光陰流轉 節氣如歌 衣食農事 依時而作
FOR AMELIE
小寒 Slight Cold “Slight Cold” is the 23 solar term and happens on January 5 to January 7 when the sun reaches the celestial longitude of 285 degrees. To China, “Slight Cold” indicates the weather starts to enter the coldest days. When “Slight Cold” comes, the wild goose all move to north and magpie starts to build their homes. The average temperature in Beijing during this period is around minus 5 degree Celsius and some places in north China can reach minus 30 degree Celsius. Temperature around Qinling Mountain and Huaihe River is kept at around 0 degree Celsius.
Name of the Color 牙白 yabai
January 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
大寒 Great Cold “Great Cold”, the last solar term in 24 solar terms, comes around January 20 each year. In this period, the cold waves from Siberia arrives in China. The snow and rain as well as the icy cold weather exert a big influence on people’s life and transportation. When the sun reaches the celestial longitude of 300 degrees, hens start to hatch, eagles fly everywhere trying to find food and water freeze to the thickest level. When this day arrives, it’s time to welcome the Spring Festival. People get busy with buying new things, salting the meat and preparing New Year good. “Great Cold” represents the end of 24 solar terms and also marks the end of winter.
Name of the Color 月白 yuebai
January February 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 01 02 03 mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
立春 Spring Commences “Spring Commences” is the first solar term in the 24 solar terms. In China, it represents the beginning of the spring season. It usually happens between February 2 and February 5 when the sun reaches the celestial longitude of 315 degrees. If you look at the stars at 7 p.m. on this day, you might see the bucket arm of the Big Dipper pointing to the north-east direction at exactly the 45 degree angle, which is also called “Gen”, a direction in the Chinese Eight Diagrams. When “Spring Commences” arrives, days get longer and sunlight gets warmer. Temperature, the length of sunlight and the amount of rainfall are all at the turning points of the year. An old Chinese saying goes like this, “Spring begins and rain arrives. Get up early and sleep late.” It is to remind the farmers that the annual agriculture is about to begin.
Name of the Color 水綠 shuilu
February 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
雨水 Spring Showers When the sun reaches the celestial longitude of 330 degrees, the solar term of “Spring Showers” arrives. “Spring Showers” indicates that as the weather gets warmer, the amount of rainfall increases, at the same time the form of precipitation transforms from snowfall to rainfall. It usually happens on February 18 or February 19 and ends on March 4 or March 5. When passing the day of “Spring Showers”, the weather sometimes can be unpredictable for a few days. One minute, it rains and another minute, it shines. When the season comes, the otter starts fishing, the wild goose flies back to north from south and grass and trees start to sprout. No matter what, rain is the most important element in this solar term. Just like the Chinese farmers often say, “Spring rain is as precious oil”, meaning raining is a sign that crops will soon grow faster.
Name of the Color 綰 wan
February March 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 01 02 03 04 05 wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
驚蟄 Insects Waken In Chinese, the third solar term in spring is called Jing Zhe, which means that insects are awaken from winter sleep by the sound of thunder. It happens when the sun reaches the celestial longitude of 345 degrees on March 5 or March 6. After this day, thunders begin to appear all over China and the sound awakens all kinds of hibernating insects hiding in the soil. As contemporary scientific research shows, what really makes the insects awaken is the increasing temperature of the soil. In Chinese ancient poems, “Insects Awaken” was often described with views of peach blooming, yellow warblers tweeting and swallows flying. It is the time for spring farming in most of the places in China.
Name of the Color 黎 li
March 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
春分 Vernal Equinox “Vernal Equinox” arrives around March 21 every year and on this day, the sun is vertically above a point on the equator. “Vernal Equinox” indicates two meanings. Firstly, on this day, the night and day are approximately equally long with 12 hours each. Secondly, it’s the mid-point for the spring season. After this day, the sun continues to move to the north hemisphere and the temperature continues to rise. Daily average temperature in most areas in China reaches 0 degree Celsius above. Some areas may even reach 10 degree Celsius. Many proverbs among the farmers describe this season as “rains with thunder and lightning” and “time to farm otherwise nothing to harvest for the rest of the year.”
Name of the Color 竹青 zhuqing
March April 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 01 02 03 04 fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
清明 Clear and Bright “Clear and Bright” is not only a solar term but also a traditional festival in China, the Qingming Festival. It comes around April 5 each year when the sun reaches the celestial longitude of 15 degrees. The temperature continues to increase and farmers get busier with farming. At this point, the princess tree starts to bloom, the filed mouse is gone and rainbow often appears after rain. One of the most important activities on this day is to tend graves to honor ancestors, dead relatives and friends. In addition, as the spring comes and everywhere gets green, people often go picnicking, hiking, play kites or plant willows.
Name of the Color 艾青 aiqing
April 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
穀雨 Grain Rain “Grain Rain” is the sixth solar term in the 24 solar terms. It is the last solar term in spring when the sun reaches the celestial longitude of 30 degrees around April 20 to April 21 every year. The term “Grain Rain” is originated from a folk story. When Cang Jie, an official from the Yellow Emperor period, created writing characters, grain came down from sky like rainfall. Therefore, the Yellow Emperor named this day as the “Grain Rain”. When this day comes, the amount of rainfall increases much than the day of “Spring Showers”, which is very important for the growth of the crops. After this day, the duckweed starts to grow after rainfall, the cuckoo starts to sing and hoopoe starts to appear on mulberry tree. The temperature in most of the basin areas increases quickly. Apart from the north-west part, most of the basin areas in China reach 20 to 22 degree Celsius.
Name of the Color 海棠紅 haitanghong
April May 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 01 02 03 04 sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
立夏 Summer Commences “Summer Commences” comes on May 5 or May 6 every year. When the sun reaches the celestial longitude of 45 degrees, it’s the beginning of the summer season. Usually people consider this period as the time where temperature begins to rise obviously, thunder storm becomes more frequent and crops’ growth enter the peak season. Many crops seeded in spring can be harvested in the summer. Wheat grain begins to grow full and rapeseed is nearly ripe. It’s also the peak season for transplant rice seedlings. As an old saying goes, “You can see the outcome of summer at the ‘Summer Commences’”. Since the ancient times, people had paid important attention to this day. In the Zhou Dynasty, emperors would take a trip outside the palace together with his officials to welcome the summer, and send out orders to local officials encouraging farmers working harder.
Name of the Color 藕色 ouse
May 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
小滿 Grain Buds “Grain Buds” is the second solar term in the summer season, representing a period where grains are fuller and fuller day by day, but not totally full yet. This day arrives on May 21 or May 22 when the sun reaches the celestial longitude of 60 degrees. It’s driest solar term in the year and it’s important to keep the crops away from the dry hot wind. In Chinese, “Grain Buds” is called “Xiao Man”, where “Man” means full. Therefore, full indicates not only the grain but also the amount of rainwater. It is said that if there is no enough water during this period, the crops will not grow when the next solar term comes.
Name of the Color 天水碧 tianshuibi
May June 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 01 02 03 04 05 thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
芒種 Grain in Ear “Grain in Ear” means the grains are mature. It happens around June 5 every year when the sun reaches the celestial longitude of 75 degrees. During this period, crops like barley and wheat all get mature and are waiting to be harvested. In Chinese, “Grain in Ear” is called Mang Zhong. Mang means grains at the same time busy. It forecasts the farmer is getting back to the busy field work. It’s the busiest time to seed millet and the deadline for sowing activities. During this period, areas around middle stream and down stream of Yangzi River enter the raining season. Sensing the wetness, the mantis comes out, the shrike starts to sing and the mockingbird stops tweet.
Name of the Color 梔黃 zhihuang
June 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
夏至 Summer Solstice “Summer Solstice” comes on June 21 to June 22 each year when the sun altitude arrive the highest in north. This day has the longest daytime of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and the sunshine in many cities in south China may last fourteen hours per day. After this day, the spot of the direct sunlight gradually moves southward. Although, this day has the longest daylight, it’s not the hottest. As traditional Chinese books described, there are three periods of the hot season. It starts around “Summer Solstice” and ends around “Autumn Commences”. The temperature rises day by day and the hottest days come around mid-July to mid-August, where temperatures of some cities in China reach 40 degree Celsius. After this day, thunderstorms often come around afternoons and evenings. Old poems also describe this season as, “with sunshine in the east and rain in the west, you can’t tell whether it’s fine or not.” People in ancient times called this day as “Summer Festival” and during the Song Dynasty; officials were given three days holiday to rest at home.
Name of the Color 酡顏 tuoyan
June July 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 01 02 03 04 05 06 sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
小暑 Slight Heat When the sun reaches the celestial longitude of 105 degrees, it’s the time for “Slight Heat”, usually happening on July 7 or July 8. Slight heat means it’s hot but not the hottest. The continuous rainfall season for cities along “Yangtze River” will soon stop and enter summer days. On the other hand, the north and northeast of China will enter the rain season. Therefore, when “Slight Heat” arrives, people in north should pay attention to water logging, but in the south, drought. As mentioned earlier, three periods of the hot season come one by one after “Summer Solstice”. In the Chinese, it’s call the three “Fu”, meaning that the weather is so hot and people better lie down than to move. Around the “Slight Heat” period, it’s the first “Fu” period. The wind comes with hot wave, the cricket starts to crawl from the field into the yard and young eagle starts to learn how to fly and hunt.
Name of the Color 妃色 feise
July 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
大暑 Great Heat The “Great Heat” represents the hottest days in the year. It arrives on July 23 or 24 when the sun reaches the celestial longitude of 120 degrees. It’s a season with the highest temperature, where the crops grow fastest and the most frequent time for drought, water logging and windy weather. After this day, firefly comes out, soil gets more and more humid and heavy thunderstorm comes from time to time. The days around the “Great Heat” witness the blossom season of jasmines and lotuses. At this time of the year, many tourists and photographers go to the park and enjoy the lotus exhibition.
Name of the Color 炎 yan
July August 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 01 02 03 04 05 06 wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
立秋 Autumn Commences “Autumn Commences” is the 13th solar term in the 24 solar terms. It’s on August 8 or 9 every year meaning the beginning of the fall. When it comes to this season, the leaves of the Chinese parasol tree start to fall, thus there is a saying of “One leave falls, autumn arrives.” When the sun reaches the celestial longitude of 135 degrees, the summer is passing away and the weather turns cold gradually. People can feel the wind is getting cool and see fogs in the morning sometimes. It’s also a season of harvest.
Name of the Color 胭脂 yanzhi
August 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
處暑 Stopping the Heat “Stopping the Heat” happens on August 23 each year when the sun reaches the celestial longitude of 150 degrees. At this point, the hot summer passes and heat stops. Although many of the places in China still have a day average temperature of more than 22 degree Celsius, the cold air comes from the north make the weather cool down slowly. It’s usually hot in the day and cold in the morning and in the evening. In this season, the eagle starts to hunt birds, many plants and flowers start to wither, and crops like millet, paddy rice and fine grain all get mature.
Name of the Color 麥綠 mailu
August September 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 01 02 03 04 05 06 sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
白露 White Dew When “White Dews” comes, the temperature decreases further and the weather gets cooler. In the morning, you can see the dew on the grass and trees. “White Dews” happens around September 7 every year when the sun reaches the celestial longitude of 165 degrees. At this point, the swan goose and swallow fly back to south and birds start to store food for winter. When the day comes, the cool autumn wind blows across the vast land on the north of the Huaihe River from north to south. In many places of China, the air is clear, the sky is high and the clouds are peaceful. People can often feel the gentle autumn breeze blowing.
Name of the Color 悶青 menqing
September 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
秋分 Autumn Equinox On the Chinese lunar calendar, “Autumn Equinox” is the beginning of autumn and this day is just at the middle point between “Autumn Commences” to “Hoar-Frost Falls”. After “Autumn Equinox”, the temperature decreases obviously, just like the old proverbs among the farmers, “Each autumn rain makes it’s colder”, “The night of White Dews and Autumn Equinox, one night is colder than the one before”. It arrives on September 22 to September 23 each year when the sun reaches the celestial longitude of 180 degrees. As said in the ancient Chinese books, “the Autumn Equinox” shows the Yin Qi and Yang Qi are half and half on this day”. This means the day and night are balanced and the heat and the cold are even. There is no polar day or polar night happening on this day on every corner of the world. In some part of the northeast China, it’s not strange to see frost at this time. The differences between the temperature in the morning and in the night are increasing, to more than 10 degree Celsius. The amount of rainfall decreases and it’s getting drier and drier in the air.
Name of the Color 秋香色 qiuxiangse
September October 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 01 02 03 04 05 06 mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
寒露 Cold Dew “Cold Dews” is the 17 solar term of the 24 solar terms and falls on October 8 or October 9 each year. It means that it’s colder than “White Dews” and the dews are becoming frost. During this period, most of the areas around Nanling enter autumn and northeast and northwest of China will soon enter winter. When the sun reaches the celestial longitude of 195 degrees, the swan gooses fly to south in a “single line” or a “herringbone shaped line”, most of the sparrows are gone and chrysanthemum starts to bloom.
Name of the Color 茶青 chaqing
October 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
霜降 Hoar-Frost Falls “Hoar-Frost Falls” usually happens on October 23 each year when the sun reaches the celestial longitude of 210 degrees. Most areas along the Yellow River have frost falling. As the last solar term in autumn, temperature in many places reach 0 degree Celsius. The vapor in the air freezes on the ground in the form of tiny ice needles or hexagonal flower shapes. The leaves fall and worms stop eating and prepare for hibernation. There are some chemical changes to the leaves of some tress such as maple, persimmon tree and Eurasian smoke tree after this day. The colors turn to red from green and it’s the best time to see the red autumn leaves.
Name of the Color 沈香 chenxiang
October November 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 01 02 03 04 05 06 thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
立冬 Winter Commences “Winter Commences” arrives on November 7 or November 8 each year. In Chinese, it’s called “Li Dong”. “Li” means beginning and “Dong” means winter. In ancient times, the explanation for “Dong” was that “all the crops are harvested and dried and it’s time to put them into the storage. All the animals are ready to hide and start winter sleep”. Therefore, “Dong” not only means winter, but also that the metabolism of the nature gets slower. At this time of the year, some rivers and landscape in China start to freeze. In north China, most of the areas already enter winter and for places besides Yangtze River, the real winter comes after “Light Snow”.
Name of the Color 駝色 tuose
November 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
小雪 Light Snow When the sun reaches the celestial longitude of 240 degrees on November 22 to November 23 each year, it’s the time for “Light Snow”. Some areas along the Yellow River start to snow. It’s usually light snow, freezing in the night and melting in the morning. The soil is not cold enough, and snow can’t accumulate a lot on the ground. During this period, the rainbow is gone since it doesn’t rain anymore. The Yang Qi goes up and Yin Qi flows down and all things lost vitality.
Name of the Color 藍灰 lanhui
December November 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 01 02 03 04 05 06 sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
大雪 Heavy Snow After the “Slight Snow”, it’s the “Heavy Snow”, which is around December 7 or December 8 each year. “Heavy Snow”, just like it’s meaning, indicates more snow days and snowfalls. Most of the places in China reach below 0 degree Celsius. The Hanhao Bird stop singing, the tigers shows courtship behavior and Liting, a kind of fragrant thorough wort sprouts. “Heavy Snow” is a very important period for farmers. If the snow is very heavy, it means next year will be a harvesting year. This is because that the nitrogen compound in snow is 4 times more than those in the rain. When the snow melt and soak into the soil, the increased nitrogen in soil can be absorbed by crops quicker. At the same time, the freezing snow water can kill many pests on earth’s surface layer.
Name of the Color 墨灰 mohui
December 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
sun
冬至 Winter Solstice “Winter Solstice” falls between the periods of December 21 to December 23. One this day, the day is the shortest and night is the longest in the year. After this day, many places in China go through the coldest period, which is called in Chinese, “Shu Jiu”, meaning counting nine. In total, there are nine periods with nine days for each. In the first and second nine days, people keep their hands in pockets; in the third and fourth nine days, people can walk on ice; in the fifth and sixth nice days, people can see willows along the river bank; in the seventh and eighth nine days, the swallow comes back and in the ninth nine days, the yak starts working. “Winter Solstice” is not only a solar term but an important festival. People eat Jiaozi in north China and eat Tang Yuan, rice dumpling in south China.
Name of the Color 黛藍 dailan
December 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 wed
tue
mon
sun
sat
fri
thu
wed
tue
mon
二零一四 BY SHEN LU