What is the symbolic meaning and flower language of plum blossom? Plus a complete guide to flower languages around the world

  Plum blossom is a traditional Chinese flower, and through the ages countless people have praised its character. Elegant and refined, it braves the cold and defies frost, inspiring people with a spirit of striving upward and fearless positivity. Stories and legends about plum blossom abound, so what is its symbolic meaning?

  1. Plum blossom symbolizes the hermit of noble character

  "Sparse shadows slant across the clear shallow water, hidden fragrance drifts in the dusk of the moon" - this is Lin Hejing's most famous verse, in which he captured the plum blossom's spirit in vivid portrayal. The plum blossom is a noble hermit, serene and elegantly understated, yet also possessing a firm and upright character. Not only that, in the ci poem "Bu Suan Zi" by the Southern Song patriot poet Lu Fangweng, he wrote: “With no mind to strive for spring, letting the other flowers envy as they will, scattered and fallen, ground into dust, only the fragrance remains as before.” Through praising the plum blossom, the poet expressed the loneliness of unrecognized talent and the integrity of always maintaining noble conduct no matter how many setbacks are suffered.

  2. Plum blossom symbolizes a beauty who outshines the frost and snow

  The ancients very often compared plum blossom to a beauty. The plum blossom defies frost and scorns snow, symbolizing a beauty's loveliness and proud spirit. For example, Fan Chengda's "After the Snow, the Plum in the Keeper's Home Has Not Yet Bloomed, Presented to Zongwei": “Auspicious snow falls white again and again, the southern branch still holds its feeling. Surely the flower goddess knows, and will not yet marry off such grace.” In "Jin Ling Zhi" there is a legend: “Princess Shouyang, daughter of Emperor Wu of Liu Song, lay one day beneath the eaves of Hanzhang Hall, and a plum blossom fell upon her forehead, forming a five-petaled flower that could not be brushed away; it was called the plum blossom makeup, and the palace ladies all imitated it.” This merges the beauty and the plum blossom into one, displaying the beauty's heroic grace.

  3. Plum blossom symbolizes the five blessings

  The plum blossom has five petals, and the five petals respectively represent five meanings: “happiness, luck, longevity, smoothness, and peace.” This uses the plum blossom to express people's hopes for a good life. Using the plum blossom to convey so many feelings is absolutely unique among the family of nations around the world.

  4. Plum blossom symbolizes elegant temperament

  The plum blossom's bearing is rich yet not gaudy, cool yet not bland. Its charm of sparse shadows slanting across and its clear, pleasant, subtle fragrance cannot be matched by other flowers. In people's minds, using the plum blossom as a metaphor for a person means that their speech, manner, and bearing appear elegant and noble, not vulgar - an outward expression of inner temperament.

  5. Plum blossom symbolizes the precious spirit of the Chinese nation

  The plum blossom still blooms unyieldingly in the cold winter, symbolizing the precious spiritual qualities of the Chinese nation: indomitable, tenacious in struggle, and unafraid of hardship. Facing frost and battling snow, unyielding and steadfast, the plum blossom is also regarded as the flower of the greatest integrity and proud spirit. Although its growing environment is harsh, it still blooms strongly and joyfully, expressing a fearless spirit of pioneering and forging ahead to welcome hope, along with an optimistic character.