諺語 · a single proverb
梅花香自苦寒來
Simplified: 梅花香自苦寒来
What does 梅花香自苦寒來 (méi huā xiāng zì kǔ hán lái) mean?
梅花香自苦寒來 (méi huā xiāng zì kǔ hán lái) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞). Word for word it reads "plum blossom fragrance comes from bitter cold." In use it means: The plum's fragrance comes from enduring bitter cold; strength and beauty are forged through hardship. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Water note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Tiger.
Literally: "plum blossom fragrance comes from bitter cold."
The reading
The fragrance that stops passersby in winter was bought by exactly the cold that everyone else was fleeing. What the plum makes of frost is not complaint but blossom, and what it offers to the frozen air is everything the summer flowers cannot, because summer asks nothing. The sweetest things are those that survived the season that should have killed them.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Wang Mian 王冕·《墨梅》 (Mò Méi, Ink Plum poem, Yuan Dynasty)
Sits beside
Keep reading
Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Adversity & Resilience, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Tiger, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 梅花香自苦寒來 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 梅花香自苦寒來 (méi huā xiāng zì kǔ hán lái) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞), and it comes from Wang Mian 王冕·《墨梅》 (Mò Méi, Ink Plum poem, Yuan Dynasty). It is living Chinese heritage, given here with per-character pinyin and its source so you can trust the line, not a phrase invented in English.
How do you pronounce 梅花香自苦寒來?
In Mandarin it is méi huā xiāng zì kǔ hán lái. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 梅花香自苦寒來 aloud in Mandarin.