Twenty-four Solar Terms (Ⅱ)

◎供稿：許林玉

上期，我們介紹了二十四節(jié)氣的起源、分類(lèi)和應(yīng)用等。本期，我們將逐一介紹二十四節(jié)氣與天氣變化、農(nóng)業(yè)生產(chǎn)之間的關(guān)系。

February 4,the opening day of the 24th Winter Olympic Games,was this year’s“Lichun”,or the beɡinninɡ of sprinɡ,the first of the 24 solar terms of the traditional lunar Chinese calendar that was an1)inspirationbehind the ceremony.

The second solar term of the year is“Yushui”,or rain water.The rain is vital for the ɡrowth of crops and other flora.From that day on,the rainfall increases to2)nourishthe land.The subsolar point moves from the Southern Hemisphere close to the equator,and the Northern Hemisphere gains more sunlight and turns warmer.After the period of rain comes the third solar term“Jingzhe”,or3)awakeningof insects.As spring thunderstorms wake up hibernating insects and seeds,the arrival of“Jingzhe”marks the vitality of life.

When“Chunfen”,or spring equinox,arrives,the sun is exactly at the celestial lonɡitude of 0 deɡrees (the equator) and day and niɡht are approximately equal in length.

“Qinɡm(xù)inɡ”(pure briɡhtness) and“Guyu”(ɡrain rain) are the last two solar terms of spring.Both of them describe a warmer,moister and greener land.“Qingming”is also a traditional festival when people go to the tombs of their families to sweep them and worship the ancestors.

“Lixia”,or the beginning of summer,falls on May 5 this year.As the seventh of the 24 solar terms,it marks the end of spring,4)especiallyin southern China.

1) inspiration [??nsp??re??n] n.靈感；鼓舞人心的人（或事物）

2) nourish [?n?r?? ] v.養(yǎng)育；滋養(yǎng)

3) awaken [??we?k?n] v.喚醒

4) especially [??spe??li] adv.尤其；特別

詞組加油站

be vital for 對(duì)……是至關(guān)重要的

be equal in 在某方面相等

fall on 降臨；落到

The second solar term of summer is“Xiaoman”,or grain buds.The temperature differences between north and south narrow when“Xiaoman”arrives,but the rainfall in southern China is greater than in the north.And the summer grains and crops start to fill out;hence the term can also be understood as“fullness for grains,fullness for rivers”.

The summer planting starts at“Mangzhong”,or grain in ear.Fields,wheat seedlinɡs,quiet mountains and sinɡinɡ birds offer the best interpretation of this period.

As time goes by,the sun5)eventuallyreaches its northernmost point of the year,almost directly above the Tropic of Cancer,marking the arrival of“Xiazhi”,or summer solstice,when the daytime in the Northern Hemisphere is the longest for the year.

“Xiaoshu”(minor heat) and“Dashu”(major heat) are the last two solar terms of summer.This is when the average temperature is the highest,rainfall is the greatest,and thunderstorms are most6)frequentfor most of the country.

“Liqiu”,or the beginning of autumn will arrive on August 7 this year.Even though autumn has begun,the summer heat will continue to the next solar term“Chushu”,or end of heat.

The real coolness comes with“Bailu”,or white dew,when the temperature gap between day and night gradually increases.Three days after this year’s“Bailu”is the Mid-Autumn Festival (September 10),another important7)occasionto reunite with family for Chinese people.

“Qiufen”,or autumn equinox,is the same as“Chunfen”(sprinɡ equinox)when day and night equally divide the whole day.Daytime gets shorter as the subsolar point moves from the equator to the Southern Hemisphere,and temperatures continue to drop.

5) eventually [??vent?u?li] adv.最后；最終

6) frequent ['fri?kw(?)nt] adj.頻繁地

7) occasion [??ke??n] n.場(chǎng)合；場(chǎng)景；（某事發(fā)生的）時(shí)候

“Hanlu”(cold dew) and“Shuanɡjianɡ”(frost’s descent) mean the weather is gradually reach dew point,and then to frost point.It’s an early warning of winter.

Autumn leaves,winter comes,and time flies.November 7 is this year’s“Lidong”,or the beginning of winter.

“Xiaoxue”(minor snow) and“Daxue”(major snow) reflect a sharp decline in temperatures.The ancient agriculturalists believed that snow can kill pests and nourish the soil,and there’s an old saying,“Minor Snow day falling snow,gold growing in the soil.”

“Dongzhi”,or winter solstice,sees the shortest daytime and the longest nighttime as the sun reaches its southernmost point of the year.They are followed by“Xiaohan”(minor cold) and“Dahan”(major cold),the last two solar terms.

今年2 月4 日，即第24 屆冬季奧林匹克運(yùn)動(dòng)會(huì)開(kāi)幕式當(dāng)天，正值“立春”。這是中國(guó)傳統(tǒng)農(nóng)歷二十四節(jié)氣中的第一個(gè)節(jié)氣，北京冬奧會(huì)開(kāi)幕式倒計(jì)時(shí)的靈感正是來(lái)源于此。

“雨水”是一年中的第二個(gè)節(jié)氣。雨水對(duì)農(nóng)作物和其他植物的生長(zhǎng)至關(guān)重要。從這一天起，降雨量增加，土地因此得到滋養(yǎng)。日下點(diǎn)從南半球移至赤道附近，北半球陽(yáng)光更加充足，因此會(huì)變得更為溫暖。雨水期過(guò)后是第三個(gè)節(jié)氣“驚蟄”。春雷喚醒冬眠的昆蟲(chóng)和種子，隨著“驚蟄”的來(lái)臨，生命的活力開(kāi)始涌動(dòng)。

“春分”到來(lái)之際，太陽(yáng)正好位于黃經(jīng)0 度（赤道），晝夜時(shí)長(zhǎng)大致相等。

“清明”和“谷雨”是春季的最后兩個(gè)節(jié)氣。此時(shí)大地溫潤(rùn)，草木蔥蘢。清明也是一個(gè)傳統(tǒng)節(jié)日，人們?cè)谶@一天清掃墓地，祭拜祖先。

今年的“立夏”在5 月5 日。作為二十四節(jié)氣中的第七個(gè)節(jié)氣，它標(biāo)志著春天的結(jié)束，尤其是在中國(guó)南方地區(qū)。

夏季的第二個(gè)節(jié)氣是“小滿”?！靶M”到來(lái)時(shí)，南北溫差縮小，但中國(guó)南方的降雨量較北方大。谷物等農(nóng)作物開(kāi)始變得飽滿。因此，該節(jié)氣也可以理解為“谷物飽滿，河水豐盈”。

夏季播種從“芒種”開(kāi)始。田野、麥苗、幽靜的山巒和鳴唱的鳥(niǎo)兒，是對(duì)這一時(shí)節(jié)最好的詮釋。

隨著時(shí)間的推移，太陽(yáng)最終到達(dá)一年中的最北端，幾乎位于北回歸線正上方。這標(biāo)志著“夏至”的到來(lái)，此時(shí)北半球的白晝時(shí)間達(dá)到全年最長(zhǎng)。

“小暑”和“大暑”是夏季的最后兩個(gè)節(jié)氣。此時(shí)平均氣溫最高，降雨量最大，大部分地區(qū)的雷雨天氣最為頻繁。

今年的“立秋”在8 月7 日。盡管秋天已至，但暑熱仍將持續(xù)至下一節(jié)氣——“處暑”。

到了“白露”，天氣真正涼爽起來(lái)，此時(shí)晝夜溫差逐漸加大。今年的“白露”過(guò)去三天之后（9 月10 日）便是中秋節(jié)，這是中國(guó)人與家人團(tuán)聚的另一個(gè)重要時(shí)刻。

與“春分”一樣，在“秋分”這一天，晝夜平分。隨著日下點(diǎn)從赤道向南半球移動(dòng)，白天變得越來(lái)越短，氣溫也持續(xù)下降。

“寒露”和“霜降”意味著天氣逐漸達(dá)到露點(diǎn)，然后達(dá)到霜點(diǎn)。這是冬天來(lái)臨的前兆。

時(shí)光飛逝，秋去冬來(lái)。今年的“立冬”在11 月7 日，冬季自此開(kāi)始。

“小雪”和“大雪”反映了氣溫的急劇下降。古代農(nóng)學(xué)家認(rèn)為，雪可以殺滅害蟲(chóng)，滋養(yǎng)土壤。俗話說(shuō)：“小雪雪滿天，來(lái)年必豐年?！?/p>

“冬至”這一天，太陽(yáng)到達(dá)一年中的最南端。此時(shí)白晝最短，夜晚最長(zhǎng)。接下來(lái)是最后兩個(gè)節(jié)氣——“小寒”和“大寒”。