Interpreting the "Vernal Equinox"
Zhang Zhenhai
Throughout China's history, geography, politics, economy, military, philosophy, culture... Places of interest, monuments, gardens, temples, paintings and calligraphy, music, dance... So easy to learn, magic numbers, astronomy, astrology, medical path... From the Book of Poetry, Chu Ci, Han Fu... To Tang poems, Song ci, Yuan qu, Ming and Qing novels, drama acrobatics... This is a large and colorful garden, and the traditional festivals, festivals and customs are the brilliant flowers in this garden.
1. The twenty-four solar terms can be traced back to the source
The twenty-four solar terms are the crystallization of the Long Practice and Wisdom of the Chinese Nation for thousands or even tens of thousands of years. Some articles misrepresent the twenty-four solar terms of the mainland originated from the Tang and Song dynasties... So it is only one or two thousand years... These claims are incorrect. The reason for these fallacies, in addition to the arrogance of individuals, is more due to the fact that there are more historical records of the above dynasties and there is no more in-depth exploration and excavation. The actual twenty-four solar terms are thousands of years earlier than that, or even farther!
In ancient times, our ancestors naturally stored fire, struck stones and ignited fires, drilled wood for fire, knotted rope chronicles, named hundreds of beasts, watched the Big Dipper, created ten days of dryness, twelve earth branches, Guibiao calendar, pot bucket timing, shadow leakage carving... Fixing the North Pole, cube teeth, watching the sky, walking ladders... Then it established Henan Shangqiu as the heaven and earth, established the first capital of China, determined the first surname (wind) of China, and formulated the first calendar of China... About tens of thousands of years ago, our ancestors began to observe and practice the Big Dipper, celestial phenomena, and climate.
Pangu opened up the world, Nuwa incarnated all things, Houyi shot the sun to benefit, Jingwei reclamation, Kwa father chased the sun... Exploring myths and legends may also be more distant.
The Furen clan, the Fuxi clan, the Nüwa clan, the Shennong clan... These ancient strange people... the I Ching, the Classic of Mountains and Seas, the Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic... These ancient books, as well as new advances in the study of human literature and history, and the new discoveries of archaeological excavations at historical sites, will bring us new worlds and earths to study the twenty-four solar terms, and we will continue to excavate new achievements in astronomical solar terms.
The basic concept of the twenty-four solar terms
(1) The basic concept of solar terms
Including: Heaven and Dry Earth Branch, Yin and Yang Five Elements, Astronomical Calendar, Geography, History, Meteorology, Years, Chronology, Solar Calendar, Lunar Calendar, Gregorian Calendar, Lunar Calendar, Summer Calendar, Calendar, Monthly Calendar, Zodiac, White Road, Beidou...
Solar terms (solar terms), weather should (weather) ...
Year (year) (leap) (year) (cold summer spring and autumn), season (time) (Meng Zhongji) (morning, middle and evening), moon (synodic), xun (upper middle and lower), day (twilight), (morning and evening) (day and night) (noon)...
The solar calendar month has 31 days and the small month has 30 days. The lunar calendar has 30 days in the big month and 29 days in the small month...
(ii) The basic concept of the calendar
Calendar is a method of calculating time according to the celestial signs in order to meet the needs of people's daily lives.
My research believes that the calendar is to explore the universe, the sun, the moon, the stars, astronomy, meteorology, phenology... The body of knowledge formed by the laws of change.
The calendar is to calculate the year, season, month, day, hour... The interrelationships recognized by the run cycle.
The calendar is the time, the season, the season, the time, the time... The rules of application followed in the order of advancement.
The calendar in the world mainly includes the lunar calendar, the solar calendar and the luni-solar calendar. The continental calendar is the luni-solar calendar.
The emergence of the calendar has had a far-reaching impact on the political, economic and cultural development of the country.
The release of the calendar is called "Almanac" in China, and in ancient times it was called "Tongshu" or "Constitutional Book" and "Shi Xianshu". Because it was issued by the emperor, it is also called the "imperial calendar". "Yellow" is the exclusive color of the royal family, and the almanac is mostly yellow, also known as the "yellow calendar".
China is one of the ancient countries of human civilization and one of the earliest countries in the world to invent the calendar.
The ancestors of the mainland created various calendars. From the Spring and Autumn Warring States to the Qin Dynasty, the six ancient calendars formulated by the Yellow Emperor, The Emperor, the Emperor, the Xia, the Yin, the Zhou, and the Lu dynasty are the earliest calendars on the mainland.
The Xia calendar (lunar calendar), the Hijri calendar, the Yi calendar, the Dai calendar, the Qiang calendar and the Tibetan calendar are the national calendars that are still widely used in the mainland at this stage.
(3) Guidelines for the Twenty-Four Solar Terms Calendar
20 Mar 2022 23:33:15 Solar Terms Spring Equinox
spring
The biggest feature of spring is that flowers and grasses are vigorous and full of vitality, and it should be reasonable to be a head. The ancient Chinese character "Chun" has "grass", and there are many "grass", but in the process of history and text evolution, from the Qing "Kangxi Dictionary" to the modern dictionary, the word "chun" is classified into the "Day" department. Why? This is worth exploring.
Spring, the original meaning: the seeds of grass and trees take root, sprout, grow. Folklore says, "The plan of a day lies in the morning, and the plan of the year lies in the spring." Plants sprout and grow, animals multiply and grow, farmers sow seeds and produce, and everything flourishes.
Spring, the first of the four seasons. Because of the meaning of "spring sun caressing, all things are prosperous", it also extends to vitality, full of vitality and other meanings. Later, polysemantic characters were formed.
Chun: It is a very rich polysemantic word with many uses. Generally refers to a season, a year. Spring begins, the seasons begin, and the year begins. Energetic, lustful, wine... Name, flower name, wine name.
In ancient times, "history" was called "spring and autumn", because the crops were born in spring and autumn, spring was equivalent to the cause of history, autumn was equivalent to the fruit of history, the cycle from spring to autumn was time, and the continuation of time was history.
Spring begins at Lichun, averaging at the vernal equinox. Here it mainly refers to the flourishing of all things, the seasons.
divide
Points: polysyllabic, fēn and fèn. From eight from the knife, the knife with the distinction also. Fu Wen Che.
fēn divides the whole into parts; makes the things that are connected apart and opposites the "union".
fèn constitutes the different substances or factors of things, the limits of names, titles, duties, rights, etc., and the emotions and feelings of people getting along with each other.
Points: polysemantic words, multi-field, multi-disciplinary use. It can be nouns, verbs, adjectives, quantifiers, adverbs... Zoning, extraction or generation, independent out, dispersion, identification... Half, half, half century, day and night equinoxes, spring equinox, autumn equinox ... Fēn is pronounced here, mainly meaning equally divided and half.
The vernal equinox
The fourth of the twenty-four solar terms and the fourth of spring. Every year around March 21 of the Gregorian calendar, the sun reaches 0 degrees of ecliptic longitude. In ancient times, it was called "day and night", "day and night", and "mid-spring moon". This year is March 20th.
"Seventy-two Waiting Solutions to the Moon Order": In the middle of February, the divider is half, and this is the half of the ninety days, so it is called the division.
Interpretation: In the twenty-four solar terms, the "four stands" are used as the starting point of the four seasons, and the two points and two solstices are used as the midpoint. For example, spring begins with spring and spring is divided into midpoint. The season is ninety days, divided into forty-five days before and after.
On this day, the sun shines directly at the equator, and then continues to move northward, with days getting longer and shorter in the northern hemisphere and nights getting longer and shorter in the southern hemisphere.
On this day, the sun shines directly on the equator, the spring equinox, the day and night are equally divided, and the yin and yang scores, so it is called "spring equinox". Also known as "liters" and "spring half".
The vernal equinox is a relatively important solar term. One of the "two points" and "two to".
Three
In ancient times, the continental equinox was divided into three seasons. On the day of the spring equinox, the birds arrived, and on the fifth day, The Thunder made a sound, and on the fifth day, the electricity began.
One wait, the bird arrives.
Interpretation: Swallows flew back from the south.
Second, Lei Nai spoke.
Interpretation: The sound of the yang of the thunder, the yang can not come out in the yin, so it is excited and thunder. When it rains, it thunders.
Three waits, the first electricity.
Interpretation: The light of the yang of the electrician, the glimmer of the yang is not seen, and the yang is full of light, so the lightning. When it rains, the sky thunders and emits lightning.
Features
The spring equinox, one is the "equinox of day and night", the day and night are equal, each 12 hours; the second is the "equal equinox of the seasons", three months of spring 90 days, "spring" to "spring equinox" interval of 45 days, "spring equinox" to "Lixia" interval is also 45 days; the third is "yin and yang equal equinox", the integration of heaven and earth, the balance of cold and summer, the harmony of moderation, and the gradual growth of yang.
At the spring equinox, the cold has gone and the temperature has risen. The vast land is a bright scenery, with willows spitting green, warblers flying grass long, wheat joints, and rape flowers.
The mainland is vast, affected by a variety of weather factors, precipitation in Jiangnan has increased rapidly, and precipitation in the northeast, north China and northwest is still very small.
Astronomy and climatology have obvious characteristics and significance.
Customs
Spring Equinox Festival Day Customs
Ancient emperors had the customs of the spring equinox festival, the autumn equinox festival, the summer solstice festival, and the winter solstice festival. The places of worship are the Temple of the Sun, the Temple of the Moon, the Temple of Earth, and the Temple of Heaven. It is divided into four directions: east, west, south and north.
1. Worship the sun god
On the day of the spring equinox, the emperor wants to sacrifice the day, sacrifice to the god of the Great Ming (sun), the great ceremony of the country, is the royal patent, the people are not allowed to do it without authorization.
2. Eat sun cake
Sun cake means "sun high" is a round cake made of rice noodles, decorated with a "small bird", it is not an ordinary bird, but a "three-legged crow". See later for details.
3. Burn the sun money
There is also a folk custom of "burning the sun for money" on the day of the spring equinox. On this day, people burned the blessing characters and red paper pasted during the Spring Festival to the sun, and sent money and food to the sun god. Folk believe that burning blessings and blessings, and burning all kinds of characters pasted in the New Year in this form is an auspicious way of dealing with it.
Other customs of the vernal equinox
1. Vertical egg: long-standing, simple and easy, full of fun. Both adults and children can play. Choose a smooth, well-proportioned fresh egg that has been laid for four or five days and gently put it up on the table. Although there are many losers, there are also many successful people. The spring equinox became the best time for erecting eggs, and this "Chinese custom" even spread abroad to become a "world game". Therefore, there is a saying that "the spring equinox arrives, and the eggs are pretty". (The vertical egg does have a scientific mystery, another solution)
2. Eat spring vegetables: "Spring vegetables" is a kind of wild amaranth, known as "spring artemisia". On the day of the spring equinox, the spring vegetables and fish fillets collected are "rolling soup", which is called "spring soup". There is a smooth mouth: "Spring soup is dirty, washing the liver and intestines." Family, young and old, safe and healthy. "What people pray for is the peace of the family home and the fitness of the body.
3. Spring Cow Chart: Send spring cow map door to door. It is to print the red or yellow paper on the lunar festival of the whole year, and also print the farmer's ploughing map, known as the "Spring Cow Map". The people who send pictures are folk good words can sing, mainly say some spring ploughing and auspicious words, every time they go to a family, they are in love, see what they say, the words come out of their mouths, and the words have rhymes. Said the host was happy and rewarded. It is commonly known as "saying spring", and people who say spring are called "spring officials".
4. Sticky sparrow mouth: On this day, the countryside eats tangyuan made of sticky noodles according to the custom, and it is also necessary to cook more than ten or twenty or thirty tangyuan that do not need to be stuffed, and use thin bamboo poles to fork and place them on the edge of the field to stick to the sparrow's mouth, so as to prevent the birds from destroying the crops.
5. First Spring Festival: In ancient times, the spring equinox began to sweep the tomb to worship the ancestors, also known as the spring festival. Before sweeping the tomb, a solemn ancestor worship ceremony should be held in the ancestral hall, killing pigs and slaughtering sheep, asking drummers to play, reciting the sacrifice text by the liturgy, performing three offerings, and so on.
Festival Day: In the Zhou Dynasty, there was a ritual of the spring equinox. This custom has been passed down through the generations. Qing Pan Rong majesty "Ji Sheng in the Age of Emperor Jing": "Spring Equinox Festival Day, Autumn Equinox Festival Moon." ”
7. Kite flying: On and during the spring equinox, it is a good time for children and adults to fly kites. Kites have king characters, long dragons, silver carp, butterflies, thunder gongs, moonlight, etc., the large one is two meters high, and the small one is also two or three feet. There are kites sold in the market, most of which are relatively small, suitable for children to play, while most of them are still their own paste, larger, and compete with each other to see which one is put high.
Nurture
Health principle: Since the connotation of the spring equinox is "equal division", people's health should pay attention to the balance of yin and yang.
"Su Qing Bone Emptiness Theory": "Adjust its yin and yang, make up for deficiencies, and diarrhea if there is surplus."
Interpretation: Traditional health care and Traditional Chinese medicine treatment can be summarized as two aspects: deficiency repair and diarrhea. Such as yiqi, blood nourishment, yin nourishment, yang aid, sperm filling, shengjin, etc. are to make up for deficiency; decompression, heat removal, water, diarrhea, cold removal, wind removal, dryness and wetness are diarrhea. Whether it is tonic or diarrhea, TCM health care should adhere to the principle of adjusting yin and yang to flatten the period.
The Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic: "In the spring and March, this is called the birth of Chen, the heavens and the earth are born, all things are glorious, lie down at night and get up early, walk widely in the court, be slowly shaped (wearing loose waist), so that Zhisheng, born and do not kill, give and do not take, reward and do not punish, this spring should be, the way of health is also." The opposite hurts the liver..."
Interpretation: After the beginning of spring, the natural world is full of vitality and everything is happy, at this time, people should conform to nature, go to bed early and get up early, so that emotions can adapt to the way of health. Otherwise it will hurt the liver. Therefore, spring is based on the principle of soothing the body and adjusting the emotions.
Spring equinox health points: nourish the spirit, adjust the diet, prevent cold, prevent spring sleepiness, exercise, luck and disease prevention.
Spring equinox health care attention: clothing increase and decrease, relaxed mentality, balanced diet, early rise and early bed, living cautiously, physical and mental maintenance.
About the Author
Zhang Zhenhai, a native of Beijing, is a member of the Communist Party of China with a bachelor's degree. He is a member of Beijing Haidian District Writers Association. Project Consultant of the Information Office of the State Council and CCTV, Deputy Secretary-General of the Working Committee of The Ministry of Culture on the Import of Chinese Culture into Ten Thousand Families, Director of the Office of the Folklore Expert Committee of the Chinese Old Professors Association of the Ministry of Education, Vice President of the China Yang Mo Literary and Art Work Committee, Director and member of the Political Forum of the China Red Virtue Think Tank, the Chinese Red Culture Research Association, the Chinese Traditional Culture Research Association, the China Yuelian Society, the China Propaganda Shengshi International Academy of Calligraphy and Painting, and the Literary Creation Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is a director (or member) of Beijing Writing Society, Beijing Poetry Society, Beijing Yanglian Society, and Beijing Lantern Riddle Association. Beijing Haidian District Committee concerned about the next generation of the working committee "five old" experts.
Source: Sichuan Provincial Local History Work Office
Author: Zhang Zhenhai