Why is "Mangzhong" the busiest among the 24 solar terms? Record | Zhou Rites | Mangzhong
June 6th is the Mangzhong solar term, which is the third solar term of summer and also known as "busy planting". Why is Mangzhong the busiest solar term among the 24 solar terms? Experts say this is because the season of awn planting is the busiest time for agricultural activities.
Tang Zhiqiang, Secretary General of the 24 Solar Terms Protection and Inheritance Alliance
The word "awn seed" actually originated from the Book of Rites of Zhou. There is a record in the Book of Rites that says, "When grass grows, it grows into awn seeds." "Mang" actually means that there is a needle like substance at the top of the grass, and "seed" actually means sowing. At this time, rice is planted in the south and wheat is harvested in the north, so the explanation for awn seeds can be that wheat with awns harvests quickly, while rice with awns can be planted. Because at this time, there is both harvest and planting, and cultivation is also required in the middle, so there are so many agricultural activities arranged in this solar term. Among the 24 solar terms, Mangzhong is the busiest one.
It is precisely because of the busy farming activities during the Mangzhong season that many special customs related to cultivation have emerged.
Tang Zhiqiang, Secretary General of the 24 Solar Terms Protection and Inheritance Alliance
For example, the custom of marrying a tree is that when the fruit tree blooms and bears fruit at this time, people will knock on the phloem of the tree, causing it to break. This way, more nutrients produced by photosynthesis in the leaves will remain on the tree. The second is the custom of setting up seedlings, especially in rice growing areas in the south. After the middle rice has been planted, they will perform a ceremony, and then sacrifice. Every family will cook with fresh wheat flour to make various steamed buns or various Mantou, shape them into various vegetables and fruits, and sacrifice at the edge of the field. Then they will hope for a bumper harvest, peace and happiness. Mangzhong also has a custom of sending flower gods. By the time Mangzhong arrives, the flowers have already withered and scattered. During this period, people often hold ceremonies to offer sacrifices to the flower gods, expressing gratitude to them.
During the Mangzhong season, the temperature continues to rise and rainfall increases. Just as the green plums in the Jiangnan region are maturing. Therefore, there is also a folk custom of "boiling plums with mango seeds".
Tang Zhiqiang, Secretary General of the 24 Solar Terms Protection and Inheritance Alliance
There is also a custom of boiling plums in the Jiangnan region, because it happens to be the time when the green plums are ripe and ready to go on the market. You can boil the green plums together with rock sugar, hawthorn, and licorice, and then cook them into sour plum soup. In terms of diet, it is because the weather is getting hotter, and the summer heat needs to be mild. The diet needs to be light, and at the same time, it is necessary to reduce acidity and increase bitterness, increase the consumption of bitter foods, and eat more foods that can invigorate the spleen and dispel dampness, relieve heat, nourish qi, produce fluids and quench thirst. At the same time, when planting mangoes, it is necessary to supplement potassium appropriately because people sweat a lot.
Reporter Wang Expo Beijing Report
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