Plum blossoms are called "Four Gentlemen" together with orchids, bamboo, and chrysanthemums, and are also known as "Three Friends of the Cold Year" along with pine and bamboo. Plum blossoms with the spiritual quality of "before a hundred flowers, the world alone and spring", inspire people from ancient times to the present. The Tang Dynasty poet Zhu Qingyu saw the plum blossoms blooming for the first time in early spring and wrote a poem "Early Plum", the original text is as follows:
Natural roots are different, and everything is difficult to accompany.
Since ancient times, in the early spring, the snow has opened in the harsh winter.
Cold rain and dew, fragrant cold to block dust.
Can be put on the pine bamboo, good paint a place to plant.
"Natural roots are different, all things are difficult to accompany", plum blossoms have a special temperament in their innate character; everything in the world is difficult to compare. In the early spring, the spring is cold, and people have not yet noticed the arrival of spring, but the plum blossoms have quietly opened, reporting to the world the news of winter and spring. When the poet saw the early plum of the first bloom, he immediately loved it and could not help but admire the plum blossoms. In the poet's view, plum blossoms seem to have a special temperament in their bones, Ling Han is open and silent, this spiritual quality is simply unique, and everything in the world is difficult to compare.
"Since ancient times, spring has been early, and the snow has bloomed in the harsh winter", since ancient times, plum blossoms have opened in the cold season of spring; sometimes, even in the snow in the cold winter, they bloom proudly. The poet admired the early plum that bloomed in the cold wind, and admired its proud frost and snow quality, which was innate to plum blossoms, and since ancient times, they had no intention of competing for spring, blooming before the hundred flowers were blooming, and only reported to people the news of spring returning to the earth. Plum blossoms even bloom in the harsh winter, emitting a faint fragrance under the snow. This proud frost and snow quality of plum blossoms, unintentionally fighting for spring, inspires people to persevere in difficult situations, create in adversity, and then succeed in life.
"Bright cold rain dew, fragrant cold dust", the cold flowers are suitable for the moisturization of rain and dew; the quiet fragrance emitted by plum blossoms seems to block the world. The poet was attracted by the cold plum blossoms and thought to himself, how good the next gentle spring rain should be at this time! Let the rain clean the floating dust in the air, let the raindrops as thin as the tip of the needle moisten the cold plum blossoms, should have a different flavor, right? The poet sniffed the fragrance of plum blossoms, and his spirit was lifted. This seemingly innocent fragrance lingered in the air, and with just a sniff, I felt far away from the world and spiritually satisfied.
"You can plant the plum blossoms together with pine trees and bamboo and plant them together with the best soil." From the early plum in front of him, the poet thought of the pine trees and bamboo that were called "the three friends of the cold year" with the plum blossoms, and he thought how good it would be if he could plant the pines, bamboos, and plums in one place, so that he could appreciate the straightness of the pine trees, the slantedness of the bamboo, and the beauty of the plum blossoms at the same time. The poet thought that if there is such an opportunity, when planting, we must choose good soil and cultivate it carefully, so that the "three friends of the cold years" will glow with vigor and vitality.
In the early spring, the poet stopped to admire an early plum, first from the big pen, praising the innate temperament of the plum blossom, proud of frost and snow, Ling Han open; then, the poet from the details, praise the color and taste of the plum blossom, the cold and fragrant plum blossom can cultivate people's spirit, so that people forget the world; finally, the poet came up with the idea of planting plums, want to plant the three friends of the cold year together, carefully take care of. The whole poem is clearly layered, expressing the poet's love and praise for plum blossoms.