Méi HuāPlum Blossoms 梅花
Wang Anshi's plum tree blooms alone in the cold.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
墙角数枝梅
qiáng jiǎo shù zhī méi
凌寒独自开
líng hán dú zì kāi
遥知不是雪
yáo zhī bù shì xuě
为有暗香来
wèi yǒu àn xiāng lái
Simplified characters; traditional title: 梅花.
English translation
At the wall corner a few plum sprays
Brave the cold and blossom alone.
From afar I know they are not snow—
For a subtle fragrance has come.
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
White plum blossoms against a winter wall look exactly like snow; only their scent gives them away. The poem rests on that small act of recognition, moving from sight to smell. Blooming "alone" in the bitter cold, the plum is the classic emblem of integrity in adversity, and readers have long seen the retired reformer in it: isolated, unbending, still giving off a quiet fragrance.
Background
Traditionally dated to Wang Anshi's later years, after his reforms had been reversed and he had withdrawn to Jiangning (Nanjing).
Key words
- 墙角 qiáng jiǎo
- corner of a wall
- 凌寒 líng hán
- braving the cold
- 暗香 àn xiāng
- a faint, hidden fragrance
About the poet: Wang Anshi
Wang Anshi was a chief minister of the Northern Song who pushed through the sweeping "New Policies" reforms. Out of office he retired to Nanjing and wrote compact, finely polished quatrains. He is one of the "Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song."
Lifetime: 1021–1086. Other famous works: Mooring at Guazhou (泊船瓜洲); Plum Blossoms (梅花); Climbing Feilai Peak (登飞来峰); New Year's Day (元日); Apricot Blossom by the North Pond (北陂杏花); Written on the Wall of Mr Huyin (书湖阴先生壁); Early Summer (初夏即事); At Zhongshan (钟山即事); Night Duty (夜直).
More by Wang Anshi
- Climbing Feilai Peak登飞来峰
- Mooring at Guazhou泊船瓜洲
- New Year's Day元日
- Apricot Blossom by the North Pond北陂杏花
- Written on the Wall of Mr Huyin书湖阴先生壁
- Early Summer初夏即事
- At Zhongshan钟山即事
- Night Duty夜直