梅花是我们在冬天最好的朋友

If anyone had evertold me as a child growing up in the US that a flower could flourish in thecoldest days of winter, a flower that bloomed straight from the bare branchesof a tree, I would have thought they had a vivid imagination or a penchant forspinning tall tales.

过去如果有人告诉我这个在美国长大的孩子，有一种花会在冬天最冷的时候盛开，而且是直接从树枝上开花，那么我一定认为这个人想象力丰富或者在胡说八道。

Yet years ago inlate February, while strolling along the eastern shores of the West Lake inHangzhou with my husband Jun, I encountered a spray of brilliant pink petalscascading over tree branches, which looked as artfully windswept as a bonsai.

然而在几年前的一个二月底，我和丈夫骏在西湖东岸遛弯，发现有树枝上冒出了粉色的花，好像盆景一样养眼。

That strikingshade, more typical of spring and summer flowers, seemed utterly defiantagainst the melancholy gray of the overcast sky and the mournful silhouettes ofother trees, their leafless limbs stretched upwards as if praying for an end tothe chill of the season.

这种情景好像只应出现在春夏季节。花瓣在灰色的天空和其它树木的映衬下格外显眼。那些没有叶子的树伸展着树枝，似乎在祈祷寒冬赶紧过去。

I almost didn'tbelieve my eyes at first. Surely flowers couldn't bloom like that, direct fromthe branch, without the usual green leaves? And how could they thrive in thisweather, where temperatures that hovered just above freezing had led us to donour warmest down jackets and even hats?

我一开始都不敢相信自己的眼睛。没有绿叶，树枝上不可能直接开出花来呀？它们怎么能在寒冬里生存呢？

After myastonishment, I felt a certain appreciation for this ethereal beauty before me,painting the otherwise dreary February landscape into such a gloriously hopefulhue, promising better times just around the corner.

震惊过后，我开始欣赏这些花。它们让二月份变得美丽起来，预示着更好的时节马上到来。

That is the powerof the plum blossom, one of the most distinctive and cherished flowers inChina.

这就是梅花，中国最有特色的花。

My initialencounter with the plum blossom would lead me to seek it out in subsequentwinters in Hangzhou, longing for the heartening sight of its flowers in thedeepest cold of the season in January and February. On one trail through XixiWetlands just after snowfall, my husband and I encountered a grove of treesadorned with rows of creamy yellow plum blossoms.

后来我在冬天的杭州又继续寻找梅花，期望能在寒冷的冬天看到暖心的花朵。有一次在雪后的西溪湿地，我们夫妇看到了黄色的梅花。

While not assplendid in color as those I first viewed beside the West Lake, these flowersperfumed the air in a beguiling fragrance full of optimism, even amid the bleakwhite scene all around us. I inhaled the scent with greedy breaths, knowingthat these flowers would only remain a short time and the first blooms ofspring still wouldn’t emerge for weeks if not months.

虽然花的颜色没有当年西湖边的梅花鲜艳，这些花依然为站在雪中的我们带来的乐观的氛围。我贪婪地闻着花香，因为我知道这些花很快就会凋零，而春天要在几周之后才能到来。

In China, peoplehave long known plum blossoms as one of the "Three Friends ofWinter", or sui han san you, along with the evergreen pine trees andbamboo. These "friends" retain a certain vitality easily forgotten inthis most trying season of the year. Among the three, the plum blossom standsout as my favorite.

中国人把松、竹、梅称为“岁寒三友”，它们在寒冬也保持着活力。

There's a Chinesesaying: The fragrance of the plum blossom comes from the bitterness of winter.Is there any more marvelous symbol for resilience than a flower that unfurlsits aromatic petals despite the frigid temperatures and the snow? I have foundgreat inspiration in remembering the spirit of the plum blossom — that even inthe "winter" of life's challenges, we can find the strength to bloomand grow, displaying our own beauty to the world despite the hardships.

中国有句话叫：“梅花香自苦寒来”。还有什么能比梅花更能代表活力吗？我了解梅花背后的意义：即使在人生的“寒冬”里，我们依然能找到成长和绽放的力量，展现出自己的美。

January andFebruary bring with them the bluster of winter, which can overwhelm even thebest of us at times and dampen our cheer. But nature has endowed the Earth witha trio of winter wonders that light our way through this season, and thatincludes the plum blossom. A tree, bereft of any signs of life on its branches,can still produce such a dazzling array of sweet-scented flowers as frostthreatens the world around it, standing as a miracle and one of the greatest"friends" of winter.

冬天能消磨人的快乐，但是大自然也会创造出冬天的奇迹，梅花就是一个奇迹。即使树枝看不出生机，也依然能孕育出梅花。