她在丛中笑

她在叢中笑

tāzàicóngzhōngxiào

phrase

Meanings

1 she is smiling among the blossoms
2 (of the plum) a personification of the plum blossom — modest but joyful in full bloom
3 (lit.) she in the thicket laughs

Characters

middle (丛中 = among the cluster)

笑

xiào

to smile / laugh

Examples

毛泽东写待到山花烂漫时，她在丛中笑，赞的是梅花的风骨。

Máo Zédōng xiě dài dào shānhuā lànmàn shí, tā zài cóng zhōng xiào, zàn de shì méihuā de fēnggǔ.

Mao Zedong's 'when the mountain flowers bloom in glory, she smiles among them' praises the plum blossom's character.

梅花开在春天最早的时候，别的花开时，她在丛中笑。

Méihuā kāi zài chūntiān zuì zǎo de shíhòu, bié de huā kāi shí, tā zài cóng zhōng xiào.

The plum blooms earliest in spring; when other flowers open, 'she smiles among them.'

Tips

history

Closing line of 毛泽东《卜算子·咏梅》(Mao Zedong, 1961), a response-piece to Lu You's earlier ci of the same title: 风雨送春归，飞雪迎春到。已是悬崖百丈冰，犹有花枝俏。俏也不争春，只把春来报。待到山花烂漫时，她在丛中笑 (Wind and rain send spring away, flying snow welcomes it back. A hundred-fathom cliff of ice, yet still a flowering branch stands pretty. Pretty — but she does not vie for spring, only heralds it. When the mountain flowers bloom in glory, she will be smiling among them). Mao's plum blossom is a political emblem of quiet revolutionary endurance.

usage

她 refers to 梅花 (the plum blossom), personified female. 丛 = a thicket/cluster of other flowers. Often quoted in contexts of patient precursors who rejoice in their followers' success.

Stroke Order

她 tā

在 zài

丛 cóng

中 zhōng

笑 xiào