How can plum blossoms smell sweet if they are not frozen?

It means: how can plum blossoms have a tangy smell and not be frozen?

This sentence comes from "Ode to the Opening Class" by the Tang Dynasty poet Huang Liechan, and the original text is as follows:

Dusting is very tiring, so do it tightly with the end of the rope.

How can plum blossom fragrance be without biting cold?

Translation:

"Dust removal work is very difficult, and it needs to be done tightly", which means that things in the world are very complicated and it is not easy to get rid of them, and it takes a lot of efforts to do it well. These two sentences are very savvy people, who have seen through the world of mortals and have deep Zen principles.

"Plum blossoms are not frozen, so how can they smell?" These two famous sentences are widely circulated. Without severe cold, how can plum blossoms smell sweet? The relationship between diligent study and hard work and winning tomorrow's achievements is written in. After studying hard for ten years in the cold window, you won the imperial examination fame, and the plum blossom fragrance only appeared in the cold winter!

The main idea of this poem is that it is very difficult to get rid of trivial things in the world, and it is necessary to make great efforts to grasp the origin of everything and do something big. Just like plum blossoms, if they have not experienced the biting cold, how can they bloom so Leng Yan and smell so sweet?

This poem was originally a Zen poem. Through the metaphor of plum blossom, the poet symbolizes the spirit of not being afraid of difficulties and achieving career, and encourages himself and practitioners to dare to bear hardships and stand hard work in order to achieve positive results. The last two sentences are so famous that they have changed from poems to proverbs of secular people.