Drawing from the imagery of the Chinese radical "艸," lush, thriving plants, I have selected four herbaceous plants that hold profound significance in both Chinese and Western cultural histories. Through them, I explore the complex narratives that plants carry within the flow of civilizational exchange. Four Chinese characters—「蕤 (Ruí)」、「蒔 (Shí)」、「英 (Yīng)」、「葸 (Xǐ)」—all belonging to the “艸” radical, serve as the conceptual keystones for each work. These characters are more than titles; they are keys to deciphering a cultural code.
「葸」(Xǐ) means fear, trepidation, and cowardice. It points directly to a deep-seated, traumatic reflex embedded in memory.
The Poppy’s beauty is a disguise for its peril. In the West, it is a symbol of solace and remembrance from myth and modern history. In China, it is the brand of modern historical humiliation and pain. This sharp opposition reveals the most poignant facet of cultural encounter. "葸(Xǐ)" engraves the shocking weight of history behind the beauty, the unforgettable shadow in the dialogue between China and the West.
From the balanced coexistence of "蕤 (Ruí)," the innovative transformation of "蒔 (Shí)," and the achieved consensus of "英 (Yīng)," to the formative trauma of "葸 (Xǐ)," this series captures the manifold possibilities of Sino-Western cultural encounters, interweaving the form of plants with the meaning of words.
