LOTUS' FRAGRANCE

Interesting Facts of the Lotus

1. Lotuses and waterlilies are different plants. Although both are in the family Nymphaeaceae, the lotus belongs to the genus Nelumbo, while waterlilies belong to the genus Nymphaea.

2. The lotus is noted for its large flowers: some varieties have flowers with diameter up to 28 cm (11 inches).

3. Only two species exist in the world today. "Nelumbo nucifera, with pink or white flowers, is distributed in Asia and Oceania. . . . Nelumbo lutea, with yellow flowers, is distributed in [North and South America]." (Flowering Lotus of China, p. 6). Today in China there are over 200 cultivated varieties (cultivars) of lotus.

4. Lotus seeds can be dormant for some 1,000 years or more, and still capable of germinating into blossoming plants. "Dr Sun Yat-sen brought with him 4 ancient lotus seeds found in Liaodong Peninsula [in northeast China], when he went to Japan in 1919, and presented them to Mr Takashi Tanaka [Sun's landlord] as a token of their friendship. The seeds were germinated by [the Japanese lotus expert] Dr Ichiroh Ohga and the plants bloomed in 1930. They were named 'Sun Wen' lotus after Dr Sun Yat-sen's original name." (Flowering Lotus of China, p. 5)

5. For the Chinese, lotus is viewable for its prettiness and edible in various ways. Lotus seeds, leaves and rhizomes are all food items. Lotus parts carry matrimonial and love connotations for the Chinese, although the lotus is also associated with Buddhism.

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Asahi Hōsō Kabushiki Kaisha 朝日放送株式会社. Ganjin Wajō zō satogaeri nijūshūnen ten 鑑真和上像里帰り二十周年展. [Japan]: Asahi Hōsō Kabushiki Kaisha, [1999]
A commemorative book on the home-coming visit (exhibition) of the statue of Ganjin from Japan to China in 1980.

Kokuhō no bi = National treasures of Japan 国宝の美. 01[sōkan 創刊] (May 2009).
This inaugural issue is on the hollow dry lacquer statues of the 8th century, including an illustrated step-by-step description of the technique of making dry lacquer statues on p. 20-21.

Moran, Sherwood F. "Ashura, a dry-lacquer statue of the Nara period." Artibus Asiae 27 (1964): 99-133.
A detailed account of the hollow dry lacquer statue-making method.

Wang Qichao and Zhang Xingyan 王其超 and 張行言. Zhongguo he hua pin zhong tu zhi 中國荷花品種圖誌. Taibei: Shu xing chu ban she, 1994.

Zou Xiuwen, Zhao Xiaorui and Jin Xiaobai 邹秀文, 赵效锐 and 靳晓白. Zhongguo he hua = Flowering Lotus of China 中国荷花. Beijing: Jindun Publishing House, 1997.
Text in Chinese and English.

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