Yang Xiu
In the seasonal transition of spring, summer, autumn and winter, spring and summer and autumn and winter follow in succession, and the nodes of spring and autumn change relatively obviously.
In the spring and summer, the yang qi rises from the beginning to the peak; in the autumn and winter, the yin qi gradually strengthens.
Spring hair and autumn harvest, one rise and one restraint.
Phenological succession, many customs also correspond to each other.
The beginning of autumn is the first solar term in autumn, and the date of the festival falls between August 7-9 in the Gregorian calendar.
"The Seventy-two Hours of the Moon Order" contains: "The beginning of the autumn, the July festival... Autumn is also, and the things are here and they are gathered." The meaning of gathering and convergence.
The three waiting times since the beginning of autumn are: "first waiting for the cool breeze to arrive; second waiting for the white dew to fall; third waiting for the chirping of the cicadas." During the beginning of autumn, there is a cool wind at the beginning, and even the slightest coolness is felt in advance.
There is a proverb in "Qing Jialu": "Autumn is made ten days in advance." Although the cool autumn will arrive early, it will not recede the heat in a short time. The beginning of autumn is still in the "dog days". It is said to be "hot to die", and the "autumn tiger" is used to describe this dry heat.
After three waits, the summer heat gradually subsided, and the coolness became stronger.
It is not until the next solar term that we will basically say goodbye to summer.
welcome autumn
The ancients of our country paid attention to keeping up with the times and inheriting the fate of the heavens.
As early as the Zhou Dynasty, when the seasons changed, the Son of Heaven personally led the three princes, nine ministers, lords and doctors to the four suburbs to welcome the new year.
On the beginning of autumn, the emperor personally led the three princes, nine ministers, and lords and doctors to welcome the autumn in the western suburbs and hold sacrificial ceremonies.
In the Song Dynasty, the imperial court held a ceremony of "reporting the autumn" on the beginning of autumn.
On the day of the beginning of autumn, the potted phoenix trees will be moved into the palace from the outside. When the time of the liuqiu arrives, the Grand Historian will loudly play: "Autumn is here." After the performance, the phoenix tree will drop a leaf or two, and you will know it by one leaf. Autumn, with the meaning of repaying autumn.
To the beginning of autumn, the transition between summer and autumn has been completed, and people's living patterns have also changed significantly.
The article "Give Ice" in Fucha Dunchong's "Yanjing Seasonal Records" in the Qing Dynasty states: "From the beginning of summer to the beginning of autumn, each yamen will give ice. At that time, the Ministry of Industry will issue ice tickets, and they will be self-sufficient. The amount is different, and each has its own difference.” There are also folks who sell ice water.
Drink ice until the beginning of autumn.
Where did ice come from in ancient times when there was no modern ice-making technology?
The "Cellar Ice" record in Pan Rongbi's "Emperor Jing Shi Ji Sheng" in the Qing Dynasty can solve the confusion: "On the Laba day, the ice storage cellar was built on the Royal River, the ice storage cellar was transported through the river, and the ice storage pool ice cellar was built in Taiye Pool. Open the gate to transport it. The moat of each gate is iced, and the earth cellar is built by the river to store it. It is easy to get out in summer." To prepare a refreshing drink for the hot summer, we have to admire the wisdom of the ancients to relieve the heat.
Eating melons in the beginning of autumn is a food custom in many places.
"Dijing Sui Jisheng" contains: "The first day of autumn, old ice melon, steamed eggplants, fried fragrant glutinous rice, a night in the courtyard, and the new autumn day, the family eats and drinks, it is said that there is no residual heat in the autumn after the summer malaria dysentery. "Qing Jialu" records "Watermelon at the beginning of autumn": "One month before the beginning of autumn, the neighbors have already sold watermelons, and on the day of the beginning of autumn, the residents first recommended it to Zu Mi, and gave it to each other, commonly known as 'the beginning of autumn'. Watermelon'. Or eat melon and drink shochu to welcome the new year." Watermelon is the main melon and fruit to relieve the heat in summer. On the beginning of autumn, it is also used as an offering to the ancestors and a gift that flows between relatives and neighbors.
Corresponding to the "biting spring" custom of eating radishes at the beginning of spring, some areas also call eating melons at the beginning of autumn as "biting autumn". Qing "Jinmen Miscellaneous Notes · Seasonal Customs" states: "Eating melons at the beginning of autumn is called biting autumn. Diarrhea-free." In the early years of the Northeast region, "the radish in the spring and the melon in the autumn" was regarded as a period of appreciation, and it was no longer regarded as a delicacy after that.
Calling people and sticking autumn fat is also a widely spread custom of the beginning of autumn.
Corresponding to this is the early Lixia custom.
Beginning of the beginning of the summer solar term and entering the high temperature weather, people are prone to "scorching summer" symptoms such as weight loss and burnout.
Li Qiu was called a person again.
"Qing Jialu" contains: "Family weighs people's weight by a large scale, and weighs them again at the beginning of autumn to test the fatness in summer." In ancient times, the beginning of summer and beginning of autumn were called people. Begging for luck.
The weight is high or low, and the scales can only be hit out.
The shrewd Si said people will say some auspicious words while weighing.
For example, I wish the old man "weigh eighty-seven and live to ninety-one", and wish the children "weigh the flowers to hit twenty-three, and the little officials will grow up to come out of the mountains. Seven-pin county magistrates should not make trouble, and the three princes and nine princes can climb easily", etc. Wait.
Posting autumn fat is similar to what people ask for. It is hoped to use the food of the beginning of autumn to supplement the fat and gain weight and boost the spirit and spirit.
In some areas in the Northeast, in addition to eating nutrient-rich products such as big fish and meat, the selection of people who eat with them is also very important.
They will choose people who are fatter than themselves to eat with, in order to quickly reach their weight.
In the past, the practice of seeking weight and gaining weight corresponds to the long-term living standard of seeking food and clothing; nowadays, with the improvement of living conditions and the popularization of new health concepts, more and more people are trying to lose weight and reshape themselves.
The appeal of Liqiu's calling and sticking to Qiu's fat may be to be light and thin.
In this way, will the choice of the inside and outside of the weighing flower and the dining partner be reversed?
Among the customs of welcoming autumn, there is also the custom of "catching the autumn festival" in the Miao area of western Hunan.
On the beginning of autumn, people put on costumes, gather on the autumn slope, swing on the swings, blow the reeds, and celebrate to the fullest.
Two prestigious people will also be selected to dress up as "Old Men in Autumn" to send blessings of a good harvest to everyone, hoping for a bumper harvest in autumn.
Bu Qiu
Planting in spring and harvesting in autumn, and praying for autumn in spring are long-standing farming rhythms and common beliefs about farming.
The beginning of autumn is the beginning of the season, and the prelude to a large-scale autumn harvest is opened. There are many experience summaries and practices of predicting autumn and seeking a bumper harvest among the people.
"Dijing Sui Jisheng" contains: The five days before autumn is the time of heavy rain. If it rains on the day of the beginning of autumn, the autumn will be smooth and lush, and there will be many books on the year.
A proverb goes: "When riding the autumn rain, gold is everywhere." There are folk sayings like "Three rains in the beginning of autumn, the rice will turn into rice", "When the rain is drenched in the beginning of autumn, the land is full of gold" and so on.
The timely rain in the beginning of autumn provides a key guarantee for the crops to be harvested, and a bumper harvest is expected.
But Li Qiulei is taboo.
"Qing Jialu" contains: The thunder on the autumn day, the main rice show is not true.
A proverb goes: "The autumn is full of lush, and the grains are harvested." Hublu, which describes the sound of thunder.
Dry thunder does not rain, rice grains are not nourished by water, and they are not full.
Autumn harvest is the goal of spring planting and summer cultivation. With harvest, people's livelihood can be basically guaranteed.
Cang Lin knows the etiquette in reality, and knows honor and disgrace when she has enough food and clothing.
The etiquette, honor and disgrace of individuals and groups, and the cultivation of social order and good customs depend on this guarantee.
autumn cool to learn
"Emperor's Years in the Imperial Capital" contains: "Children in the capital are lazy and addicted to learning, winter is a break in severe cold, and summer is a break in high summer, so the school begins the autumn book "Come to learn in autumn".
Corresponding to the start of autumn school is the start of spring school on February 2: children who are lazy to study, start to enter the study from the beginning of the day, and say "take the lead".
The Jingshi children who have the "lazy learning" treatment have finished winter and summer, and started their study career in the pleasant spring and autumn seasons, and they are relaxed and relaxed.
Nature is a portrayal of the harmonious coexistence of man and nature in accordance with the seasons and movements.
(The author is an associate researcher at the Art Research Institute of the China National Academy of Arts and the deputy secretary-general of the China Folklore Society)