Source: Two Poems by Xue Mei, a group of seven-character quatrains by Lu Meipo, a poet in the Southern Song Dynasty (controversial).
Original poem:
For the sake of spring, Xue Mei refused to surrender, and the poet put down his manuscript fee to comment on this chapter.
The snow in Mei Xu Xun is three points white, but the snow has lost a kind of plum fragrance.
Translation:
Both plum blossom and snowflake think that they have occupied all the spring scenery, and no one will give up. It is difficult for poets to write critical articles.
To be fair, plum blossoms make snowflakes crystal white, but snowflakes lose to plum blossoms.
Extended data
In the first two sentences, the poet judges Xue Mei's struggle for spring. The first sentence uses anthropomorphic methods to write that plum blossom and snowflake compete with each other, and they all think that they are the characteristics of the earliest spring, and they do not admit defeat, creatively and vividly showing the beauty of plum blossom and snowflake in early spring. It is difficult for poets to judge between the two. The poet thought it was a stroke of a pen, but because it was difficult to judge, he had to stop writing and think. "Comment on chapter" means evaluation. I thought it was a stroke of a pen, but because it was difficult to judge, I had to stop writing and think.
The last two sentences are the poet's comments on Mei and Xue. As far as whiteness is concerned, plum is worse than snow, but snow has no taste of plum blossoms. "Three points" is not much different. "One paragraph" materializes the aroma, which makes people feel that the aroma can be measured. This poem sums up the different characteristics of Mei and Xue in two sentences, which is very interesting and influential.