Plum Blossom (Prunus mume) 梅花, a flower which produces shades of pink and white and gives off a delicate fragrance, adopted as the national flower of the Republic of China (中華民國). The flower has great symbolic value for the Chinese people because of its resilience in harsh winter weather.

Pink plum blossom
White plum blossom

 

 

Republic of China Stamp, National flower, issued on 1986

 

The triple grouping of stamens (one long and two short) represents Sun Yat-sen’s Three Principles of the People, while the five petals symbolize the five branches of the Republic of China government.

 

Three Principles of the People 三民主義: nationalism 民族主義, democracy 民權主義 and social well-being 民生主義.

Five branches: Executive 行政院, Legislative 立法院, Judicial 司法院, Examination 考試院, and Control 監察院.

 

Wang Mian (王冕) (1287 – 1359) Ink Plum, ink on paper

 

Chen Xianzhang (陳憲章) (active 1446) Plum, ink on silk

 

Lan Ying (藍瑛) (1585 – 1664), Ink Plum, ink on paper

 

Jin Nong (金農) (1687 – 1763), Plum Album, ink on paper

 

Ling Chiu-Kao (凌九皋), 16th Century, Plum Branch (growing from left), from The Treatise on Calligraphy and Painting of the Ten Bamboo Studio (Hu Zhengyan 胡正言, 十竹齋書畫譜) , woodcut, ink and watercolour on paper

 

 

Qi Baishi (齊白石) (1864 – 1957), Red Plum on Blue Vase, ink and watercolour on paper

 

Qi Baishi (齊白石) (1864 – 1957), Red Plum, ink and watercolour on paper fan

 

Contemporary artist, Red Plum, ink and watercolour on paper

The plum tree blossoms in late Winter before Spring. The flowers have sweet fragrance and are pollinated by insects like bees. The flowers develop into fruits.

 

Fruits of plum flowers

Different species of plum give rise to fruits of different sizes and qualities.

The plums of the ornamental varieties can be small and not tasty. Most plum trees yield good fruits.

Plums are delicious. They are packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fibres. They can be eaten raw or preserved and eaten as confectionery. They can also be used for cooking with duck or other meat.

Dried plums serve as confectionery

 

The Differences between Plum 梅花, Peach 桃花 and Cherry 樱花

The flowers and the fruits of plum 梅, peach 桃 and cherry 樱花 look very similar.

Flowers of peach
Flowers of peach. The petals are less rounded than those of plum flowers

 

Flowers of cherry. Each flower has a long flower stalk. The tip of each petal has a groove.
Flowers of cherry are in clusters. Each flower has a long flower stalk.
Cherry fruit in clusters and with long stalks

 

The left shows a unripe fruit of plum, the middle shows a ripe fruit and the right shows the round petals of a plum flower
The left shows a unripe fruit of peach, the middle shows a ripe fruit and the right shows the more pointed petals of a peach flower.(https://blog.wonderfulfood.com.tw/2016/05/19/%E4%B8%80%E5%BC%B5%E5%9C%96%E8%AE%93%E4%BD%A0%E5%88%86%E6%B8%85%E6%A5%9A%E6%A2%85%E5%AD%90%E3%80%81%E6%A1%83%E5%AD%90%E3%80%81%E6%9D%8E%E5%AD%90/)

 

 

Origami models of cherry flower (left), plum flower (middle) and peach flower (right) https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/fd-0.png?w%3D599%26h%3D298&imgrefurl=https://soranews24.com/2016/04/13/beyond-sakura-how-to-tell-a-cherry-blossom-from-a-plum-or-peach-flower/&tbnid=irmbiY5e_aVjyM&vet=1&docid=4BG-G-rDFGehrM&w=599&h=298&hl=en_GB&source=sh/x/im

A plum flower has 5 rounded petals, very short flower stalk.

A peach flower has 5 petals which are relatively less round and a bit pointed.

A cherry flowers has 5 petals which has a small groove at the tip of each petal.

Some ornamental varieties of plums, peaches and cherries have multiples of 5 petals.

Plum Blossoms (Japanese postage stamp) (1947)
Cherry Blossoms (Japanese stamp) (90th Anniversary of Japanese Postal Service) (1961)

 

 

 

Bibliography

陳相鋒 陳姿娟 (2012) 画室必備 – 中國画技法圖典 蔬果篇 湖北美術出版社

户辅圣 (2003) 中国画历代名家技法图典 花鳥编(上) 上海華书画出版社

(明) 胡正言 (2014) 十竹齋書畫譜 上海書畫出版社 ISBN 978-7-5479-0838-9