tùng cúc trúc mai

Etymology
, said to represent "winter", "autumn", "summer", "spring" respectively.

Compare the concepts of and.

Certain sources explain the reverse order of the seasons as due to European influence, where paintings (and writings, etc.) are views from left-to-right, as opposed to the traditional order in the Sinosphere, being right-to-left. However, this is far-fetched as and  are both common motifs in Vietnamese literature long before European influence, signifying a person's spirit, and intimate bonds, respectively (and both also seems to be borrowed from/influenced by Chinese literature).

Most likely this phrase was just amalgamation of those two compounds above, then forcefully made to fit with similar concepts to which it shares several elements (see ), even if the order of seasons is reverse.

Noun

 * 1)  the Trees of the Four Seasons, as depicted on paintings