Research On Orchid's Economic And Cultural Values

Orchid, a plant of unique research value integrates ornamental and medicinal value. In recent years, orchid's research has received the concerns of scholars at home and aboard. The researches involved in its origin, cultivation, appreciation, trade, and culture etc. However, the ancient literature regarding orchid has rarely been summed up systematically.The paper makes the best use of ancient documents aimed at exploring the cognition, development and utilization for orchid of ancient people. It elaborates on the economic value of orchids well as the evolution of its cultural value, by summarizing the cognition of people in different periods of time, by studying its value of social function embedded in cultural value and by analyzing complementarities and consistency between the Social function and cultural value.As the original producing area of orchid, China has a long history in cultivating orchids of various kinds. Plenty of monographs in orchids abundant in its cultivation knowledge vest significance of scientific value to present orchid's research.Orchid is beautiful and fragrant with extremely high ornamental value and medical use. Research on orchid's economic value helps deepen people's insight into its economic benefits, promote the development of orchid industry especially that of orchid's production and trade.Decent and elegant, orchid has got into good graces by the broad masses. Countless descriptions and glorification of the plant endows it with rich content of humanistic culture, which makes it evolve into the symbol for exorcising evil spirits in folk sacrifice, into the virtual embodiment of Confucius, into the ideal incarnation of gentlemen's character. The exploration of orchid's cultural significance categorizes orchids as part of China's traditional civilization acknowledged and acclaimed by the great majority. It promotes orchids' production and industry as a whole as well as enriches people's spiritual life. To carry forward orchid's culture and to popularize the industry entails our further efforts. Therefore, it's essential that we inherit, develop and expand orchid industry and that we explore its value and prosper its culture and industry.