A distinctive logo of Chinese culture

The twenty-four solar terms are the knowledge system and practice formed by the Chinese observing the annual movement of the sun, embodying the ideological wisdom of the timely weather, and are a clear symbol of China's excellent traditional culture. The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics will be grandly opened on Lichun Day, opening with 24 solar terms, moving forward from the "rain" all the way forward and ushering in "Lichun", highlighting the beautiful hope and firm confidence of the future together. In the traditional concept of Chinese, Lichun is a symbol of the revival and vitality of all things, and has a special status and role.

"It's better to be older than spring"

Li Chun, the first of the twenty-four solar terms, the sun reaches the 315 ° Ecliptic Longitude to usher in the Spring Festival. "The Seventy-two Waiting Solutions of the Moon Order": "Establish, build the beginning." The qi of the five elements, the past passes, the comers continue, and the qi of the spring wood begins, so it is called the establishment of the spring. "Four hours flow, led by spring." Spring means that winter goes to spring and everything is renewed, which is both the starting point of spring and the beginning of all seasons of the year.

Since ancient times Chinese have attached great importance to the symbolism of the beginning. For the traditional Chinese culture that advocates the harmonious coexistence of man and nature, Lichun is not only the beginning of natural timing, but also the beginning of people's "restart" of social life sequence, which is both a very important festival and a "festival" identity, and it is widely circulated in the folk that "spring dynasty is as big as the year dynasty" and "the year is not as big as spring", which fully interprets the special status and great significance of Lichun in the traditional Chinese festival system.

After the spring, the temperature in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River gradually turns from below zero to above zero, and the most prominent phenological performance is the melting of ice and snow. The ancestors of the mainland believed that the East belonged to wood, and wood was the source of fire, so they called the "spring wind" "east wind", which means that this festival weather warms up and spring returns to the earth. The animals that have been dormant for a winter sense the yang qi and begin to wake up, but they are still "moving and not coming out", and they will not really "open the house" until after the sting, spring equinox and other solar terms. In the cold winter, the fish lurk under the water to avoid the cold, and after the spring, with the yang rising, the ice layer thins, and gradually floats up, as if swimming with ice on its back.

A variety of ceremonial and cultural activities

Lichun represents vitality and nurtures hope, and has been passing down a variety of ritual and cultural activities for thousands of years, the most representative of which is "Welcoming Spring". The Sixth Book of the Monthly Order: "On the day of the establishment of spring, the Son of Heaven personally marshals the three dukes, the nine secretaries, the princes, and the doctors, in order to welcome the spring in the eastern suburbs." On the contrary, he rewarded the secretaries of state, the princes, and the doctors in the dynasty. "By the time of the Eastern Han Dynasty, from the capital to the localities, grand spring ceremonies were held, and all the bicycles, flags, and costumes that traveled were blue, which lasted until the end of the Qing Dynasty, and were major ceremonial and customary activities for officials and people everywhere to celebrate and enjoy together."

The most lively spring festival event is the whipping spring cow. Whip spring cattle, also known as beating spring cattle, this custom originated very early, "Things Chronicle" said: "Zhou Gong began to make spring soil cattle, cover the excavation of cattle to show farming sooner or later." "During the Sui and Tang dynasties, whipping spring cattle became a fairly common festival ritual. Usually, the ceremony of whipping spring cattle is performed by officials in the county court, and the spring cattle are mostly clay sculpture cattle. When spring cattle pass by the crowd, people sprinkle them with beans and hemp, and it is believed that this move can "pray for a good year" and "spread the pox plague". What is more interesting is that after the whipping of the spring cattle ceremony, people have to compete for broken pieces of native cattle, which is believed to be placed in the cattle pen to ensure the prosperity of the six animals, placed on the bed to make the cocoon harvest, placed on the stove to ensure that there are no insects and ants. Cattle are an important tool of traditional agricultural production, and the spring cattle in the spring season are intended to whip the lazy atmosphere and announce the beginning of spring ploughing, which contains the meaning of advising farmers and encouraging spring ploughing, reflecting the ancient heavy peasant thinking of the mainland.

There are many folk customs of Lichun. In the past, people around Zhejiang would go to the suburbs to explore the spring during the spring season, and then fold pine and cypress branches into circles and wear them on the heads of children, which is commonly known as this to ensure that children are "healthy in all seasons". Shanxi and other places have the custom of "wearing spring baby" in the spring, the spring baby is a doll-shaped cloth bag, which contains beans and millet, and it is believed that children wearing spring baby can eliminate the plague of acne. After entering the spring, people are often prone to sleepiness, folk have "spring sleepiness, autumn fatigue, summer napping" saying, Song Fanchengda's "Spring Sleepiness" poem inscription: "Wu Customs li spring day children call each other with spring sleepiness, to turn around should not be the one for the sake of the people." This custom is "selling spring sleepiness", which means that children call "selling spring sleepiness" along the road when the spring day is not yet dawn, and if someone answers, the spring sleepiness is sold and no longer tired. Although this custom is a children's game and has a cunning meaning, it does contain a deep meaning of admonishing children to cherish the sunrise and live up to Shaohua.

Lichun diet has the custom of tasting spring and biting spring, and common foods are radish, spring rolls, spring cakes, etc., and their meanings are mostly connected with cultural concepts such as "yang", "new" and "raw". Han "Four People's Moon Order": "Every spring day, eat lettuce, but take more of the meaning of welcoming the new, and eat pulp porridge to guide harmony." "Eating lettuce has the meaning of welcoming the arrival of the new year." People put lettuce, fruit, cake, sugar and other things on the plate, deriving the custom of eating spring plates. Du Fu wrote in the poem "Li Chun": "Spring on the spring plate of fine lettuce, suddenly recall the time of the two Beijing plum hair". Among the spring-biting customs, the most common is to eat turnips. The "Yanjing Miscellaneous Records" says: "On the spring day, people buy more turnips and eat them raw, which is called biting spring. "Old Beijing's "biting spring" radish is purple radish, its spicy taste, can drive away spring sleepiness, replenish yang qi, and boost spirits. The lichun food customs embody the cultural wisdom of the solar terms that move with the times and maintain health in accordance with the times.

The 24 solar terms are a distinctive symbol of Chinese culture

The Lichun custom is an important part of the twenty-four solar terms cultural system. "Spring rain shocks the spring valley days, summer is full of summer and summer are connected, autumn dew and autumn frost falls, winter snow and snow and winter are small and cold", is a song that every Chinese has heard since childhood. The twenty-four solar terms are a distinctive symbol of Chinese culture, carrying the genetic code of the endless life of Chinese civilization, and highlighting the ideological wisdom and spiritual pursuit of the Chinese nation.

On the basis of carrying out a large number of research and practice, and led by the China Agricultural Museum, the 24 solar terms became the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage in 2006, and was listed as the intangible cultural heritage of mankind by UNESCO in 2016, which effectively enhanced the soft power of Chinese culture and promoted the exchange and mutual learning of the achievements of human civilization. At present, there are 11 national intangible cultural heritage 24 solar terms expansion projects, including 4 spring projects in Zhejiang, including "Jiuhua Lichun Festival", "Banchun Persuasion Farmer", Guizhou "Shiquan Saying Spring" and Henan "Neixiang Spring Cow Custom". The opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics is embedded with 24 solar terms, highlighting the profound heritage and charm of the times of China's excellent traditional culture, and interpreting the spring music of the concerto of Chinese culture and human civilization.

The plan of the year lies in the spring, and the folk proverb cloud: "Spring fights for the day, summer fights, and the major events of the year should not be delayed." "The Spring Festival of heaven and earth is a symbol of vitality and a sign of hope, prompting farmers to pay close attention to preparing for farming and being diligent in farming, and children to thrive and study hard... Happiness is all struggle, hard-working Chinese work hard, courageously forward, will be able to get a solid harvest.

(The author is Secretary of the Party Committee and Researcher of the Agricultural Museum of China, Director of the 24 Solar Terms Research Center, and Chairman of the 24 Solar Terms Protection and Inheritance Alliance)