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Plants
The Four Noble Plants (Japanese Apricot Tree, Orchid, Chrysanthemum, and Bamboo)
Japanese Apricot Tree
Japanese
Apricot Tree
Orchid
Orchid
Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemum
Bamboo
Bamboo
Japanese Apricot Tree: Purity, Integrity, Longevity
The apricot tree blooms in early spring, delivering a clean fragrance and gracious feature, making it known for purity and integrity. Its characteristics to survive and bloom during cold weather were compared with the upper class of humans. Although it looks dead during the winter, it blooms the next spring, making it a symbol for longevity.

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Orchid: Good Nature
The fragrance of the orchid was usually compared to the beautiful and good nature of human beings that could influence other people.

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Chrysanthemum: Elegance, High Fidelity
A poet named Do Yeon-Myung deserted his official post and returned to his hometown when the king was replaced during a revolt. After that time he lived by raising pine trees and chrysanthemum. The Chrysanthemum became associated with elegance and high fidelity.

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Bamboo: Elegance, Fidelity, Expelling Ghosts and Bad Luck
Bamboo is strong and flexible, even though it is empty inside. Its colors never change throughout the year, so it represents the elegant class of man showing virtue and fidelity. According to legend, a huge ghost lived deep in a mountain and local villagers caught a serious disease when they encountered it. One person was so afraid of it that he burned bamboo every morning and night. The noise that the bamboo made in the fire was big enough to scare the ghost away. The custom of doing fire cracking at the end of year originated this way. Bamboo came to symbolize exorcising ghosts and bad luck.

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Jiri266 Lotus:Livability, Reproduction
The lotus has been loved as a symbol of the creation of life and prosperity. Even though it grows in muddy and dirty water, its beauty is not tarnished. The characteristics of lotus flowers were compared with the honest poverty of a man of virtue and aloofness in both Buddhist and Confucian teachings. These meanings were integrated with the worldly wish to turn things beneficial to their own lives and extended its usage to private paintings or patterns for daily life.
kjuy009.jpg Another characteristic of lotus plants is that they produce flowers and fruits at the same time, unlike other plants that bear fruits only after their flowers bloom. This symbolizes having offspring consecutively. Other associated meanings included males and females, good omens, happiness, and a happy couple when presented with mandarin ducks. When shown with fish, it symbolized material affluence and mental leisure. A scene of children playing in a lotus patch or a child with a lotus flower delivered the meaning of the birth of precious child.

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Indongch'o: Endurance, Continuity
Indongch'o is a vine observed in mountainous areas of Korea and China. It symbolized endurance and continuity since it not only endures the severe cold of winter, but also because its vines seem to reach out without end.

Kyonbok096 Pine Tree: Longevity
Pine trees were renowned for 3 characteristics: integrity, unworldliness, and longevity. However, the pine tree has been most popular as a representative object of longevity with other symbols, especially cranes, deer, and rocks.
Peony: Beauty, Prosperity,Happiness
During the T'ang era in China, it symbolized beauty, prosperity, and happiness. In the Song era, it acquired nicknames of "wealth flower" and "prince of all flowers." It was used often in paintings, handicrafts, and embroidery. The specific meaning differed slightly according to the other objects which accompanied it. When combined with roses, it meant wealth and long lasting youth; with peaches it represented longevity and wealth.

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Peach:Longevity
A peach tree called Chundo bloomed once every 3,000 years and bore fruit in the same time period, symbolizing longevity. So peaches have become a central item at every party held to wish for a person's longevity.

Kyonbok118 Kyonbok120 Pomegranate: Fecundity
Pomegranates have many seeds in them, symbolizing fecundity.


Melon: Reproductiond
Since it bears many fruits and seeds, it meant flourishing offspring and the continuance of descendants.

Plantain: Perpetuity, Resuscitation
Plantains look dead in the winter, but bloom in the spring. Even after being burned, it survives and blossoms. So people associate it with perpetuity and resuscitation.

Bracket Fungus Mushroom: Youth, Revival
This type of mushroom blooms 3 times a year. People believed that it revives people's lives and keeps them young.

Bottle Gourd: Exorcising Evils, Treating Diseases
In Taoist legends, a hermit always brings a bottle gourd filled with an elixir, treating diseases. So people believed that it has power of elixir and exorcising evils.

Willow: Expelling Evils and Negative Energy
Popular folklore long held willow trees as being able to expel evil and beat out negative energy.

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