Purple rose, “the flower of precious jade”
Mei Gui Hua, the Chinese name of the rugosa rose, reads “the flower of precious jade”: in the ancient language, its first two characters denoted a fine and costly stone. The name describes neither shape nor scent, it speaks of the value attached to this flower; another of its names, “the flower that lingers”, salutes a scent that stays. These deep purple-red buds are those of Rosa rugosa, picked from April to June, just before they open, then dried at low temperature. Their reference terroir is Shandong, and particularly Pingyin, “the homeland of the rose”, where cultivation goes back more than 1,300 years. A flower for the table as much as for the pharmacopoeia, the rose was already scenting petal jams under the Song.
Moving the Qi, without harshness
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the rose is warm, sweet, slightly bitter and above all aromatic: tradition counts fragrance as a quality in its own right, and it is fragrance that does the work. It is linked with the Liver, which seeks free flow, and with the Spleen, which bears the consequences when that flow stops. What is held back inside knots the Qi; the fragrance of the rose disperses this knot, and does so gently. The Ben Cao Zheng Yi calls it “clear without being turbid, harmonious without being violent”, the gentlest of the aromatic Qi herbs. An old book on foods simply adds that eating it makes the spirit cheerful.
Softening the Liver, waking the Stomach
This is its most used register. According to tradition, a constrained Liver spills over onto the Stomach and Spleen and unsettles digestion; because it enters both meridians, the rose softens on one side and wakes on the other, and restores the accord. Its warmth also gently sets a slowed Blood back in motion: it harmonises it, without forcing it. With cyperus, it forms the classic pair for Liver Qi. It is infused in water just off the boil, around 80 °C, as prolonged boiling dissipates its volatile compounds. Modern research takes a particular interest in its essential oil, rich in citronellol and geraniol.
Key benefits
Freed Qi & Cheerful Spirit
Through its fragrance, the rose helps free the Liver Qi and untie what is held back, without any harshness.
Awakened Stomach & Harmonious Digestion
By softening the Liver and waking the Stomach, it supports harmonious digestion according to Chinese tradition.
Emotional Harmony & Gentleness
A flower for short courses and light infusions, it unties constraint and supports emotional harmony in everyday life.
