【The charm of China in solar terms】
Author: Fang Quyun
One winter night 1200 years ago, when the wind and snow fell, the poet Bai Juyi lit the stove, brought out new wine, and asked his friend "Can you drink a glass of nothing"... The years change, the time series turns, and at this moment in Beijing, the first snow is still brewing. In anticipation of snow, we ushered in the second solar term of winter: light snow.
Like rain, valley rain, etc., this is a solar term that reflects precipitation. There are clouds in the "Seventy-two Collections of the Moon Order": "In the middle of October, the rain falls and the cold is thin, so the condensation is snow." The small, the unprosperous. "There are three periods of light snow: "one waits for the rainbow to hide, the second time for the weather to rise and the ground to fall, and the third time for the winter to become occluded." "During the light snowfall season, the temperature continues to fall, the rainbow disappears, the yang qi of the sky rises, and the yin qi of the earth falls, so that the heaven and the earth are not connected, the yin and yang are not intertwined, everything is closed, and it turns into a harsh winter.
In Gaoqing County, Zibo City, Shandong Province, falling petals are stained with frost. Xinhua News Agency
Probably because snow is not easy to get, so although the light snow is cold, whether the ancients or today, for this solar term, they still love more and hate less——
It is no accident that the literati liked to chant poetry, visit friends, and drink alcohol on snowy days. Now that most of the crops have been harvested, time has become idle and lonely. Lu You wrote a poem "Early Winter": "Poetry in life leads the light, and I absolutely love the frost of early winter." The maple leaves want to see better, and the plum blossoms are fragrant before they move. It can be seen that the beauty of withering in early winter is exactly the love of the poet.
The arrival of snow adds a touch to the cold winter days. The Song Dynasty poet Shi Shanzhen's poem "Little Snow" said: "The clouds are dark, and the clouds are faint, and the smell of moss is spilled on the window." The most worried about the barking of the north and south dogs, and the fear of the north wind to retreat. "The snowflakes fluttered and fell unhurriedly in front of the window, fearing that the barking of dogs would startle this tranquility, and afraid that the north wind would spoil this elegance, and the poet's love for snow was overflowing. A short story is recorded in "The World Speaks New Words", which has become a poetic footnote on a snowy day: on a snowy night "looking around", the prince of the Eastern Jin Dynasty remembered his friend Dai Kui, and a boat sailed out in the darkness of the night. When he arrived at his friend's door, the prince turned around and turned back, and when someone asked him why, he said, "Why should I see Dai when I am happy?" "Snowy nights are beautiful, and melting snow water is also wonderful. "Dream of Red Mansions" wrote that Xue Baochu's "cold incense pill" needed Xiaoxue's snow twelve dollars on this day; Miaoyu's "body tea" requires a snow urn on the plum blossoms of Panxiang Temple. Cao Gongyi's imagination made Xue a little more vivid.
In the city of Zunhua, Hebei Province, the plants have a layer of frost. Xinhua News Agency
For farmers in ancient times, light snow was a good sign. "If the sky is full of light snow, the next year will be a good year", this is the crystallization of their thousands of years of experience. The value of winter snow is also emphasized in the agricultural monograph "The Book of Victory": "When the winter rain and snow stop, it will end. Cover the snow and don't let the wind fly. After the snow is restored, the spring is preserved, the frostbite dies, and the next year is suitable for crops. "It can be said that seeing the snow gives farmers confidence in the next year's production. In addition, there are many sayings related to farming: "light snow and light snow, pick up firewood", "When it comes to light snow, there is no farm work", "When it comes to the light snow festival, the fruit trees are cut quickly", "When the weather is cold, bask in the sun cat cat winter"... The ancients' philosophy of life and humor are all in it!
For ordinary people who love life, a cold and bleak little snowy day can still live hot. "Snow on cloudy days, drink pickle soup", this is the winter memory of "foodie" Wang Zengqi, and it is also a true portrayal of the mainland folk "pickled in winter and preserved for winter". In the north, people store Chinese cabbage, radish, potatoes, etc. in the cellar, or pickle pickles, or accumulate them as sauerkraut. Some families in the south began to make sausages and bacon, and when the Spring Festival came, the whole family shared the delicacies. People who eat the sea by the sea have to dry the fish, and strings of seafood hang under the sun, and a generous way to bask in a rich year. The taste of winter is passed on between pickling, waxing and drying.
In Wuyishan City, Fujian Province, people make tea around the stove. Xinhua News Agency
"Snow, Suiye, condensed in the cold under the water, Suiye also falls." Liu Xi explained "snow" in "Shi Ming". Sui is tranquility, then light snow is small tranquility. When the light snow fell, the sky and the earth became calm, and time slowed down. After the jubilation and bustle, the most ironing thing in winter is the family sitting idly and the lights are amiable.
Spring is born and summer is long, autumn harvest and winter storage. Solar terms, for Chinese, are the reading and punctuation of life in the old age, which allows us to predict the change of seasons and gain wisdom from these seemingly customary and ritualistic customs. Every time there is a light snowfall, the familiar wind is in front of you, reminding the Chinese of generations: the light snow solstice, all things hide. Winter storage is not to retreat and extinguish, but to accumulate and nurture. Next spring, the sky and the earth will be bright!
Guang Ming Daily(November 22, 2022, Version 09)
Source: Guangming Network - Guangming Daily