Gu Yu: Gu Father Silkworm Mother Rain runs all things

Valley rain is the last festival of spring, which means that rain moisturizes grain. When interpreting the word "rain", the Shuowen Jiezi says: "Rain, water from under the clouds", which refers to the rain falling from the clouds, and the rain at the end of spring is just enough to moisten the grain that is thriving at this time, which is also one of the most important time passages in spring.

When the valley rain comes, all kinds of weather should come with the times: five days before the valley rain, the duckweed begins to grow and float in the pond; in the middle of the valley rain, the cuckoo flaps its wings, as if urging the farmers to plough in the spring; in the last five days of the valley rain, the Dai sheng bird builds a nest on the mulberry tree, as if to remind the family of the silkworm farmer to be busier. Starting from the valley rain, various agricultural activities such as farming, silkworm breeding, fishing, and tea picking, which coexist with nature, are in an important time period, and farmers across the country are busier.

Raw hundred grains

People's understanding of rain and all things has been since ancient times, and the early concept attributed the power of rain to the Shennong clan that created the farming culture, and the "Art and Literature Class Gathering • Tianbu Shangyu" quoted the "corpse" as saying: "The Shennong clan rules the world, and if it wants to rain, it rains, the five days are rainy, the ten days are the valley rain, and the five days are the timely rain." The system of the four hours, all things are salty, so it is called the god. The reason why Shennong is "god" is because he can rain and rain and everything is salty, which is one of the main reasons why he is recognized as an agricultural god. However, the "valley rain" and "walking rain" and "time rain" laid out by Shennong are all mythical climates, which have little to do with the climate in real life, but they also show from one side that people in the farming society rely on rain and run everything.

Wu Cheng of the Yuan Dynasty explained in the "Seventy-two Waiting Solutions to the Moon Order": "The valley rain, in the middle of March, since the rain, the earth paste pulsates, and now it rains in the valley of water. Rain is pronounced as a sound, like the rain of 'rain my field'. Gaigu with this time sows seeds from top to bottom also. "Rain its valley is also in the water", rain reads four times, taking its verb used, referring to the meaning of the precipitation of this season soaking with grain.

The occurrence of timely precipitation has made the valley rain also become a landmark time for many spring crops to start cultivating, such as the Han Dynasty Cui Yu's "Four People's Moon Order" mentions the March where the valley rain is located, saying: "When the rain falls, you can plant japonica rice, and plant grass, tho tho, beans, flax." "Once the right rain comes, farmers can start planting japonica rice, broad beans, sesame and other crops.

Many agricultural proverbs that are still circulating now remind people of the crops that should be sown during the rainy season of the valley, such as "planting grain in the rainy season of the valley, planting cotton in the south slope and the north depression" and "planting sweet potato seedlings in the valley rain, one tree can harvest a large basket" and so on. In order to have a better harvest, people also worship the gods related to agriculture during the rainy season.

Silkworms will grow

Valley rain is not only the season when grain grows luxuriantly, but also the time when silkworms lay their eggs in spring. As early as the record of the "Four People's Moon Order", there were strict regulations on silkworm affairs during the rainy season of the valley: "In the rainy valley, the silkworms spend their whole lives with wives and children, in order to be diligent in their affairs, and to have nothing or to do with him, so as to disrupt their own business; if they do not obey their orders, they will undoubtedly be punished." "The rainy season in the valley is the time when silkworms give birth to babies, and the silkworm farmers at this time are extremely busy, basically have no time to do other things, and if there is any delay in silkworm affairs, they will even be punished."

In order to carry out the silkworm affair smoothly, relevant ceremonies will be held in the palace to encourage and supervise the silkworm farmers. According to the Sui Dynasty's "Jade Candle Treasure Book", dai sheng bird falling on the mulberry tree is the waiting for the silkworm to lay eggs, at this time is the time period of gu yu three waiting, the palace will set up a mulberry altar, the concubines after fasting, dressed in green clothes, the basket personally pick mulberry, in order to persuade the silkworm.

From the perspective of the time node, the beginning of the Qingming Dynasty to the end of the Valley Rain is exactly in the "silkworm moon" in Jiangnan. The so-called "silkworm moon", "Poetry And Wind" said: "Silkworm moon strip mulberry, take the other axe", Gao Heng notes: "Silkworm moon, that is, the summer calendar March, the month of raising silkworms, so it is called silkworm moon." "Silkworm moon is a very important time node for sericulture farmers' homes, Jiaqing", "Yuhang County Chronicle" more concisely recorded the customs of silkworm moon: "In the case of silkworm moon, the neighbors do not borrow water and fire, until the silkworm mature cocoon, the first to ask each other for comfort, order tea for fun", mentioned here "water and fire do not borrow each other", that is, the custom of households not coming and going, known as "closing the silkworm gate". Closing the silkworm gate is mainly to create a good environment for the spring silkworm to lay eggs, but also because the silkworm affairs are busy, people have no time to communicate.

Fish ashore

As with farming on land, life with the sea as the main source of production is directly affected by phenology. There is a saying in the "Record of Hearings": "The great and unpredictable under the heavens is like the sea; and the great and unpredictable things are like fish." "Fishermen who live by the sea have gradually accumulated an extremely rich and complete knowledge system of fishery production in the long historical process, which includes both fishery production skills and the beliefs and customs of fishermen everywhere who fear the sea and respect the sea, and the fishermen's valley rain festival is one of the more important customs.

Because of the unique geographical location and climate, deep-sea fish and shrimp follow the law of seasonal migration, and flock to the waters of the coastal area of Jiaodong Peninsula in Shandong Province on the day of gu rain, so there is a saying among fishermen here that "gu rain and a hundred fish come ashore". So since the valley rains, fishermen who have rested for a long time have begun to go to sea in a whole net, and the annual sea production has officially begun. Before going out to sea, fishermen hold a grand ceremony to pray for a safe return and a good harvest.

Try a new tea

Wine is expensive, tea is expensive, and March is also the season for new teas to be listed. In the production and sales of tea, the saying "three fronts to pick green" is popular, the so-called "three fronts" refers to the front of the society, before the fire (before the Ming), before the rain, that is, before the spring society (there is said to be the spring equinox), before the cold food (there is said to be Qingming), before the valley rain before the tea leaves, is the spring tea. Among them, "tea before the rain" is the tea leaves picked before the rain in the valley. Although the tea before the rain is not as tender as the tea before the Ming Dynasty, but because the temperature at this time is higher than that of the Qingming, the buds and leaves grow faster, and the taste is more intense and resistant to bubbles, the Ming Dynasty "Tea Sparse" said: "Qingming is too early, the summer is too late, before and after the valley rain, the time is moderate." ”

During the tea picking season, tea farmers get up early and get dark, which is particularly hard. In the Tang Dynasty Lu Yu's "Tea Classic", it is recorded that "tea is to drink, and it is sent to the Shennong clan", and the Shennong who wants rain and rain and all things are salty and profitable has also become the object of tea farmers' sacrifices, and has been inherited to this day. In 2009, the "Chinese Tea Ancestor Festival and Sacrifice of Yandi Shennong Tea Ancestor Ceremony" was held in Yandi Mausoleum, Yanling County, Hunan Province, during which the "Tea Ancestor Shennong Yanling Consensus" was issued, and the annual Guyu Festival was established as the "Chinese Tea Ancestor Festival".

In the time passage of Gu Yu, the cultivators sow seeds, the silkworm farmers close the door, the fishermen go to the sea, the tea farmers pick, and various agricultural activities are carried out in an orderly manner, indicating that people work hard to produce and live hard under the guidance of natural time sequence, which is the twilight spring time when man and nature coexist in harmony.

(The author is an associate researcher at the Institute of Culture, Shandong Academy of Social Sciences)