THE KINGDOM OF FLOWERS 
An Account of the Wealth of Trees and Shrubs of 
China and of What the Arnold Arboretum, with 
China’s Help, Is Doing to Enrich America 
By Ernest H. WItson 
HE Chinese Empire is frequently 
( referred to as the “Flowery King- 
dom”; but, as the Chinese lan- 
guage indicates “words” and “children” 
as “flowers,” the vegetative wealth of the 
country may not be intended. However, 
be this as it may, I hope in the course 
of this brief- article to show that much 
of China proper is a real kingdom of 
flowers. 
Since the dawn of culture in China, 
away back when the ancestors of modern 
nations were untutored savages, the peo- 
ple of the Celestial Empire have been 
fond of flowers. An odd plant is to be 
found in the dwellings of the poorest 
class, and the courtyard of the shop- 
keeper and inn-keeper always boasts a 
few plants of one sort or another. The 
temple grounds are frequently most 
beautiful, and attached to houses of the 
cultured and wealthy are gardens often 
of much interest. In the neighborhood 
of wealthy cities like Soo-chow, Han- 
can, and Canton are gardens famed 
throughout the length and breadth of 
the Empire. 
In these Chinese gardens, as in Japan, 
a love of the grotesque predominates, 
and the landscape effect is essentially 
artificial The Japanese have carried 
their skill in this direction very much 
farther than the Chinese, but undoubt- 
edly the art originated in China. 
The Chinese do not cultivate a very 
great variety of plants, and the subjects 
found in any good garden are common 
to all such gardens. To all the plants 
they cultivate, the Chinese attach some 
peculiar significance and value them ac- 
cordingly. Purity of color and form, 
gracefulness in habit, and delicacy in 
fragrance are the qualities chiefly ap- 
preciated. Moutan pzeonies, chrysanthe- 
mums, flowering peaches and plums, 
winter-sweet (Chimonanthus fragrans), 
heavenly bamboo (Nandina domestica), 
sacred lily (Narcissus tagetta), lotus 
lily (Nelumbium speciosum), \an-hwa 
(Cymbidium sinense), kuei-hwa (Os- 
manthus fragrans), bamboos, various 
conifers, camellias, and azalias are gen- 
eral favorites, and some or all are to be 
found in every Chinese garden. Though 
the cultural skill consists very largely in 
dwarfing and training these plants into 
grotesque shapes, 1t in no sense robs the 
flowers of the qualities attributed to 
them by the Chinese. The figuring on 
Chinese porcelain (and what porcelain 
can approach this marvelous product of 
Chinese skill?) is symbolical of the Chi- 
nese love of the grotesque and beautiful 
among flowers. 
China is a land of contrariety—a land 
where no general statement or observa- 
tion holds good. In spite of their love 
for grotesque and artificial landscape 
effects in their gardens, the Chinese have 
a strong appreciation of natural beauty. 
This is evidenced in the sites chosen for 
their temples and shrines. Apart from 
situation, which is perfect, groves and 
avenues of magnificent trees are often 
planted. 
THE MAIDEN-HAIR TREE 
Though a few deciduous trees are 
usually to be found, evergreens always 
have distinctive preference. In the tem- 
ples around Peking are noble avenues and 
woods of arbor-vite (Thuya orientalis), 
elm (Ulmus pumila), and sophora (S. 
japonica); in the south, center, and 
