Twenty-four solar terms ｜ beginning of autumn： The heat is unbearable, and the autumn in the meteorological sense has not yet arrived.
August 7th is the beginning of autumn in the 24 solar terms. Although the solar terms have the word "autumn", this year’s beginning of autumn has not brought the coolness of autumn. In most parts of the country, the high temperature is still scorching the earth. In the Yangtze River basin, Huaihe River basin and Yellow River basin controlled by subtropical high, the temperature can be called hot summer. The highest temperature in Shanghai will remain above 37 degrees in the coming week, and Nanjing, Wuhan and Chongqing, which are located inland, are pointing to 40 degrees.
"beginning of autumn is only an astronomical autumn, not a meteorological one." Cheng Peng, an assistant researcher at the Institute of Literature, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said, "The fashion in beginning of autumn is in dog days, so it’s still a little hot. There is a folk saying that it is an autumn tiger. However, China has a vast territory. In many places in the north, it has been a little cold in the morning and evening after beginning of autumn, and most of the south is still in the heat. "
On August 6th, 2022, beginning of autumn is coming in Huai ‘an, Jiangsu, and the pomegranate trees in Lotus Park are covered with red fruits. Vision china diagram"It’s chilly in beginning of autumn early, and it’s hot in beginning of autumn late."The so-called "autumn in astronomical sense" was established by the ancients according to the observation of the law of the sun’s operation. The Almanac says, "The southwest dimension refers to beginning of autumn". When the Big Dipper refers to the southwest and the sun reaches 135 degrees, it is the time when the beginning of autumn solar term comes.
According to this astronomical standard, accurately speaking, this year’s beginning of autumn will officially arrive at 20: 29 on August 7th, Beijing time, which is already after dark.
"There is a proverb that says,’ It’s chilly in beginning of autumn in the morning, and it’s hot in beginning of autumn at night.’ This year in beginning of autumn, it’s after eight o’clock in the evening, so the summer heat will continue, and it will probably end before and after it comes out. Bi Xuling, director of the Folk Custom and Intangible Heritage Research Office of the Institute of Literature, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, has studied the 24 solar terms proverbs. She found that the ancient solar terms agricultural proverbs can still fit and predict the temperature, which is very scientific. "Because solar terms reflect the operation of the sun, the temperature is determined by the sun in the final analysis. After long-term observation, the ancients summed up this law, which proved to be very effective. If you analyze it with the knowledge of modern meteorology, you will find that the reasons are very complicated, such as the influence of subtropical high. "
The ancients called the hottest period of the year "dog days". "In fact, it is not hot after beginning of autumn, which is related to whether it is out." Bi Xuling mentioned that the time of "three volts" is also not fixed, ranging from 30 days to 40 days. "The initial and final volts are 10 days, and the time of two volts is not necessarily, sometimes 10 days, sometimes 20 days." The length of the second day depends on the date of the third Geng day after the summer solstice every year, and the third Geng day after the summer solstice falls into the sky. "So the solar terms are closely related to the dog days. By observing the weather of the solar terms in the dog days, the ancients summed up the law of predicting the length of the dog days." This year’s dog days will last for 40 days from July 16th to August 24th.
In fact, among the 24 solar terms, the solar term after beginning of autumn is the summer, and the summer, the light summer and the big summer are all solar terms representing high temperature. After the summer, the summer heat gradually subsided and the temperature began to fall.
What we usually call autumn is the autumn in the meteorological sense. There are strict meteorological standards: the average daily temperature is below 22℃ for five consecutive days, and the subsequent weather conditions are stable, then we will count the first day as autumn. By this standard, it will take time for the real autumn to come.
The ancient agricultural custom "basking in autumn" has entered the public’s field of vision.
Autumn is the harvest season, at the same time, the hot temperature has come to an end, and the customs in beginning of autumn are mostly around these two points.
"Corresponding to beginning of spring biting spring, beginning of autumn also has the custom of biting and gnawing autumn, which not only welcomes the arrival of autumn, but also has the effect of keeping healthy and preventing autumn dryness." Cheng Peng mentioned that beginning of autumn is the time limit for tasting some foods, and fruits and vegetables have a bumper harvest. People pay attention to "tasting autumn fresh".
In northern China, beginning of autumn’s "biting autumn" food is watermelon, commonly known as "biting melon". It is believed that eating watermelons in beginning of autumn can clear the gastrointestinal impurities in summer and avoid diarrhea in winter and next spring. This custom has a long history. In the Qing Dynasty, Zhang Tao’s "Tianjin Miscellanies Customs at the Age of Years" recorded: "When beginning of autumn eats melons, he bites autumn to avoid diarrhea."
Children are eating watermelon "gnawing autumn" to welcome the arrival of beginning of autumn. Vision china map corresponds to long summer, and beginning of autumn people also have the habit of weighing. If the weight is lighter than that of long summer, it is called "bitter summer". If you lose weight, you need to make up for it. Therefore, beginning of autumn has the custom of "sticking on autumn fat". In the northern region, beginning of autumn "sticks to autumn fat" to eat meat, while ordinary people eat stewed meat, while those who pay attention to it eat boiled meat, braised pork, jiaozi with minced meat, stewed chicken, stewed duck and so on.Fang Yun, a lecturer at the School of International Education of Shanghai University and a doctor of folklore, mentioned a beginning of autumn custom of "basking in the autumn" that has entered the public’s field of vision in recent years.
"Sunbathing in autumn is a typical agricultural custom phenomenon in beginning of autumn with strong regional characteristics. Villagers living in mountainous areas such as Jiangxi, Anhui, Hunan, Guangxi, etc., because of the complex terrain, there are very few flat areas in the village, so they have to use the roofs in front of the house and behind their own windowsills to rack and hang crops, which has evolved into a traditional agricultural custom phenomenon over time. "
Sunbathing in autumn in Wuyuan, Shangrao, Jiangxi. Vision china map is different from many disappearing solar terms customs. "Sunbathing in autumn" was only a common agricultural custom phenomenon in ancient times, but in recent years, the agricultural custom scene of "sunbathing in autumn" in mountain villages has become an autumn landscape that tourists deliberately chase and watch. In this way, Wuling, Wuyuan, Jiangxi, created the "Earthy Autumn Festival", which opened in Liqiu. This festival strengthens the protection and display of folk culture represented by sun-drying autumn through celebrations. It was selected into the list of typical cases of domestic tourism promotion in 2020, and it is also the top ten outstanding cases of "non-legacy and tourism integration" in 2019."The folk custom of sunbathing in autumn has the dual marks of landscape narrative and ritual narrative. In rural areas, the visible landscape of festival ceremony is relatively immobile, which can solidify the folk tradition and form a stable narrative identity, which is the premise of folk tourism. The famous’ Huangling Sunbathing in Autumn’ takes the local custom of Huangling as a ritual narrative way, and turns the static crop landscape into a performance of customs. When performers and tourists interact in the behavioral ceremony, tourists can experience and participate in the construction of rural landscape. " Fang Yun thinks. "Sunbathing in the Autumn Festival" comes into public view, which is a typical case of the folk custom of the twenty-four solar terms regaining its brilliance in the contemporary era. The ancient solar terms still have their unique charm and can connect with modern life.
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