梅之見於詩歌，從先秦兩漢之實用功能，發展為六朝唐五代以來作為審美欣賞主體，至宋代而梅花之象徵意象始告完成。梅花象徵意象之生成，受宋型文化之制約，得儒家比德文化、文士寫意寄興、禪師游戲三昧之觸發，加以詠物詩、題畫詩之興盛，於是詩情、畫意、禪趣融通，而蔚為梅花審美文化之集大成。梅花意象之生成，有三大頂樑柱，其一，為林逋〈孤山八梅〉之歌詠，促成梅花為君子隱逸形象之建立。其二，為蘇軾創發「孤瘦雪霜」之梅格，塑造梅花比德於高潔品格之君子；又點染「天香國豔」之形象，凸出梅花之幽雅麗質。其三，華光仲仁之水墨梅花，得黃庭堅、釋德洪、陳與義等之詮釋解讀，華光之「以筆墨作佛事」，墨梅之游戲三昧，以禪為詼，乃呼之欲出。墨梅題詠，實不異於詠物，因此，再現畫面，使之詩中有畫；拓展畫境，期使畫外傳神，詩人亦多所用心。南北宋之際，其他詩人如陳與義、李彭、謝逸、李綱、呂本中、華鎮等，眼中筆下之墨梅或梅花，或以之寫意興寄，或以之補說梅格，或以之比德君子。要之，除林逋、蘇軾外，多作遺妍開發，鮮有創意造語。

The images of plum blossoms in poems, developing from practical functions in Qin and Han Dynasties to aesthetic objects in Six Dynasties, Tang and Ten Dynasties, accomplish their symbolic significance in Song Dynasty. Affected by the Song-type Culture, the fulfillment of plum blossoms’ symbolic significance is inspired by Confucian culture of using metaphor for moral description, literati’s techniques of freehand and Zen masters’ game-playing as well. In addition, the flourishing of object-chanting and inscription poetry also help the blending of poetry, paintings and Zen. Among all of the literati in Song Dynasty, Lín Bū, Sū Shì and Huá Guāng Zhòng Rén make great contribution to build up the images of plum blossoms as the metaphor of Jūn Zǐ’s seclusion. In short, no one else dedicates to the fulfillment of plum blossom’s symbolic significance than what they do.