Hu Lancheng, a literati of the Republican era, in his book Shanhe Suiyue (Time Amidst Mountains and Rivers), notes that Chinese especially love "picking the lotus." Whereas in Indian religious belief the lotus is sacred, in China--where the culture is more practical and even deities come down to the mundane world to enjoy human pleasures--the lotus is very much part of mundane existence.
民國文人胡蘭成在《山河歲月》一書中提到，中國人更愛的是「採蓮」，相較於印度信仰裡高不可攀的蓮花，高格孤芳難著墨，現世的中國，仙人都要下凡來享受人間風月。