The endless code of China, the splendid context｜The "awn seeds" in the national treasure
June 5th is the ninth solar term among the twenty-four solar terms - Ear Grain.
Spring growth, summer growth, autumn harvest, and winter storage. In getting along with nature, the Chinese people extremely wisely connect solar terms with survival and life, and use solar terms to grasp the laws of time and guide farming production.
On June 2, 2023, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out at the symposium on cultural inheritance and development that "Chinese civilization is a civilization that has reformed its past and made new progress, and is shining brightly with each passing day. Still waters and deep currents are intertwined with magnificent waves." As "China's fifth great invention", the solar terms culture vividly demonstrates the spiritual pursuit of the Chinese nation. It is the crystallization of the wisdom of the Chinese people and carries the genetic code of the endless development of Chinese civilization. It truly confirms what the General Secretary said: "China The civilization has taken on a new dimension, achieved a leap from tradition to modernity, and developed the modern form of Chinese civilization."
Among the national treasures and cultural relics in major museums, "Grandgrass" has left an everlasting cultural imprint. These imprints are still flowing in the blood of the Chinese nation, and they are the tender feelings that today's people have for their ancestors who have lived for thousands of years and generations.
The "Cow Plowing Picture" in the Han Dynasty stone statue reminds people to sow seeds quickly
Eawn species, one of the twenty-four solar terms, occurs in early summer, around the Dragon Boat Festival. At this time, it is the time for wheat harvesting in the north and rice planting in the south, so "awnzhong" can also be interpreted as "wheat with awns is harvested quickly, and rice with awns is planted quickly."
Lu You, a poet of the Song Dynasty, wrote: "When the rain comes and the awns grow, rice is planted in all fields." Although harvesting is busy at both ends, the name of the solar term "Mang Zhong" is more focused on forward-looking reminders to people not to miss the right time and to sow seeds as soon as possible to achieve a good harvest.
A good year comes with spring plowing. Not missing the farming season is the traditional wisdom accumulated by Chinese civilization, which embodies the strategic determination and far-reaching considerations of the new era that "Chinese people's jobs must be firmly in their own hands at all times."
Thriving crops, carts filled with fertilizers, old men carrying meals on their shoulders, women swinging hoes vigorously, farmers driving cattle briskly, children sowing seeds... In the Han Dynasty stone reliefs, we can see the busy scenes of farming in the fields during the Han Dynasty.
The Han Dynasty portrait stone "Ox Plowing Picture" unearthed in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province shows a farmer plowing the field, and the plow is pulled by two oxen. One person raised his hand to scatter seeds and followed behind the plow. There was a car parked behind him and a dog lying beside it. There is a cattle driver next to him, and a man behind him is carrying a load, like a food delivery person.
Rubbing of the Han Dynasty stone portrait "Cow Plowing Picture" Collection of Xuzhou Han Dynasty Stone Art Museum
"Pictures of cattle plowing" are a common theme on Han portrait stones, which can be found on Han portrait stones in Tengzhou and Zoucheng, Shandong, Han portrait stones in Xuzhou, Jiangsu, and Guanzhuang portrait stones in Mizhi, northern Shaanxi. As the proverb goes, "The little ones rush to the sky, and the awns rush to the grave." Perhaps this is the ancestor's reminder to future generations that they must seize the time and take advantage of the opportunities whether they are planting in spring or harvesting in autumn. It also reminds people today: Please take advantage of the opportunity and make efforts starting from today.
With Ear Grain and the upcoming college entrance examination, this solar term seems to have another layer of meaning. The philosophy that symbolizes labor and reward is consistent with the essence of dreams and struggles carried by the college entrance examination. This is also the embodiment of the value of excellent traditional culture in the contemporary era.
Mei Ziqing and Boshan Lu hide the life interest of our ancestors
The profound meaning of solar terms also lies in its close and profound connection with the poetic temperament, aesthetic character and value pursuit of the Chinese people. Ear sprouts mean the official start of midsummer, and also bring the first fruits of green plums. Plums and other seasonal fruits are on the table, and green plums are sour and astringent, so there is a saying of cooking plums and eating plums in Mangzhong, such as the allusion of "cooking green plums with wine to discuss heroes" in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms".
"After the rain, the sky is clear and the virginity is broken, and the plums are sour and green." Fresh plums make people salivate, and plum green porcelain makes people soothe their boredom in hot weather. The Longquan kiln plum celadon glaze Ke-type furnace in Wuxi Museum, the Longquan kiln plum green glaze with chrysanthemum petal pattern in Suzhou Museum... The glaze color is bright and green, just like green plums.
Longquan kiln plum green chrysanthemum petal pattern wash collection Suzhou Museum
Meiziqing is a variety created by Longquan kiln in the Southern Song Dynasty. Using multiple glazing methods, the glaze layer is thicker than pink green. After entering the kiln, it is fired with high temperature and strong reducing flame.
Plum green glaze Ke-type furnace from Longquan kiln in the Southern Song Dynasty, collected by Wuxi Museum
Meiziqing was only made in the Southern Song Dynasty, and very few of them survive. Most of them are elegant products imitating ancient bronze and jade shapes, so they are extremely precious.
Along with the ripening of plums comes the plum rainy season, which is the season for growing grapes. The middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River have experienced continuous rainy weather for about a month. The time when the plum rain begins is called "into plum rain", and the time when it ends is called "out of plum rain".
The continuous rain for days makes clothes damp and difficult to dry. "Cloud pillars, water towers. All the clothes are exhausted and the mountain ashes are collected." Xin Qiji, a poet of the Southern Song Dynasty, showed in "Partridge Sky: Praise for the Plum Rain" that the ancients used to treat clothes during the rainy season, which was to use incense to diffuse clothes.
Incense burners were popular in the Song Dynasty, and Boshan burners were particularly famous. The Boshan stove is a style of incense burner that has been around since the Han Dynasty. The Nanjing Museum has a gilt-bronze Boshan stove unearthed from Han Tomb No. 2 in Ganquan, Hanjiang, Yangzhou. Whenever the incense is lit, green smoke floats out and wraps around the furnace body. The mountains are moving and the scene is hazy, making it more like being in the legendary fairy mountain.
The awn seeds are poured with crystal sweat, and are also intertwined with the wisdom and interest of life.
On August 21, 2018, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized at the National Propaganda and Ideological Work Conference that “it is necessary to refine and display the spiritual identity of excellent traditional culture, and to extract the cultural essence of excellent traditional culture that has contemporary value and world significance. , show it”.
The twenty-four solar terms are the knowledge system and practice formed by the Chinese people’s observation of the annual movement of the sun. It embodies the ideological wisdom of following the weather and responding to the times, and is a distinctive symbol of China’s excellent traditional culture.
Today, ancient wisdom still shines brightly and is full of vitality in the new era and in the vast land of China.
