Snow and Wintersweet/Plum blossom are regulars in ancient Chinese literature, and when writing poetry in winter, Wintersweet is definitely one of the must-have themes.
In China, Wintersweet is not Plum Blossom, they are different from each other, Wintersweet blossoms in Winter and the other blossoms in early Spring. So you will find it different between Wang Anshi and Qiji when you read their poems “Wintersweet” and “Early Plum Blossom”.
Today I’d like to translate “Wintersweet” first.
Wintersweet
By Wang Anshi (Song Dynasty)
There are a few Wintersweets in the corner,
they are blooming alone in the cold.
Why you know it's not snow from a distance,
Because the Wintersweet faintly emit waves of fragrance.
梅花
王安石（北宋）
墙角数枝梅，凌寒独自开。
遥知不是雪，为有暗香来。
Wang Anshi lived in Northern Song Dynasty. He was not only a writer, but also a politician and reformer. This “Wintersweet” was written when he recluse to Zhongshan after the failure of his reform.
As we all know, Wang Anshi was hailed by Lenin as a "great reformer of the 11th century in China", so we can imagine his despair when he was aware of these useful reforms can't come true.
The Song Dynasty was an economically and culturally prosperous dynasty, but many of its ministers did not understand the importance of being prepared for danger and were only content with the status quo. They don't want to reform or go to war, they just want to enjoy and fake peace, Wang Anshi was not the same type of person as them, he was destined to fail and be lonely in politic. His poem expressed his noble character, just like the Wintersweet blossoms in Winter.
Wang Anshi has a strong sense of family and country in his heart, and rarely wrote about romance like Li Bai, so I like his works.
I read an article yesterday that roughly talked about the overlap between Chinese history and world history, then I suddenly realized that when Westerners engage in science, China is undergoing a generational change. When Westerners engage in education, China is undergoing dynastic changes. When Westerners were engaged in the economy, China was still undergoing dynastic changes. Fortunately, although more than two thousand years of feudal struggle hindered China's development, it did not hinder China's progress. Even slow progress is every step that constitutes China's long-term development.