help... a couplet

[wai ming]

I once saw a t-shirt with a couplet written on it, possibly either a saying or from a poem, I'm not really sure which. I can just remember the general meaning - something like "If you don't feel the coldness of the snow, you can't smell the 梅 blossoms." (It probably wasn't that exact meaning, but something like that - the metaphorical meaning being something like "no pain, no gain".)

Unfortunately, I can't remember the exact wording of it. Could anyone help me find this couplet?

Thanks!

[badatpool]

不经(若非)一番寒彻骨,哪得梅花扑鼻香

the shorter one is: 不经寒彻骨,哪得梅花香

[wai ming]

Many thanks, badatpool!

Just wondering, is it kind of like a saying （俗话） or does it come from somewhere (like a book or poem)?

[chenpv]

it should be the second part of ' 宝剑锋从磨砺出，梅花香自苦寒来。'

[devi9]

I could be wrong, but that looks like an 'enigmatic folk similie' (歇后语) to me.

If they interest you, <汉英歇后语词典> by John S. Rohsenow is a great resource.