Buddha's Hands are offered for worship, and the elegant life that only Chinese people understand
People are in harmony with nature, using flowers, fruits and plants as evidence
to display elegant homes, meditate and appreciate them
leaving a corner of pure aesthetic space for life
and placing Buddha's Hands on the case In front of the flower, it adds fragrance and tranquility
It has been a symbol of longevity since ancient times
It is also a flower and a fruit, the most spiritual and spiritual
It is light but tasteful, pure and noble
It has indescribable wisdom and compassion for all living beings
From realization In the four seasons of heaven and earth, it is time to take care of the inner world.
Buddha's hand is a good medicine to heal the world, and it is also the joy of the world. Because it is new and full of vitality, the branches are left when picking and placed in a bottle. It can not only be cultivated with water, but also create a vase of ancient flower arrangements.
Or put the bergamot fruit on a high plate and place it shallowly on the desk. Look at it split like a palm, exuding a light fragrance, whether in shape, color, or smell, it can always lead you into an elegant state intentionally or unintentionally.
The beauty of Buddha's hand flows with the seasons. It is green in midsummer and slowly turns into brilliant yellow in autumn. Things change at any time, transcending the secular world. Through the changes of a Buddha's hand, we feel the rotation of the seasons, and our hearts are nourished by it.
- Buddha's Hands Qinggong -
Chinese people's belief in the aesthetics of life
Zhuangzi once said: "The water is still and clear, but the spirit is even better!" Chinese people have always attached great importance to spiritual maintenance. Buddha's Hand Purification Offering is a way for Chinese people to express their love and nourish their body and mind.
The word "qinggong" was originally used to offer offerings to Buddha, but was integrated into the secular world in the Tang Dynasty. The history of bergamot can be traced back to the Song Dynasty. In the era when scenting was popular, citron, which also belongs to the citrus genus, stood out because of its strong aroma and became the protagonist of literati for smelling fruits and making offerings.
On weekdays, it is the study and desk cleaning, and during festivals, it is the New Year's and Mid-Autumn Festival, and so on. Later, the variant developed through long-term artificial selection and cultivation is today's Buddha's hand.
From the appearance, Buddha's hand looks like a flower but not a flower, and looks like a fruit but not a fruit, which subtly expands people's imagination.
It is just like the "hand of the Buddha" , pointing to the Zen master for enlightenment, opening the fist to enlighten the mind, lightly closing it between the fingers, letting it roll or relax, like holding a flower and revealing words with a smile, inheriting ineffable wisdom and guiding us.
Another example is the slender hand of a beautiful woman, which turns into an elegant object on the desk of a talented man. The purification bottle is properly placed. This is a humble room, but I am virtuous. The room may be simple, but it must also have a pure aesthetic space that does not fall into the vulgar world.
The name Buddha's Hand is also very particular. Buddha's hand, homophonic to the word "Fushou" , is a vertical image of the sky (showing), and the meaning of a full belly (畐). This is called blessing, blessing, longevity, long-term, and protection for the long-term day by day and year by year.
In ancient times, wealthy people often displayed bergamot hands. " Dream of Red Mansions " wrote: In the Tanchun room, there was a large plate on a red sandalwood shelf with several bergamot hands as a clear offering.
What is particularly fascinating is its aroma.Different from peonies, roses and other exotic warm fragrances, the fragrance of bergamot is a refreshing cold fragrance. Its aroma permeates the air, one by one, one after another, often smelled in casual places. It has a pleasant and refreshing aroma, but if you get close to your nose and sniff hard, you won't be able to smell it.
Just like " Six Chapters of a Floating Life " said: " Buddha's hand is a gentleman in the fragrance, only intentionally or unintentionally ." Not high-minded, but forbearing; not sharp, but rich; not strong, but long; It makes people refreshed and cultivates their moral character.
In ordinary days, a plate of Buddha's hands is placed on the desk table, treasure shelf, or even in the corner of the bed tent, stacked into a tower. Whether it is the incense in the boudoir or the pure offerings on the literati's desk, the fragrance of Buddha is always permeated. Good times.
- Hometown of Buddha's Hand -
Going back thousands of years, Jinhua Buddha's Hand in Zhejiang
The more famous varieties of Buddha's Hand in my country include Guangzhou Buddha's Hand (Guangdong), Sichuan Buddha's Hand (Sichuan) and Golden Buddha's Hand (Zhejiang). Taking into account the physical properties and shapes of Buddha's hands in various places, the golden Buddha's hand is particularly suitable for worship. The relatively bulky Guang Buddha's hand and Sichuan Buddha's hand are mostly used in traditional Chinese medicine.
Golden Buddha's Hand, also called Jinhua Buddha's Hand, is a specialty product of Jinhua City, Zhejiang Province and a national geographical indication of agricultural products. Jinhua The history of planting Buddha's hand has been nearly a thousand years, and it has been the mainstream in the world of scenting and worshiping since the Song Dynasty.
The Golden Buddha's Hand is located at the southern foot of Beishan Mountain. It is nourished by the spring water of Shuanglong Cave and has a fragrant fragrance. There are elegant and slender small Buddha's hands, as well as the majestic large chrysanthemum fruit. It is known as "the fairy among fruits, a wonder in the world" Hui”.
Its shape is very flexible, each Buddha's hand has its own shape, scattered fingers, closed, flower-shaped, straight tube-shaped, some are like the jade hands of Guanyin, and some are like the fists of Hercules... It can be said that there are no two identical ones in the world. There are bergamot hands , whichever one you encounter is the one you encounter. This is the fate between people and bergamot hands.
- From green to yellow -
The four seasons rotate, do not let the worldly things disturb the pure appreciation
Today, the pure offerings tend to be simpler in life. Maybe there are no antiques, no paintings and calligraphy, and no strange stones, but at least you can still watch and play with a few Buddha's hands at home, which will make the elegant room fragrant. And I also learned to observe the changes of the annual rings of the four seasons from the hands of a Buddha.
In summer, the bergamot is mostly cyan when first picked. When placed on a plate, the bergamot first turns from green to yellow, and then slowly dries and shrinks and becomes hard, turning from golden to orange-brown. The whole process lasts two or three days. The moon happens to be autumn.
What is even more surprising is that the Buddha's hand does not rot after being stored for a long time, and can extend the cycle of beauty indefinitely. I can still find a few of the Buddha's hands from two or three years ago, and their auspicious blessings have always been with me.
After it was completely dry, I could smell a few hints of tangerine peel., which was very touching. Occasionally, I also use it as a photo prop, which is elegant and extraordinary. (Fresh fruits and dried fruits have different tastes, and the fragrance of the Buddha's hand will slowly transform during the Qing Dynasty)
What it looks like after it is completely dried
How to choose the fruit:
Now it is blue Buddha's hand, and there are two kinds of Buddha's hand for Qing Dynasty and flower arrangement..
Qinggong bergamot hands are very fresh and tender, ranging from small to large, with many sizes, without branches, mostly closed or semi-closed, suitable for playing.
flower arrangement bergamot with branches and leaves, easy to take root and can be grown in water. Each fruit is natural and comes in different sizes from small to large.
Bergamot fruit care:
When cleaning the bergamot fruit, keep it dry and ventilated. At the beginning, you can spray some water every few days to maintain freshness. After a few months, the bergamot will become woody and no longer need to be sprayed with water. It will have a dry beauty when it is naturally air-dried, and it can still be placed on a plate and smell fragrant.
Maintenance of bergamot with branches:
More than half of the branches are soaked in water. The bergamot with branches is easy to take root. Change the water once every 2-3 days. In hot weather, you can change it every day. Do not pull out the branches when changing the water.. If the fruit is too large and it is difficult to erect the branches, you can use the mouth of a bottle to hold the fruit to prevent branch breakage. (Do not touch the fruit with water, as it will easily rot if exposed to too much water)
Utensil matching:
Buddha's hand can be matched with celadon, blue and white porcelain or white porcelain. will show the graceful color of the bergamot. If placed in a woven basket, The basket should not be too rough to avoid bruising the fruit.
Other flower and fruit combinations:
In addition to viewing it alone, you can also combine the bergamot with seasonal flowers and fruits. For its elegance, it can be paired with lotus pods to make it look even more noble. Whichever is auspicious, it can be paired with pomegranate and fairy peach - which means "more blessings, more children, and more longevity".
