Chinese Calendar Crosswords: Wait for the Spring Breeze

The book explains in detail the traditional winter customs and culture behind the Chinese Calendar Crosswords and their historical origin， introduces multiple styles of Chinese Calendar Crosswords， and explains how to fill in the pictures through schematic illustrations， discovering and recording various natural changes in winter.

Chinese Calendar Crosswords：

Wait for the Spring Breeze

Yuan Jin

Zhejiang Literature amp; Art Publishing House

January 2023

58.00 （CNY）

Yuan Jin

Yuan Jin， associate professor of Folklore at Hangzhou Normal University， and deputy secretary general of the Society for the Promotion of Zhejiang Folk Culture.

Since ancient times in China， Winter Solstice has been considered a significant date， a turning point in the transition between yin and yang and the alternation of warm and cold. Throughout its long history， Winter Solstice has evolved from being one of the four seasons for observing the celestial phenomena to determine the seasons， to be the first day of the year in the Zhou Calendar， and then becoming a winter festival rich in humanistic colors. During the Yin and Shang dynasties， the twelfth month of the Xia Calendar was the beginning of the year， and the month of Winter Solstice was the end of the year. During the Zhou Dynasty， the month of Jianzi， in which Winter Solstice was located （i.e.， the eleventh month of the Xia Calendar）， was designated as the “first day of the year” and enshrined as “Tianzheng”. The Emperor would hold the year-end sacrificeand the Great Wax Sacrifice in the preceding tenth month. In the Han Dynasty， the Imperial Court held a wax sacrifice on the Winter Solstice， during which all the officials would greet each other for the festival. After the Han Dynasty， Winter Solstice was regarded as a specific festival， both at the court and among the folk， with special cultural significance in the alternation of years and the change of seasons. In the Tang Dynasty， it was called “a festival second only to Zhouzheng，” for Winter Solstice was the only festival with seven days off except for the Yuanzheng （Spring Festival）; in the Song Dynasty， there were also seven days off for the first day of the year， Winter Solstice， and the Cold Food Festival; in the Ming Dynasty， there were five days off for the first day of the year and three days off for Winter Solstice.

Gradually， Winter Solstice became a lively festival that rivaled the New Year， so it was also called “Winter Solstice Festival” and “Winter Festival，” and folk also had the saying “Winter Solstice is as important as the New Year.” In the Southern Song Dynasty， the people in the regions south of the Yangtze River called Winter Solstice “Zuo Jie”. In the late Song and early Yuan dynasties， Zhou Mi’s Old Stories of Wulin had recorded that the Imperial Court would hold a large court meeting on this day to celebrate. People went out to have fun and visit friends and relatives， and there were so many people in the streets that the city of Lin’an was blocked. The business stores also would close for three days at this time， during which they “l(fā)owered the curtains， drank wine and played games， which was called ‘Zuo Jie’. ” This lively scene would not be out of place in today’s New Year Festival. The Ming Dynasty also had the saying， a “fat Winter Solstice， thin New Year”.

In ordinary families， there were many visits and gifts between friends and relatives around Winter Solstice， which was called “Bai Dong” （paying visits on Winter Solstice）. People would wear fancy clothes and make courtesy calls to each other. The streets would be full of people carrying baskets and boxes， and the gift boxes filled with various kinds of presents were called “Winter Solstice trays.” Most of them were filled with pastries and snacks， such as sweet osmanthus winter wine， glutinous rice dumplings， pot-stewed dishes， etc.， in various quantities. The well off families would use carved red lacquer food boxes， while the average families would carry woven-bamboo plates.

Many customs similar to New Year’s Eve had been retained in the Winter Solstice Festival in and after the Qing Dynasty. Fan Zushu， a literati of the Qing Dynasty， recorded in The Legacy of Hangzhou Customs that people in Hangzhou had the customs of opening pickle jars， invoking the Kitchen God， stir-frying sliced pork with cauliflower， and eating variegated carp on Winter Solstice in the eleventh month of the year， which were all customary in Hangzhou for the New Year. According to the Wuqing Town Records compiled by the Republic of China， the area around Wuzhen called the Winter Solstice Festival “Little New Year’s Eve.” Before and after the Winter Solstice Festival， all stores would go out to collect debts， commonly known as the “winter festival bill，” and landowners would be busy going to the countryside to collect rent and crops， with a sense of the approaching New Year’s Eve. The night before Winter Solstice， called “Winter Solstice eve，” used to be the day of family reunion. Families would drink wine and share a meal， which is called the “Winter Solstice feast”， or “Jie Jiu” （festival banquet） in Suzhou. The Winter Solstice feast was as sumptuous as that of New Year’s Eve. The rich people would have chicken， duck， fish and meats， cold dishes and hot stir-fries， all of which are served with great enthusiasm. As for poor people， they could only have cold congee and cold dishes to make do for the night. Thus the proverbs had “all night to feast or freeze” or “some enjoy Winter Solstice night， some get frozen over the night” came to be.

The solemnity of Winter Solstice also lies in the ancestor-worship rituals that are held in each family on this day. There is a tradition of ancestral worship on Winter Solstice. Historically， the royal family would worship the heaven and offer sacrifices to the ancestors， and the village communities would also “set up sacrifices of livestock， wine and food， and offer them to the ancestors，” with sacrifices placed on the offering table to pray for blessings， and the ceremonies were very grand. Meng Yuanlao from the Song Dynasty pointed out in his “Reminiscences of the Eastern Capital” that people in the capital attached great importance to the Winter Solstice Festival in the Northern Song Dynasty. On this day， people would wear new clothes， prepare sumptuous offerings， and worship their ancestors.

The custom of ancestral worship on Winter Solstice stretches to the present day and has undergone changes in various parts of the country. For example， people in Shaoxing， Zhejiang province， call the Winter Solstice ancestor worship “doing Winter Solstice.” Before the family reunion and banquet， they stand in front of their ancestors’ statues in the ancestral hall in order of seniority and bow to them in turn. But in Shaoxing， doing Winter Solstice is limited to family worship， and relatives do not pay tribute to each other. In Taizhou， Zhejiang province， where clans live together to form villages， there is a “winter sacrifice” custom， meaning that the whole clan will worship their ancestors on the Winter Solstice. After the ritual， the whole clan gathers in the ancestral hall for a feast， laughing and having a good time. After the feast， pork is offered to the elderly over 60 years old， called “meat for the elderly.” One cattie （half a kilogram） of meat is offered to the 60-year-olds， and one more cattie is added for each year of age to show respect for the elderly. That night， the performance would be played on the stage， lasting for five to seven days straight， when all the neighbors would come together to watch the show with laughter and joy.

It is a traditional Chinese moral concept to respect the elderly， and the Winter Solstice ritual is also a prayer for the well-being of the elderly. This is because， in the traditional concept， Winter Solstice is the time of the intersection of yin and yang. In times of scarcity， family cohesion is an important guarantee for a successful transition between the old and the new. Family members were particularly concerned about whether the elderly in the clan were well-fed. For example， Winter Solstice was also known as “the day to offer shoes to the elders，” when daughters-in-law bowed to their parents-in-law and offered new shoes and socks as a gesture of filial piety. If we track back， this custom already existed in the Han Dynasty. And we can still find records of this custom in the Republic of China’s local chronicles， saying that it was “still practiced” then. On this day when the day is growing longer， and a new sun is emerging， the younger generation would offer shoes and socks to their elders， wishing to get rid of disasters and welcome good fortune and bless the elderly with long life and good health in the new year.

From ancient times to the present， Winter Solstice has carried special cultural connotations in people’s perceptions. In the transition between yin and yang， the old and the new， the universe and the earth come to life， and people strive to welcome the self-renewal of life. Thus， the significance of the Chinese Calendar Crosswords at this time is self-evident.