Wang Anshi's Plum Blossoms

王安石（宋）《梅花》

墙角数枝梅，
凌寒独自开。
遥知不是雪，
为有暗香来

In the corner of the garden, a few

Plum blossoms defy the winter cold.

Even from a distance, I know it isn’t snow

as their fragrance wafts toward me.

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This is the explanation from my book, How to Read Chinese Poetry Workbook (How to Read Chinese Literature), by Zong-qi Cai and Jie Cui

Pentasyllablc quatrain, the shortest form of shi poetry, is considered best suited for capturing a heightened moment of perception. The heightened moment depicted by Wang Anshi is that of a pleasant recognition: the white patches on the walls’ corner are plum blossoms, not snow as they seem. This recognition—an avoidance of perceptual error—is made possible by the poet’s smelling of the fragrant plum blossom. So this single act of recognition captures and in some ways dramatizes the impact of plum blossoms on our senses of sight, touch, and smell.

To Chinese literati, the plum blossom is a symbol of three lofty ideals. Its white color represents moral purity, its defiance of cold winter symbolizes moral courage and integrity, and its subtle fragrance signifies an elegant noble aloofness from all things vulgar or glamorous. The symbolic significance of the plum blossom is so well known that few poets explicitly dwell upon it. Instead, they focus their attention on its sensuous appeal: its color, its “untimeliness,” and its fragrance.

My friend Jan Walls has a gorgeous bilingual book out on Wang Anshi’s poetry, called Bird Tracks in the Air. The book is beautifully published in Beijing— with gorgeous illustrations by Liu Lingling. I treasure his book!