Ink Orchid

On the dark cliff hundreds of weeds are withering
And yet the orchid bounds with vigor
The noble person dwells in steep, isolated places
He is indeed different from normal people
- Ch'en Hsien-chang (Ming dynasty)

"From the preeminent Chinese philosopher Confucius (551-479 BCE), the orchid has been associated with gentlemen of high moral standards whose talent and integrity are usually ignored by the authority. Later other virtues like royalty and friendship were added to the symbolic presentation of orchids. Not until Song dynasty (960-1279) did the subject of orchid appeared in Chinese painting. The Chinese gentleman-scholars who were living in obscurity or retirement compared themselves with orchids' unassuming and underappreciated characters. The plants' long and elegant leaves were appreciated for their purity and dignity and expressed in the scholars' monochrome ink orchid paintings." From the exhibition notes.

The Orchid in Chinese Painting was an exhibition that I had the good fortune to be in Washington at the right time to see. I never understood the full symbolism of the an orchid rendered only with black ink. Quickly arriving at my 65th birthday (yes, naked photographs of me will follow as Blips so you may see how the human body severely deteriorates with time. You have been warned.) and though certain aspects of my character may not completely fit the profile, I find a kinship with individuals of the ink orchid.

For those of you who are into such things, this is a terrestrial Cymbidium (most Cymbidiums are) whose parents are the small fragrant mountain Cymbidiums of Asia. Cymbidium Nut 'Red Beauty' retains the characteristic fragrance of woods moss and cantaloupe that its parents have.