植物词；文化内涵；翻译方法

PAGE22摘要古往今来，植物在人类的日常生活中是不可缺少的一部分，人们也赋予其丰富的文化内涵。随着经济全球化的发展，跨文化交际在人们的生活中变得越来越重要，但由于受到地理环境、传统文化、宗教信仰等的影响，英汉植物词有各自的独特的象征意义。虽有重合的部分，但英汉植物词文化内涵的差异性要比相似性多。这主要是由于英汉植物词文化内涵的空缺多。所以在跨文化交际时，恰当地运用直译，意译和归化的翻译方法才能避免在沟通时产生的误解，更好地促进跨文化交流。关键词：植物词；文化内涵；翻译方法AbstractThroughouttheages,plantshavebeenanindispensablepartofhumandailylife,andpeoplehaveendowedthemwithrichculturalconnotations.Withthedevelopmentofeconomicglobalization,interculturalcommunicationhasbecomemoreandmoreimportantinpeople'slives.However,duetotheinfluenceofgeographicalenvironment,traditionalculture,andreligiousbeliefs,EnglishandChineseplantwordshavetheirownuniquesymbolicmeanings.Althoughthereareoverlappingpartsintheirculture,theculturalconnotationsofEnglishandChineseplantwordshavemoredifferencesthansimilarities.ThisismainlybecausetherearemoregapsintheculturalconnotationofEnglishandChineseplantwords.Therefore,incross-culturalcommunication,properuseofliteraltranslation,liberaltranslationanddomesticatingtranslationmethodscanavoidmisunderstandingsduringcommunicationandbetterpromotecross-culturalcommunication.Keywords：plantwords；culturalconnotations；translationmethodsContents27953摘要 I10248Abstract II5645Introduction 1ChapterOneAnOverviewofEnglishandChinesePlantWords8913 283821.1EnglishPlantWords 2601.2ChinesePlantWords 317440ChapterTwoAContrastiveAnalysisoftheCulturalConnotationsofEnglishandChinesePlantWords 5181222.1AnAnalysisoftheCulturalConnotationsofPlantWordsinEnglish 5131832.1.1SymbolicMeaningofEnglishPlantWords 5123422.1.2ThePeculiarCulturalConnotationofPlantWordsinEnglish 8201592.2AnAnalysisoftheCulturalConnotationsofPlantWordsinChinese 10239412.2.1SymbolicMeaningofChinesePlantWords 10145272.2.2ThePeculiarCulturalConnotationofPlantWordsinChinese 12318432.3ComparisonofCulturalConnotationBetweenEnglishandChinesePlantWords 13116982.3.1SimilaritiesofCulturalConnotationsofEnglishandChinesePlantWords 13288002.3.2DifferencesofCulturalConnotationsofEnglishandChinesePlantWords 14403ChapterThreeTranslationMethodsofPlantWordsinEnglishandChinese 16268343.1LiteralTranslation 16119943.2LiberalTranslation 17184053.3DomesticatingMethod 1824593Conclusion 2016281Bibliography 2129450Acknowledgments 22IntroductionTherearecountlesskindsofsubstancesontheearth.Plants,animalsandpeopleaccountforthelargestproportionoforganisms.Foralongtime,humanbeingsandplantshaveaninseparablerelationship.Humanbeingscannotlivewithoutplants.Onceplantsdisappear,humanbeingscannotsurvive.Plantscannotonlyprovidehumanwithoxygen,foodandsoon,butalsosatisfyhumanpsychologicalneedsforpeopletoappreciate.Becauseplantsplayanimportantroleinhumanlife,withthedevelopmentofhumanlanguage,plantwordsarealsoendowedwithrichemotions,ideas,andculturalconnotations.Languageisindispensableinhumanlife.Theconnectionbetweencultureandlanguageistheculturalconnotation.ManyplantwordsinEnglishandChinesecanreflecttheirrespectiveculturalconnotations.Becauseitisdifficultfornativepeopletoknowthecultureofplantwordsofothernationalities,thetranslationofplantwordsfromEnglishtoChineseisalsoveryimportant.Accordingtothespecificsituation,reasonabletranslationmethodsareusedtosolvetheproblem,andfinallyanaturalandcleartranslationisobtainedtohelpthetwonationalitiescommunicate.Theresearchmainlysolvesthefollowingproblems:themainaspectsofthesymbolicmeaningofEnglishandChineseplantwords,thetranslationmethodsofEnglishandChineseplantwords,thereasonsthataffecttheculturalconnotationofEnglishandChineseplantwords.Throughthisstudy,peoplecanbetterunderstandthesymbolicmeaningsofplantwordsinEnglishandChinese,andbetterusethesymbolicmeaningsofplantwordstoexpress,whichisconducivetocross-culturalcommunication.ThestudyofplantwordsinEnglishandChinesecandeepentheunderstandingofthewayofthinkingoftheEnglishandChinesenationalitiesandhelptoimprovecommunicationability.ChapterOneAnOverviewofEnglishandChinesePlantWordsEnglishandChinesearetwoimportantlanguagesintheworld.Althoughtheessentialmeaningofplantshasnotchanged,plantsareendowedwithrichculturalconnotations.Therefore,itisveryimportanttounderstandtheoriginanddevelopmentofculturalconnotationsofEnglishandChineseplantwords.1.1EnglishPlantWordsTherearesimilaritiesintheoriginofculturalconnotationofplantwordsinEnglishandChinese,whicharemainlyreflectedinfolkcustom,homophony,metaphorandsoon.However,thereareobviousdifferencesbetweenEnglishandChineseinplantvocabularycomparison.Themainreasonisthatthegeographicalenvironment,thinkingmodeandhistoricaldevelopmentofEnglishandChinesearedifferent.Westernerspayattentiontologicalthinking.Theythinktheessenceofthingsisconstant.Athingiseitherrightorwrongwithoutneutrality.WhenWesternersthinkaboutproblems,theyliketoseparatethingsfromthewholeforanalysis.FromthestudyofEnglish,peoplecanfindthatEnglishisbasedonlogicalthinking.Westernersareusedtoshowtheresultfirst,thenthereason,andfinallythemodification.Westernersaremoreopenandliketoexpressdirectly.Therefore,theculturalconnotationofplantwordsintheWestcomesfromtheexternalcharacteristicsofplants,theperformanceofplantsandthenationalculture.Thecolorofplantsisthemainmanifestationoftheexternalcharacteristicsofplants.Forexample,peachreferstoyoungandbeautifulwomen;rosereferstobeautifulwomen.Theperformanceofplantsisalsotheembodimentofculturalconnotationofplantwords.Forexample,lemonisakindofextremelysourfruit,whichmanypeopledonotlike,soitisoftenextendedasanuisance.Inaddition,theBibleandGreekmythologyhaveaprofoundimpactonEnglishplantwords.ManyoftheculturalconnotationsofEnglishplantwordscomefromtheBibleandGreekmythology.TheBiblehasaprofoundimpactonWesternculturefromtheaspectsofarchitecture,wayofthinking,artandsoon.ItcanreflectitsimpactontheWest.GreekmythologyalsohasaprofoundimpactonthecultureofWesternplantwords.InGreekmythology,theculturalconnotationofplantwordsisoftenreflectedinpragmatics.1.2ChinesePlantWordsChineseisakindofparataxislanguage.TheformationofChinesereflectsthewayofthinkingoftheChinesenation.Chinesepeopleallpayattentiontoholisticthinking.ThemaincharacteristicsofChineseculturearetoattachimportancetoetiquette,group,andintuition.Chineseculturedespisesthetraditionofthinking,ruleoflawandindividual.Chineseculturebelongstoethicalculture.ThepursuitofhumanrelationsrunsthroughallaspectsofChina.Inthelong-termhistoricaldevelopment,Chinahasformedasocialandculturalsystembasedonindividualagriculture,familyandethics.Chineseisbasedonformalthinking.Whenexpressingthings,peopleshouldfirstshowmodification,andfinallyshowresults.Chinesepeopleprefereuphemism.Therefore,themainmanifestationofthiswayofthinkingofChinesenationissymbol.Symbolisdifferentfromfeeling,intuitionandconceptinwesternphilosophy.Symbolismisusedtoexpresstheessenceofthingsandthelawofchange.Metaphorandassociationareoftenusedintheprocessofsymbolization.TheuniquewayofthinkingofChinesenationwillaffecttheevolutionanddevelopmentofChinesevocabulary.Atthesametime,theplantvocabularyalsodevelopsandchangesintheprocessofapplication,whichleadstothechangeofculturalconnotationofplantvocabulary.TheculturalconnotationofChineseplantwordsisnotonlyobtainedthroughmetaphor,butalsothroughidioms,allusions,poemsandfolkcustoms.Festivalisanimportantformoffolkcustom.TherearemanyfestivalsofHannationality,whichhavebeenpopularforthousandsofyears.Specificfestivalsareassociatedwithspecificplants,suchastheDoubleNinthFestivalwhichappreciateschrysanthemums,theQingmingFestivalwhichinsertwillowsandsoon.Inthisway,plantsareendowedwithrichculturalconnotations.Plantvocabularyisalsocloselyrelatedtopoetryandallusions.Forexample,asectionofarrowrootisseparated,buttheclingingfibreremains,compromisingone’shonourbyadultery,bloomingflowersandfullmoon,etc.Inaddition,theculturalconnotationofplantwordsalsocomesfromhomophony.Forexample,applesymbolizespeaceandsecurity;pearsymbolizesseparation;andjujubemeanstohaveababyearly.ChapterTwoAContrastiveAnalysisoftheCulturalConnotationsofEnglishandChinesePlantWordsIntheprocessofthedevelopmentofhumanlanguageandculture,wordsareendowedwithemotionandsymbolicmeaning.EnglishandChineseplantwordsarealsoendowedwithrichculturalconnotation,andsymbolicmeaningisoneofthemainmanifestationsoftheculturalconnotationofEnglishandChineseplantwords.2.1AnAnalysisoftheCulturalConnotationsofPlantWordsinEnglishWiththeprogressofsocietyandthedevelopmentofhumanspiritualcivilization,Englishplantwordsareendowedwithrichculturalconnotations,whichplayanimportantroleinpeople’sdailylife.2.1.1SymbolicMeaningofEnglishPlantWordsPlantsinnatureareoftenendowedwithmeaningbyhumanbeingsbecauseoftheirshapesandgrowthrules.Suchmeaningiscalledsymbol.Thedefinitionofsymbolistoexpresssomeabstractmeaningwithconcretethings,tomarksomethinginvisible(suchasaconceptoracustom)withvisiblesigns,torepresentthewholewithsomethings,toexpressconcretethingswithspecialmeaningandtoshowsignsandfeatures.Associationistheexpressionmethodofsymbolicbasisandplantsymbolmeansthathumanbeingsregardacertainplantasameaningfulsymbol,whichcanexpressmeaninginsteadofwrittensymbolsindailyinterpersonalcommunicationandlife.ThesymbolicmeaningofplantshasarichexpressionintheEnglishnation.Thefirsttypicalexampleisrose.InEnglish,rosesymbolizestheremovalofbadluckanddisease;itsymbolizesloveandbeauty.IntheworksofGreekpoets,roseshavebeautifulmythologicalcolors.Accordingtopoets,roseisthewhitefoamofherbodywhenAphrodite,thegoddessofloveandbeauty,isbornfromtheseafoam.Thegoddessessawthattherosesonthegoddesswerenolessbeautifulthanthegoddesses.Theywereveryenviousandsprinkledtheimmortalagar.Theagargavetherosesfragrance,buttherosesneverwiltedbecauseoftheenvy.Sorosessymbolizebeauty.AphroditewasinlovewithAdonis.Adoniswasstabbedtodeathbythewildboar’steethwhenheshottheboar.Aphroditewasverysadtohearthenews.Whensherushedtoherlover,thewhiterosestabbedherfoot.Herblooddrippedonthewhiterose,andthentherewastheredrose.Rosesalsosymbolizelove.Thesecondtypicalexampleisoak.InEnglish,oaksymbolizesstrength,powerandpride.InEuropeandAmerica,oaktreesareregardedasmysterioustrees.TheleadersofthesetreesaretheGreekgodJose,theCupidandthekitchengodVista.InthemountainforestofZeus’temple,therestandsadivinetalloaktree,whoseleavesrustleisZeus’metaphorfortheGreeks.Manycountriesregardoakasasacredtree,whichhasmagicpowerandsymbolizeslongevity,strengthandpride.Oakmaterialishard,broadcrown,knownastheKingoftheForest.Thethirdtypicalexampleislily.InEnglish,lilysymbolizespurityandbeauty.InGreekmythology,thereisastoryaboutthelegendoflilies.InGermany,agirlandhermotherlivedinthemountainsofthehills.Oneday,DukeLomobopassedbyinacarriage.Whenhesawher,heimmediatelyinvitedherbacktothecity.ShecriedoutforGod’shelp.Suddenlytherewasagustofwind,andthegirlwasgone.Awhitelilyappearedandgaveofffragrance.Therefore,lilysymbolizespurityandbeauty,especiallywhitelily,whichisthemostpopular.Thefourthtypicalexampleissunflower.InEnglish,sunflowersymbolizeslight.InGreekmythology,KritaisaNarcissusfairy.Oneday,shemetSunGodandfellinlovewithhim.Butshedoesnotlikehim.Soshelookedattheskyeveryday,andthenthegodspitiedherandturnedherintoasunflower.Herfaceturnedintoaflowerdisc,alwaysfacingthesun.Sotheflowerlanguageofsunflowerissilentlove.Sunflowersalsosymbolizelight.Thefifthtypicalexampleisviolet.InEnglish,violetsymbolizeseternalloveandbeauty,simplicity,virtueandthecoolsummer.InGreekmythology,Venusisthegoddessofloveandbeauty,becauseVenusloverisgoingonalongjourney.Whenherloverleaves,Venustearsfellontheground.Thenextspring,theplacewheretheteardropssproutedandblossomedabeautifulflower.Thisistheviolet,sothevioletsymbolizeseternalbeautyandlove.Thesixthtypicalexampleisgrapes.InEnglish,grapessymbolizefruit,harvestandthingsthatcannotbereached.IntheAesop’sfablefoxesandgrapes,ahungryfoxcametothevineyardtofindfood,andsawabunchofripegrapesonthetree.Butthegrapeshunghigh,andthefoxcouldnotgetitanyway.Finally,itleftinarush.Whenitleft,itstillsaid“Iamsurethosegrapesaresouranyhow.”.Solater,peoplesymbolizesourgrapesasapsychologicalreasonforself-comfortbecausetherealneedscouldnotbemet.IntheBible,grapeshaverichsymbolicmeanings.Forexample,peoplewillplantavineyard,andshallnotgatherthegrapestogether.Itrepresentssomethingthatisbeyondexpectation.InSteinbeck’sworks,Steinbeckskillfullyusesthesymbolicmeaningsof“richness”and“Hope”ofgrapes.Itisusedskillfully.IntheUnitedStatesinthe1930s,manyfarmerswerehomelessbecauseofmodernindustrialfarming.Becausetherearesomanygrapes,theyseeCaliforniaasalandofhope.Grapesymbolizesthehopeanddreamofopeninganewlife.However,whenmanypeoplefailtofindajob,theyareoppressedbytheiremployers.Theseventhtypicalexampleisolive.InEnglish,theolivebranchsymbolizespeace,friendshipandabundance.ThereisamannamedNoahintheNewTestament.Inordertotestwhetherthefloodhasdisappeared,hereleasedalittlepigeon.Butthepigeonsoonflewback.Inafewdays,heletitgoagain.Thistime,pigeoncamebackwithanewolivebranchinitsmouth.Soeverybodyknowsthatthefloodhasgoneaway.Later,peopleusedolivebranchestosymbolizepeace.Fromtheaboveexamples.ItcanbeseenthatEnglishplantwordshaverichsymbolicmeanings.Throughtheanalysisoftheseculturalconnotations,peoplecanseethewayoflifeoftheancestorsofEnglishspeakingcountriesisrelativelysimpleandnotcomplicated.Butwiththeprogressanddevelopmentofsociety,morecontactwithnature,plantingplantsandeatingplantsendowmoresymboilcsignificancetoplants.Thesemeaningsreflectnationalculture,history,religion,wisdomandtradition.2.1.2ThePeculiarCulturalConnotationofPlantWordsinEnglishDuetotheculturaldifferencesandsemanticvacanciesbetweenEnglishandChinese,manyplantwordsonlyhaveculturalconnotationsinEnglish.TheEnglishpeopleexpresstheirfeelingswithplants,andallkindsofflowersandtreesarecombinedtoformflowerlanguage.Forexample,sweetpeasistoexpressamomentofjoyandshorttermjoy.PrinceHarryuseditathiswedding.Narcissussymbolizenarcissism.InGreekmythology,abeautifulyoungmansawhisreflectioninthewater.Hebegantobeinfatuatedwithhisreflection,andfinallybecameanarcissus.PersianChrysanthemummeansinnocence,modestyandharmony.Thecosmosisproducedinadelicateanddelicatemanner.Violetsymbolizesthefetterofloveandtheunchangingbeauty.FlowerlanguageisusuallyusedtoexpressemotionsinEnglish.AppleonlymeansfruitinChineseandithasnosymbolicmeaning.However,ithasrichculturalconnotationsinEnglish.AppleisverypopularintheWest.IntheBible,appleisthefruitofwisdom.AdamandEveknewmanythingsafterstealingapples,anddistinguishedthegoodfromevilandthebeautiful.Sopeoplethinkthatapplescanmakepeoplesmarterandbringgoodluck.Forexample,Apple’slogoisanapplethathasbeenbitten.ItremindspeopleofthestoryofAdamandEve,reflectingthebrand’suniqueculture.InEurope,Applesymbolizespower.Therewasanappleonthetopoftheking’scane.TheyalwaysheldtheEmperor’sappleintheirhands.Applealsohasalotofslangwithrichculturalconnotations.Examplesareasfollows:ThefirsttypicalexampleisdeadseaApple.Legendhasitthatakindofappleproducedbysodominthenearfutureisbeautifulinappearanceandhasnothingtoremove.So“deadseaApple”describesemptyappearanceandflashythings.Thesecondtypicalexampleisanappleofdiscord.LegendhasitthatwhenPeleuswasholdingawedding,heforgottoinviteEris,thegoddessinchargeofthedispute.Sothegoddesswasangryanddecidedtocreatecontradictionsatthewedding.Soatthebanquet,thereweregoldenapplesengravedwith“belongingtothemostbeautiful.”.Hera,thequeenofheaven,Aphrodite,theGodofloveandbeauty,andAthena,thegoddessofwisdom,allthinkthatsheisthemostbeautiful.Atlast,theywenttoZeusforjudgment.Zeusaskedtheprincetodealwiththismatter.Inordertogetthegoldenapple,thethreegoddesseshavetheirownadvantages:Hera’slandandwealth,AthenaXu’svictoryandhonor,andAphrodite’sbeautifulwoman.Amongwealth,honorandbeauty,beautyischosen.SotheGoldenApplewasgiventotheGodofloveandbeauty.Aphroditefulfilledherpromisetohelpherturnawayfromthemortalbeauty,causing10yearsofwar.Therefore,“anappleofdiscord”isoftenusedtoexpressdisputesandcurses.Thethirdtypicalexampleisrosemary.RosemaryiswidelyusedinBritainandcanbeusedasaspiceforcooking.Theancientsbelievedthatrosemarycouldhelprestorememory.ShakespearesaidinHamlet,“rosemaryistohelprestorememory,dear,pleasebearinmind.”.Sorosemary’sflorallanguageistoretainmemories.Rosemaryisalsoasymboloflove.Thegirlknockedthesweetheart’sfingerswithherrosemaryandgotapositivereply.Rosemaryiswovenintoawreathonthebride’sheadatthewedding,representinglove.InChristianity,theVirginMarytookJesusawaytoescapethedevil’spursuit,wearingabluecloakintherosemarycluster,andtheoriginalwhiteflowersturnedblue,helpingtheVirginMaryandJesusescape.SoChristiansseeitassacred.Thefourthtypicalexampleisdaisy.DaisyisthenationalflowerofItalyoriginatedinEurope.Theflowerissmallandlovedbypeople.IthasrichculturalconnotationinEnglish.Itsymbolizesinnocence,peace,hope,farewellandlovehiddenintheheart.Accordingtothemyth,whentheelfVirginiaandherloverwereplayingintheorchard,theywerefoundbythegodsintheorchard,soshebecameadaisywithagoodtemperament.“Underthedaisies”referstodeath.Freshasadaisymeansenergetic.Thefifthtypicalexampleispotato.Theword“potato”oftenappearsinEnglish-speakingcountries.Manypeopleliketoeatpotatoes,becausetheycanbemadeintochips.Itisalsothefourthlargestfoodcropintheworld.InEnglish,potatousuallyreferstoanunwelcomeperson.Hereisthephraseaboutpotato.“Couchpotato”referstolazypeopleorcomputeraddict.“Mousepotato”referstocomputerfans.“Bigpotato”referstoabigman.Inadditiontopotato,cucumbersandbeansalsohaveculturalconnotations.Cucumberusuallyreferstocalmness,e.g.“Coolasacucumber.”However,beansusuallyrefertostupidity,suchasbeanbrain.WordslikeappleandDaisyhaverichculturalconnotationsinEnglishspeakingcountries,butnotinChinesespeakingcountries.Forthesewords,peopleshouldhaveapositiveattitudetocorrectlyunderstandthem,tolearnmoreaboutwesternculture,tounderstandeachotherandtotolerateeachother,sothatpeoplecanbettercarryoutcross-culturalcommunication.Twocountries’communicationbecomesmoresmoothintheirdailylife.2.2AnAnalysisoftheCulturalConnotationsofPlantWordsinChineseSinceancienttimes,Chinesepeopleliketoexpresstheirfeelingsbymeansofflowers,plantsandtrees.Chinesepeopleliketoobserveplantsandendowthemwithconnotationthroughvividlanguage.Therefore,Chineseplantwordshaverichculturalconnotations.2.2.1SymbolicMeaningofChinesePlantWordsChinaisanancientcivilizationcountrywiththousandsofyearsofculture.Sinceancienttimes,Chinesepeoplehavebeenexposedtoplants,whichplayavitalroleinourdailylife.Plantscanbeusedasmedicinalmaterialstodispeldiseasesforus;plantscanbeusedastimbertobuildhousesforus.ThefollowingexamplescarefullyexplorethesymbolicmeaningofChineseplantwords.Thefirsttypicalexampleispine.Pinetreesgrowinthedeepmountains.Pinetreesarelonely,honest,simple,fearlessofcold,hotsunandevergreenalltheyearround.Ourcountryhasbeenfondofandpraisedpinessinceancienttimes.IntheAnalectsofConfucius,Confuciussaid“Itiscoldattheendoftheyear,andthenpeopleknowthatthepineandcypresstreesarethelasttowither.”.SuDongpo,agreatliteraryscholarintheSongDynasty,lovedpinetrees.Whenhewasyoung,heplantedpinetreeseveryyear.Hewasdemotedandplantedpinetreesaroundhishometoenjoythepinetree.Pineandbamboodonotwitherinwinter.Plumblossomsopenincoldwinter.InChinese,pinesymbolizesthatpeoplewhohavesolarterms,arenotafraidofdifficulties,andhavestrongwill.Pinetreesalsohavethemeaningoflongevity.Peopleoftenhearblessingsfromeverlasting.InTaoZhu’sStyleofPineTrees,pinetreessymbolizededication.Thesecondtypicalexampleislotus.Thelotusgrowsinapondfullofmud,butitsbranches,leavesandflowersarenotpolluted.Ancientpeopleoftenused“Thelotusarealwaysclearwhengrownoutofthedirtymud,andarealwaysseductivewhenpuredbythecleanwater.”.Topraisethenobleandhonestqualityoflotus,soinancienttimes,whenpeopleseeanhonestanduprightofficial,peoplemustsendagreenlotusasatokenofrespect.Lotusisalsoasacredsymbol.LotusisthesacredflowerofBuddhism.WhentheBuddhistdoorisbeingcleanedup,thereshouldbenomiscellaneousthoughts.Lotusisaplacetosit,sothelotussymbolizesholiness.Chinahasaprofoundculturalrelationshipwithlotus.Peopleregardlotusasagentleman,andthinkitisasymbolofvirtueandintegrity.LovedbytheChinese,therearemanypoemsaboutlotusinChineseliterature.AndinQunfangZhai,“allthingsbloomfirstandthenbearfruit.Onlylotusgrowstogether.”.Thethirdtypicalexampleisplum.Plumblossomsarerepresentativeofourflower,andarepraisedbymanypeopleofliteratureandwriting.Theplumblossomsarestillbloomingeveninthecoldwindandsnow.Theydonotdisputewiththeworld,donotcompetewithflowersandbloominwinter.Itsymbolizesindomitable,nobleandunsulliedspirit.IntheShangDynasty,plumblossomwasdeeplylovedbypeople.Plumblossomwasthelongevitystarintheflower.Fivepetalsrepresentedauspiciousness,whichmeanshappiness,luxury,longevity,jubileeandwealth.Therefore,plumblossomalsosymbolizesauspiciousness.Thefourthtypicalexampleispear.Pearblossomhasalonghistoryinourcountry.Thedelicatefragranceislovedbymostpeople.Pearblossomiswhiteandsad,sopearblossomalsosymbolizessadness.InChina,pearsoundslikeseparation.Soinancienttimes,pearblossomisregardedasanunluckysymbol.Thepearblossomalsosymbolizeslonelinessandmelancholy.InTangDynasty,poetLiuFangping’sSpringComplaintsaid,“Lonelinessisemptyandspringislate,andthepearblossomisfullofdoors.”,expressingasadlonelinessfeelings.Thefifthtypicalexampleisbegonia.Begoniaflowerisafamousornamentalflowersinceancienttimes.Ithasabeautifulandattractiveappearanceandapleasantfragrance.EverytimeduringBegoniablossomseason,peoplealwaysstoptowatch.Begoniaflowerhasthereputationoffairyintheflowerandnobleconcubineintheflower.LuYouonceusedthepoemtodescribetheeleganceofcrabapple.Sothecrabappleflowersymbolizesnobilityandelegance.Historically,therearemanyfamouspaintingsofcrabapple,suchaspictureofbegoniasleepinginspring.Peoplealsocomparetheflowerofcrabappletoabeautifulwoman.EmperorXuanzongofTangDynastyoncecomparedhighconsortYangtoaflowerofcrabapple.Socrabappleflowersalsohavebeautifulsymbols.Inancienttimes,travelersoftenusedcrabapplestoexpresstheirfeelingsofmissingtheirfamilies.Therefore,Begoniaalsosymbolizesthesorrowofseparation.2.2.2ThePeculiarCulturalConnotationofPlantWordsinChineseBecauseofthedifferencesbetweenEnglishandChineseplantcultures,someplantsonlyhaverichassociativemeaningsinChinese,butnotinEnglish.Thisisduetothehistorical,cultural,aestheticandgeographicaldifferencesbetweenEnglishandChinese.ThefollowingistheuniqueculturalconnotationofplantwordsinChinese.ChrysanthemumisoneofthethreefamousflowersinChina.Chrysanthemumbloomsinautumn,soitisthesymbolofautumn.Chrysanthemumisnotafraidofthewindandfrost,andhastenaciousvitality,soitalsosymbolizesnobility.Onlychrysanthemumblossomsinautumnwhenhundredsofflowerswither.PeoplecallSeptemberaschrysanthemummoon.Accordingtohomonyms,ninesoundslikealongtimeinChina.Sochrysanthemumalsosymbolizeslonglife.Sinceancienttimes,chrysanthemumsymbolizeshermits.Forexample,TaoYuanmingsaidthat“AsIpickchrysanthemumsbeneaththeeasternfence,myeyesfallleisurelyontheSouthernMountain.”.BambooisoneoftheFourGentlemenandisappreciatedandlovedbypeople.Theappearanceofbambooisgreenwithoutanydecoration.Itissimple,realandpure.Itisasymbolofhumanreliability.Bambooistenaciousandgrowsslowlybeforeitbreaksthroug