grain full

grain full

Xiaoman, one of the 24 solar terms, is the second solar term in summer. Xiaoman, Doujia, the sun reaches the Yellow longitude of 60 degrees, and the festival is held on May 20-22 of the Gregorian calendar every year. The small full solar term means that the rainy season with heavy rainfall begins to increase, which often leads to continuous large-scale heavy rainfall. Xiaoman, like rain, grain rain, light snow and heavy snow, is a solar term that directly reflects precipitation. Xiaoman reflects the climate characteristics of heavy rainfall: "Xiaoman Xiaoman, rivers gradually full". Another explanation is that the grains of summer crops such as northern wheat begin to fill, but they are not fully filled.

During the period of Xiaoman solar term, it usually rains a lot in southern China. Due to the active warm and humid air flow in the South and the cold air coming down from the north in the South China area at the intersection of the Yellow River and the Red River, there will be a continuous large-scale heavy rainfall in the South China area, resulting in heavy rain or torrential rain, just as the folk saying goes, "small full, rivers gradually full.". If there is less rain at this stage, it may be that the Pacific subtropical high is weaker and its position is southward, which means that it is time for Huangmei. In the north, there is little or no rain during the period of light full solar term, during which the temperature rises rapidly and the temperature difference with the south is further reduced.

Brief introduction of solar terms

Xiaoman, one of the 24 solar terms, reflects the climatic characteristics of heavy rainfall. "Twenty four solar terms" is the product of ancient agricultural civilization. Agricultural production is closely related to the rhythm of nature. It is a knowledge system formed by ancient ancestors conforming to the farming time, observing the movement of celestial bodies, and recognizing the changing rules of seasons, climate, phenology and other aspects in a year. The "24 solar terms" was originally based on the star shift of the Big Dipper, which is closely related to the 24 solar terms. In different seasons and at different times, the Big Dipper pointed to different directions, which became the basis for people to judge the change of solar terms in ancient times. The rotation of the handle of the Big Dipper points to a certain solar term. When the handle points to position a, it is called "Xiaoman". The current "24 solar terms" comes from the method established more than 300 years ago to determine solar terms according to the position of the sun on the returning ecliptic, that is, in a 360 degree circle of the "ecliptic" (the sun's apparent path on the celestial sphere in a year), it is divided into 24 equal parts, every 15 ° is 1 equal part, with the vernal equinox as the starting point of 0 degree (the beginning of spring is still ranked first in the order), according to the degree of the Yellow meridian Arrangement. That is to say, when the sun starts from 0 degrees of the Yellow longitude (at this moment, the sun shines vertically on the equator), every time it advances 15 degrees, it is a solar term, and it runs for one week and returns to the vernal equinox, which is a year of return. The solar term divided according to the degree of solar longitude is "Xiaoman" when the sun reaches 60 degrees of solar longitude.

The natural solar term is closely related to the "ecliptic equatorial angle" in astronomy. The Tropic of cancer is a special latitude line with typical astronomical significance on the earth. It is located at the intersection of the ecliptic and the equator. It is about 23 degrees and 26 minutes north latitude (23.5 degrees can be estimated). It is the northernmost line of sunlight on the earth. China is located in the northern hemisphere, and the Tropic of cancer (the intersection of yellow and red) passes through China from west to East. The latitude value of the Tropic of cancer is the angle of the intersection of the yellow and the red, which determines the range of the regression movement of the direct solar point, that is, the latitude of the Tropic of cancer. It also has a profound impact on other physical and geographical phenomena closely related to it, such as the changes of the four seasons on the earth and the changes of the five belts, the pressure belt, the wind belt, the climate belt, the natural belt and so on. When the seasons change in astronomical sense, the natural rhythm of the Tropic of cancer (the intersection of the yellow and the red) and its adjacent areas is also gradually changing. The arrangement of "24 solar terms" is closely related to this special latitude. During the small full solar term, warm and humid air flow is active, and the rain begins to increase, which often leads to continuous large-scale heavy rainfall, and the river is gradually full.

Meaning of solar terms

south

In the south, Xiaoman means "the rain begins to increase, and the rivers are small enough to fill up", which is called Xiaoman. There is a folk saying that "Xiaoman Xiaoman, Jianghe gradually full", which reflects the climate characteristics of heavy rainfall at this time. Such as "Shuowen Jiezi" said: "full, overflow also.". Little man refers to the surplus and shortage of rain. Generally speaking, during the Xiaoman period, the warm and humid air from the South and the cold air from the North converge in South China, and then there will be a continuous large-scale heavy rainfall in South China. With the Dragon Boat Festival approaching, Guangdong has also entered the annual "dragon boat water" period (the weather refers to the Gregorian calendar May 21 to June 20). When the dragon boat water comes, the river water level rises rapidly, which provides a good site for dragon boat fishing. "Xiaoman" solar term, the weather gradually from warm to hot, and precipitation will gradually increase.

For the Jiangnan area, during the Xiaoman solar term, the Jiangnan area is also full of rivers and lakes. "Full" refers to the surplus of rain, small full season rainfall, rivers so small full. If there is less rainfall at this stage, it may be that the subtropical high over the Pacific is weaker and located to the south, which means that there may be less rainfall in Huangmei season. Therefore, there is a folk saying that "Xiaoman does not come down, Huangmei is less"; "Xiaoman has no rain, mang seed has no water". There is another saying in the south of the Yangtze River: "Xiaoman is too busy to know him when he moves three cars.". The three cars here refer to waterwheel, tanker and silk car. Paddy field is the main farmland in southern China, and rice is the main food crop. The crops in the farmland need plenty of water, and the farmers are busy turning over the water in Xiaoman.

If you are not satisfied, you will have a dry and rainy year. There are many proverbs in this respect, such as Anhui, Jiangxi and Hubei provinces have the saying that "Xiaoman is dissatisfied, and there is no water to wash dishes"; Sichuan, Guizhou, Guangxi and other regions have the saying that "Xiaoman is dissatisfied, and the farmland is broken"; Sichuan Province has the saying that "Xiaoman does not go down, and the plow and harrow are high". The word "man" here does not mean that the crops are full of grains, but that there is more rain.

north

For the northern region, Xiaoman has little or no rainfall, which is not as impressive as the rise of temperature. Xiaoman solar term is usually the longest sunshine period among the 24 solar terms in northern China. Heating the dry air in the north is much easier than heating the wet air in the south. Therefore, when it is full, the temperature in some parts of the north will rise rapidly and the temperature difference with the South will be further reduced.

The northern region is dry land agriculture, and wheat is the main food crop. In the north, it is said that the name of Xiaoman is "Xiaoman" because the grain of summer crops such as wheat has begun to plump, but it has not yet matured, which is about the late milk stage. In the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River and other areas in the north, it is also said that "if Xiaoman is dissatisfied, there is a risk for wheat.". This "one risk" means that wheat is just entering the stage of milk ripening at this time, and it is very vulnerable to the damage of dry hot wind, resulting in insufficient grain filling, withered seeds and reduced yield.

Climatic characteristics

Climate refers to the annual average state of the atmosphere in a region. The main climatic factors include light, temperature and precipitation, among which precipitation is an important factor. Xiaoman, like rain, grain rain, light snow and heavy snow, is a solar term that directly reflects precipitation. "The rain began to increase, and the rivers were small enough to fill up", which is called Xiaoman. Agricultural production is closely related to the rhythm of nature. In ancient China, the water supplement of agricultural crops depended on the precipitation in the sky and the rivers on the ground. The filling of rivers and rivers was the precondition of water conservancy and irrigation. Farming was mainly concentrated in the areas with abundant precipitation and developed river network. The precipitation in China is mainly brought by the southeast monsoon, which brings water vapor to the ocean. The southeast coastal areas of China will get the water vapor first, forming rich precipitation. The southwest monsoon also brings precipitation to China, which can affect South China; when the southwest monsoon develops strongly, it can also go deep into the south of the Yangtze River. In summer, affected by the warm and humid air from the sea, the south of China is generally hot, humid and rainy. Qinling Huaihe River is a transitional area between rainy in the South and less rainy in the north. From Qinling Mountains and Huaihe River to the north, the rainfall decreases sharply. From the seasonal distribution of precipitation, the precipitation in China is mainly concentrated in summer, that is, when the southeast monsoon is prevailing, so the climate characteristics of China is characterized by "the same period of rain and heat". The main weather feature before and after Xiaoman is high temperature, high humidity and rainy.

Solar term custom

Sacrifice to chariot God

At Xiaoman and Xiaoman, the rainfall began to increase and the rivers were full. In ancient times, the main irrigation tools were water carts. The water carts were used for irrigation and drainage, which was an important agricultural event. As the saying goes, "Xiaoman moves three carts", and the water carts started at Xiaoman. Sacrificing chariot God is an ancient custom of Xiaoman in some areas. In related legends, the God of water chariot is a white dragon. In the Xiaoman season, people put praise fish, incense and other items on the water chariot to worship. The most interesting thing is that there will be a glass of white water in the sacrifice. When worshiping, the white water will be poured into the field, which means blessing the water source. In the Xiaoman season, there is a custom among the people, that is, offering sacrifices to three carts, namely water carts, oil carts and silk carts. People's farming and life can not be separated from the three carts, so in order to pray for good weather and a prosperous day, people will sacrifice the three carts on the day of Xiaoman. It is said that the "God of the cart" in charge of the waterwheel is the white dragon. The farmers set fish and incense on the base of the cart in front of the water. The special feature is that there is a cup of white water in the sacrifice, which is poured into the field during the sacrifice, which means to wish the water source prosperous.

Silkworm sacrifice

According to legend, Xiaoman is the birthday of silkworm God, so there is a "silkworm praying Festival" in Jiangsu and Zhejiang during the Xiaoman solar term. China's farming culture is typical of "men farming and women weaving". Sericulture is very popular in rural areas of southern China, especially in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces

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