只有香如故

zhǐyǒuxiāngrúgù

phrase

Meanings

1 only the fragrance remains as it was
2 Lu You's plum-blossom line — trampled into mud, the blossom loses everything but its scent

Characters

have / there is

the old / before

Examples

名声被人践踏，他却"只有香如故"，仍坚持操守。

Míngshēng bèi rén jiàntà, tā què "zhǐ yǒu xiāng rú gù", réng jiānchí cāoshǒu.

His name was trampled, but 'only the fragrance remained as before' — he held to his integrity.

品牌历经风雨，依然只有香如故。

Pǐnpái lìjīng fēngyǔ, yīrán zhǐ yǒu xiāng rú gù.

The brand endured storms — its fragrance remains the same as before.

Tips

history

Closing line of 《卜算子·咏梅》 by 陆游 (Lu You, Southern Song): '零落成泥碾作尘，只有香如故.' The plum, fallen and crushed to mud, still smells sweet — a self-portrait of Lu You as exiled patriot, stripped of everything but his loyalty. Mao Zedong later wrote a well-known 'reply' poem inverting Lu You's melancholy into revolutionary optimism.

usage

如故 = 'as before / as it was,' a classical phrase still used (e.g. 别来无恙，一切如故).

Stroke Order

只 zhǐ

有 yǒu

香 xiāng

如 rú

故 gù