Intellectuals who were not willing to compromise their honesty and principles to flatter tyrannical rulers gave each other encouragement through the lavish praise they expressed in plum flower poems. And when they finally had to face the calamity of the Southern Song's downfall, the plum flower became a symbol of cultural continuity.
不肯曲學阿主的知識份子，藉著千詠萬和的梅花詩相互砥礪；到了南宋真正面對亡國之恨的時候，梅花又成了延續文化生命的精神象徵。