By Chen Jing
Today marks Lichun, the beginning of spring. The east wind loosens the ice. Though the chill of late winter has not yet faded, the air between heaven and earth has already shifted. At the first solar term of 2026, while most flowers remain asleep, the plum blossom alone, austere and resolute, pushes open the door to spring.
The ancients loved plum blossoms not only for their color and fragrance, but for their moral character. On this day of Lichun, we revisit eight classic verses to reflect on three spiritual realms embodied by the plum blossom, and to offer a message for the year ahead.
First realm: blooming alone in the cold, the strength of character
At Lichun, winter’s cold still lingers. The plum blossom is called the foremost among flowers because it refuses to follow the crowd.
“By the corner wall, a few plum branches bloom alone in the cold.
From afar one knows they are not snow, for a subtle fragrance drifts.”
— Wang Anshi, Plum Blossom
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In an unnoticed corner, the plum blossom withstands the cold. It needs no green leaves for company and seeks no applause. The faint fragrance carried from afar is its strongest answer to adversity. Though spring has arrived, warmth is not yet complete. To persist in solitude is to let one’s fragrance endure.
“Standing in a forest of ice and snow,
It will not mingle with peach and plum amid the dusty bloom.”
— Wang Mian, White Plum
Growing in frozen lands, yet unwilling to compete with peach and plum in the warmth of spring, this is the plum’s purity and its discipline of restraint. At the beginning of 2026, may we each guard the clarity within.
Second realm: clarity filling heaven and earth, the realm of spirit
The beauty of plum blossoms lies not in flamboyance, but in restraint and elegance. This is a refined aesthetic, and also a wisdom for living.
“Slim shadows slant across clear, shallow water;
Subtle fragrance drifts in the moonlit dusk.”
— Lin Bu, Plum Blossoms in the Mountain Garden
This line has echoed through the ages. Sparse branches reflect on quiet water; fragrance floats gently under the evening moon. On a Lichun dusk, to hold such a state of mind is the greatest luxury in a noisy world.
“Do not ask others to praise its fine color;
It only wishes to fill heaven and earth with pure breath.”
— Wang Mian, Ink Plum
It seeks no praise for brilliance, only to let its upright spirit permeate the world. This is confidence without display, seeking not fleeting favor but enduring integrity.
“Plum must yield three parts of whiteness to snow,
Yet snow concedes a measure of fragrance to plum.”
— Lu Meipo, Snow and Plum
Snow is whiter; plum is more fragrant. Each has its own merit. There is no need for self-diminishment, nor for arrogance. At the start of spring, knowing one’s own strengths is the best beginning.
Third realm: offering spring through the flower, a messenger of goodwill
The plum blooms before spring fully arrives, and is often seen as a bearer of spring’s message.
“Without enduring bone-deep cold,
How could plum blossoms release their fragrant scent?”
— Chan Master Huangbo Xiyun, Dharma Talk
This is Buddhist wisdom, and a truth of life. The beauty of spring is born from enduring winter. Let this line encourage us in 2026: all present effort prepares the way for spring.
“Jiangnan has nothing else to give;
I offer you a single branch of spring.”
— Lu Kai, To Fan Ye
With nothing else to offer, a branch of plum becomes the gift of an entire spring. This is Chinese romance at its purest: the gift is light, the feeling immense. One branch of plum holds boundless spring.
May we be like the plum: possessing the courage to bloom alone in the cold, the breadth to let purity fill heaven and earth, and the grace to offer a branch of spring to others. Winter fades, spring returns, and all things remain worth waiting for. Happy Beginning of Spring.
