Peach Blossom story: only for those told they have it but aren't popular

"You have Peach Blossom. You must be popular."

If you heard that and thought, "Then why not me…?", this post is just for you.

One more question. You were told you have Peach Blossom, but have people actually said "you're pretty" or "you're good-looking" very often? If it's the star of popularity, why don't the compliments on your looks follow? Haven't you wondered?

The answer lies in what kind of flower Peach Blossom is.

Peach Blossom (桃花) is the flower of the peach tree. Its petals are a deep pink. But honestly, if we're talking pretty, isn't a rose prettier?

So why did the peach blossom, and not the rose, become the symbol of popularity?

A single rose in a vase steals every glance. A single peach blossom looks rather plain. But the peach tree has something the rose doesn't: fruit.

When the flowers fall, peaches grow. You know the ones: one bite and the juice runs, and the scent fills your mouth. There's an old saying: "The peach and plum trees say nothing, yet a path forms beneath them on its own (桃李不言，下自成蹊)." People know how good the fruit is. Roses do bear fruit too, but nobody gathers around to pick it.

To put it simply: the rose is popularity that catches the eye; the peach is popularity you only know once you've tasted it.

So here's the answer to that question from earlier. When people see a rose, they say "how pretty." When people taste a peach, they say "I want more." What people with Peach Blossom hear is also less "you're pretty" and more "I feel at ease with you" and "let's meet again." Not hearing compliments on your looks doesn't mean you don't have Peach Blossom. The compliments are just a different kind.

On top of that, the peach has long been a symbol of long life. The popularity of Peach Blossom doesn't burst out and vanish all at once either. It ripens slowly and lasts.

You know someone like this, don't you? Pretty or handsome, yet somehow not popular. Everyone looks their way at first, but for some reason people don't stay around for long.

It's like a tree that flowers but bears no fruit. Looks call people over once, but what makes them stay is a power like Peach Blossom: the pull of someone you want to keep close.

(So are people without Peach Blossom unpopular? Not at all. A chart has several other places that draw people in besides Peach Blossom. That's covered in Lesson 5 of the basics.)

1. Photos and profiles don't get much response 2. Blind dates and first meetings always fizzle out 3. Yet people who have known you a long time keep seeking you out 4. With people you meet through work, you somehow get close fast

Congratulations. Your Peach Blossom isn't fake. You were expecting to bloom like a rose, but you may simply have been a peach tree all along.

Photos and first meetings only show the flower. Only someone who has taken a bite knows how a peach tastes.

The classic Di Tian Sui (滴天髓) went as far as calling Peach Blossom "an error invented by later people." Promising romance luck from Peach Blossom alone is a reading that was already rejected hundreds of years ago.

Why Peach Blossom was once read as a wandering eye, and whether yours is more likely to be used in work or in love, is covered in detail in Lesson 1 of the basics.