What is the origin of the twenty-four solar terms? For example, the thunder of the Jingzhe, the rain of the Qingming Festival, Guyu and Cangjie?

The twenty-four solar terms originated from the Yellow River Basin. As far back as the Spring and Autumn Period, four solar terms were determined: mid-spring, mid-summer, mid-autumn and mid-winter. After continuous improvement and perfection, by the Qin and Han Dynasties, the twenty-four solar terms had been fully established. In 104 BC, the "Taichu Calendar" formulated by Deng Pingping officially included the twenty-four solar terms in the calendar and clarified the astronomical position of the twenty-four solar terms.

The time the sun takes every 15 degrees along the ecliptic longitude from zero degrees of the ecliptic longitude is called "a solar term". It runs 360 degrees every year and experiences 24 solar terms, 2 per month. Among them, the first solar term of each month is the "solar term", namely: the 12 solar terms of Beginning of Spring, Jingzhe, Qingming, Beginning of Summer, Mang Zhong, Xiaoshu, Beginning of Autumn, Bailu, Hanlu, Beginning of Winter, Heavy Snow and Xiaohan; the second solar term of each month is It is the "Zhongqi", which is the 12 solar terms: rain, vernal equinox, Grain Rain, Xiaoman, summer solstice, severe heat, extreme heat, autumnal equinox, frost, light snow, winter solstice and severe cold. "solar terms" and "zhong qi" appear alternately, each lasting 15 days. Now people have collectively referred to "solar terms" and "zhong qi" as "solar terms".

The twenty-four solar terms reflect the annual apparent movement of the sun, so the dates of the solar terms in the current Gregorian calendar are basically fixed. They fall on the 6th and 21st in the first half of the year, and on the 8th and 23rd in the second half of the year. 1 to 2 days difference.

In order to make it easier to remember, people made up the song formula of the twenty-four solar terms:

The Song of the Twenty-Four Solar Terms

The spring rain shocks the spring and clears the sky, and the summer is full of awns and the summer heat is connected. ,

Autumn is dew, autumn is cold and frost is falling, winter is snowing and there is little severe cold in winter.

A seven-character poem about the twenty-four solar terms

The earth revolves around the sun, and it takes one year to complete one revolution.

The year is divided into twelve months, and the twenty-four festivals are closely connected.

According to the Gregorian calendar, the two gases do not change every month.

In the first half of the year, it is six and one, and in the second half of the year, it is eight and three.

These are the due dates, the difference is only one or two days.

The twenty-four festivals are in order, so keep the following formula in mind:

January is followed by severe cold, and February is the beginning of spring with continuous rain;

The Spring Equinox is in March. , Qingming and Grain Rain are in April;

May is the beginning of summer and Xiaoman, June is full of mist and the summer solstice is continuous;

July is the period of severe heat and minor heat, and the beginning of autumn is the end of summer in August;

< p> White dew meets the autumnal equinox in September, cold dew and frost fall all over in October;

There is light snow at the beginning of winter in November, and heavy snow welcomes the New Year at the winter solstice.

Seize the season and be busy with production, plant and harvest in time to ensure a good harvest.

With the spread of the Chinese calendar, the twenty-four solar terms have spread to many parts of the world.

The beginning of spring: Li means the beginning, and the beginning of spring is the beginning of spring.

Rain: Rain begins and the amount of rain gradually increases.

Jingzhe: Jingzhe means hiding. Jingzhe refers to the sudden movement of spring thunder that wakes up hibernating animals hibernating in the soil.

Equinox: Equinox means equal division. The vernal equinox represents the equinox of day and night.

Qingming: The weather is sunny and the vegetation is lush.

Guyu: Rain brings about hundreds of grains. With sufficient and timely rainfall, cereal crops can thrive.

Beginning of Summer: The beginning of summer.

Xiaoman: The grains of summer crops such as wheat begin to be full.

Ear seeds: Wheat and other awn crops are mature.

Summer Solstice: The hot summer is coming.

Xiaoshu: Xiaoshu means hot. Slight Heat is when the climate starts to get hot.

Dashu: The hottest time of the year.

Beginning of Autumn: the beginning of autumn.

Chushu: Chu means termination and hiding. Sushu means the end of the hot summer days.

White dew: The weather turns cooler and the dew condenses and turns white.

Autumn Equinox: Day and night equinox.

Cold dew: Dew is cold and will freeze.

Frost: The weather is getting colder and frost begins.

Beginning of Winter: the beginning of winter.

Xiaoxue: It’s starting to snow.

Heavy snow: Increased snowfall, and snow may accumulate on the ground.

Winter Solstice: The cold winter is coming.

Xiaohan: The climate begins to get cold.

Big Cold: The coldest time of the year.

Preface

In the beginning of ancient times, heaven and man were one. There was only spring and autumn, no winter and summer, and the bodies of animals and birds were all human beings. "Shang Shu·Zhou Shu·Lv Xing" records that Chi You caused chaos and spread it to the common people, but he ignored the bandits. God guards the people, and they have no fragrant virtues, but the punishments only smell fishy. Therefore, the heavens are completely connected, and gods and humans are no longer confused.

In ancient times, "Huainanzi Tianwenxun" records that in the past, Gong Gong and Zhuan Xu fought for the throne, and in anger they touched the mountain of Buzhou. The pillars of heaven are broken and the earth is intact. Spring, summer, autumn and winter began. "Huainanzi Shi Ze Xun" says: The system of yin and yang has six degrees. The sky is the rope, the earth is the standard, spring is the rule, summer is the balance, autumn is the moment, and winter is the right. Although heaven and man are different, they are related: the roundness of the head also resembles the sky, and the squareness of the feet also resembles the earth.

Heaven has 4 seasons and humans have 4 bodies. Heaven has 12 months and human limbs have 12 segments. Heaven has 12 months to make 366 days. Humans also have 12 limb segments to make 366 segments. Heaven has five elements and humans have five internal organs. Heaven has Nine levels and people have nine orifices. The bile is like clouds, the lungs are like qi, the liver is like wind, the kidneys are like rain, and the spleen is like thunder. They are related to the heaven and earth, and the heart is the master. Therefore, the ears and eyes are like the sun and the moon; the flesh and blood are like the wind and rain. There are wind, rain, cold and heat in the sky, and people also have their own joys and angers. People with other forms gradually disappeared from the world.

In the past, at the end of ancient times, during the reign of Yao, people began to determine calendar numbers based on the sun, moon, and stars, and followed the current trends to comply with the way of heaven. Therefore, there is a saying in "Yi": "The former kings governed the Ming Dynasty."

According to records, the division of 24 solar terms began to appear in the Han Dynasty. "The Biography" says "heaven, six, earth and five", the sum of five and six and eleven is among heaven and earth. Yang is born in Zi, so the winter solstice falls on November. Yin is born at noon, so the fifth month is a small punishment, and all winter vegetation will die. The winter solstice is Ziwu and the summer solstice is Maoyou. Ziwu, Chouwei, Yinshen, Maoyou, Chenxu and Jihai are the six prefectures. Ziwu and Maoyou are two ropes, Chouyin, Chensi, Weishen and Xuhai are four hooks. When the Tianwei Jianyuan is established, it often starts with Yin, moves to the right at one year old, and reaches the Great Zhoutian at the age of twelve, and finally starts again.

It can be seen that the ancient Chinese calendar is integrated with the ancient Chinese Book of Changes, the theory of yin and yang and the five elements, the unity of nature and man, and even cultivation. Between heaven and earth, there is nothing more precious than human beings. All the holes, orifices, and limbs are connected to the sky. Therefore, if the food, drink and living space are appropriate, then the nine orifices, hundreds of joints and thousands of meridians will be unblocked. The ancients believed that the human body is closely connected with heaven and earth. The ancients saw the good weather and understood that people need to be calm and moderate in everything. And the ancients formulated 24 solar terms according to the way of heaven to follow the changes of heaven and earth and to be in harmony with heaven and earth.

Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches

The Chinese calendar uses the time it takes the moon to orbit the earth (29.5306 days) as one month, and the time it takes the earth to orbit the sun (365.2419 days) as one year. The average number of days in a year matches the number of days in a tropical year, and a leap month is set. According to records, in the sixth century BC, China began to adopt the nineteen-year seven leap month method to coordinate the lunar and solar calendars.

The Chinese calendar uses heavenly stems and earthly branches to organize year numbers and dates. Heavenly stems have ten characters, so they are also called "ten stems". Their arrangement order is: A, B, C, D, and E. , Ji, Geng, Xin, Ren, Gui; the twelve characters of Earthly Branches ***, the order is: Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, Hai. Among them, A, B, E, Geng and Ren are Yang stems, and B, Ding, Ji, Xin and Gui are Yin stems. Zi, Yin, Chen, Wu, Shen, and Xu are Yang branches, and Chou, Mao, Si, Wei, You, and Hai are Yin branches. The yang stems oppose the yang branches, and the yin stems oppose the yin branches, resulting in a cycle of sixty years.

These twenty-two characters are intricate and orderly, full of harmony and regularity. It shows the laws of nature's operation, the interaction of real-time (time) and space (direction), and the results of the effects of "Yin" and "Yang". The Chinese calendar fully embodies the idea of ????yin and yang and the five elements, and contains the laws of natural circulation.

Introduction to the twenty-four solar terms

The twenty-four solar terms are based on the solar calendar. According to the position of the sun on the ecliptic, starting from ecliptic longitude 0, every 15th is a section. There is one "middle energy" and one "solar term" every month, and the whole year is divided into twelve "middle energy" and twelve "solar terms", which will be collectively referred to as solar terms from now on.

The twenty-four solar terms are given names with distinctive meanings based on the seasonality of astronomy, climate and agricultural production. That is, Beginning of Spring, Rain, Jingzhe, Vernal Equinox, Qingming, Grain Rain, Beginning of Summer, Xiaoman, Ear Grain, Summer Solstice, Minor Heat, Major Heat, Beginning of Autumn, End of Summer, White Dew, Autumnal Equinox, Cold Dew, Frost Descent, Beginning of Winter, Light Snow, Heavy Snow, Winter Solstice, Minor Cold, and Major Cold. Among them, those that reflect the change of the four seasons are Erfen, Ersolstice and Sili; those that directly or indirectly reflect temperature changes are Minor Heat, Great Heat, Minor Cold, Dahan, White Dew, Cold Dew, and Frost; those that reflect precipitation include rain, Grain Rain, light snow, and heavy snow. Jingzhe, Qingming, Xiaoman, Mangzhong and Chushu are the solar terms that reflect the phenology.

The Twenty-Four Solar Terms combine natural seasonal phenomena with agricultural activities. The spring and autumnal equinoxes represent the equinox of day and night, and the climate is moderate; the summer solstice and winter solstice represent the arrival of summer, summer, and cold winter; the beginning of spring, the beginning of summer, the beginning of autumn, and the beginning of winter represent the beginning of the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter; rain represents the beginning of the rainfall season; the awakening of hibernation is when hibernating insects begin to revive. Unearthing activities; Qingming means that the weather begins to turn warm and the grass and trees are green, and the scene is fresh; Grain Rain means that rainfall begins to increase, which is conducive to the growth of grains; Xiaoman means that the grass and trees begin to flourish, and the grains of summer-ripened grains begin to be full; Egzhong means that farming is busy in the year. Summer harvest, summer management, and summer planting need to be carried out in time; minor heat and severe heat are the hottest seasons of the year; extreme heat indicates the end of the hot season; white dew indicates a rapid drop in temperature, high humidity, and lots of dew; cold dew indicates rapid cooling of the ground by radiation, The temperature of condensed dew is low; frost indicates the beginning of the precipitation season; Minor Cold and Major Cold are the coldest seasons of the year.

The twenty-four solar terms reflect the climate characteristics of the Yellow River Basin in China. There are five solar terms indicating temperature: minor heat, major heat, extreme heat, minor cold, and major cold. There are seven solar terms representing precipitation: rain, grain rain, white dew, cold dew, frost, light snow, and heavy snow. Most of them occur in the spring and autumn sowing seasons, emphasizing the important role of water in agriculture.

Rain solar terms have two meanings: the beginning of rainfall and the beginning of increasing rainfall. Among these solar terms, white dew, cold dew and frost are precipitation phenomena, but the meaning of temperature is more important. They can also be used as temperature solar terms to express the degree of cooling. There are two solar terms that represent the length of sunshine. , two solstices, reflecting the seasonal changes in sunshine hours. These solar terms among the twenty-four solar terms clearly represent the seasonal changes and transitions of the climate. Among other solar terms, Jingzhe indirectly represents the rise in ground temperature, Qingming and Xiaoman represent the rise in temperature through physical phenomena, and Earrings represents the arrival of midsummer through agricultural activities. Solar terms all represent climate characteristics.

According to records, the Han Dynasty of China in the second century BC adopted the twenty-four solar terms for farming.

The Beginning of Spring

The Beginning of Spring is the first of the twenty-four solar terms and is the beginning of spring. The beginning of spring is when the sun reaches 315 degrees longitude on February 4 or 5 every year. "Collection of the Seventy-Two Hours of the Moon Order": "The first month festival, Li, is also the beginning...the beginning of summer, autumn and winter are the same." The beginning of spring is the beginning of the four seasons of the year among the "four establishments" (beginning of spring, beginning of summer, beginning of autumn, beginning of winter) The first solar term.

"Li" means the beginning. The beginning of spring kicks off the prelude to spring. "When the sun rises and hibernates, everything is spring", which means the beginning of spring when all things revive. At this time, the tender green and soft weeping willow buds that have just poked their heads out, and the grass that is about to emerge from the soil, bring a scene of "spring comes to the world to know the vegetation". At this time, people also go out for an outing to find spring and experience the subtle and wonderful spirit of spring.

Rain

Rain is the second solar term among the twenty-four solar terms. It rains when the sun reaches 330 degrees longitude on February 19 or 20 every year. "Collection of the Seventy-Two Hours of the Moon Order" says: "In the middle of the first month, the sky generates water. The beginning of spring belongs to wood, but what grows wood must be water, so the beginning of spring is followed by rain. And when the east wind thaws, it disperses and turns into rain. ”

In the rainy season, the ice and snow melt, the air is moist, the temperature begins to rise, the weather becomes warmer, the rainfall gradually increases, and the plants generally turn green and grow. "Spring rain is as precious as oil." Suitable precipitation at this time is particularly important for the growth of plants. During the rainy season, the weather changes erratically, and it is one of the seasons with the most cold waves throughout the year. The weather changes from hot to cold, and from warm to cold, which has a great impact on the plants that have sprouted and turned green and the health of people.

There are weather proverbs that predict the weather based on rain, such as "When the rain falls, it becomes gloomy and gloomy until Grain Rain", "Cold rain brings warm rain and stings", "Warm rain brings cold stings".

Jingzhe

On March 5 or 6 every year, when the sun reaches 345 degrees longitude, it is called "Jingzhe".

"Shocking sting" refers to stinging someone lying in the soil?%