The origin of beginning of autumn

Beginning of autumn is the thirteenth of the twenty-four solar terms, and it is the beginning of autumn. August 7th or 8th every year. Beginning of autumn indicates that hot summer is coming and autumn is coming.

First, the origin of beginning of autumn:

In ancient times, the origin of beginning of autumn was explained in this way. "The Calendar" says: "Fighting means beginning of autumn in the southwest, and everything will be killed when it comes out of the shade. According to the instructions of autumn, the grain is ripe. "

When the bucket handle of the Big Dipper points southwest, it is beginning of autumn season. Yin Qi came out of the ground and killed everything. According to the standards of autumn, the grain will ripen soon.

From this ancient prose, we can know that the time of beginning of autumn is determined by the astronomical position of the ancient Big Dipper, and the word "autumn" refers to the maturity of crops in ancient times, so the ancient name of this day is "beginning of autumn" to remind the crops to ripen immediately and warn people to get ready for harvest. This is the origin of beginning of autumn.

Second, beginning of autumn's allusions:

When it comes to plants in autumn, the first thing that comes to mind is maple leaves. After all, when it comes to beginning of autumn's poems, the first thing that comes to mind is "parking in the maple grove late, the frost leaves are red in February". But in fact, the plant that reports autumn is the phoenix tree, so why not the red maple but the phoenix tree?

It was in the Song Dynasty that Wutong was associated with beginning of autumn. According to records, on the day when the autumn of Song Dynasty began, the plane tree planted in flowerpots was moved into the palace. When the time for "beginning of autumn" came, Taishi officials shouted: "Autumn is coming." After the play, the phoenix tree leaves one or two leaves to express autumn. This custom has also been passed down by later generations, so there is a saying that "the phoenix tree reports autumn".

Third, the moral of beginning of autumn:

The solar terms in beginning of autumn not only symbolize the gradual closing of the yang and the gradual lengthening of the yin, but also the turning point of the prosperity of the yang and the decline of the yin, and also symbolize the bumper harvest.

In beginning of autumn season, the cold and hot air in nature began to change, and the climate began to transition from rainy and humid in summer to dry and rainy in autumn. However, although beginning of autumn marks the beginning of seasonal change, it does not mean that the temperature will drop immediately, and there is still the afterglow of "autumn tiger", but the general trend is that the weather will gradually cool down.

In addition, around beginning of autumn, crops in most parts of China grew vigorously. For example, cotton bolls, soybean pods and corn silk in the northern region. Rice heading, fruits and vegetables are gradually maturing in Jiangnan area. Therefore, farmers are ready to harvest the grain in the field, so autumn means harvest in the eyes of farmers' uncles.

Knowing beginning of autumn's knowledge, I can't help but sigh that the writing is profound, and a word can contain such history and connotation.