The solstice of the day is called the summer solstice
On June 21 or 22 of each year, the sun travels to 90 degrees ecliptic longitude. The sun's direct position on the ground reaches the northernmost point of the year, almost directly hitting the Tropic of Cancer, and the daylight hours across the Northern Hemisphere also reach a peak of the year, which is the summer solstice.
On this day, the northernmost Mohe River in China is the place with the longest day length in China, with a day length of 17 hours; the southernmost Zengmu Dark Sand has the shortest day length, which is more than 12 hours, and the difference between north and south is 4 hours and 40 minutes.
At noon on the day of the summer solstice, there will be a "no shadow" scene in the areas of the Tropic of Cancer, and people will see their own shadow and see the shortest shadow of the year. Chinese mainland there are five Tropic of Cancer marker points, distributed in Shantou, Conghua, Fengkai, Guangdong, Guiping in Guangxi and Mojiang in Yunnan, and the Tropic of Cancer marker points are equipped with "peeping holes", people can verify whether the summer solstice noon sunlight is vertically hitting the ground, whether it is "immediate and shadowless".
Three volt days, hot into dogs
Chinese there is a voltmeter. Counting from the third day after the summer solstice, the initial ambush is 10 days, the middle volt is 10 or 20 days, and the final ambush is 10 days. Volt means latent. The "volt" of "three volts" refers to the "volt evil", that is, the summer evil in the so-called "six evils" (wind, cold, summer, wet, dry, and fire). It's the warmest, wet, stuffy day of the year. In terms of how they feel about heat, the East and the West are consistent, and it has been observed that dogs spit out their tongues in the summer heat. The ancient Romans believed that the heat in July and August every year was caused by the heat of the sun plus sirius. Sirius is called "the dog star" in English and "dog days" is derived from this. As the saying goes, "Summer solstice dog, nowhere to go." "Hot dogs" became a quip about bad conditions.
The third marquis of the summer solstice, yin and yang decline
The phenology of the summer solstice is, one waits for the antlers to be solved, the second waits for the cicadas to start singing, and the third waits for the summer to be born. On the summer solstice, yin qi is born and yang begins to decline, so the antlers of the masculine begin to fall off; the male knows that after the summer solstice, he swells his belly because of the sound of yin; and half summer is a yin-loving herb, named after being born in the swamp or paddy field of midsummer.
It can be seen that in the hot midsummer, some yin-loving creatures begin to appear, while positive organisms begin to decline. The ancients said that the antlers of the deer do not fall off, the scourge of war does not stop; the cicadas do not chirp, and the nobles are debauched and lascivious; if they do not grow in the middle of the summer, the common people will get infectious diseases.
These three types of phenology also have a very unusual significance in traditional China. The deer, accompanied by the ancestors, is a symbol of love, virtue and power, and occupies a very important position in people's daily life and even socio-political activities. Cicadas are known in China as Zhizhi, Jiyu, Futian, Autumn Cool, etc., and their unique living habits make it a symbol of resurrection and immortality. Half summer, originally a weed in the dryland, has the function of drying and humidifying phlegm, reducing reverse vomiting, and eliminating the knots, so this herb has also become a part of the Chinese life.
Scorching sun, how to maintain health
For health care, the diet at this time should be aimed at clearing the heat and improving appetite. "Lü's Spring and Autumn Chapters": "Where food has no strong and thick taste, there is no strong taste of heavy wine." Sun Simiao of the Tang Dynasty advocated: "It is always advisable to be light and sweet, large wheat koji, japonica rice is better" "Good health care people often have to eat less meat and eat more rice." Among the many ingredients in summer, ginger is probably the most important. "Rice is not fragrant, eat ginger", "eat radish in winter and eat ginger in summer", "three slices of ginger in the morning, race to drink ginseng soup" "Men can not be 100 days without ginger". Confucius famously said: "Do not withdraw ginger food, do not eat much." ”
Folk also have the saying of "winter solstice dumplings and summer solstice noodles", summer solstice noodles are an important custom in many regions, and the folk have the saying that "after eating summer solstice noodles, a day is short".
In addition to diet, Chinese culture also pays attention to spiritual regulation, summer fire, corresponding to the heart of the five viscera. Summer heat is often upsetting, and annoyance is hotter, which can affect the function and activity of the human body, resulting in many adverse effects on the spirit. "The mind is quiet and naturally cool", so we must be good at regulating, meditate more, and eliminate distractions in the mind.
Gentlemen are self-reliant
The summer solstice is exactly the dry time and space in the large time series. Chinese know more about the meaning of Qiangua, Qiangua words, do not use the submerged, see is in the field, morning and evening, or jump in the abyss, fly in the sky, and so on, is an excellent hint to the state of life, is a methodology or action guide. The philosophers say that gentlemen are self-reliant, that is, life enjoys the abundant energy given by creation, no longer needs to rely on external objects, but must be brave and diligent, showing its own light and heat, and displaying its own talent.
The summer solstice is still poetic, such as Su Shi's words "Partridge Heaven": "Lin Duan Shan Ming bamboo hidden wall, chaotic cicadas decay grass small pond." Turning over blank birds is seen from time to time, illuminating the water red algae fine fragrance. Outside the cottage, next to the ancient city, the cane quinoa slowly turns to the sun. Attentively, last night, three more rains, and Another day of coolness. Fan Chengda's "Summer Pastoral Miscellaneous" said: "When the day comes out of the field and the night is hemp, the sons and daughters of the village are in charge." Tong Sun did not solve the cultivation and weaving, and also learned to plant melons in The Sang Yin. ”
The summer solstice is also philosophical, and there is a mechanism that human nature is not easy to have. Li Qingzhao has a poem "Summer Sentence": "Born as a master, death is also a ghost." Still thinking about Xiang Yu, he refused to cross Jiangdong. This is a decisive explanation of the self-improvement of the gentleman, as Goethe famously said, whoever perseveres in self-improvement can be saved. Zhang Qi's famous poem "Summer Solstice": "The long-term cultivation has been extreme, and the great luck has suddenly moved." The human world is long unknown, and the yin is born in the nine plains. Killing suddenly changes the handle, and the cold and heat will become adults. Cui Wei dried cloud trees, and Andrew Baofang fresh. A few microscopic things are overlooked, and the gradual theory is inevitable. Yun Zhaoguan Huazi, silently paying forgetting words. This is the contemplation of the summer solstice in depth and in detail, so that the self-reliant can "endure all sufferings" in the bitter summer, can "attest to their lives", can "be in harmony with the heavens and the earth, with the sun and the moon, with the order of the four hours, and with the ghosts and gods."