| Since Tang Dynasty,the poppy was recorded,it has unique shape and function,even brought a deep disaster to China in late Qing dynasty.It has become a high-profile flower in literary works.The Tang Dynasty was the era when Poppies first debuted.Poppy’s eye-catching flowers and unique fruits were written into verses with a strong sense of freshness.They were not widely planted at the time and stayed in the appreciation stage.In the Song Dynasty,with the continuous promotion of poppy cultivation,the seedlings,flowers and fruits of poppies were more fully understood and used.Among the flowers,the poppy relied on the graceful stage of each stage of growth to win a place for itself and was praised by the world.In addition,it is closely related to the literati’s farming life.Compared with the plants that are the object of aesthetics,the poppy and the poet are more like friends who are comforting each other,enjoying the functions of appreciation and eating.The Buddhism and Taoism in the Song Dynasty was popular,and the food made by poppy was combined with the good wishes of people eager to seek talent.From the Song Dynasty,the war between the Han and the ethnic minorities,the living space of the literati was greatly squeezed,so the poppy became the flower in the quiet pastoral of the literati,continuing the traditional scene of pastoral cultivation,carrying the meaning "home".In the Ming Dynasty,poppies were still loved as ornamental flowers.Compared with the previous generations,they incorporated human gestures and emotions.It has also become a sustenance for the literati to hurt the spring.Although it is still planted in the countryside,it is already a normal scene.The feeling of retreat slowly fades away.The clear records of opium in the Ming Dynasty appeared.People have already understood and mastered the production of opium.They used it for food or medicinal purposes and laid the groundwork for smoking opium.At this time,opium has not appeared in literary works.The poppy in the Qing Dynasty is still a common flower in the garden.The appreciation,praise and pity in the poetry are increasing compared with the previous dynasty.Many literati borrowed poppy to write the bland and leisure life,and the works that continue the wounds of the Ming Dynasty are not rare.The emotions in poetry are more diverse and individual.This point was also confirmed in the Qing Dynasty.The more different is the description of opium.The records of opium in the Qing Dynasty are numerous and comprehensive,not just for medicinal purposes.After the habit of smoking opium entered the inland from the southeast coast,the situation gradually lost control.Opium destroys the body and spirit of people,and it is difficult to quit after addiction.The smoking ban of the imperial court was not effective,and the import of opium continued to enter China,and the situation was critical.Poppies in literary works of this period were almost always associated with opium.The glorious poppies have already left,and opium,who destroyed the homeland,has appeared frequently and has become the target of aspiring people.It has become a flower of evil that brings disaster to people,poisoning the world,and corroding the spirit.Poppies,once used as food,are now not only incapable of invading the grain fields,but also a disaster for the whole country,transformed from the flowers that everyone loves to the poisonous grass.The transformation of the image of opium poppy is not only related to the opium poppy being opium-infested and smoked,but also closely linked to the trade between the UK and China.The trade surplus in the eighteenth century was heavily biased toward China.When the United Kingdom began dumping opium to China,it gained huge profits.The harm of opium to China is far more than economic loss,because the conflict of force caused by smoking ban has raised the contradiction to the height of the nation-state.It is precisely because in such a historical background,poppy not only carries the literary taste,but also bears the change of the country’s destiny. |
