Scented Story No. 3
If floral and sunny scents have enchanted you in recent weeks, this new tale straight from the Middle Kingdom should keep the magic going... After tiare flower and jasmine, it's time for the enigmatic blue rose.
The Blue Rose – A Chinese Tale
Once upon a time, there was a young princess endowed with every quality. Her deep blue eyes illuminated a lovely face, and everyone admired her intelligence. However, the princess had an annoying habit: considering herself perfect, she demanded that everything around her be perfect as well. She wouldn't hesitate to throw away a cake if the strawberries decorating it weren't all the same size and color! Obviously, no suitor found favor in her eyes, and despite her father's insistence, she continued to refuse all the young men presented to her. One day, as he begged her again, she promised to marry whoever brought her a blue rose. The emperor, who adored her and had refused her nothing since her mother's death, was not pleased with this decision, for he knew that blue roses did not exist. Roses were white, red, pink, or yellow, but never blue! Nevertheless, yielding to this last demand, he announced throughout the kingdom that the first to bring the princess a blue rose, the color of her eyes, would win her hand.
Many set off in search of this famous rose in the hope of marrying the princess. And just as many abandoned the quest. After several weeks, only three suitors presented themselves at the palace.
The first was a rich merchant. He had gone to find the best florist in the city, promising him a full purse if he found him a blue rose, but also death if he failed. Desperate, the florist, on his wife's advice, found an alchemist who dipped a white rose in a blue liquid the color of the princess's eyes. The petals immediately took on a fabulous blue hue. Enchanted, the merchant rushed to the palace to present his rose. The emperor, very satisfied, asked the princess to keep her promise, but she, far from being foolish, asked for a bird to be brought. When it landed on the rose, it died instantly, killed by the poison used to color the flower.
“Father, how could you let yourself be fooled like this? This rose is blue only because it has been dyed; it is not its original color. How could I accept such an untrustworthy, insincere, dishonest fiancé? He will deceive me just as he tried to deceive you! I will not marry this man.”
The second suitor was a soldier who had traveled the world. From the region of the five rivers, famous for its diamonds, he brought back a beautiful, sparkling blue sapphire. He took the stone to a jeweler who cut it into the shape of a rose before bringing it to the palace. When the emperor saw the jewel, he found it simply perfect and was convinced that his daughter, this time, would agree to marry.
Unfortunately, when she saw the jewel, the princess did not react as expected: “Father, this is not a flower, and you know it. What good is a fake love, manufactured from scratch, a showy love? I am not a woman to be bought. I am still waiting for a real blue rose.”
The third suitor was a young nobleman from a good family. He summoned the country's most renowned painter and asked him to paint the most beautiful blue rose imaginable on the finest Chinese porcelain. When it was finished, the young nobleman presented the emperor with a wonderfully translucent vase, featuring in its center the most perfect representation of a blue rose. Convinced that his daughter would be seduced by such delicacy, the monarch sent for the princess and said, “This time, you have the blue rose you wished for; you must keep your promise!” To which the princess replied, “Father, I want a living rose, not an image, however beautiful. So I will keep the vase, but not the suitor!” The last suitor was therefore dismissed, like all the others.
One summer evening, as she admired the sunset, the princess heard a poet singing. He was a handsome young man with a sweet and harmonious voice. She went down to meet him. One look was enough. His voice and words had already won her over. When he told her he wished to marry her, she replied, “Alas, I swore I would only marry whoever could bring me a blue rose, and so far, no one has succeeded.” The poet promised he would succeed because “there are blue roses everywhere for those who wish to see them.”
The next day, the young poet appeared at the palace with a cream-colored rose. This made the emperor smile, disillusioned by this endless quest for the perfect suitor. Nevertheless, he sent for his daughter and said, “Here, my daughter, is a poet who claims to have found a blue rose!” To his great surprise, the princess took the rose and declared, without a hint of hesitation: “Indeed, Father, this rose is blue, and it is beautiful as life itself.” Everyone at Court shared the emperor's astonishment. Everyone saw a cream-colored rose, not a blue one. Then the princess, confident, continued, “It is your eyes that deceive you! Look closely, look better, and you will see that the rose has the color of my eyes, a wonderful blue.” No one dared to protest further, and the emperor, too happy to have finally found a son-in-law, would not have found anything to complain about. The princess then married the poet. Songs, laughter, poetry, and music soon filled the Palace, and the princess, finally fulfilled with what truly mattered, ceased to seek perfection in all things.
Sources :
The Blue Rose, a Chinese tale, taken from the work by Rè and Philipe Soupault: Merveilleuses Histoires des Cinq Continents, Ed Seghers, 1975, 1985, pp. 185-188.
