In the classic textbook lesson "The Soul of Plum Blossom," does the "soul" refer to an indomitable spirit?

The classic textbook lesson "The Soul of Plum Blossom" tells of an old overseas Chinese man who cherished an ink plum blossom painting very much, and on the occasion of returning to his homeland solemnly handed the ink plum blossom painting and a handkerchief embroidered with blood-red plum blossoms to his granddaughter, asking her to keep them safe. So what does the soul in "The Soul of Plum Blossom" mean? According to Chinese language teacher Xie Yanfang, because “plum blossom” is also known as red plum, it is a traditional famous flower of China. “Soul” refers to spirit. “The soul of plum blossom” refers to the spirit of the plum blossom, that is, “no matter how many hardships it endures, no matter what bullying it suffers, it always stands firm between heaven and earth, refusing to bow its head and bend its principles.”

Appreciation of the original text:

The plum blossoms of my hometown have bloomed again. Those blossoms, cold and gorgeous, with their faint, delicate fragrance, always make me think of my grandfather, who drifted in a foreign land and was buried in a foreign country.

I was born on the Star Island of Southeast Asia, and from childhood I lived together with my grandfather. In his youth, my grandfather read many classics, histories, poems, and lyrics, and he was also good at calligraphy and painting, enjoying considerable fame in the literary circles of Star Island. When I was very small, my grandfather often held me and sat in a large pear-wood armchair, teaching me to read Tang and Song poetry over and over again. Whenever he read lines such as “Alone in a foreign land as a stranger, I miss my kin even more on festive days,” “The spring grass will be green again next year, will the prince return or not,” and “Free-flying petals are light as dreams, endless fine rain is as delicate as sorrow,” one or two cold teardrops would often fall on my cheek or the back of my hand. At such times, I would clap my hands and laugh: “Grandpa is crying! Grandpa is crying!” The old man would always shake his head, heave a long sigh, and say: “Ying'er, you are still young, you don't understand!”

My grandfather's home had quite a few antiques, and when I occasionally fiddled with them, the old man did not much mind. Only that ink plum blossom painting in the study he treasured especially, and no family member was allowed to touch it. When I was five years old, I once went to the study to play and accidentally left a dirty handprint on it, and my grandfather immediately pulled a long face. For the first time in my life, I heard him scold my mother: “The child must be disciplined properly. This spotless plum blossom, is it something to be defiled?” After scolding, he gently scraped away the stain with a safety razor, then slowly wiped it clean with fine silk. Seeing my kind grandfather fly into such a rage, I felt both afraid and puzzled: it was just a painted plum branch, what was so precious about it?

One day, my mother suddenly said to me: "Ying'er, we are going back to China!”

“Why go back?”

“That is our motherland!”

Oh! The motherland, is it that place on the map that looks like a golden rooster? Is it that land with the Yangtze River, the Yellow River, and the Great Wall? I cheered, and my little heart was filled with joy.

But I immediately thought of my grandfather, my dear grandfather. I asked my mother: “Is Grandpa coming?”

“Grandpa is too old……”

I ran into my grandfather's study, where the old man was lying on the rattan sofa. I said: “Grandpa, you should go back to the motherland too!”

Unexpectedly, my grandfather began to cry “wu wu wu” like a little child……

On the morning of the day before we parted, my grandfather got up early and called me into the study, solemnly handing me a roll wrapped in white Hangzhou silk. I opened it and saw that it was that ink plum blossom painting, so I said: “Grandpa, isn't this your most treasured painting?”

“Yes, Ying'er, you must keep it well! This plum blossom is the most famous flower of our China. Other flowers mostly bloom only when spring is warm, but she is different: the colder it is, the more the wind and snow bully her, the more spirited and elegant her blossoms become. She has the most character, the most soul, the most backbone! For thousands of years, our Chinese nation has produced many people of integrity; no matter how many hardships they endure, no matter what bullying they suffer, they always stand firm between heaven and earth, refusing to bow their heads and bend their principles. They are just like this plum blossom. A Chinese person, no matter what circumstances they are in, should always have the disposition of the plum blossom!”

The day of our return was New Year's Day. Although in the tropics there is no such thing as deep winter, the weather of the twelfth lunar month was still quite chilly. My grandfather saw us off at the dock. The wind blowing from the equator ruffled the silver hair that the old man usually combed so neatly, and I felt that my grandfather had suddenly aged a great deal.

The ship was about to depart, and my mother had no choice but to steel herself and pull me aboard the large passenger liner. Unexpectedly, my grandfather, with tear-blurred eyes, also came aboard and handed me a handkerchief—on fine snow-white linen was embroidered a blood-red plum blossom.

Many years have passed, and every time I see this plum blossom painting that my grandfather treasured and the handkerchief he gave me, I think that this is not merely a flower, but also the heart of an old overseas Chinese man in a foreign land, deeply attached to his motherland.——(This text has been selected from the fifth-grade first-volume textbook of the People's Education Press edition and the sixth-grade first-volume textbook of the Hubei Education Press edition.)