My favorite flower is jasmine. I've been so attracted by its fresh, sweet fragrance and delicate white petals since childhood.
我最钟情的花必须是茉莉了。从小我就非常喜欢茉莉清新甜美的香味，和那娇嫩细致的白色花瓣。
I remember there were always pots of jasmine in the courtyard of my old family house, and we often picked up the flowers and placed them indoors so that the pleasant aroma would fill the room.
记得以前家中的庭院里总是摆着几盆茉莉，开花了，我们就摘几朵放在屋子里，淡雅的芬芳在房间里弥漫开来。
Another kind of flower I feel especially bonded to is the plumeria. Growing up in Southeastern China, I used to collect those flowers dropping down from the tree.
还有一种花对我来说也有着特别的情结，就是鸡蛋花。（一直没有查到这个叫法的缘起。）作为一枚东南沿海出身的中青年，记忆里总有小时候在树下捡拾落下的鸡蛋花朵的情景。
When I traveled in Southeast Asia where many plumeria trees are planted, their soothing scent brought me warmth and comfort.
鸡蛋花在东南亚是很常见的，在街头看到那黄白相间的花瓣，还有特别的香味，总让我感到亲切和治愈。
Jasmine is the national flower of Indonesia and the Philippines. The plumeria is considered as a national symbol in Laos and Nicaragua.
知道吗？茉莉是印尼和菲律宾的国花，而鸡蛋花在老挝和尼加拉瓜被视为民族的象征。
▲ 牡丹 中国
Flowers are one of the best gifts nature gives us. They have become part of our cultural roots and national identity.
花卉是来自大自然最好的馈赠之一，已然融入我们的文脉、成为民族认同的一部分。
People's different choices of flowers to represent their countries show a diversity of civilization on earth. But meanwhile, one can also feel the similarities of and connections between different cultures.
不同的国家选择了不同的花卉作为自己的代表，体现了地球上文明的多样性。同时，我们也能从这些花中感受到不同文化的共通之处。
▲ 子叶虎耳草 挪威
And this is how Maryam Najd, who was born in Tehran and now lives in Antwerp, began painting flowers which are officially established as a national symbol or widely recognized by the people of a country.
这也正是女艺术家玛丽亚姆·纳杰德创作的出发点。她出生于伊朗首都德黑兰，目前居住在比利时的安特卫普。几年前她开始画世界各国的国花，既包括已经被法定的花，也包括未被法定、但已被本国人民广泛认同的“非正式”国花。
▲ 蓝花绿绒蒿 不丹
Her experiences of moving from one country to another with a totally different culture, and her frequent travels around the world to confront with different nations and immigrants like her motivated her to reflect on the conflicts and unity of the different groups of human society.
玛丽亚姆的创作源于她本人的生活经历：从亚洲移居欧洲，因为工作频繁在世界各地移动，她或主动或被动地去面对、适应迥异的文化，同时也遇到许多和她有着共同经历的移民。这些经历让她思考民族间的冲突与团结。
▲ 牛眼雏菊 拉脱维亚
She expresses her thoughts and dream of a peaceful, beautiful world, just like that of a botanic garden, through depicting flowers of special meanings to the countries.
通过描绘这些对不同国家有着特殊意义的花朵，玛丽亚姆与观众分享她的梦：那是一方安详美丽的世界，就如同一座植物园。
She has brought her distinctive botanic world to the Arthur M.Sackler Museum of Art and Archaeology at Peking University.
现在，玛丽亚姆将这座世界花园移到了北大的赛克勒考古与艺术博物馆。
The exhibition, through Aug 29, would be a delight for both adults and children, not only because of the artist's refine depiction of these vibrant floras.
这次持续到8月29号的展出既适合成人也能吸引小朋友，不仅是因为艺术家用笔细细绘出的这一片多彩的花田。
Also, it is quite informative as Maryam did a lot of researches before she drew, and she attached to each painting a note of brief knowledge of the featured flower.
还因为展览有许多关于花朵的小知识。玛丽亚姆在动笔之前做了许多研究，她给每一幅画都附上一张小纸条，里头是关于此种花卉的一些简短有趣的介绍。
▲ 粉玫瑰 马尔代夫
These introductions would widen your mind, or change your views.
这些知识或者让你眼界大开，或者会让你抛弃原来的看法。
For example, Malta's national flower, the Maltese rock centaury translates to 'ear of the sea' in the local language.
比如南欧国家马耳他的国花是马耳他矢车菊，在当地语言中，这花也被称为“大海的耳朵”。
The name sounds poetic. It is because the plant thrives on limestone cliffs that overlook the country's west coast. And it is now endangered due to a loss of habitat.
是不是听着有点诗意呢？这是因为马耳他矢车菊茂盛地生长在俯瞰着该国西海岸的石灰岩峭壁上。但目前，生长环境的萎缩让马耳他矢车菊变得濒危。
Tulip is seen as an emblem of the Netherlands, although the country has no official national flower.
还比如郁金香常常被看作荷兰的代名词，但荷兰并未有官方的国花。
Tulip is native to central Asia and Turkey of which it is the national flower and the word 'tulip' is derived from Turkish.
郁金香原产于中亚和土耳其，是土耳其的国花，名字也源于土耳其语。
▲ 同展的馆藏清代蓝地加粉一枝梅小盘
▲ 馆藏清代彩绘瓷罐
At the exhibition opening, visitors were asked to select a flower from a variety of floral banquets and give it to Maryam. She cut them and placed them into a glass globe on which she had drawn a world map. The floral globe is shown with her paintings.
在展览开幕式上，观众被邀请参与玛利亚姆的现场创作：从许多不同品种的花束中挑出一支花，将它交给玛利亚姆：她再一一修剪，把花放入一个地球形状的透明玻璃缸中，玻璃表面有她实线勾勒出的世界地图。这个盛满鲜花的玻璃地球仪是和画作同场展出的。
Maryam told me that her intention is not just presenting a flower show, she hopes the flowers would take away the harshness we are going through in our time.
玛丽亚姆告诉我，她的国花系列并不仅仅是为了呈现花的美丽，她希望这些花可以带走我们当下经历的那些艰苦与严酷。
Courtesy of artist and Arthur M.Sackler Museum of Art and Archaeology at Peking University
部分图片致谢艺术家和北大赛克勒考古与艺术博物馆
Have a nice weekend！
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