The days grow longer after the winter solstice

While winter is not over yet, let’s sort out the winter solar terms in ancient poems. When every solar term comes, you can read one or two of those songs.

Most of these poems are not common. They are a little bit less popular in terms of being easy to understand and widely circulated. However, there are still one or two songs, one or two sentences, that can be read to children.

Every season, I organize a group. In spring, I must do it early.

Okay, come to poetry and feel the flow of time and the changes in phenology.

The ancients divided the Beginning of Winter into three periods: the first period when water begins to freeze; the second period when the ground begins to freeze; and the third period when pheasants and floods turn into mirages. One and two are both easy to understand, but the most interesting thing is three. It is said that after the beginning of winter, large birds such as pheasants submerge themselves into the water and turn into giant clams. Because when the weather is cold, pheasants are rare. At the same time, large clams whose shells have similar lines and colors to those of pheasants can often be seen on the beach. This is really a wonderful idea of ??the ancients. You might as well make up a story about this for the children.

There are not many poems about the beginning of winter. Perhaps it is the first change of phenology that makes people most moved.

"The Beginning of Winter"

(Tang Dynasty) Li Bai

Writing new poems with frozen pen is lazy, while the wine is warm in the cold furnace.

Looking at the ink flowers and the white moon while drunk, I feel like the village is full of snow.

This is probably a poem written by Li Bai after he wandered to the north during the Beginning of Winter. Otherwise, how could the pen be frozen in the weather that had just entered winter. In this poem, Li Bai is still full of poetic thoughts and unrestrained. When he is drunk, he looks at the moonlight all over the ground, as if heavy snow has covered the entire village.

Among the ancient poems about the twenty-four solar terms in winter, this one is probably the simplest and easiest to read, but don’t imitate Li Bai’s lazy look.

"Two Poems on the Beginning of Winter"

(Yuan Dynasty) Qiu Yuan

1

The drizzle makes it cold but there is no frost, the courtyard The front leaves are half green and yellow.

Xiaochun has only been gone for a few days, and the plum blossoms are blooming everywhere.

2

Qifeng is filled with loose tea smoke, and the light rain is slightly wet on the seat felt.

I believe that this year’s cold weather will come early. My cloth is brown and not filled with cotton.

The Beginning of Winter in early November is often still late autumn weather. Especially for southerners, it’s still Indian summer every now and then. Qiu Yuan, a poet at the end of the Song Dynasty and the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, spent most of his life in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. What appears in his poems is the scenery at the beginning of winter there. There is only drizzle but no frost, and there is a slight chill, but it is still tolerable.

The first poem can be recited to some extent; the first two sentences of the second poem describe the drizzle feeling very well.

"Qunfang Pu" says: It snows a little bit when the air is cold, but it is almost snowing, and the ground is not cold enough and the snow is not heavy yet. This is the correct answer for light snow weather.

The poems about light snow are not as majestic or chilling as the falling snow. Except for Lu You, who lamented the poverty of his family and the hardships of life in "in front of the cold light snow" like Lu You, the other poems are more or less about rich people. They are bored, or there is a vague expectation for winter.

Quatrains about a play on a snowy day

Zhang Deng (Tang Dynasty)

On a snowy day, the thorns look like green hibiscus flowers.

The harmonious growth never stops, but the rain and dew in Yanzhou are partial.

This poem is a bit playful: This year's light snow solar term is set in vain, the trees are still green, the flowers are still red, the weather is warm, and the warm rain and dew in the south have fallen. It's come down here. In the cold winter, the author is really satisfied to steal a moment of warmth.

"Working with Mr. Xiao on Xiaoxue's Day"

(Southern Tang Dynasty) Xu Xuan

The sun was setting in Xifu, and he tried a new furnace to make tea by himself.

The chrysanthemums on the fence are all low and cover the water, and the sails fly away to reach the clouds far away.

The lonely light snow passes by leisurely, and the mottled light frost is added to the temples.

Don’t write poems to Canghua when you are in a helpless place.

This is the boredom of the light snow season, and the infinite emotion of the passing years. From the description of the scene to the expression of emotions, the transition is natural. It can be regarded as a standard masterpiece of proposition poetry, so you might as well read it.

"Books After Light Snow"

(Tang Dynasty) Lu Guimeng

There have been light snow days frequently, and the cold weather in the south of the Yangtze River has not changed.

Fengting still remembers seeing others farewell, but Mailong should be in debt to the pheasant for sleep.

More plans are made to get close to the water. Occasionally, I go to the village for medicine.

The neighbor comforted each other, saying that next year will be the year of Ren.

This poem is related to farming. It was still a not-so-cold snowy day in the south of the Yangtze River, with red maple leaves and green wheat seedlings. I walked to the village alone and met the old man next door. He kept saying that even a thin light snow still heralded the coming of next year. A good harvest year. This is really a wonderful expectation.

"Collection of the Seventy-two Hours of the Moon Order": At this point, the snow is in full swing. From now on, the snow will become heavier and heavier, and the area where it will fall will become wider and wider.

There are very few poems about the heavy snow season. There are many poems about heavy snow. So, let’s just choose a poem that writes about snow and cold weather to the extreme, and review it.

"Bai Xuege Sends Magistrate Wu Back to the Capital"

(Tang Dynasty) Cen Shen

The north wind blows and the white grass breaks on the ground, and the sky is full of snow in August.

Suddenly a spring breeze came overnight, and thousands of pear trees bloomed.

The pearl curtains are scattered and wet, and the fox fur is not warm and the brocade quilt is thin.

The general's horns and bows cannot be controlled, and the guards' iron coats are cold and cold.

The vast sea is covered with hundreds of feet of ice, and the gloomy clouds condense thousands of miles away.

The Chinese army prepares wine and drinks for returning guests, playing fiddles, lutes, and flutes.

Snow falls one after another on the camp gate, and the wind blows and the red flag remains frozen.

I saw you off at the east gate of Luntai. When you left, the Tianshan Road was covered with snow.

You can't be seen on the mountain winding road, and there is only a place for horses to walk in the sky above the snow.

It’s a poem that everyone is familiar with, so I won’t say much about it. A three- or four-year-old child may not be able to recite it, but a five- or six-year-old child may not find it particularly difficult to memorize it. From then on, they were able to find the most suitable verses to describe the cold weather, ice and snow.

After the winter solstice, the weather will get colder and colder. "Winter Solstice is as big as the New Year", this is a very important solar term.

There are many poems about the winter solstice. But no matter how hard I look, I can't get around three of Du Fu's poems. So even though I find Du Fu's poems difficult and tiring to read, I still want to give them a look.

"Little Solstice"

(Tang Dynasty) Du Fu

The weather, people, and the sun are urging each other, and the sun brings spring to the winter solstice.

The five lines of embroidery are added with weak threads, and the six pipes are blown to move the fly ash.

The shore is waiting for the willows to bloom, and the mountains are cold and the plum blossoms are blooming.

The clouds and things are not different from each other, and the country is different. I teach my children to hold the cup in their hands.

"Winter Solstice"

(Tang Dynasty) Du Fu

We are a guest every year on the solstice, and sometimes we are poor and worried about killing people.

The river describes me as an old man alone, and the customs of the sky are close to each other.

The sticks and quinoas come to the Dan Valley after the snow, and the jade sounds come to disperse the purple dust.

My heart has lost an inch at this moment. How can I look at the Three Qin Dynasty if I am lost on the road?

"The End"

(Tang Dynasty) Du Fu

The days are getting longer after the winter solstice, far away in Jiannan and thinking of Luoyang.

What does the green robe and white horse mean? The golden valley and bronze camel are not my hometown.

The plum blossoms are about to bloom unconsciously, and the calyx and calyx will never see each other again.

The extreme sorrow is brought about by poetry, but when the poems become chants, they become desolate.

These three poems were written the day before, the day of, and the day after the Winter Solstice respectively; they were not written in the same year and in the same place. The first one was composed in the first year of Dali (AD 766), in Kuizhou; the second one was in the second year of Dali (AD 767), still in Kuizhou; the third one was the earliest, in the second year of Guangde Year (764), in Jiannan.

So, let’s start with “The End”. In this poem, I was in Shu and missed Luoyang. I compared the plum blossoms to each other when they bloomed. I also said that I originally wanted to write poems to express my nostalgia, but I felt more and more desolate.

"Little Zhi", written two years later, is a slightly lighter poem in this group of poems. Perhaps it is because the weather is not that cold, or perhaps it is because life has just settled down, and the author feels a little at ease. He even said that the scenery here and... There is no difference in my hometown.

Unfortunately, the good times did not last long. A year later, during the "Winter Solstice", the mood took a turn for the worse again, and it was so desolate that I couldn't bear to look at it. Three years later, Du Fu died in a boat in Xiangchu. As long as I live, I will never be able to return to Chang'an, which I have always dreamed of.

"Handan Winter Solstice Night"

(Tang Dynasty) Bai Juyi

On the winter solstice in Handan post, the shadows in front of the lanterns hugging the knees accompany me.

If you want to sit at home late at night, you should also talk about people traveling far away.

After reading Lao Du’s poems, I feel much more relaxed when reading this one. In the final analysis, it is just a sigh of “I miss my family even more during the festive season”.

Xiaohan is generally colder than Dahan. This is something that needs to be repeated several times before you can remember it.

Most of the poems about Xiaohan have become poems about Xiaohan food. There aren't many that I can find, so I just picked one, and it's pretty good.

"Zhuyu sent people to look for Chen Defang's family in Houshan"

(Song Dynasty) Huang Tingjian

The rain in the river was slightly cold, and the snow was falling on the five elders' hair spots.

In the city, there are clouds and stacks close to each other, and the mountains in front look out to the mountains behind.

This is what Huang Tingjian did when he was on his way to Mount Lu, he stopped and sent someone to go to the back mountain to find his friend Chen De. After describing the scene here, I mainly talk about the friends: I stood alone on the front mountain and looked at the back mountain, waiting for the servants and friends who were visiting the back mountain to come together. It’s so sincere!

After the Great Cold, it is a new cycle of solar terms.

But before reincarnation, the weather was still cold, and sometimes it was not inferior to Osamu. Anyway, the great cold in poetry is so cold that the sky and the earth are so cold.

"Yin of the Great Cold"

(Song Dynasty) Shao Yong

The old snow has not yet disappeared, and the new snow has attracted households.

There is a bed of frozen silver in front of the steps and stalactites of ice on the eaves.

The clear sun has no brilliance, and the strong wind is howling.

Every person has a tongue, and words cannot be uttered.

What will the Great Cold be like? The snow that fell in the past few days has not had time to dissolve and melt, and the new heavy snow has closed the doors again; the snow on the stone steps is already like an ice bed, and the icicles in front of the eaves are like stalactites hanging upside down; the cold sun All have lost their brilliance, leaving only the howling wind; and, people's mouths and tongues have been frozen, and they are completely speechless.

" The Great Cold Leaves the West Gate of Jiangling"

(Song Dynasty) Lu You

The white horse goes out of the west gate in the bright day, and the clouds are cold for a long time.

It is easy to wake up when you are drunk and face the wind, so you can hide your hands under your heavy fur to take out the lukewarm warmth.

Foxes and rabbits fled into the wilderness one after another, and cattle and sheep scattered far away from the village.

If you don’t sigh for the mountains and rivers, a poor wanderer will lose his soul at this age.

After talking about the cold weather, let’s continue to talk about worrying about the country and the people. This is the consistent style of Lu You’s poetry. However, the description of scenery, feelings, and cows, sheep, foxes and rabbits in the first six sentences are also very good.

The minor cold has just passed and the major cold has not yet arrived, but in less than a month, it will be the beginning of spring.

Ancient poetry series, updated every Tuesday.

Solar terms pictures, from the Internet.