Oh, for Cyril Birch’s translation. Still, this is “The Peony Pavilion,” and there are few if any other works of art this great that are also this rarely encountered.

Xu Qian, 33, holds a pair of brushes in her right hand — one with pigment and the other with water — as she carefully paints peony flowers in the Chinese realist style known as gongbi.

When the peony bloomed this spring, however, the flower was lavender-pink. Apparently, it has crossed with another species. "Ah well, it's still pretty," Diana wrote. "And, those seedpods -- wow.

The peony is widely seen as China's national flower. In Chinese culture, the flower is considered to be a symbol of good fortune and prosperity. In Juye county, East China's Shandong Province ...

Luoyang explores culture related to peony flowersA tourist in traditional Chinese attire enjoys peony flowers at the China National Flower Garden in Luoyang, central China's Henan Province, April ...