Country national tree. The national tree of Russia is not the Birch. The giant panda is the national animal of China
In Russia, many arrogantly consider Birch to be the national tree of Russia. However (as of 2016) the symbol tree of Russia is officially not certain. Meanwhile, in Finland, neighboring Russia, Birch is a recognized symbol tree of the country.
In 1988, in Finland, on the initiative of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation, postal public opinion polls were conducted, according to the results of which the national tree of Finland was chosen, as well as the national animal, bird, fish, insect, flower and stone. Betula pendula Silver birch, which has white bark as an adult, was declared tree of Finland.
What about Us?
In September 1960
years in a small American city Seattle(Washington State) the V World Forestry Congress was finishing its work. Representatives of the peaceful profession, who came here from 91 countries, decided to conclude the congress with the creation of the Peoples' Friendship Park. In the central alley, each delegation had to plant the national tree of their country.
Soviet foresters came to a unanimous decision quite quickly: The tree representing Russia is Siberian Larch(Larix sibirica).
Look at the map of our country.
I would like to visit Peoples' Friendship Park in Seattle. To see what happened to the Heroine who represented our country, and also to be curious about what other tree species are represented in this alley, and what their fate is today.
Experts classify larch as a coniferous plant, but unlike spruce or pine, it annually sheds its needles for the winter, which before this turn yellow like ordinary foliage. Because of its ability to shed its needles annually, larch got its name Larch.
The needles are bright green, soft, narrow-linear, sitting on short shoots with 30-50 needles in a bunch.
Larch is a monoecious plant: its female cones and male spikelets are on the same tree.
The wood of this type of tree is very durable and practically does not rot. Since ancient times, larch wood has been used in shipbuilding. Without special impregnation, it is used on sleepers and telegraph poles and is especially good for piers, bridges, dams, where, as they say, it is not susceptible to demolition.
Two of the most beautiful cities in the world are built on larch piles: Venice and Northern Venice - St. Petersburg.
Larch bark is also a valuable raw material. Brownish-pink bark dye is a permanent dye for fabrics and hides.
In total Genus Larch(Larix) unites 16 types.
Larix czekanowskii Szafer - Czekanowski Larch.
- Larix decidua Mill. typus - European larch, or deciduous larch.
- Larix gmelinii (Rupr.) Rupr. - Gmelin larch.
- Larix griffithii Hook.f. - Griffith Larch.
- Larix kaempferi (Lamb.) Carrière - Thin-scaled larch, or Thin-scaled larch, or Japanese larch, or Kaempfer's larch.
- Larix kongboensis R.R.Mill
- Larix laricina (Du Roi) K.Koch - American larch.
- Larix lubarskii Sukaczev - Lubarsky larch.
- Larix lyallii Parl. - Lyell's larch.
- Larix mastersiana Rehder & E.H. Wilson - Masters' larch.
- Larix ×marschlinsii Coaz
- Larix occidentalis Nutt. - Western larch.
- Larix potaninii Batalin - Potanin's larch.
- Larix sibirica Ledeb. - Siberian larch.
Any state of the modern world has one or another of its own symbols, official heraldic and national - sometimes mythical, from those that are somehow associated with folklore, history and culture, generally recognized or not, and often even imposed once from the outside and eventually becoming very real and much more familiar stereotypes for foreigners.
Like, for example, the brown bear, balalaika, earflap hat, vodka, and now also black caviar, matryoshka dolls and an AK-47 assault rifle, which were imposed on the rest of the world by the Anglo-Saxons about a hundred and fifty years ago - in the deeply subjective opinion of those same Anglo-Saxons, it couldn’t be better.” symbolizing" Russia.
By such symbols, unique and original, one or another country is immediately recognized, and any of them is its truest “ business card"; their calling, the main task of such symbols is to immediately embed themselves in the memory and be remembered for a long time.
Of course, Chinese culture also has its own symbols, official and folklore. People's Republic.
The main state symbols of the Celestial Empire, like any other state, include its flag, coat of arms and anthem.
The author of the scarlet cloth with racially correct yellow stars is Zeng Liangsong. The four small stars below are the native proletarians and peasants, as well as the Chinese urban intelligentsia and the army. And the big star - dominating the four just described - is intended to symbolize their unbreakable unity and selfless devotion to the Communist Party of China.
Quite Leninist, or more precisely, Stalinist - for the peak of the “most acute” friendship of the two great nations, Soviet and Chinese, came exactly during the tenure of Generalissimo Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin at the helm of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks. And, presumably, this fact played a significant role in the development of the design of the national flag of the neighboring People's Republic of China. In any case, the influence of our northern neighbor here is obvious and undeniable.
In the center of the Chinese state emblem is an image of the mausoleum of the Father of the Nation - Comrade Chairman Mao Zedong in the world's most famous Beijing Tiananmen Square, and above it is the same “assortment” of stars and in the same order. The ears of corn, which very organically complement this design, symbolize the Chinese working class and the Chinese peasantry, thus fulfilling the same heraldic role as similar ears of corn in the coat of arms of the USSR.
The national anthem of the People's Republic of China is “March of the Volunteers.” In his homeland he is called San Min Chui, which means “Three Principles of the People.” For the Chinese, this piece of music is especially valuable because it contains excerpts from the speech of the founder of the Kuomintang, Comrade Sun Yat-sen, the most revered political figure in the country.
National symbols of China
From symbols of Chinese statehood to national ones, among which there is even a ginkgo tree, which probably plays the same symbolic role as Russian birches or Japanese sakura.
In addition, the folk symbols designed to personify China among its citizens themselves also include the peony, crane, giant panda and even ping pong, which means table tennis.
The ginkgo tree is known, in particular, for the fact that it was once “exported” by Chinese monks to Japan, and after its plantings survived the American atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945 and survived, it is considered indomitable in the Celestial Empire.
Peony - the national flower of the Celestial Empire
Peony was chosen as such by popular vote in 1994. In China, it is considered a symbol of extraordinary luxury and prosperity - and if so, then such a choice of the Chinese is quite understandable and very easy to explain.
Not just any kind - but the red king crane, symbolizes the elegance and rise of China - and in the local mythology it symbolizes immortality, that is, in fact, it has the same functions as the famous Phoenix Bird.
The giant panda is the national animal of China
If only because these clumsy funny creatures do not live anywhere else in the world except in China.
Table tennis is a national sport
It is very common in China, mainly due to the excitement that is especially evident during the game. The Chinese, by the way, are by far the best in this sport!
One of the most obvious symbols of modern China - visible even from low-Earth orbit - is the Great Wall of China. Although, according to an increasingly widespread opinion in certain circles, it has no historical relation to the Celestial Empire itself. The reason for this opinion was the fact that the loopholes of this fortress wall look towards China, and not vice versa - as would have been the case if this wall served the defensive needs of the ancient Chinese.
Other “tea experts” foam at the mouth to prove that as an agricultural crop, tea spread throughout the world precisely from ancient China, thus denying the primacy to India and Sri Lanka.
It can generally be considered a national brand, whose history goes back thousands of years. It is famous throughout the world, first of all, for its quality - in the 18th century it was used in Russia as an obligatory element in the interior design of imperial palaces, in particular, when stylizing various “Chinese rooms”.
Mythical symbols of China
Mythology and mythological symbols in general, strictly speaking, are “obligatory” in heraldry, and modern Chinese heraldry, as is clear from the following presentation, is far from an exception in this sense.
Chinese dragon
According to ancient Chinese national beliefs, the Dragon gave distant ancestors For today's Chinese, the most valuable thing is moisture. In the ancient native hierarchy, he occupied third place, after heaven and earth. In the past century, the image of a dragon was minted on Chinese small coins.
In one or another “modification”, dragons are found in the mythology of many European, Turkic and Asian peoples. For example, it is one of these “modifications” - the winged serpent or dragon Zilant has been present in the coat of arms and on the flag of Kazan for a long time, being a symbol of this city.
Again the famous Serpent-Gorynych from the Russians folk tales- none other than the three-headed dragon, we note in passing, very winged.
By the way. The Chinese dragon and the Kazan Zilant are similar in the presence of scales all over their bodies, which automatically classifies them as the same species - reptiles.
The same as the Phoenix Bird or the Firebird in Ancient Rus', with practically the same “national functions”: a symbol of eternal rebirth from the fiery ashes and the subsequent renewal of all things. In Chinese mythology, its obligatory attribute is a peacock tail - exactly the same as that of the domestic Firebird.
With the help of Western missionaries, the legendary Chinese qilin began to be associated among the Western public with a much more familiar unicorn. Indeed, the Chinese qilin has a horn crowning its head, but in appearance it resembles more a lion or, in general, a typical representative of the cat family. Its most popular mythological variety today is the Kirin. Qiln, according to Chinese beliefs, symbolizes longevity and prosperity.
With this, everything is generally simple and transparent - in the Celestial Empire, the turtle is considered a symbol of longevity.
