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| Flowers of a parasol tree in full bloom. Photo: DH |
In classical Chinese literature, the parasol tree has long been celebrated as a noble tree, crowned with the title “vuong gia chi hoa” (the flower of kings), and entwined with the legend that the mythical phoenix would only alight upon its branches.
Yet this tree, so exalted in Chinese literature and mythology, turns out to be a species entirely common to the natural landscape of Vietnam. The Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi (Dai Nam Comprehensive Encyclopaedia), compiled by the Nguyen Dynasty’s Bureau of National History, records: “The parasol tree grows in mountainous provinces throughout the country. During the reign of Emperor Minh Mang, trees were brought from Guangdong and planted on both sides of Can Chanh Palace. Soldiers were then dispatched, carrying the leaves, to search thoroughly across the mountains. They brought specimens back, upon finding them, to plant at the corners of the palace.”
The story goes that when Emperor Minh Mang learned how the Chinese had praised it as “the flower of kings,” with the implicit suggestion that only the celestial empire could lay claim to it, a surge of national pride stirred within him. He promptly sent soldiers onto the Truong Son mountain range to search for it. As it turned out, Vietnam had an abundance of the tree. By having it sought out, brought back, and later engraved upon the Nhan Dinh bronze urn, the emperor quietly asserted that though the parasol tree had become famous through Chinese legend and poetry, it was, in truth, a flower of Vietnam.
Do Xuan Cam, a Distinguished Teacher and former lecturer at the University of Agriculture and Forestry - Hue University, once made a charming discovery about the Hue’s parasol tree. The tree begins shedding its leaves in early spring, and by late spring stands completely bare — only then does it flower. China’s parasol tree, by contrast, loses its leaves and blooms in autumn, in keeping with the classical verse: “ngo dong nhat diep lac / thien ha cong tri thu” (when a single leaf falls from the parasol tree, all under heaven knows that autumn has come).
According to Do Xuan Cam, this delightful difference may be precisely what allowed Hue’s parasol tree to break free from its Chinese associations and become, instead, a symbol of Vietnamese national pride, chosen by the Nguyen emperors to plant in their Imperial Palace. He also notes that in Vietnam, the parasol tree grows wild, scattered but fairly abundant, along the central Truong Son range. Travelers journeying along the Ho Chi Minh Trail from Dong Giang and Tay Giang, Da Nang City, to Dakrong and Thien Duong Cave, Quang Tri province, in late spring can easily spot its blossoms amid the majestic mountain forests.
Beyond the wilderness, decades ago, the nursery of Hue Monuments Conservation Center successfully propagated this royal flower and planted it along many of the city’s streets.
And so, when the parasol tree blooms inside the Imperial Palace and fills visitors’ hearts with wonder, it is also a quiet reminder: this so-called flower of kings is, in essence, a purely Vietnamese treasure, carrying within it the very soul of the nation. Whether or not the legendary phoenix ever returns to rest upon its branches, here in the Imperial Palace of Hue, a gentle bird has already come to perch among the parasol tree's boughs — an omen of peace for this land, of a clean environment, a safe and enchanting destination for locals and travelers alike.