Cover news reporter Li Yuxin
"Mid-spring thunderstorm vibration, stinging grass and wood shu." When the spring thunder moves, it awakens hibernating animals and dormant insects, so that everything awakens in the warm blossoms of spring in mid-spring, and the heavens and the earth are full of spring scenes. March 21, the spring equinox. As one of the ancient "four times and eight festivals", this is the more important and iconic solar term among the twenty-four solar terms.
Jiayan, image source network
According to Yuan Wucheng's book "The Seventy-two Collections of the Moon Order", he explained: "In the middle of February, the division is half, and this is the half of the ninety days, so it is called the division. According to the "Spring and Autumn Dew", it is recorded: "Those who have spring equinox, yin and yang are half-matched, so day and night are equal and cold and summer are peaceful." It can be seen that the "equinox" of the spring equinox not only refers to "equinox of day and night", but also means "equal division of spring". On this day, day and night are equinox, and cold and heat are balanced.
In ancient times, people divided the spring equinox into three periods: "One waiting for the bird solstice; Erhou Renai spoke; Three waiting for the first call. "This means that after the equinox, swallows fly back from the south, and when it rains, the sky thunders and emits lightning. At this time, the farmers are also busy ploughing the fields, and spring pipe, spring plowing, and spring planting are about to enter a busy stage.
"On the evening of March 16, I saw the first swallow of the year returning to the nest in Chengdu." Zhao Li, director of the Chengdu Huaxi Insect Museum and an internationally renowned entomologist said. In his extremely keen senses, he not only observed the return of the familiar swallow in mid-spring, but also heard the first cicada chirping in the Qingcheng Mountains, and the frogs at low altitudes had also begun to chirp in the pond. In Zhao Li's eyes, the natural world is a thriving scene, and the beautiful spring picture has slowly spread.
The swallows return Nesting in the mud and returning in spring
"Liu Yantu" fan page, Qing, Tang Wei painting, the picture is from the official website of the Palace Museum
"Travel food is shocked and swallows, and the mud enters this hall." In the famous writings of the great poet Du Fu of the Tang Dynasty, people can easily find the figure of the swallow. According to incomplete statistics, Du Fu's poem writes about swallows as many as 53 times. When he lived in Chengdu, the years were quiet, the spring color on the stream was beautiful, and when the Caotang swallows where Du Fu lived came to roost, he was also very happy.
Since ancient times, the swallow has been regarded as the messenger of spring, and it is also a symbol of good luck, and it is said that it only nests under the eaves of harmonious and kind people. In the three seasons of the spring equinox recorded by the ancients, when the weather in the north warms, the swallows wintering in the south fly back to the north, nest in the grass and mud, and start the life of the new year.
"In fact, for climate change, we can feel it in the migration of many birds and animals." Zhao Li explained that the main reason why people regard swallows as messengers of spring is that swallows often make nests under the eaves of human habitation. "Everyone knows 'spring swallow mud', spring swallows are latching mud, and branches and grass, building small nests under the eaves of humans. We can be neighbors with it and it is very easy to observe some changes in their activity. "In addition, when swallows migrate, they also migrate during the day and fly at low altitude." As soon as it migrates, it is easy for us to see, so swallows are the easiest species for us to observe. ”
"Wind and Willow Qunyan Map" axis, ninth year of Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1883), Ren Yi painting, picture from the official website of the Palace Museum
Of course, Zhao Li also said that swallows are actually a collective name for 74 species of birds in the passerine family, and the most commonly seen species is the house swallow. In addition, there are golden-rumped swallows, white-spotted swallows and other varieties. In the Chengdu Plain, house swallows are also the most common.
"At the end of March and the beginning of April, we could see house swallows nesting under the eaves. They glue together the grass stems and dirt they have brought with saliva, and they will also spread some soft weeds, feathers, and some soft things they can pick up, such as rags. Zhao Li said that because the breeding period of swallows is generally from April to July, nesting is for breeding. In the Chengdu area, around the end of April or early May, you can see the young birds coming out of their shells. "After the young break their shells, they can fly out of the nest in about 20 days, which is easy to see."
"In addition to Du Fu, many poets have written about swallows. It shows that in ancient times, swallows have always been observed by us. For example, Du Mu's song "Gui Yan" wrote: "The painting hall sings and dances noisily, and people who go to the club do not watch it." Chang is the companion of the envoy of the river tower, and dusk is still waiting to lean on the trunk. It was the scene of spring jubilation and excitement, and while people were singing and dancing, only the lonely poet observed that the swallows had flown back.
Butterflies flying, a great spring can not be disappointed
The spring equinox is solar term and the weather is warm. Everything in nature awakens in the bright spring light, and when you look closely, you can not only catch a glimpse of the low-flying house swallow when you look up. Looking down, in the soft soil, there are already insects that cannot hold back the spring spirit, awakening from the long dream of hibernation, tearing the silence of the earth.
"At the spring equinox, I can see some wintering butterflies already flying out." For example, Zhao Li said, such as some butterflies in the family Nymphalidae, there are big red butterflies and small red butterflies in the Chengdu area. There are also dead leaf butterflies, which have also appeared at this time. "Some time ago, I saw a dead leaf butterfly flying in the rape flower field. They actually appeared a little earlier than the spring equinox, and they appeared when the sun came out. ”
In addition, Zhao Li also mentioned the butterflies of the Chengdu family of pink butterflies, which are often said to be vegetable powder butterflies, which have also appeared in the past few days. "These butterflies are usually just feathering. They overwinter in the form of pupae, feel the temperature rise, and usually at fifteen or six degrees Celsius, they will feather, at noon and afternoon when the temperature is particularly high. They would also come out at this time to pick flowers, and now we all see these butterflies in the rape flower fields. ”
As the saying goes, "Equinox wheat rises." At this time, it is a busy season for farming, spring ploughing and spring pipes have entered a critical period, and as the temperature rises rapidly, pests on crops such as aphids and red spiders gradually begin to become active. Because aphids also begin to gradually feathering around the spring equinox. At this time, if people carefully look at the green pots at home or the soil in the green belt downstairs, they will see some winged aphid swarms on the young shoots that have just emerged.
"The growth and change of all things is a closely related process." Zhao Li said that when insects dormant in the ground wake up after a spring thunder, they are the first to feel the change in climate and start to move. Of course, with the activity of insects, birds such as swallows also have food. "This is how the ecological chain is interconnected, the germination of plants provides fresh food, insects start to grow and move, and swallows return to find insects to eat. There are also flies, mosquitoes and other creatures that begin to move, and when flying in the sky, swallows can catch them, which is interlocked. ”
"On the fourth day of the first half of spring, the spring color is in the middle." In the city, it seems that urban dwellers who are far from nature can hardly perceive the return of swallows and the awakening of stinging insects in spring. But the warm sunshine of spring can be captured and enjoyed by people. Therefore, in the folklore of the spring equinox, there are customs such as ancestor worship, eating spring vegetables, sticking the sparrow mouth, etc. Of course, taking advantage of the spring is a good time to step on the green and fly kites. Enjoy the warmth and vitality of nature.
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