Chinese idiom · 成语
岁寒松柏
Meaning
Winter’s cold, pine and cypress; steadfast in adversity.
Character by character
Origin and story
Classical metaphorIn the Analects' Zi Han chapter, Confucius says that only in the cold season do people recognize that pine and cypress are the last to wither. The contrast makes hardship a test that reveals enduring character. It is a concise observation, not a narrative of a particular tree saving someone or a named official making an oath.
Later writers compress the image into this four-character expression. A documented use in the Ming play Ming Feng Ji praises steadfast integrity among officials. The point is constancy when conditions become difficult, rather than success without obstacles; pine and cypress represent principles that remain when easier displays of virtue fall away.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
朋友们都劝他改口，他仍坚持说实话，真有岁寒松柏的风骨。
Even when friends urged him to change his story, he kept telling the truth, showing integrity that endured under pressure.
Literary praise for steadfast principles in adversity.