"There will be no fragrant plum blossoms without freezing cold weather."

Chinese President Xi Jinping has quoted this line from a poem of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) to encourage athletes to train hard to achieve good results in the ongoing Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

The Chinese share a particular fondness for plum blossoms because they bloom in the winter when almost all other plants wither in the bitter cold. They admire the flower for its perseverance and tenacity in the face of adversity.

Writers of later generations continued to use the similar metaphor. For instance, a popular couplet paralleled plum blossoms with the blade of swords -- "good honing gives a sharp edge to a sword; bitter cold adds fragrance to plum blossoms."

For most athletes, Beijing 2022 saw their years of dedication and resolute practice bear fruits.

"To persevere in the sport that I love. That's what I've been doing over the past two decades," said veteran free skier Xu Mengtao, who bagged the gold in women's aerials earlier this week. The 31-year-old skier had suffered injuries and missed the top step of the podium in three consecutive Olympic outings before realizing her dream by winning the gold.