12 - Flowering branch (Mo Ran/Chu Wanning)
October 12, 2025 at 8:37 AM
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Flowering branch will tactfully be bestowed — Master, accept this flower of sweet haitang. Together will be my life, — and not only, — stored, Every single breath, coming from the lung. Here, we don’t know how much suffering does await, How violent, scary, disgusting the truth may be; Here is still painless and merciful our fate, Here is my heart from the venom completely free. Here I can love, and remember your gentle smile, Being aware that all people are surely kind. Here I won’t let you (won’t let us), — no, never, — die, Here stays so clear and so sane my impaired mind… Master, accept this flowering branch, haitang: Flourishing, fresh, and forever and ever young.
Notes:
Haitang (海棠, hǎitáng) (Malus spectabilis) - a species of crabapple known by the common names Asiatic apple, Chinese crab, Haitang and Chinese flowering apple. Malus spectabilis has white, red, or pink flowers, depending on the variety. The fruit is yellow and about 2 centimeters wide. It is endemic to China and native to the provinces of Hebei, Jiangsu, Liaoning, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Sichuan, Yunnan, and Zhejiang. It is cultivated as an ornamental tree, especially popular in China. Blooming in the spring, the haitang is a harbinger of warmth and renewal. In Chinese culture, the haitang symbolizes beauty, modesty and gentleness, love and longing (苦恋 kǔliàn - unrequited or bittersweet love). Haitang is sometimes called 断肠花 duànchánghuā, which means "heartbreak flower", and the type of haitang most often associated with tragic love is the red haitang, also known as "heartbreak red" (断肠红 Duàncháng hóng). In the novel, the haitang's bittersweet nature becomes emblematic of RanWan's relationship, highlighting both its beauty and the pain they endure.
