A flowering of imagination

Natural beauty

Traces of Chinese flower arrangement can be found in Shijing (The Book of Songs) written more than 3,000 years ago, as it featured many scenes of young lovers cutting flowers, twigs and leaves as tokens of courtship.

In the late Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220), with the introduction of Buddhism from India, practitioners started to place cut flowers on temple altars, and flower arrangement took on a strong religious flavor with strict rules.

Part of the reason was that Buddhism forbids the killing of animals, and so cuttings from plants were used as offerings. Also, dedicating time to arranging flowers and leaves reflected religious piety.

In the Tang Dynasty (618-907), flower arrangement was pursued among aristocrats and the imperial court. Its popularity widened, especially among the literati, during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), when flower arrangement was put on a par with tea making, mounting of paintings and incense burning. The four activities were regarded as a standard pursuit by gentlemen who sought inner tranquility.

Liang believes traditional Chinese flower arrangement is different from its Western counterpart.

"It places more focus on the expression of mood and the personalized meaning of the materials used," he says.