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Flowers and Flower Deities of the Months in Chinese Lunar Calendar (by Chai-yi Yang)

Tags: flower | flower deity

From the earliest time there have been many legends associated with flowers of the months and their flower deities. The only official description of flower deities appeared in the writings of Qing scholar Chu-yuan Yu (Yue Yu), though many artists had their own choices in the art works. While most current writings on flower deities are either in a brief introduction or embodied in myths, Chai-yi Yang’s book has a complete discussion and depiction on this topic, with a combination of the botanical research, art interpretation, and fantastic Chinese literatures and myths. Phonetic symbols, citations and contemporary interpretations are included in the context for readers’ convenience. The author specifically requested Dr. Yang Kuo-chen in charge of plant photography, as well as the contributions of plant illustrations from Dr. Chiu-rong Hsu, male God drawings from Mr. Hsi-hsun Chiu and Mr. Ruolong Chiu, and female God drawings from Miss Ler-chen Chen. The author unfortunately passed away just after the completion of the book. The manuscripts, currently stored in TAI Herbarium, are digitized and disseminated on-line for the public.

 

National Taiwan University Herbarium Digital Archives Project
National Taiwan University