《梅花三弄》这首曲子是乐曲中的泛音，以不同的形式反复了三次，所以称作“三弄”。
有描写梅花高洁安详的静态、急促的曲调则是表现梅花不畏严寒、迎风摇曳的动态，整首乐曲表现了梅花凌霜傲雪铮铮铁骨的神态。乐曲通过赞颂梅花的高贵品质来烘托文人那种超凡脱俗孤芳自赏的思想感情境界。
随着时间的推移，人们又将这首高雅的传世名曲由其他的乐器来演奏，至今已成为古琴的保留曲目。
Meihua Sannong is one of the earliest and most famous pieces of Chinese ancient music. Its origin went back to as early as the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420), in which period lived a famous general and musician named Huan Yi. One day, General Huan met a young man named Wang Huizhi, who humbly invited Huan to play one piece of Dizi (bamboo flute) music. Huan accepted with no hesitation. What he played was Meihua Sannong, the most popular melody in that period.
Meihua means plum blossom, but the meaning of the latter Sannong is confusing. Generally speaking, Sannong means repeating the main melody three times. Meihua Sannong is composed mainly of a number of different melodies, each of which consists of a string of connected musical phrases. Contrasting tempos and the restraining influence of synchronism serve to produce effects of scattering and tightening, which represent plum blossom's pure and noble peacefulness and fearlessness to the severe cold. This melody expresses the loneliness and extraordinary self-admiration of ancient Chinese scholars.
With time passing by, Meihua Sannong is fairly common with other kinds of musical instruments and this elegant melody now is one of the repertoires of Guqin music.
