Zhilan, a Chinese word whose pinyin is zhī lán, refers to the names of both herbaceous herbs, Zhicao and Orchidaceae. In ancient times, it was used as a metaphor for the beauty of a gentleman's moral character or the beauty of friendship, environment, etc.

Source: "Zhilan is born in the deep forest, and it is not fragrant because there is no one there" comes from "Confucius' Family Sayings in E".

The original sentence is: "Zhilan grows in the deep forest, and does not lose its fragrance because there is no one there; a gentleman cultivates virtue and does not change his mind because of poverty."

It means: Zhilan grows. In the deep forest, the fragrance will not stop just because there is no one to appreciate it; a virtuous person cultivates morality and builds virtue, and will not change his moral integrity just because of poverty.

Zhilan was born in the deep forest, so she is not fragrant because there is no one there:

It is said that at that time, Confucius passed by Chen Cai to accept the invitation of the Chu State. The rulers of Chen and Cai were worried that Confucius's sages would endanger their country once they were used by Chu State, so they sent troops to surround Confucius and prevent him from moving forward.

This led to Confucius' food shortage and the people who followed him fell ill. But Confucius did not give up his pursuit because of the difficult situation. Instead, he recited poems and books more generously.

Zilu was annoyed because he was in a predicament and asked Confucius, good will be rewarded with good and evil will be punished with evil. Why are people who preach benevolence trapped?

Confucius enlightened him that in history there were many talented and virtuous people who were not accepted. What to do depends on oneself, and the reward or failure depends on God.

Furthermore, Confucius used this passage to show that he should be like Zhilan in the deep forest, a gentleman who would not change his integrity because of poverty.