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‘Orchid King’ views life through 30,000 blossoms
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Feng Anqing says the varieties he grows are some of the few remaining non-hybrid flowers originating in China. Tan Weiyun opens the door to their beauty.
Buddha said the world is in a grain of sand, a fallen tree leaf and a flower petal. Feng Anqing sees the world through the blossoms and life cycle of more than 30,000 potted orchids he has planted during nearly three decades.
“What’s the best nutrition for orchids? The grower’s loving heart and peaceful spirituality,” the 55-year-old “orchid king” says.
Feng has planted a wide range of precious orchids in the 15,000-square-meter plot he leases in a suburban agricultural park in the Pudong New Area. Feng’s business is growing herbs for traditional Chinese medicine remedies, but his pleasure is orchids.
Some of his potted orchids are so rare they would be valued at over 10 million yuan (US$1.63 million) each, he claims. “But I will never sell them. I love them just because I love them.”
Orchids have been endowed in China with much cultural and religious significance. Petite, delicate in pure white or jade-green and with a mind-soothing yet light fragrance, the best Chinese orchids have been an emblem of nobility, elegance, purity and modesty for more than 2,000 years.
The varieties of orchids Feng grows, he says, are some the few, non-hybrid flowers originating in China remaining today.
“It’s a totally different experience to plant orchids. For me, the process is more like the practice of Zen,” Feng, a Buddhist, says with a serious smile. “Patience and perseverance are the key.”
It usually takes no longer than a year to grow most other flowers from seedlings to blossoms, but it might take decades for some orchids to have their first bud. “You can say the whole process is painful and desperate, but you can also say it’s full of hope,” Feng smiles. “If you can endure this process, you can coolly handle anything in life.”
One of his orchid pots hasn’t blossomed in the past 20 years, but he says he will wait and believes the orchid will finally bloom. “I’ve been loving and taking care of her for so many years. I know her well and she understands me also,” Feng says. “She is just waiting for the best moment to shine.”
Feng believes in the spiritual connection between him and the flowers. He talks with them every morning, and greets them by saying things like, “You look pretty today!”
“They can feel me. They are happy and grow better,” he says, beaming.
Growing orchids, in Feng’s eyes, is the method to cultivate one’s inner world, a world of tranquility and simplicity.
An orchid is usually judged by its color, shape of flowers, leaves and the blossom duration. Light jade green or pure white are the best, symbolizing purity and honesty, while red or pink are considered of lower quality because they are too vulgar and flamboyant.
A quality orchid blossom can last for about one to two months. When it’s about to die, it simply drops to the soil with its full, plump flowering shape, not looking withered at all. “She dies with her last dignity, not like other flowers with wizened petals, which look so pathetic,” Feng says.
Feng fell in love with orchids 27 years ago during a trip to Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province. But he has loved plants since he was small. The young Feng would pick up scattered corn kernels and grow them into corn plants.
Attracted to the soothing aroma orchids gave off in a flower market in Shaoxing, he took several pots home. Without any experience, he successfully grew them to bloom the first year. “I had been handling flowers and grass since childhood, I guess I might be born with a green thumb,” he says.
Orchids have a wide range of different breeds, but are roughly divided into spring, summer, autumn and winter types.
Shanghai from the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) to the 1920s experienced the heyday of orchid growing as the city opened as an international port and entrepreneurs flocked in with different breeds of orchids discovered in the mountains in other areas such as Zhejiang, Yunnan, Fujian and Sichuan provinces.
Today, the city has become one of the biggest orchid-trading centers in the country. During the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, 2,000 pots of Feng’s orchids were on display in a pavilion built in traditional Chinese architectural style.
Fragrance is the soul of an orchid. It’s faint and distant, yet soft and peaceful.
In some rural villages, it has been a popular practice to put orchids in delivery rooms to sooth and calm women giving birth.
Feng says the best time to enjoy the aroma is in the early morning when all of the senses are waking up.
“You might not clearly realize what you smell at that moment. But when you are fully awake, you will remember the amazing scent, which is beyond description,” he explains.
Every year, Feng ventures deep into the mountains to discover new species of orchids. The exploration all depends on his sense of smell. Once Feng catches the fragrance, he checks the wind direction immediately because the aroma may disappear quickly.
“Just go in that direction. There must be orchids,” he says.
Feng likes to share his flowers. Every year he distributes orchids among friends and relatives. “I just want more people to smell the aroma and appreciate this truly Chinese flower, a symbol of nobility and purity,” he says.
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