What do the solar terms in Xiao Man symbolize?
The seeds of summer crops begin to be full and immature. Xiaoman marks the appearance of summer. At this point, it is too small to be full: summer crops such as wheat are full but immature, so it is called Xiao Man.
Why is there a small full and no big full?
Generally speaking, the sun is considered full when it reaches 60 degrees of the yellow meridian between May 20th and 22nd every year. Twenty-four solar terms: "In mid-April, things are small and full."
From the agricultural point of view, "Xiaoman" is not only related to the fullness of wheat grains in the north, but also to the abundant rain in the south. At this time, the winter wheat summer sowing crops in northern China entered the filling stage, the seeds were gradually full, and the harvest was just around the corner.
In the south, as the saying goes, "the river is full". With the increase of rainfall, rivers and lakes in the south of the Yangtze River are often rich in water. Otherwise, it means catching up with the dry and rainy year. Therefore, the word "full" here means more rain.
Xiaoman season is a busy farming season. At this point, silkworms begin to cocoon, which means that sericulture families are busy reeling. "Jia Qinglu" mentioned: "Xiaoman first came here, and the silkworm woman cooked cocoons, treated the reeling of cars and worked day and night."
Among the 24 solar terms, there are slight heat and great heat. There is a slight cold and a "great cold". But there is a small full, but there is no "big full".
Folklore experts explained that severe cold, slight cold and intense heat are extremely cold and extremely hot periods. Because the duration of cold and summer is long, which is equivalent to two solar terms, and people just spend winter and summer on cats, so they are divided into two connected solar terms.
"But during the spring planting and autumn harvest, the agriculture is busy, there are many things, and the solar terms themselves have distinct characteristics. There is no need to name two solar terms that are connected in size.
Xiaoman custom:
Grab water and sacrifice to the car god
In the old society, drainage irrigation with water trucks was a major event in rural areas. As the saying goes, "Little people move three cars (silk car, oil car, water wheel)." The waterwheel will start on Xiaoman's day.
The ceremony of "grabbing water" is popular in Haining. In the past, farmers held it in the village. In the ceremony of "grabbing water", most of the elderly deacons gathered around each household to determine the date and arrange the preparatory work together. Then, at the dawn of Xiaoman, they began to go out in droves, lit torches and ate wheat cakes, wheat cakes and wheat balls on the waterwheel. Deacons use drums and gongs as signals, and everyone uses percussion instruments to step on the pre-installed water car on the river bank. Dozens of cars in quick march poured the river into people's fields forever until the river overflowed.
Sacrificing the car god is also an ancient custom in rural areas. It is said that "Car God" is a white dragon. The villagers will put some fish, incense sticks and other worship items in front of the water and on the foundation of the car. The special thing is that there is a glass of white water in the sacrifice. When offering sacrifices, pour the water in the cup into the field, which means wishing the water source to flourish.
Bitter vegetables
The season of bitter vegetables is around Xiaoman, and bitter vegetables are one of the earliest edible wild vegetables in China. "Zhou Shu" has such a record: "Xiaoman Day Bitter Vegetable Show." "Book of Songs" Day: "Take pains and have fun. In the first sunshine. " Bitter vegetables are all over the country, and they are called differently in different places. Shaanxi people call it "Bitter Vegetable", Ningxia people call it "Bitter Vegetable", and Li Shizhen calls it "Tianxiangcao". It's medically called septicemia.
Bitter vegetables are bitter and astringent, astringent and sweet, fresh and cool and tender. It contains vitamins, minerals, sugars, choline, riboflavin and mannitol needed by human body, and has the functions of clearing away heat, cooling blood and detoxifying. Compendium of Materia Medica: China and Japan: "(Bitter vegetables) take it for a long time, feel at ease and benefit qi, and be fit and anti-aging."
In medicine, sowthistle is often used to treat fever, and the ancients also used it to sober up. People in Ningxia like to cook bitter vegetables, wash them and mix them with salt, vinegar and spicy oil to make them cool and spicy, which will help to increase appetite. Yellow rice soup can also be used to pickle bitter vegetables into yellow, which tastes sweet and sour, crisp and refreshing. Some people also use boiling water to scald bitter vegetables and squeeze out bitter juice to make soup, stuffing, stir-fry and cook noodles, each with its own flavor.
Xiaoman Health:
Eat sour and tonify.
Chinese medicine believes that summer is summer heat, which belongs to the five internal organs and the heart, and is suitable for clearing and replenishing. The heart likes cold, but it should be sour. Traditional Chinese medicine pays attention to the unity of heaven and man and the complementarity of yin and yang. Therefore, people should eat more cold and sour food in summer, and try not to eat spicy and warm and dry things. It should be noted that eating cold drinks raw should not be excessive, so as not to harm the healthy qi in the human body and induce diseases. Diet should be light and vegetarian, such as adzuki bean, coix seed, mung bean, wax gourd, loofah, lotus root, carrot, tomato, watermelon, yam, crucian carp and duck. Eat more soups with the functions of clearing away heat, nourishing yin, eliminating dampness, warming the stomach, and warming up, such as mung bean sprout clam soup, bitter gourd kapok beef soup, Hu Aishan red bean soup, shepherd's purse ginger fish head soup, etc. Avoid products with strong, cold, greasy and hot taste, such as animal fat, seafood, raw onion, raw garlic, ginger, pepper, fennel, eggplant, beef, mutton and dog meat.
Moderate exercise helps to sweat.
Exercise in summer can accelerate metabolism in the body and help to sweat. However, patients with heart disease should not take strenuous exercise in summer. They can do outdoor sports in the early morning and evening when the weather is cool, and they can do a little or moderate exercise, such as swimming, walking, jogging, Baduanjin and so on. , in order to avoid excessive exercise and fitness with illness, to avoid the loss of vitality, which is not conducive to health.
Adjust your mood and increase your lunch break.
People often feel restless in the small full season. At this time, we should adjust our emotions to prevent cardiovascular accidents caused by violent emotional fluctuations. At the same time, we should also conform to the natural law of "nourishing yang in spring and summer", appropriately increase the nap time, ensure sufficient sleep time and keep energetic.