Xiaoman Grass Worm/Painted Image courtesy of the author
Between May 20 and 22 of the Gregorian calendar, the second solar term of summer is ushered in: Xiaoman. The ancients believed that "the nails of the bucket are small full, and all things are long and full of this, and the wheat is so small and full that it is not fully ripe, hence the name." At this time, the yang energy grows, the sun is raining, and the grains such as wheat and rice on the field begin to fill and gradually plump, hence the name of Xiaoman.
In the 24 solar terms, "small" and "big" often appear in pairs. For example, the small heat and the big heat are opposite, constituting the last two solar terms of the season and summer; Light snow and heavy snow, light cold and big cold are paired respectively, constituting the other four solar terms in winter in addition to the beginning of winter and the winter solstice. Only the "Xiaoman" in early summer is alone, and in this special solar term naming, what kind of phenological observation and philosophical thinking of the ancients contains?
Full small seal image courtesy of the author
Full Lishu Image courtesy of the author
Full regular script image courtesy of the author
"Saying": "Full, overflowing." In Chinese characters, "full" is a phonetic character. On the one hand, from the point of view of the meaning symbol, the word "full" is derived from "water". In the early texts, there are many characters with "water" as the meaning symbol, some describe the fullness of water, such as the surging river and the ocean, and some describe the subtlety of water, such as a trickle of gurgling stream. Similarly, the word "water" can also indicate the quantity of nourishment, such as "full, overflowing, moisturizing, moisturizing" and so on; Some indicate that the quantitative impairment has dried up, such as the words "reduce (minus), 渻 (province), elimination, dried", etc., forming a sharp and interesting contrast. The word "full" from water reflects the careful observation of the ancients on the changes in the amount of water.
On the other hand, from the phonetic point of view, the words "vine", "懑" and "man" have the same origin as "full", and the meaning of the word is characterized by covering and diffuse, thus filling in space, time and even emotions: vine is an extended vine, which grows wantonly all over the mountains; Regret is a filled mind, which is full of depression but cannot be discharged; Manga is the vastness of heaven and earth, and it is also the longevity of time; As for the word man, the original meaning means full and full, so it can be used to describe the abundance of rain with "full", such as "the movement of thunderstorm is full" in "Tun Hexagram Biography"; It can also be used to describe the fullness of the granary, such as "the capital is full" in "Hanshu Food and Goods Chronicle"; It can also be used to describe inner satisfaction with "full", such as "love is not extreme, desire is not full" in "Hug Puzi Zhizhi". Further extension, too full has a derogatory meaning, such as "Shangshu Da Yu Mo" "full of losses, humble benefits, when is the way of heaven", "full" and "humble" opposite, constitute a group of antonyms, referring to the arrogance of the heart.
The "fullness" of "Xiaoman" is full of vitality in early summer, and takes the double meaning of full grain and abundant rain. Ancient poems also depict Xiaoman's seasonal phenology from different angles. For example, the Tang Dynasty's "Song of the Twenty-Four Qi Poems" in "Little Full April": "When the little full gas is full, how to decline the grass." The Tian family was private, and Uncle Fang asked silk. Apricot wheat repairs samarium, and erects thorn hedges. I have always looked at bitter vegetables, what is Duxiu? The poem closely follows Xiaoman's "bitter vegetable show, grass death, wheat autumn solstice", saying that the grain is gradually ripe, and the silkworm is busy. Fan Chengda of the Song Dynasty "Twelve Uniques of Summer Pastoral Miscellaneous": "The plums are golden and the apricots are fat, and the wheat flowers are snow and the cauliflower is thin. No one has ever fallen on the fence, only dragonflies and butterflies fly. "The fields are full of white flowers, the golden cauliflower is thinning, and the treetops are yellow with plums and apricots, and the days are getting longer day by day, because the peasants are busy plowing the fields, and the hedges are sparsely populated. The poet uses white strokes to depict an interesting early summer pastoral scene.
The "small" of "Xiaoman" is the opposite of "big", taking the meaning of being cautious and too full, reflecting the simple philosophical thinking of the ancestors who were always humble and did not seek to be full. In many texts, the ancients' warnings to fullness and their praise of humility are also recorded. For example, the cloud of "The Book of Rites: Qu Li": "Ao can't grow, you can't follow your desires, you can't be satisfied, and you can't be happy." "Fullness is OK, but excessive fullness is not. "Zhou Yi, Qian Hexagram, Yi Biography" Yiyun: "Humility, Heng, the way of heaven is benevolent and bright, and the way of heaven is humble and upward." The way of heaven is profitable and humble, the way of the earth is profitable and humble, the ghosts and gods are harmful and blessed, and the humanity is evil and humble. Humble and light, humble and insurmountable, the end of a gentleman. "In contrast to arrogance, humility is the way of a gentleman.
The solar terms are not only the division of the natural rhythm, but also the precipitation of the philosophy of the ancestors. In the season of "small and small, the wheat grains are gradually full", the harvest season of hard work, and often humility, heavy and golden is getting closer and closer.
(Source: Guangming Daily, May 17, 2024, page 16; Author: Dong Jingchen, Associate Professor, Research Center for Folk Classics and Writing, and Research Center for Chinese Character Collation and Standardization, Beijing Normal University; Image source: Original article with pictures. ）