Hue plum blossoms are rustic yet regal.

Article and photos:Nguyen Van Tuong

Apricot blossoms are not only used for colorful decoration during the traditional New Year but also symbolize fortune and luck in the year. The five petals of the apricot blossom represent the five lucky gods, of the five blessings. Apricot blossoms are also considered a symbol of longevity. According to folk beliefs, the year the apricot blossoms bloom regularly, with a bright yellow color, the year the homeowner will have good fortune and luck. On the contrary, if the flowers wither, fall, and the petals are small and curled, the homeowner will encounter difficulties and hardships.

The five petals of the apricot blossom represent the five gods of luck, of the five blessings. The apricot blossom is also considered a symbol of longevity.

From folklore to Hue's ancient art forms, apricot blossoms have always been a familiar theme, honored as royalty. With the Nguyen Dynasty in Hue, apricot blossoms symbolize spring, the image of the dawn of the dynasty, of the family, of the peaceful and prosperous scene. Therefore, the image of apricot blossoms appears a lot on temples, palaces and antiques of Hue.

In terms of design, the symbolic images of apricot blossoms appear on many materials with many different techniques. Unlike China, in Hue, apricot blossoms are at the top of the four seasons (apricot - lotus - chrysanthemum - bamboo). In which, apricot blossoms symbolize spring; lotus - summer; chrysanthemum - autumn and bamboo - winter. Apricot blossoms are also at the top of the four seasons (apricot - orchid - chrysanthemum - bamboo). In addition, apricot blossoms are associated with design patterns: apricot blossoms (apricot blossoms and longevity), apricot blossoms (apricot blossoms and cranes), apricot blossoms (apricot blossoms and birds), apricot blossoms (apricot blossoms and stones)... They all carry many good meanings such as longevity, happiness, nobility, and purity.

In Thai Hoa Palace, apricot blossoms appear on the main hall's edge in the stucco-patterned plum and bird pattern. Apricot blossoms are present on the roof edge of The To Temple in the four-season pattern drawn in powder and are represented by mosaic porcelain with the lotus flower pattern on the outside of the foundation of the largest temple in the ancient capital. In Dien Tho Palace, apricot blossoms appear on the screen in front of the main hall with the apricot stone pattern and with the four-season pattern on the ancient edge of Dien Tho Palace's main hall using the stucco-patterned technique combined with color painting or in Long An Palace (now the Hue Royal Antiquities Museum). This is a palace that is still quite intact, built during the reign of King Thieu Tri and is also a masterpiece of antiquities, considered the most beautiful palace of the ancient Hue Citadel.

In addition, plum blossoms are featured in the decorative panels on Hien Nhan Mon and Truong An Mon using porcelain and colored glass inlays through plum and bird motifs.

Currently, the Hue Royal Antiquities Museum preserves thousands of Nguyen Dynasty antiques made of many different materials with diverse and rich decorative motifs. Among them, the designs: apricot crane, mai tho, mai - lan - cuc - truc... commonly appear on enameled wares, bronze wares, porcelain wares, wooden wares, silver wares. In particular, there is also the Kim chi ngoc diep (Golden branch and jade leaf) set, the trunk is made of gilded wood, the flowers are made of white stone glass, the leaves are light green jade, displayed in an enameled pot. Around the apricot tree are other herbs including orchids, chrysanthemums and bamboo, forming a set of four noble plants, but the aesthetic subject of this combination is still the apricot tree.

In particular, there is also a tea plate made of blue-glazed porcelain, with a painting of a crane standing next to an old apricot tree and two Nom poems that are believed to be a memoir of Nguyen Du during his diplomatic trip to the Qing Dynasty: "Singing happily in the peaceful river / The apricot tree is an old friend, the crane is an acquaintance".

Not only symbolizing elegance, apricot blossom is also distinctively expressed in the art of decorating palaces, mausoleums, communal houses, temples and treasures... creating a colorful world full of animals, plants, flowers and leaves.

Not only symbolizing elegance, apricot blossom is also distinctively expressed in the art of decorating palaces, mausoleums, communal houses, temples and treasures... creating a colorful world full of animals, plants, flowers and leaves.

The Thanh