Remarks
(I)
The expression "The Fierce Frost and the Fervent Sun (嚴霜烈日)" can be found as early as the 11th Century in The New Book of Tang – Comments on the Biography of Yan Zhenqing (《新唐書∙顏真卿傳贊》):
其英烈言言，如嚴霜烈日，可畏而仰哉! (1)His (Yan Zhenqing's) ardent courageousness (英烈) (2) and noble solemnity (言言) (3) were like the fierce frost and the fervent sun, he is to be revered (畏) and venerated (仰), indeed!(translated by KS Vincent Poon)
(II)
Yan Zhenqing (顏真卿, AD 709-785) was a venerable Tang Dynasty commander who helped quell the rebellious An Lushan (安祿山, 703-757AD) (4). As a young man, he was already an avid learner and practitioner of Confucian values and was bestowed the title of "Jinshi (進士)" at age 25 (5). Within the bureaucracy, he was well-known for his outspokenness, which led him to be demoted and re-promoted several times (6). In his final days, Yan showed his noble and unrelenting temperament by refusing to surrender to the treacherous Li Xilie (李希烈, ?-786AD) in the face of execution (7). In addition to his remarkable bureaucratic career, Yan was also widely recognized as a distinguished calligrapher who penned many classical masterpieces, including A Poem on General Pei (《裴將軍詩》) (8).
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(1). 歐陽修,《新唐書》Vol.153, 顏真卿傳. Beijing: 中華書局, 1975, p.4861.
(2). "英烈" here means "ardent and courageous (勇敢而有氣節)", as in 劉大櫆《鄉飲賓金君傳》: "長洪字師林, 少從塾師讀書, 聞先生述古孝義長者英烈之事, 竊聽常罔倦." See《漢語大詞典》. Shanghai: 上海辭書出版社, 2008, p.343.
(3). "言言" here means "solemn (威嚴)" , as in 劉禹錫《吏部侍郎奚公神道碑》: "惟唐德宗, 道類漢宣, 責實繩下, 風稜言言." See《漢語大詞典》. Shanghai: 上海辭書出版社, 2008, p.5.
(4). As in footnote (1), p.4854.
(5). 黃本驥,《顏魯公全集》, 顏魯公集行狀 . Shanghai: 上海仿古書店, publication year unknown, p.11.
(6). As in footnote (1), pp.4854-4859.
(7). Ibid., p.4860.
(8). KS Vincent Poon & Kwok Kin Poon, English Translation of Classical Chinese Calligraphy Masterpieces. Toronto: The Senseis, 2019, p.81-92.
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