In China the tree peony is the king of flowers, the supreme emblem of wealth, honour and high rank, its lush blossom a sign of prosperity and of feminine beauty; the city of Luoyang has been famed for its peonies for a thousand years, and the flower is a favourite of imperial and decorative art. In European folk belief the peony retained its ancient protective role, planted by the house and its seeds strung on children to guard against fits, storms and evil spirits, with a legend that it shone at night and must be gathered with care. Healing, protection, wealth and honour all gather to the great full flower, from the physician of the Greek gods to the imperial gardens of China.
The peony carries modern civic status on both sides of the Pacific: it is the official state flower of Indiana in the United States, and in China, though the country has no single legally designated national flower, the peony has repeatedly topped public polls and been informally proposed for that role, continuing, in a modern civic register, the same association with rank and prestige the flower has carried since the Tang dynasty. Japanese art pairs the peony, botan, with the lion, karajishi, a stylised pairing meant to show beauty and bravery joined, since the lion was said to fear only the peony's thorn, a specifically Japanese motif distinct from the imperial associations the flower carries in China.