[The charm of China in the solar terms]
The drizzle continues in the late spring, and the rain is born and the summer is approaching. In the verdant, colorful, spring has unknowingly come to an end.
“Qingming breaks snow, Grain rain breaks frost”, the arrival of Grain Rain means that the cold wave weather is basically over, and the growth of all things ushered in the best season. After the Grain Rain solar term, the temperature gradually rises and the precipitation gradually increases, which is suitable for the growth of cereal crops.
As the so-called “spring rain is as expensive as oil”, the precipitation in the Grain Rain season is extremely important to the growth of crops. At this time, the seedlings in the fields are first planted and the crops are newly planted, and the moisture of the rain is most needed. The spring rain before Grain Rain, like a girl in first love, carried a somewhat shy temptation, delicate and soft. As soon as Grain Rain arrived, Spring Rain seemed to have received some kind of signal, and no longer hesitated, it descended from the sky in a smooth and clean manner, and landed on the grains, beginning to brew a bumper harvest in autumn. “Valley” and “Rain” meet, and all good things come.
The rise and fall of vegetation, the coming and going of migratory birds, and the changing situation are all languages of nature. The ancient Chinese working people called these natural phenomena related to the seasons as phenology. Grain Rain has three stages: the first stage when Ping is born; the second stage when the dove is singed and its feathers fluttered; the third stage when Dai Sheng descends on the mulberry. After the Grain Rain, the rainfall increased, the duckweeds in the rivers and lakes began to grow, the cuckoos chirped to remind people to sow seeds, and the hoopoe descended on the mulberry trees for food frequently appeared, which was a good spring.
“The Grain Rain is cold, the tea smoke is dawning, and it is the peony time again.” Viewing the peony and tasting tea are important folk activities during the Grain Rain season. Before and after the Grain Rain is an important time for the peony to bloom, so the peony is also called “Guyu Flower”. The tradition of appreciating peonies in the Grain Rain season has been going on for thousands of years. Tang Bohu, a calligrapher and painter in the Ming Dynasty, wrote in an inscribed poem: “The Gu Yu Huazhi is called Mouse Girl, and it is drawn in a playful manner. You know how much Pingkang powder is, but there are different colors of the same color. .” The “mouse girl” in the poem is the peony flower. Today, Heze in Shandong, Luoyang in Henan, Pengzhou in Sichuan and many other places still hold peony festivals during the Grain Rain season to attract tourists.
Make a cup of Guyu tea and taste the fragrance of the whole spring. The Yuqian tea harvested during the Grain Rain season is the finest tea of the year. After the rest in winter and nourishment in spring, the tea leaves at this time are thick, soft in texture, green in color, and lively and delicious in taste. Compared with the nobleness of Mingqian tea, Gu Yu tea is more approachable. “You can see buds during the Qingming Festival, and tea can be seen in the Grain Rain”. During the Qingming Festival, tea trees can only grow young and tender buds. Although the tea leaves picked at this time are fresh and tender, the small yield of buds is low. In the Grain Rain season, the climate is warm and humid, and the small buds can quickly grow into fresh leaves, which is a good time to pick tea and make tea. Xu Cishu of the Ming Dynasty mentioned the importance of tea picking season in “Tea Shu”: “Qingming is too early, summer is too late, before and after Grain Rain, the time is right.” On Grain Rain, no matter what the weather, tea farmers will go there Tea Mountain picks up some new tea to entertain visiting guests.
Of course, the beauty of Guyu is much more than that. In the north, there is the custom of eating toona sinensis in the rain, “before the rain, the toona sinensis is as tender as silk”. At this time, the toona sinensis is mellow and refreshing and has high nutritional value. It is popular among the people to ban the killing of the five poisons. In order to reduce insect pests and eliminate insects in the fields, farmers put up Grain Rain posts, such as the “Forbidden Scorpion” talisman in Linfen, Shanxi and Fengxiang, Shaanxi, etc., all of which express the hope of exorcism, good luck and a safe harvest. A temple fair is held every year in Baishui, Shaanxi Province to commemorate the merits of Cangjie. It is said that Cangjie’s creation of Chinese characters is very moving, and the Jade Emperor gave the world a rain of millet. The coastal fishing village of Rongcheng in Shandong is still popular today to hold devout sea sacrifice ceremonies before and after the Grain Rain, “riding the Grain Rain to go to the field”, taking advantage of the spring floods, and hundreds of fish come ashore, praying for good weather, safe sea, and full of fish and shrimp.
“The valley rains in the spring, and the mountains and rivers are dark and green”. On the day of Grain Rain, the ancients wanted to “walk the Grain Rain”, integrate into the nature with relatives and friends, and feel the amazing glimpses left by spring. “There is no better time in a year than this time. Nature’s favor for people is also the most profound at this time.” Feng Zikai’s preference for the late spring season is clearly on the paper. Withered grass gone, green hills and green fields, the world has become a new one. All the good things are reminding us, don’t miss this last spring!
(Author: Zhao Binyi)