The Philosophical Significance of Xiao Man

Xiao Man's philosophical significance: it means "full but not full" and "full but not full", and the extremes of things will decline, and the extremes of things will reverse. This is the ancient people's understanding of heaven, and it is also a philosophy that warns future generations.

As follows:

Xiaoman, the eighth of the 24 solar terms, is also the second solar term in summer. Xiaoman, battle nail, the sun reaches 60 degrees of the yellow meridian and is celebrated every year on May 20-22 of the Gregorian calendar. The name Xiaoman has two meanings. First, it is related to climate and precipitation. Small full solar terms, heavy rain began to increase in the south, frequent precipitation; As the saying goes, "small and complete, the rivers are getting full."

The "fullness" in Xiaomanli refers to the excess rain. The second is related to agricultural wheat. The northern region is full of solar terms and little or no rain. This "fullness" does not refer to precipitation, but to the fullness of wheat.

When the solar terms are full, there will be more and more rainfall in the southern region; Warm and humid air from the ocean is active and meets cold air from north to south. At this time, there will often be sustained and large-scale heavy precipitation in South China, causing heavy rain or torrential rain.

Jiangnan area, are often rivers and lakes. If there is little rain at this stage, it may be that the Pacific subtropical high is weak and located in the south, which means that it is Huangmei season. In the north, there is little or no rain in the solar terms, during which the temperature rises rapidly and the temperature difference with the south further narrows.

"Twenty-four solar terms" is the product of ancient farming civilization in China. It is not only a seasonal system that guides agricultural production, but also a folk system that contains rich folk customs. According to the characteristics of farming society, the folk customs of solar terms in Xiaoman mainly include "offering sacrifices to car gods", "moving three cars (water wheel, oil car and silk car)", "grabbing water for Xiaoman", "praying silkworms for Xiaoman" and "eating wild vegetables for Xiaoman".

In northern China, "Xiaoman" refers not to precipitation, but to the fullness of wheat. Small full solar terms, the northern region has not yet entered the rainy season, little or no rainfall. Farmland in northern China is mainly dry land, and wheat is the main food crop.

By the solar term Xiaoman, the seeds of summer crops such as wheat in northern China have begun to be full, but they are not yet mature, which is equivalent to the late stage of milk ripening, so it is called Xiaoman.

Confucian way, taboo "too full", "too full", there are "full recruit damage, modest benefit" and "extremes meet". Full of losses and moderate gains. Little people are full without loss, full without profit, full without overflow. In the small full season, the wheat in the northern region is just full but not full, and full is over-full. At this time, the plumpness of the wheat grain is just right, and the wheat grain is full but not full, but it does not overflow.