One of the three companions in winter, together with bamboo and plum trees, pine trees in Chinese culture are symbols of people who maintain moral integrity and principles in the face of calamity and difficult situations.

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岁寒，然后知松柏之后凋也
suìhán, ránhòu zhī sōngbăi zhī hòudiāo yě

Sui means “the year” while han means “getting cold.” Ranhou means “then.” Zhi means “to know.” Song refers to pines while bai refers to cypresses. Houdiao means “the last to fade.”

This idiom, taken literally, means that only when the year grows cold, do we know that the pines and cypresses are the last to fade.

This idiom originated from Confucius’s remarks on pine and cypress trees recorded in the Analects. Pine and cypress trees remain green even in the chilly winter. They symbolize a person who maintains his moral integrity in the face of difficulties. Chuang Tzu explained this sentence by saying “The attitude of self-examination will eventually lead one to the Tao and enable one to preserve his virtues in the face of danger.

This idiom is used to praise a person for maintaining his integrity and virtues amid calamity and difficulties. It also means that difficulties are the touchstones of one’s true virtues.

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松心契
sōng xīn qì

Song means “pine trees.” Xin means “hearts.” Together, songxin means the heart of pine trees or the core of pine woods. Qi originally means “agreements or contracts.” It later referred to the tacit agreement or understanding between two intimate friends, or simply, good friendship. This idiom, taken literally, means “a friendship like the pine hearts.”

Pine trees remain green even in the chilly winter. They endure all the four seasons without altering a branch or changing a leaf. Therefore, pine hearts are strong and loyal to their commitments through thick and thin.

This idiom is used to describe the strong friendship between two people. They are loyal to and share the joys and sorrows of each other through good and bad times. Nothing will change their friendship, just like the chilly winter can not alter a branch or change a leaf of a pine tree.

 

(edited by CHEN ALONG)