【Pinyin】
àn xiāng shū yǐng
【Meaning】
"Faint fragrance" refers to a delicate, subtle scent; "sparse shadows" refer to the scattered, slender reflections of branches. Originally describing the scent and form of plum blossoms, this phrase later became a poetic synonym for plum blossoms themselves.
【Source】
From the poem "Small Plum Blossoms in the Mountain Garden," by Lin Bu (Song Dynasty), included in *The Collected Works of Lin Hejing, Volume 2*:
> "When all other flowers fade, only the plum blooms brightly,
> Capturing all the charm within the garden's bounds.
> Its sparse shadows slant across clear, shallow water;
> Its faint fragrance drifts beneath the dim moonlight at dusk."
Explanation: While all other flowers wither and fall, only the plum blossom stands proudly in the cold wind, its bright and beautiful presence dominating the scenery of the small garden. The delicate silhouette of its branches lies diagonally reflected in the clear, shallow water, while its subtle, elegant fragrance hovers gently under the twilight moon.
【Story Behind the Phrase】
During the Northern Song Dynasty, there was a renowned recluse named Lin Bu (courtesy name Junfu), a Han Chinese from Huangxian Village in Dali, Zhejiang (some sources say Qiantang, Hangzhou). From childhood, he studied diligently and mastered the classics, histories, and various schools of thought. Historical records describe him as aloof and self-contained, fond of a tranquil life, indifferent to fame and fortune. After growing up, he traveled through the Jianghuai region before settling into seclusion by West Lake in Hangzhou, where he built a thatched cottage on Solitary Hill. He often rowed a small boat to visit Buddhist temples around the lake, exchanging poems and friendship with monks and literary companions. Whenever guests arrived, his gatekeeper would release a crane into flight; seeing the crane, Lin Bu would immediately paddle back home. He composed poetry freely but discarded it as soon as it was written, never preserving his work. He died in 1028 (the sixth year of Tian Sheng). His nephews Lin Zhang (a court scholar) and Lin Bin (a county magistrate) came to Hangzhou together to perform funeral rites with full propriety. Emperor Renzong of Song bestowed upon him the posthumous title "Mr. Hejing." Lin Bu lived his entire life in reclusion on Solitary Hill by West Lake, never serving as an official nor marrying. He delighted solely in planting plum trees and raising cranes, calling them his "wife" and "son" respectively—thus earning the nickname "Plum Wife and Crane Children."
Lin Bu wrote a poem titled "Small Plum Blossoms in the Mountain Garden," which includes these lines:
> "When all other flowers fade, only the plum blooms brightly,
> Capturing all the charm within the garden's bounds.
> Its sparse shadows slant across clear, shallow water;
> Its faint fragrance drifts beneath the dim moonlight at dusk."
This means: As all other flowers wither away, only the plum blossom boldly flourishes against the cold wind, its radiant beauty claiming the garden’s entire splendor. The slender, delicate shadows of its branches stretch diagonally over the clear, shallow water, while its gentle, ethereal fragrance floats through the air beneath the dusky moonlight.
The couplet "Sparse shadows slant across clear, shallow water; faint fragrance drifts beneath the dim moonlight at dusk" perfectly captures the essence and grace of the plum blossom—its refined spirit, elegant nobility, and solitary transcendence. Particularly masterful are the phrases "sparse shadows" and "faint fragrance," which not only depict the plum blossom’s unique form, distinct from peonies or tree peonies, but also convey its distinctive, delicate aroma, unlike the heavy scent of peach or plum trees. These lines vividly express the poet’s sensory experience of the plum’s subtle fragrance under hazy moonlight, especially when strolling beside a clear stream at dusk—the serene atmosphere, the light shadows of the plum, and the wisps of fragrance combining to create an intoxicating scene.
By likening himself to the plum blossom, Lin Bu expressed the traditional aspirations of Chinese literati, yet did so in a uniquely personal way. Regarding "sparse shadows" alone, Ouyang Xiu remarked: "Many have written odes to the plum before, but none have achieved such a line." Because this couplet became so famous, the terms "faint fragrance" and "sparse shadows" evolved into titles for lyrical poems about plum blossoms. For example, the Southern Song poet Jiang Kui wrote two famous lyric poems titled *Dark Fragrance* and *Sparse Shadows*. Since then, these phrases have become standard literary references for plum blossom poetry, demonstrating the profound influence of Lin Bu’s plum blossom verses on later generations of writers.