二十四節(jié)氣之芒種和夏至

何芷翌

芒種

Mangzhong

芒種是二十四節(jié)氣中的第九個(gè)節(jié)氣，夏季的第三個(gè)節(jié)氣。每年的陽歷6 月5 日左右，即仲夏開始的時(shí)候，就是芒種。“芒種”的字面意思是“有芒的麥子快收，有芒的稻子快種”。這個(gè)時(shí)節(jié)，氣溫持續(xù)升高，雨量日益豐沛，農(nóng)民忙著收割冬天播種的小麥，同時(shí)還要忙著插秧種稻。這就是人們說的“芒種忙兩頭，忙收又忙種”。

Mangzhong， or Grain in Ear， is the ninthsolar term among the 24 Solar Terms， and thethird solar term of summer. It usually fallsaround June 5th on the Gregorian calendar，marking the beginning of the midsummer. Itsliteral meaning is “wheat with awns is readyto be harvested， rice with awns is ready to beplanted.” During this period， the temperaturecontinues to rise， and rainfall becomesabundant. Farmers are busy harvesting wintersownwheat and simultaneously transplantingrice seedlings. This is what people refer to as“busy both with harvest and planting duringGrain in Ear.”

芒種時(shí)節(jié)，許多花朵開始凋零。在民俗和神話中，這是花神離開凡間，回到天上“述職”去了。所以，在芒種這天，民間盛行送花神的習(xí)俗，以表達(dá)對(duì)花神的感謝。此外，芒種時(shí)節(jié)也是梅子成熟的季節(jié)，一些地方有煮梅的習(xí)俗。人們一邊欣賞窗外的綿綿細(xì)雨，一邊品嘗剛剛煮好的梅子，頗有幾分 “青梅煮酒論英雄”的快意。

During the season， many flowers begin to wither.In folklore and mythology， this is when the flower deityleaves the mortal realm and returns to heaven to “reporther duties.” Therefore， on the day of Mangzhong， it iscustomary for people to offer flowers to the deity asan expression of gratitude. Additionally， it is also theseason when plums ripen; therefore， some regionshave the tradition of cooking plums during this timeof year. While savoring freshly cooked plums， peoplewould enjoy the gentle rain outside the window， as ifthey were re-enacting a scene from The Romance of theThree Kingdoms， where “Cao Cao and Liu Bei discussedheroes over green plums and cooked wine.”

芒種時(shí)節(jié)最重要的習(xí)俗是過端午。端午節(jié)在中國(guó)已經(jīng)有兩千多年的歷史。每年的這一天，家家戶戶都懸鐘馗像、掛艾葉、吃粽子、賽龍舟、飲雄黃酒、佩香囊等，以拜神祭祖、祈福辟邪。其中，過端午吃粽子，是為了紀(jì)念偉大的愛國(guó)詩人屈原。戰(zhàn)國(guó)時(shí)期，諸侯爭(zhēng)斗，戰(zhàn)事頻發(fā)，憂國(guó)憂民的屈原勸說楚懷王聯(lián)合齊國(guó)共同抗秦，可楚懷王不聽。屈原一次次諫言無果，反遭奸臣排擠，被流放到洞庭湖邊。不久，楚國(guó)兵敗的消息傳來，屈原傷心地放聲大哭，在五月初的一天跳進(jìn)汨羅江自盡了。人們聽聞后，為了防止屈原的尸身被魚蝦吃掉，便把米飯包成粽子投入江中，供魚蝦吃。此后，便有了端午節(jié)包粽子、吃粽子的傳統(tǒng)習(xí)俗。

The most important custom during the Mangzhongperiod is the celebration of the Dragon Boat Festival.The festival has a history of over two thousand years inChina. On this day each year， every household hangsup pictures of Zhong Kui， a Taoist vanquisher of ghostsand evil beings， along with mugwort leaves， eats zongzi?（sticky rice dumplings）， holds dragon boatraces， drinks realgar wine， and carriesfragrant sachets， all to pay respects to godsand ancestors and to pray for blessings andward off evil spirits. Among these customs，eating zongzi during the Dragon BoatFestival symbolizes the commemoration ofthe great patriotic poet Qu Yuan （c. 340 BC —278 BC）. During the Warring States Period，as the feudal lords fought and wars raged，Qu Yuan， who deeply cared for his countryand people， tried to persuade King Huai ofChu to unite with the state of Qi to resistthe state of Qin. However， the king refusedto listen. Qu Yuan’s repeated admonitionsfell on deaf ears. Ostracized by treacherousofficials， he was eventually exiled to the landnear Lake Dongting. Shortly after， news ofhis state’s defeat reached him. In grief， hecast himself into the Miluo River one dayin early May. Fearing that Qu Yuan’s bodywould be eaten by fish and shrimps， thelocal people threw rice wrapped up in leavesinto the river to feed the aquatic creatures.This is how the tradition of making andeating zongzi during the Dragon BoatFestival came into being.

夏至

Xiazhi

夏至是二十四節(jié)氣中的第十個(gè)節(jié)氣，也是最早被確定的節(jié)氣之一。每年的6 月21 日或22 日，太陽運(yùn)行到黃經(jīng)90°時(shí)，為夏至日。這一天，太陽直射地面的位置達(dá)到一年中的最北端，直射北回歸線，北半球白晝時(shí)間達(dá)到全年最長(zhǎng)，之后太陽直射點(diǎn)逐漸南移，北半球白晝逐漸變短。因此，我國(guó)很多地方有“吃過夏至面，一天短一線”的說法。

Xiazhi， or the Summer Solstice， is the tenthsolar term in the 24 Solar Terms， one of theearliest solar terms to be determined. It fallson June 21st or 22nd each year when the sunreaches 90 degrees of celestial longitude. On thisday， the position on the Earth’s surface wherethe sun shines directly reaches its northernmostpoint of the year， crossing the Tropic of Cancer.Afterward， the sun’s direct rays gradually movesouthward， and the length of daylight in theNorthern Hemisphere gradually decreases.Therefore， in many parts of China， there is asaying， “After eating Summer Solstice noodles，daylight will become shorter day by day.”

此時(shí)，長(zhǎng)江中下游地區(qū)正處在梅雨季，北方黃河下游平原雨水增多，高原牧區(qū)則進(jìn)入了草肥畜旺的黃金季節(jié)。這時(shí)，全國(guó)大多數(shù)地方不僅悶熱，而且驟來疾去的雷雨很多，尤需注意防洪防澇。這期間，莊稼生長(zhǎng)很快，雜草亦如此，還容易出現(xiàn)病蟲害，所以整枝打杈、中耕除草、防治害蟲、清溝排水等田間管理也非常重要。

During this time， the middle and lower reaches ofthe Yangtze River are in the rainy season， and there isincreased rainfall in the plain areas of the lower reachesof the Yellow River in the north， while the pastoral areason the highland enter the golden season： The grass isnow abundant， and the livestock thrives. During thisperiod， most parts of the country not only are hot andhumid， but also experience frequent thunderstorms.People start to pay special attention to flood control andprevention of waterlogging. Crop growth is rapid， so isthe growth of weeds， and the risk of diseases and pestsincreases. Therefore， field management such as pruning，intertillage， weed control， pest control， and canal clearingand drainage is of great importance.

早在宋代，在水鄉(xiāng)江南一帶，夏至日便是賞荷觀蓮的日子。人們?cè)谶@一天舉家來到池塘、湖邊泛舟賞荷、消夏納涼，蕩舟輕波、采蓮弄藕，好不愜意。在中國(guó)，北京圓明園、杭州西湖、濟(jì)南大明湖等都是觀賞荷花的好去處，人們可以領(lǐng)略到“紅衣翠扇映清波”的美景。

As early as the Song Dynasty， in the water towns southof the Yangtze River， Xiazhi was a day for appreciating lotusflowers. On this day， people would come to see the pondsand lakes， paddle boats for a closer look at the lotus flowers，and seek relief from the summer heat. It was such a delightto pick lotus flowers and harvest lotus roots on a boatgentling rocked by the waves. In China， great destinationsfor admiring lotus flowers are the Summer Palace in Beijing，the West Lake in Hangzhou， and the Daming Lake in Jinan，where people can appreciate the beautifulscenery of “red garments and green fansreflected on clear waves” as in the Qing poetChen Can’s “Breeze-ruffled Lotus at QuyuanGarden.”

以前，在我國(guó)很多地方，人們還在夏至日互贈(zèng)折扇、脂粉等消夏避暑物品。折扇用來扇風(fēng)散熱，脂粉涂抹在身上可以防止生痱子。在古代宮廷，夏至之后，會(huì)取出“冬藏夏用”的冰塊消暑降溫。

In the past， in many places of China， peoplewould exchange folding fans， cosmetic powder，and other gifts that could make the hot daysslightly easy during the Xiazhi period. Foldingfans were used to fan and cool down， whilecosmetic powder was applied to prevent heatrash. In ancient courts， after Xiazhi， ice blockspreserved from winter would be used to cooldown and lower the temperature.

夏至?xí)r節(jié)人體出汗較多，鹽分損失較大。中醫(yī)會(huì)建議人們多食用一些帶有酸味的食物，以達(dá)到“固表止汗”的效果。此外，多吃綠豆可以消暑利尿，補(bǔ)充水分和礦物質(zhì)。

During the Xiazhi period， people tend tosweat more and lose more salt. TraditionalChinese medicine therefore recommendsconsuming foods with a sour taste to“strengthen the exterior and stop sweating.”Additionally， eating mung beans is alsoencouraged for the benefit of relieving heat，promoting urination， and replenishing fluidsand minerals.