Carnation Pink

The carnation is a native Chinese flower, mentioned as early as the Book of Songs in the verse 'The branch of the creeper, the boy wears an ivory spike.' The carnation flower is small and exquisite, with rich colors, among which pink varieties are most common, often blooming in early summer mountains and gardens.

Tang Dynasty gardens had already begun planting carnations as flower bed border plants. Li Bai's poem 'Carnations embroider the silk robe' indicates that carnation flower patterns were already used in embroidery. Due to its fresh, unassuming nature, Carnation Pink became an accent in literati gardens.

In Song Dynasty bird-and-flower paintings, carnations were a common subject. Artists like Zhao Chang and Cui Bai painted Carnation Pink in a light, elegant, and clear manner, often paired with Taihu rocks to form garden scenes, reflecting the Song aesthetic of 'seeing the great in the small.'

In Ming and Qing embroidery, carnation patterns were widely used in women's clothing and handkerchiefs. The carnation pink silk threads embroidered in Suzhou and Hunan embroidery represented the purity and loveliness of unmarried young girls.

In modern society, Carnation Pink has been rediscovered as a representative color of 'forest-style' and 'fresh and simple' aesthetics, widely used in literary youth's daily outfits, bullet journal culture, and independent brand designs, exuding an unpretentious natural beauty.