Presented for www.readchina8.com

1
24 Weather Markers

• Presented for www.readchina8.com
• Beijing Budding Flower International Cultural
  Promotions Co., Ltd.

2
24 Weather Markers

• They are as important as the Four Great
  Inventions in China. They are an intangible
  asset. More attention should be paid to them.
  They provide weather patterns in China and how
  man should react to them.

3
The Origin

• The 24 weather markers were originated in the
  Yellow River ranges as far back as the Spring and
  Autumn period, when the second spring month, the
  second summer month, the second autumn month and
  the second winter month were named. The 24
  weather markers were formally established during
  the Qin and Han periods. In 104 BCE, the Grand
  Inception Calendar (Tàichu--??) compiled by Deng
  Ping and others included the 24 markers into the
  calendar and their astronomical positions were
  clearly determined.

4
Solar Terms

• It was so determined that each fifteen degree the
  sun moves along the celestial longitude is a
  solar term that constitutes a weather marker. The
  sun goes 360 degrees each year and goes through
  24 markers, and in each month there are two
  markers.

5
The Days They Fall On

• The 24 weather markers reflect the movement of
  the sun, their dates are more or less fixed in
  the calendar generally speaking they are on the
  6th or the 21st dates in the first half of the
  year, and the 8th and 23rd dates in the second
  half of the year. The discrepancy is one or two
  days, either earlier or later

6
The Start of Spring

• The Start of Spring, or?? lìchun, would normally
  be on February 4 or 5 when the ecliptic longitude
  is at 315 degrees.

7
The Start of Spring

• In ancient agriculture, the start of spring was
  an important date, from which snow began to thaw,
  the direction of the wind would change from the
  north to the east. Grass, trees, insects and the
  whole of the earth is coming back to life
  gradually.

8
The Start of Spring

• The emperors in the old times, on this day, would
  refrain from eating meat and take a shower, and
  then hold a sacrifice ceremony, accompanied by
  civil and military officers, for purpose of
  welcoming the spring and encourage farmers to do
  a good job in the fields. They would pray for a
  nice day, which, they believed, would herald a
  normal year with a bumper harvest.

9
The Start of Spring

• Spring Pancake, to bite spring

• Spring Rolls

10
The Start of Spring

• In this year of the Tiger, there is no the Start
  of Spring. The last one was on Feb. 4, 2010,
  which was still the year of the Ox, and the next
  one will be on Feb. 4, 2011, which will be the
  year of Rabbit. As the revolving of terms are
  not changed, so it would have an effect on the
  fate of people.

11
Rain Water

• Rain Water--??yushui
• This solar term is normally on February 19 when
  the ecliptic longitude is at 330 degrees.

12
Rain Water

• During this term, the weather becomes warmer,
  precipitation increases in the form of rain, much
  less of snow.

13
Rain Water

• The temperature comes back to 0? and above in
  most regions of China after Rain Water. It
  would be around 3? in the Yellow River and Huaihe
  River plains, it would be around 5? south of the
  Yangtse River and in southern China it would be
  10? and above. Before or immediately after Rain
  Water, rapeseeds and winter wheat would become
  green. As an old saying goes, spring rain is
  more precious than oil, appropriate
  precipitation is important to the crops.

14
Rain Water

• Attentions
• Not to remove too much clothing
• Not to use too much cold water
• Dry up your hair right away
• Not to have too much lamb, pepper and alcohol.

15
Rain Water

• Recommended Recipe
• White fungus porridge
• Immortals porridge tuber fleece flower root
  with rice and dates
• Green tea with chrysanthemum and pagoda tree
  flower.

16
Rain Water

• Local customs
• In Sichuan, on this day, the married daughter
  would return to her parents with gifts if a
  child does not have one of the Five Elements in
  his/her life, the parents would ask the child to
  recognize a step parent who has that element.

17
Awakening of Insects

• Awakening of Insects-- jingzhé??
• This term is on March 5 or 6 when the ecliptic
  longitude is 345 degrees and the spring thunder
  sounds to wake up insects from hibernate.

18
Awakening of Insects

• It should be noted that the time of the first
  spring thunder is different from south to the
  north. It is the end of January in the southern
  part of Yunnan, and it is the end of April in
  Beijing. The term conforms to the time of the
  first spring thunder in the southern part of the
  Yangtze River region.

19
Awakening of Insects

• Every thing would grow with the sounding of the
  spring thunder. This term happens to be the
  period of the ninth nine days of winter when the
  sun is bright, the temperature is warmer and
  precipitation increases. Aside from the
  northeast, northwest where there are still snow,
  the average temperature in most parts of China is
  over 0?, it is 36? in north China, over 8? along
  the Yangtze River and 1015? in southwest and
  southern China. Chinese people attaches
  importance to this term, because this is when
  spring ploughing begins.

20
Awakening of Insects

• Awakening of Insects
• Recommended recipe
• Pear It is easy to get thirsty at this time,
  pear is good for the lung and throat
• In Shaanxi, people used to eat fried beans at
  this time of the year.

21
Awakening of Insects

• Local Customs In Guangdong and Hong Kong region,
  people would offer sacrifice to white tiger,
  which is believed to be good at instigating
  disputes on this day, so people would make a fake
  tiger, applying pig blood and raw fat on it,
  hoping to stop its instigation people were also
  used to beat a paper-cut person, who is a vile
  character, a token to drive away bad luck.

22
Vernal Equinox

• Vernal Equinox-?? chunfen is on March 20 or 21st
  when the ecliptic longitude is 0.

23
Vernal Equinox

• Vernal Equinox means the day and night are of the
  same length, each is 12 hours it also means that
  it is in the middle month of the three spring
  months, that is to say it equally divided the
  spring season.

24
Vernal Equinox

• Vernal Equinox
• At this period, aside from the extremely cold
  mountainous areas and the areas to the north of
  45 northern latitude, the average temperature
  across the whole country is above 0?.

25
Vernal Equinox

• This is the period of the flood at the Peach
  Blossom season in the south of the Yangtze
  River, yet, at the same time, in the Northeast,
  Northern China and Northwest, anti-drought is a
  major issue.

26
Vernal Equinox

• Local customs
• 1, to make eggs stand
• 2. Sending drawings of spring cow to households
• 3. Flying kites
• 4. Spring sacrifice to ancestors In Beijing,
  emperors offered sacrifices to the sun at Ritan,
  which was built in 1530 the offering had 9
  procedures.

27
Clear and Bright

• Clear and Bright-?? qingmíng is on April 5 or 6,
  when the ecliptic longitude is at 15 degrees.

28
Clear and Bright

• Before and after the Clear and Bright term,
  melon and bean have to be sowed. Aside from the
  Northeast and Northwest, the average temperature
  in most parts of China is over 12?, people in
  these places would be busy with spring ploughing.

29
Clear and Bright

• During this term, there are two things to be
  done one is to go outing the other is to sweep
  the tombs of your ancestors.
• By sweeping tombs, you would remember your
  ancestors and building close relationship with
  people in your clan. Such a filial activity
  started in the Spring and Autumn period when it
  was entirely a practice of the imperial court
  common folks began to do the same since the Qin
  and Han periods.

• Showing respect to the deceased on the Clear and
  Bright day

30
Clear and Bright

• Aside from sweeping tombs, people in Beijing used
  to go outing, plant willow trees, look at orchid,
  fly kites, go swinging or go to the town god
  temple to express a wish. Ordinary people would
  go out of the Xizhimen for these purposes, rich
  families would go to Tanzhe Temple instead.

31
Clear and Bright

• The customs of willow tree planting comes from
  the legend of Jie Zitui who helped Chonger
  running away from the State of Jin to avoid from
  being killed by Duke Xian. 19 years later,
  Chonger came back to the state and became Duke
  Wen of Jin and conferred titles to all
  meritorious officials, but Jie Zitui, who cut
  flesh from his own leg to feed Chonger deep in
  the mountains during their exile.

32
Clear and Bright

• Jie was hiding in Mianshan Mountains with his
  mother, he refused to come down and get rewarded
  being anxious to see Jie, the Duke wanted to
  force Jie to come down and ordered to set fire on
  the mountain to his surprise, Jie and mother,
  clinging to a willow tree, were burnt to death.
  To remember Jie, Duke Wen named that day Clear
  and Bright and each year on that day, willow
  trees are planted to remember him.

33
Clear and Bright

• On the day of Clear and Bright, people in Nanjing
  used to place lanterns in the Qinhuai River.

34
Clear and Bright

• Sow thistle herb and Indian kalimeris herb

• shepherd's purse and cirsium setosum

35
Grain Rain

• ?? guyuGrain Rain is usually on the 16th day
  since the Clear and Bright Day when the ecliptic
  longitude is 30. It means that rain would help
  grain to grow, as a saying goes before or right
  after the Grain Rain day, melon and bean are to
  be sowed.

36
Grain Rain

• Duckweed begin to appear in water from this day.
• Farmers are collecting mulberry to raise
  silkworm, they are already in the fields to plant
  rice. If there is rain on this day, fishing would
  be good all year round.

37
Grain Rain

• A peony flower

• A young man named Gu Yu in the Tang Dynasty saved
  a few villagers and a peony flower during a
  flood, he then asked a gardener to look after the
  flower. A few years later, the young mans mother
  became ill, one beautiful girl came to his house
  to look after his mother.

38
Grain Rain

• He fell in love with this girl, and wanted to
  marry her. Yet, he found out she was the peony
  flower he saved during the flood. The peonys
  foe, the bald eagle also fell ill, who wanted to
  ask the peony sisters to make flower pistil wine
  for him to cure his disease and was refused by
  the sisters.

• The bald eagle then captured the sisters and put
  them into jail. Gu Yu , on his birth day, managed
  to get the sisters out of jail, yet was killed by
  the balk eagle. The two sisters killed their foe
  with the hatchet of the young man. From that time
  on, every year on that day, it would rain and
  peony flowers would be in blossom in order to
  remember Gu Yu.

39
Grain Rain

• Local customs
• Offering sacrifice to the sea
• To put up a magic charm on the door to scare away
  scorpions
• To pick tea in the south.

40
Grain Rain

• A portrait of Cang Jie, who invented Chinese
  characters.

• It is said that the Jade Emperor in the Heaven
  was so touched by Cangs invention, he ordered a
  rain to save the secular world from drought.
  People named that day Grain Rain and remember
  Cang on that day.

41
Start of Summer

• ?? lìxiàStart of Summer that falls on May 6The
  ecliptic longitude is at 45, that marks the
  start of summer, the temperature gets higher and
  things start to grow.

42
Start of Summer

• From this date, frogs, cicadas begin to chirp,
  earthworm begins to crawl, vegetables turn into
  green, butterflies begin to fly and fruits start
  to be ripe. There is a custom in the south to
  weigh the body on that day. In Jiangsu and
  Zhejiang, people would begin to use new cherry,
  plum and wheat you can not sit on the doorsill
  on that day.

43
Start of Summer

• Sun Bin and Pang Juan were all disciples of
  Guiguzi, a master of military affairs, who taught
  Sun all his knowledge after Pang left him to work
  for the King of Wei. Invited by Pang, Sun came to
  the State of Wei as well.

44
Start of Summer

• Pang found out later that Sun was much better in
  commanding troops, he than asked Sun to lend
  military books to him. Sun said the books were
  kept by the master who didnt allow him to bring
  them along. One day of group of people tortured
  Sun and chopped his knees off. Pang came to see
  him and said that this was executed at the order
  of the King. One day Pang came to see Sun again
  and said to Sun that he should write down all his
  knowledge about military affairs, so that it
  could be passed on to later generations. Sun
  thought it was an excellent idea and began to
  write day and night. One day an old jailer told
  Sun that when he finished writing he would send
  the writing to Suns family.

45
Start of Summer

• Sun said it was not necessary, he wanted to give
  it to his good friend Pang. The old jailer
  lamented and said, You are too honest. Pang is
  the one who set all this up and framed you!
  Learning this, Suns heart sunk. He burnt all his
  writings and pretended to be mad. Pang then threw
  Sun into a pigsty. Pang wanted to know if Sun was
  really mad, when he came on the day of Start of
  Summer, Sun threw pig shit onto him, Sun also ate
  it. As a matter of fact, it was rice, that was
  soaked with the leaves of blueberry shrubs, which
  looked like pig shit. The State of Qi managed to
  get Sun, who wiped out Pangs troops at Maling
  Road and killed Pang. So, on that day, Sun ate
  this kind of rice to remember the old jailer,
  people eat this kind of rice to remember Sun Bin.