnificent colors would symbolize luck and longevity.

And on a moonlit spring night when two or three close friends would get together to chat and sip tea, then a few lotuses, water lilies, pussy willows, and reed catkins would be placed in a shallow pan full of water to add some poetry to the air, especially if a slight breeze were to ruffle the water surface and carry with it their subtle fragrance.

At the mention of flower arranging today, however, most people may think only of the stiff-standing vases of flowers offered in temples before the Buddha. Or they may even think of it as Japanese.

Guided by Huang Yung-ch'uan, a researcher at the National History Museum who has studied the floral arts for many years, the 18-member Women's Garden and Art Club, directed by Madame Toong Metsung, the wife of Premier Yu Kuo-hwa, five years ago began to devote its energies to the recovery and promotion of Chinese classical flower arrangement. Every year since then it has held an exhibit around Flower Day with the aim of helping the art of Chinese flower arrangement to reenter modern daily life.

Flower arrangement was a custom in China since the earliest times, Huang Yung-ch'uan says, and appeared in numerous forms. The tradition was lost only in the twentieth century, when war and turmoil racked the country and simple survival became an overwhelming concern. Now that society has become increasingly prosperous and stable and people are searching for ways to add interest to their lives, they find themselves having to turn to modern Western and Japanese schools for models in flower arrangement.

The themes of the Garden and Art Club's exhibits over the past four years have gone from historical studies and restorations of the flower arrangements in old paintings to occasional flowers of the four seasons and the use of flowers in decorating halls and studies for tea drinking. The exhibit this year, which is sponsored by the Chinese Floral Arts Foundation and the National Museum of History as well as the Garden and Art Club, is introducing the six main articles of traditional Chinese flower ware--vases, pans, bowls, jars, baskets, and tubes--in the hope that the art of Chinese flower arrangement can be brought even more widely into the life of the Chinese people.

Water is an indispensable resource that nourishes every living thing, and flowers are the essence of heaven and earth as nurtured by the hills and streams. From this idea, Huang says, arose the Chinese concept of flower arrangement: taking flowers, the essence of hills and streams, and placing them in the limited scope of a vase or a pan to create a miraculous new heaven and earth. And that is also why floral vessels have come to play such an important role in Chinese flower arrangement--they represent the earth itself, which supports and nourishes all things.

"This concept had already taken shape back in the Han Dynasty," Huang says. Two thousand years ago the people of the Han Dynasty used the water in pans to represent broad lakes and ponds, and they added ceramic models of buildings, trees, and animals to symbolize the boundless vitality of nature.

The people of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) believed that since flower arrangement involves bringing plants and flowers from the outdoors into one's home, they should be meticulously cared for and given appropriate "quarters," meaning floral vessels.

Chinese floral vessels have come in a variety of shapes and styles over the ages. Li Yu, the last emperor of the Southern T'ang Dynasty, who lived during the tenth century, would bedeck the walls, windows, stairs, and walkways of his palace with a profusion of flowers in vessels of every kind each spring. During and after the Sung Dynasty (960-1279) flower fairs were held in the larger cities every year in the spring, and the floral vessels used were even more variegated and exquisite than before. Besides being placed in pans and vases, flowers were hung from walls and beams and displayed in tubes, bowls, and baskets in ways too varied to enumerate, while jade, crystal, bronze, glass, and bamboo were all employed as materials.

To the ancients, flowers and vessels each have their own natures, just as people differ in personality and character. Just as scholars and gentlemen should live in houses of elegance and refinement, as ministers and kings should reside in ornate mansions and palaces, and as hermits and recluses should dwell in rustic mountain huts, so the selection and matching of flowers to vessels is a crucial aspect of Chinese flower arrangement. An inappropriate selection will not only fail to produce a pleasing effect but may sully the character of the flower!

There are many kinds of floral vessels, and choosing the right one to use is an art in itself. Chi Yueh-tzu, who has studied and taught Japanese flower arrangement for 23 years, says that she came to realize the richness of Chinese floral vessels only three years ago when a friend introduced her to the art.

Chinese flower arrangement lays comparatively little stress on fixed rules or forms, accenting freedom and naturalness instead. Just so, an appropriate vessel is selected according to the needs of the arranger by considering its form, material, and color.

In a flat, shallow pan, for example, which most resembles a land of lakes and plains, adding a few fixed hill-like objects can create a scene of "blossoming branches and playing shadows," while a few scattered flowers or duckweeds can produce the effect of "falling petals and flowing water."

A small jug, vase, or bowl, chosen for its simplicity and refinement, has a natural and harmonious charm. Matched with bright, colorful flowers and a twisted branch rich in interest, the combination is ideal for the library or study.

Bamboo is a floral vessel that is completely natural and characteristically oriental. It can be cut into a single section, double sections, or multiple sections or made into a tube and hung from the wall, but twisted branches and flowers in refined colors are best as materials. A basket of woven bamboo has a rustic, carefree effect, and a large one full of flowers and foliage exudes a colorful, festive air.

When using a large vase or jug, the arranger must pay particular attention to structure and order. The vase should be tall and erect and the jug short and stout, while the flowers may be either gorgeous and impressive, such as camellias, dahlias, chrysanthemums, and peonies, or noble and refined, such as plum blossoms, pine branches, bamboos, and orchids.

"In fact, in addition to the six basic vessels, any object or antique can be used as a floral container," Huang says. A student of antiquities, he came to this realization in the course of studying flower arrangements in old paintings. During the Sung and Ming dynasties, he says, scholars became enthused with collecting antiques and art objects, and they would often use their eclectic array of lutes, games, books, paintings, and writing implements as objects of ornamentation by flower arrangements.

As the trend spread, a fondness for using imitation antiques in flower arrangement became widespread. At the same time, floral vessels became works of art in themselves and the objects of appreciation by collectors.

Despite the name, classical flower arrangement is not necessarily tied to tradition. Chi Yueh-tzu adopted an original approach in this year's exhibit by using several jugs created by the contemporary ceramicist Yeh Wen and ended up stealing the show. Using independent ceramic artwork for flower arrangements requires a lot of forethought, she says. If the ceramic works are particularly eye-catching and distinctive in themselves, then the floral materials should be chosen for simplicity, so that the two complement each other.

Not to tend the mulberry trees do we go out in the spring, Nor to work in the fields of wheat. Our daily trips to the western garden are all for the willows and flowers.

So wrote the eighth century poet Meng Chiang. Making an outing in springtime to enjoy the flowers and arranging them in vases have been leisurely pastimes of Chinese scholars since time immemorial. Nor is this elegant pursuit beyond the means of Chinese people living on Taiwan today. The days of labor in mulberry groves and wheat fields to earn the family's rice have long passed, and in the natural hothouse of semitropical Taiwan, weekend flower markets are crowded with customers and fresh-cut flowers can be seen in every village and town. The Chinese Floral Arts Foundation, which concentrates on the study of Chinese flower arrangement, has nearly 2,000 members, all of them seeking to call back for us a Chinese-style spring.

Finding a balance between tradition and creativity may perhaps be difficult, but merging the classical spirit into practical life only requires a little thought. Now that spring and the birthday of flowers are here, why not look for some distinctive floral containers, invite some flowers as guests, and pass a refined and flowery springtime.

[Picture]

U.S. Itinerary of the Chinese Floral Arts Exhibition

[Picture Caption]

Chinese flower arrangements recreate the essence of natural scenery in miniature. (photo courtesy of Chinese Floral Arts Foundation)

Intended for display in a residence's main hall, this work features quality materials, and a solid structure. (photo courtesy of Chinese Floral Arts Foundation)

The holes in bottom of the dish are designed for fixing stems and branches in place.

Floral vessels have been made in China since time immemorial.

Jars have the greatest scope of utilization of any floral vessel.

Bamboo tubes are best able to exhibit the free and easy, countryside flavor of the Orient.

(photo courtesy of Chinese Floral Arts Foundation)

This jar of flowers has a poised and graceful air about it, making it suitable for display on joyous occasions.

(photo courtesy of Chinese Floral Arts Foundation)

Basket weaving is an art in itself.

Neat and elegant, this little antique vase is best displayed in a book room.

The holes in bottom of the dish are designed for fixing stems and branches in place.

Floral vessels have been made in China since time immemorial.

Jars have the greatest scope of utilization of any floral vessel.

Bamboo tubes are best able to exhibit the free and easy, countryside flavor of the Orient.

（photo courtesy of Chinese Floral Arts Foundation）

This jar of flowers has a poised and graceful air about it, making it suitable for display on joyous occasions.

（photo courtesy of Chinese Floral Arts Foundation）

Basket weaving is an art in itself.

The Aconcagua expedition pushed the R.O.C.'s mountaineering record to 6, 959 meters. （photo by Yu Jung-ch'in）