Inside the Box: Immortal Flower

By Richard I. Gibson
Translation by Siwen Liu

The Immortal Flower in the Wah Chong Tai Mercantile is from the closing of the store in the 1940s when Charlie Bovey bought the contents and took everything to Nevada City. Most of the boxes and packages still hold their original contents. Loan from Montana Heritage Commission. MW L2010.01.338

莧仙

The interpretation of the label on this box is “Immortal Flower.” Immortal is certainly the second character; the first leaves something to the imagination. And “Immortal Flower” has different connotations in various traditional Asian cultures, and may refer to more than one plant.


The most likely candidate is probably the Amaranth, a widespread plant used by Incas and ancient Greeks as well as in traditional Chinese preparations. In China, the leaves and stems are used as a stir-fry vegetable, or in soups, and are believed to enhance eyesight. Amaranth flowers were used by the Hopi of southwestern North America for dyes.

Butterfly pea

Another possible candidate is Clitoria ternatea, the butterfly pea, although it is native to tropical zones and would not have been grown commonly in much of China. It’s a herbaceous perennial with bright blue flowers, used to dye foodstuffs such as rice in Burmese, Malay, Thai, and Khmer (Cambodian) cuisine. As a traditional Ayurvedic medicinal, its use has been as an anti-stress agent, anti-depressant, and sedative. Some scientific studies suggest meaningful anti-stress and anti-convulsion activity is indeed present in chemicals derived from the plant.

Amaranth

Whatever plant it is, some sources suggest Immortal Flower has a role against diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, toothache, and constipation.

Photos: Artifact photos by Richard I. Gibson. Red-root Amaranth (A. retroflexus), from Thomé, Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz, 1885 (public domain, via Wikipedia). Butterfly pea photo via Wikipedia (public domain).

Amaranth ; Butterfly pea 

Rededicating the Wah Chong Tai Mercantile

Left: Ginger So visits with Pat Munday (June 15, 2013)
Right: Yvonne Chinn in front of the same doorway (1950)
Ginger and Yvonne are cousins, daughters of Pearl Chinn So and William Chinn,
respectively. Pearl and William grew up in the Mai Wah buildings.

In the Mercantile

June 15, 2013, the Grand Reopening of the Wah Chong Tai Mercantile at the Mai Wah Museum was a very special day. We thank everyone who helped and attended, especially those who joined the Museum as members or became sponsors of display cases.

Roger and Ginger So

We were thrilled to have Ginger So and Roger So in attendance. Their mother, Pearl Chinn So, was born in the building and grew up here in the 1920s and 1930s. They traveled from their homes in New Jersey to be part of the celebration, marking the return and display of 2,500 objects back in their original locations after 65 years. The collection is on loan from the Montana Heritage Commission; for the story, visit the Wah Chong Tai Mercantile page on our web site. Or better yet, come to the museum (Tues-Sat, 10-4) and experience it directly. This is one of the best collections of Chinese-American artifacts, in their original location, in the United States.

We also launched the start of the Chinn Family Exhibit. Four banners outline their story; an interactive touch-screen computer research station will be installed later this summer. The Chinn Family Exhibit was supported by a grant from the Montana Cultural Trust, a scholarship from the Dave Walter Research Fellowship (Montana Historical Society), and donations to the Mai Wah in memory of Pearl Chinn So.

It’s an exciting time at the Mai Wah Museum, and we hope you’ll come see the remarkable changes that have taken place.