Interesting in playing chrysanthemums

The hobby “resounds for a while”

One day at the end of the year, Dr. Ngo Quan invited us to his house to enjoy chrysanthemums and taste chrysanthemum wine that he distilled himself. Around the small attic overlooking the left bank of the Red River are 36 pots of colorful chrysanthemums. “They are all the same,” a friend who came along explained. At this time I learned that the hobby of playing antique chrysanthemums has been popular again in the Capital for about ten years now.

As the only female guest, I was allowed to choose the first seat. I like small flowers and am attracted by the scent, so I chose to sit next to a pot of Dinh Huong daisies. Dinh Huong chrysanthemum with white petals and yellow stamens looks very similar to Chi chrysanthemums sold in the market but is more fragrant. This is an ancient variety but the yield is not high so it is not popular for mass planting.

Specializing in the study of Chinese literature, Mr. Quan explained why ancient people loved chrysanthemums because of its characteristic of “the leaf never leaves, the flower never strays”. This sentence translates as: the leaves do not fall from the branches, the flowers do not leave the stems, even though they wither and dry, they still cling to the branches like a gentleman who pursues his ideal all his life.

In addition, the story of “frosty chrysanthemum” is also a reason why people like this flower. In the past, most of the people who played chrysanthemums were civil servants, and official affairs did not always go smoothly. Nowadays, ups and downs are common.

Growing chrysanthemums and taking care of chrysanthemums requires meticulousness and dedication, just like peeling Daffodils, neglecting them for a day is not possible. After liberation, there were fewer chrysanthemum players, and ancient varieties were harder to find.

Planting a pot of chrysanthemum indoors, watching it silently store energy, despite the cold snow and frost outside, until it finally blooms is like a reminder to those who are discouraged, that “three “Twenty years of Ha Dong, thirty years of Ha Tay” (the Yellow River changes direction once every 30 years, meaning that life changes impermanently, no one can predict the future), that “the green mountains are still there, why worry?” there is no firewood”, just be patient, remember the “first heart” (pure heart at the beginning) and you will be able to wait until the flowers bloom and spring comes.

In Vietnam, ancient chrysanthemums initially appeared most often in Hue, as an elegant hobby in the royal court, only for kings and mandarins. People will also play chrysanthemums, but usually the popular chrysanthemums such as Marigold and Kim Tien. Traces of many ancient chrysanthemum species are still preserved in wood carving patterns, lamellae… in many Nguyen Dynasty relics.

Dinh Huong chrysanthemum

Talking about the hobby of chrysanthemums in Hanoi, Mr. Minh Tuan, an old cowboy in the old town, added: “In the past, when my teacher was still alive, every Tet on the porch, there were a few pots of Hoang Long Thao and Hong Tu Kieu flowers (names of two species). ancient daisies), in addition, there must also be a tub of Nhat Chi Mai in the living room, and on the tea table is a bowl of Narcissus.

Growing chrysanthemums and taking care of chrysanthemums requires meticulousness and dedication, just like peeling Daffodils, neglecting them for a day is not possible. After liberation, there were fewer chrysanthemum players, and ancient varieties were harder to find.”

Roughly speaking, Hanoi now has about a dozen “lucky” groups playing chrysanthemums, the fanpages of these groups all have tens of thousands of members. As for small underground groups like Dr. Ngo Quan’s, they cannot be counted.

Son La ancient chrysanthemums are grown by people on fences