How to distinguish weather, climate and poetry

Climatic differences in China's ancient poems

Ancient poetry is a pearl in China's cultural treasure house. Among ancient poems, those related to weather and climate account for a certain proportion. If geography teachers can often quote some old sayings in class to explain the differences and changes of climate, it will certainly arouse students' interest in learning, and at the same time help students to understand what they have learned in depth, thus improving the efficiency of classroom teaching.

I. Climate differences between North and South

The first two sentences in Bai Xuege's Farewell to Tian Shuji Wu's Hometown, a frontier poet in the Tang Dynasty, are: "The north wind rolls white grass, and eight In the snow crosses Tatar. Just like the strong wind in spring, it blows at night and blows away the petals of 10 thousand pear trees. " It can be seen from the first sentence in the poem that "the north wind blows white grass, and eight In the snow crosses the Tatar sky" that the winter wind in the north comes early and quickly, and the winter in the north is long and the summer is short. In August (September in the solar calendar), the north is controlled by the winter wind, and the rainy season ends soon, and the rain belt is pushed to the south by the winter wind. "Like spring breeze, night comes, blowing open the petals of ten thousand pear trees" is obviously a weather feature formed by the rapid moving cold front crossing the border.

Winter in the north is long and cold. What's the situation in the south? Bai Juyi's "Early Winter" said: "It is sunny in October in the south of the Yangtze River, and the cold light is like spring flowers. The frost is light and does not kill the grass, and the desert sand is dry. " It means: The weather is sunny in October in the south of the Yangtze River (Gregorian calendar165438+1October), and the scenery in winter is as lovely as that in spring. Frost didn't freeze the grass to death, but the sun dried the earth. It can be seen that Jiangnan is characterized by long summer, short winter and warm winter.

On the way from Baoji to Sichuan, Su Shi wrote "Stone Nose City", in which there is a sentence "Entering the southwest gradually, the scenery changes, and the sound of bamboo is flowing along the way". Bamboo is a typical vegetation in subtropical area, which is hard to see in the cold north. This also reflects the north-south difference of climate in the same period. This difference is more obvious in the early Tang Dynasty poet Zhang Jingzhong's Distinguishing Words. This difference is even more obvious in the poem Bian Ci written by Zhang Jingzhong, a poet in the early Tang Dynasty, which reads: "Spring scenery in Wuyuan is old and late, and weeping willows are not hung in February." That is, today's riverside ice opens, and it is the time when Chang' an flowers fall. "Wuyuan mentioned here, according to the research of relevant scholars, is Wuyuan County in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region today. Spring comes later in Wuyuan than in Chang 'an, and the weeping willows there have not opened their leaves in February (March in the solar calendar). Wuyuan county, "the riverside ice opens", but the flowers in Chang' an have fallen. From the comparison of phenology between the two places, it can be seen that there are obvious differences in climate between the two places due to different latitude positions. This reflects the law of regional differentiation from equator to poles.

Second, the climate difference between East and West.

The last sentence of Wang Zhihuan's "Liangzhou Ci" is "Why should Qiang complain about Liu? Spring breeze is not about Yumenguan, which is almost known to all women and children. The "spring breeze" mentioned here should be understood as the humid airflow from the ocean. Because Yumenguan is far away from the ocean and lives inland, it is difficult for ocean airflow to reach, precipitation is scarce, and the climate is too dry for willows to grow. This reflects the characteristics of coastal to inland regional differentiation caused by the decrease of precipitation from east to west in China.

Deng Tuo, a famous modern poet, wrote a poem, "When you enter western Sichuan, the plain looks like spring in winter", which reflects the climate difference between Sichuan Basin and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Sichuan Basin is surrounded by mountains, especially the high Qinling Mountains and Daba Mountains in the north. It is difficult for strong winds and cold waves in winter to affect this area. In June+10/October, 5438, the average temperature in this area was 3~4 degrees higher than that in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River at the same latitude, and it was as warm as spring even in winter. Climate affects agricultural production, so there is a scene of "the plain is green like spring in winter".

Third, the vertical difference of climate.

The vertical difference of climate is reflected in many ancient poems. For example, the poem in Song Wenzhi's "Cold food belongs to Lu Hun and other things" in the Tang Dynasty: "Luoyang City is like snow, and Lu Hun Mountain originated today." Bai Juyi's poem "Preface to You Dalin Temple (Lushan Mountain)": "In April, the beauty of the world is exhausted, and the peach blossoms in the mountain temple. I often hate that spring is nowhere to be found, and I don't know if I will come here again. " All show the climate difference between mountains. Li Bai's "Xia Sai Qu": "Five In the snow in Tianshan Mountains are cold without flowers. I smell the flute and willow, but I don't see spring scenery. " The "Tianshan Mountain" here refers to Qilian Mountain. The top of the mountain is covered with snow all year round, and it is winter all year round. However, there are many dense forests on the hillside because the temperature is obviously higher than that on the top of the mountain and there is a certain amount of terrain precipitation. These poems are of great help to explain the vertical regional differentiation of natural geographical phenomena.

Fourth, the difference between sunny slope and back sunny slope

There is a poem in Liu Yuan's "Early Plum" in the Tang Dynasty: "The southern branch is warm and the northern branch is cold, and there are two kinds of spring breeze". The poet expressed the warmth of Shannan and the cold of the north with plum blossoms. This is a universal law in temperate mountainous areas of the northern hemisphere. Because on the one hand, the southern slope of the mountains in the northern hemisphere is sunny, while the northern slope is sunny, which leads to the sunshine on the southern slope is obviously better than that on the northern slope at the same altitude, and the temperature is also higher than that on the northern slope. On the other hand, the eastern part of China belongs to a typical monsoon climate, and most of the eastern part is deeply influenced by the winter wind in winter. Winter monsoon is different from summer monsoon. It is so powerful that a cold wave can often sweep millions of square kilometers or even tens of millions of square kilometers. But the cold air is air-cooled and heavy, so the height it can reach is very limited. In the process of going south, it flows and disperses. The farther south, the thinner it is. Some mountains often become "hurdles" that it can't cross, so it must stay for a period of time, or wait until there is new cold air to supplement, before it can cross or bypass the mountains and continue southward. After crossing the mountain, the cold air force is greatly weakened, and the temperature increases obviously during the sinking of the airflow. Due to the above two reasons, the temperature on the south slope of most mountainous areas in China is obviously higher than that on the north slope at the same altitude.

Five, the difference between ancient and modern climate

According to relevant data, in the past 5000 years, China's climate has experienced four alternating periods of cold and warm, of which the third warm period was in the Sui and Tang Dynasties from the 7th century to the 9th century. In 650, 669 and 678, there was no ice and snow in Chang 'an (Jin 'an), and plums and oranges could live forever. In the 8th century, plum trees grew in the palace. In the early 9th century, plum trees could be planted in Xi 'an. The third cold period is from 10 century to 12 century. In11year, Taihu Lake was completely frozen. At that time, the snowfall in Hangzhou was postponed until early April.

The poem "Chengdu Qu" written by Zhang Ji, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, said: "The smoke in the west of Jinjiang is green, and the litchi in Xinyu Mountain is hot. There are many restaurants near Wan Li Bridge. Who do tourists like to live in? " Jinjiang mentioned in the poem is a river in Chengdu. Litchi is a typical subtropical fruit with poor cold resistance. According to research, litchi can only resist the low temperature of -4℃ at most during wintering. Today, litchi planting areas in Sichuan Basin are mainly located in some counties in southern Sichuan that are connected with the Yangtze River and Jinsha River basins. It can be inferred that the climate in Chengdu at that time was warmer than now, which was suitable for litchi growth.

Su Shi, a poet in the Northern Song Dynasty, wrote a poem, "Litchi in Shu is a gift to history, and I am half-browed." This means that most of the lychees in Sichuan are historical, and only a handful of them go north to Meishan. 60 kilometers north of Meishan, Sichuan. Litchi is hard to see in Meishan, and it is even harder to see litchi in Chengdu further north. It can be seen that the climate in Song Dynasty has changed compared with that in Tang Dynasty. As shown in the above picture, the Song Dynasty happened to be in a relatively cold period, and the temperature was lower than that of the warm Tang Dynasty and now.

Lu You, a poet in the Song Dynasty, didn't know this time change of climate, and thought that Zhang Ji had never been to Chengdu, and the poem "Chengdu Qu" was just invented by him. The reason is Su Shi's poem: "Litchi in Shu gives history, but others are different." He knows that Su Shi is from Sichuan, and it should be true that there are no lychees in Meishan, south of Chengdu. Therefore, Zhang Ji's poems are taken for granted. Zhu Kezhen is knowledgeable and rigorous in his studies. He found that the poet Bai Juyi wrote many poems about litchi in Zhongzhou, Sichuan. Among them, "Planting Litchi" wrote: "The red pearl is sincere and lovely, and the white beard can also be stupid. Ten years later, I know who is there. I grow lychees from the imperial court. " He believes that Zhongzhou and Chengdu are located near 3 1 N, and Bai Juyi was able to "plant litchi in court" at that time, so it is entirely possible for Zhang Ji to see "Xinyu Shantou litchi ripe" in Chengdu.

Six, the four seasons of climate change

Poetry describing spring accounts for the highest proportion in ancient poetry. For example, this poem "I woke up in this beautiful spring morning, and there were Wenti Island everywhere. But now I remember that night, that storm, and I want to know how many flowers were broken. " It accurately reflects the remarkable characteristics of continental monsoon climate in most parts of China, which is hot in Leng Xia in winter and short in spring.

Zhao Shixiu, a poet in the Southern Song Dynasty, wrote in The Guest: "In Huangmei season, it rains at home, and frogs are everywhere in the grass pond. If you don't come at midnight, knock off the chess pieces and die. " The first sentence vividly depicts the natural scene of continuous rain in rainy season, and the frog sound "every household" and the poem "everywhere" reflect the scope of plum rain. The situation of Meiyu is different every year, and the time and length of occurrence sometimes vary greatly. Plum rains can last up to two months, and may not exist in some years, resulting in empty plums. Poets in the Southern Song Dynasty once wrote in Three Roads: "Plum blossoms are fragrant in the yellow sky, and streams are full of mountains. The shade does not reduce the road, but adds four or five orioles. " Tell me about this situation.

Summer in most parts of eastern China is the hottest place in the same latitude except desert. This is reflected in many ancient poems, such as "the bitter night in midsummer is short, and the porch is cool." (Du Fu's Summer Night Sigh) "I don't know the heat, but I regret the long summer." (Bai Juyi's "Looking at Wheat Cutting"). These poems not only describe the heat in summer, but also tell the law that the days are long and the nights are short in summer. "Summer Drought and Bitter Heat" by Wang Ling, a poet in the Song Dynasty: "The breeze can't kill the summer heat, and the sunset flies to the top of the mountain. People are afraid that the rivers and seas will dry up, and the sky will not turn back? " Wang Gu of the Tang Dynasty compared the hot summer to a "Lu Hong" and so on in A Bitter and Hot Journey. The most straightforward is a sentence by Shi Naian in Water Margin: "The sun is like fire, and the wild seedlings are half burnt. The farmer's heart is like soup, and the son Wang Sun shakes it. " From these words, it is not difficult to see how hot it is in summer in eastern China, and we can also see the law of high temperature in the north and south. It can also be seen from some poems that the eastern part of China is prone to drought disasters in summer.

There are also many poems that can reflect the characteristics of autumn weather in China. Liu Yuxi's "Looking at the Dongting" in the Tang Dynasty wrote: "The lake is full of moonlight, and there is no wind mirror on the pool surface. Looking at Dongting Lake, there are green snails in the silver plate. " In addition, he has such a sentence in "Autumn Ci": "The cranes in the clear sky row clouds and lead poems to Bixiao." Wang Bo has a poem: "The sunset is lonely in Qi Fei, and the autumn water is the same as the sky." These poems all describe the weather characteristics of "crisp autumn" in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. After entering the autumn, the rainy season in the vast areas of the north has basically ended. The cold air force in the north has been strengthened, and the dry and cold air currents invading south again and again have forced the warm and humid air currents that have been swirling over China in summer to withdraw south. There are fewer clouds in the sky. At the same time, the ground in China is mainly controlled by cold high pressure, and the ground thermal low pressure gradually disappears. Generally, the southward withdrawal of subtropical high is slower than the southward movement of surface high pressure system, which makes the upper and lower heights controlled by high pressure, and prevailing downward flow, which is not only not conducive to the formation of clouds and rain, but also brings down dust in the atmosphere, making it clear in autumn and clear in Wan Li.

Compared with other areas in the same latitude, most areas in eastern China are not only hot in summer, but also extremely cold in winter. Due to the low temperature, precipitation will appear in the form of snowfall in many cases. For example, "Yanshan snowflakes are as big as seats, and pieces of them blow off the Xuanyuan terrace", "like spring breeze, night comes, blowing open the petals of ten thousand pear trees" and so on. Bai Juyi described it like this in Snow at Night: "I was so shocked that my pillow was cold and I saw the window bright. I know it snows heavily at night, and I hear the sound of bamboo folding. " This poem was written in 8 16, and the poet is Sima of Jiangzhou (now xx City, Jiangxi Province). Xx is a subtropical region. It snows so heavily and the temperature is so low in winter, which is rare in other parts of the world at the same latitude. It shows that our country is cold in winter and has a strong continental climate.

These poems, which contain rich geographical knowledge, can be used properly by teachers in the teaching process, which can strengthen the mutual penetration between disciplines, deepen the understanding of poems from different angles, and make students realize the combination of science and art, thus greatly stimulating students' interest in learning geography, and sometimes even receiving unexpected results.