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Rapeseed
Vegetables, Volume 4

Rapeseed

When the gentle breeze ripples across ten thousand acres, a sea of gold seems to stir, connecting the mountains to the marshes. It is often said that once the peach blossoms have completely vanished, the rapeseed flowers begin to bloom—though this saying is somewhat inverted The author suggests the timing or the poetic sentiment might be backwards, as rapeseed often blooms alongside or even before late-season blossoms..

In the verses of the ancients, we find lines such as those by Fan Shihu Fan Chengda (1126–1193), a celebrated Song Dynasty poet known for his "field and garden" poetry.: "The hearts of the Chinese cabbage are green and tender, while the mustard stalks grow plump." Similarly, Yang Chengzhai Yang Wanli (1127–1206), a prolific poet famous for his "Chengzhai style" which found beauty in nature's simple details. remarked: "Cabbage stalks possess a flavor all their own."

However, both of these poets were actually referring to varieties of mustard greens original: 芥菜, Jiecai. Could it be that because Rapeseed is considered one of the Pungent Vegetables original: 葷, hun; referring to the "Five Pungents" which have a strong odor and are often restricted in spiritual diets. that it is so rarely "held between the teeth" A metaphor meaning both to be eaten and to be spoken of/praised in poetry. by the literati?