What are the flower gods of the twelve months in China?

Flower Goddess of the New Year

One theory about the plum blossom god is the Northern Song Dynasty poet Lin Bu, who lived in seclusion on Gushan Hill in West Lake and never took up an official post in his life. One story is about Liu Mengmei in the Ming Dynasty opera The Peony Pavilion. In his dream, he met Du Liniang, who died for love, under a plum tree. Later, Du Liniang came back to life and merged with Liu Mengmei, thus forming a tortuous marriage.

February Flower Goddess

One legend goes that the god of apricot blossoms is Jianren, who taught people to use the fire from jujubes and apricots to cook food. One theory is that it was Yang Yuhuan. After An Lushan's rebellion was quelled, Emperor Xuanzong wanted to rebury the concubine, but he saw a forest of apricot blossoms under Magui Slope, so later generations regarded Yang Yuhuan as the god of apricot blossoms.

March Flower Goddess

One theory is that the Peach Blossom God is Yang Yanzhao, one of the Yang family generals of the Northern Song Dynasty. He guarded the border for twenty years and repeatedly defeated the Khitan army. It may be that he resisted foreign invaders just like peach wood can drive away evil, so he was named Peach Blossom God. One theory is that it was the Tang Dynasty poet Cui Ge, because he once wrote the famous line "I don't know where the person's face has gone, but the peach blossoms still smile in the spring breeze."

April Flower Goddess

The god of peony is said to be Li Bai, the great poet of the Tang Dynasty who wrote many poems about peonies.

Mayflower

One theory is that the pomegranate god is Zhang Chun, who brought pomegranates back from the Western Regions. One theory is that it is Zhong Kui. Because pomegranate flowers bloom during the Dragon Boat Festival, every family would put up an image of Zhong Kui to ward off evil spirits, thus the pomegranate flowers and Zhong Kui became related.

June Flower Goddess

The lotus goddess is said to be Xi Shi, who once left traces of picking lotus in Jinfan Path in Suzhou.

July Flower Goddess

The goddess of lily of the valley is said to be Lady Li, a favorite of Emperor Wu of Han, because she often wore a lily of the valley in her hair.

August Flower Goddess

One theory is that the osmanthus god is Dou Yujun from the Five Dynasties. He taught his sons well, and all five of his sons became high-ranking officials. They were praised as "an old tree of Lingchun and five fragrant twigs of Danguima". Another theory is that it is Lu Zhu, the beloved wife of Shi Shichong of Jingzhou in the Western Jin Dynasty, who was good at playing the flute and beautiful. Sun Xiu, an accomplice of Sima Lun, the King of Zhao, once wanted to take Lu Zhu as his wife, which led to Shi Chong being killed by King Zhao, and Lu Zhu committing suicide by jumping off a building. People used the scattering of osmanthus flowers to symbolize Lu Zhu and named her the osmanthus flower goddess.

September Flower Goddess

The god of chrysanthemum is said to be Tao Yuanming. This pastoral poet of the Eastern Jin Dynasty made chrysanthemum his friend and wrote many poems about it. It is most appropriate to use this noble hermit as the representative of flower hermits.

October Flower Goddess

The orchid god is said to be Qu Yuan, a great poet from the Chu State during the Warring States Period. In his Li Sao, he compared himself to orchids. He loved his country deeply, but seeing the corruption of the government and his own political ideals could not be realized, he committed suicide by jumping into the Miluo River.

November Flower Goddess

The narcissus flower god is said to refer to the goddess of Luo River. Because daffodils grow by the water, their posture is elegant and graceful, like fairies floating on the water, so people regard Luoshen as the god of daffodils.

December Flower Goddess

The gods of wintersweet are said to be Su Dongpo and Huang Tingjian of the Song Dynasty. Because they proposed to change the name of Huangmei to Wintersweet.