四君子

四君子

1. Four Gentleman; four plants (chrysanthemum, bamboo, orchid, and plum blossom) that are often depicted in traditional Chinese, Korean, and Japanese ink-and-brush painting

• 歲寒三友／岁寒三友 (suìhánsānyǒu)

• Four Gentlemen on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Probably from Middle Chinese compound 四君子 (*sì *giuən *tziə̌, literally “four gentlemen”). Compare modern Chinese 四君子 (Sì Jūnzǐ).

• (Tokyo) しく​んし [shìkúꜜǹshì] (Nakadaka – [2])[1]
• IPA^(key): [ɕikɯ̟̃ᵝɰ̃ɕi]

四(し)君(くん)子(し) • (Shikunshi) 

1. the Four Gentlemen: ume (the plum blossom, symbolising winter), ran (the orchid, symbolizing spring), matsu, (the bamboo, symbolizing summer), and kiku (chrysanthemum, symbolizing autumn):

   These four plants are often the subject of traditional Chinese, Korean, and Japanese paintings, with each often used to represent one of the four seasons; winter, spring, summer, and autumn, respectively.

• 松(しょう)竹(ちく)梅(ばい) (shōchikubai): pine, bamboo, and plum (similarly appearing as the subject of traditional Chinese, Korean, and Japanese paintings)