The origin and custom of the twenty-four solar terms

The solar terms of 1 and 24 are an important part of the long history and culture of the Chinese nation, which embodies the historical and cultural essence of Chinese civilization. "Twenty-four solar terms" and "December construction" are the basic contents of the calendar, which were concluded in ancient times (or ancient times). According to ancient records, Emperor Tiandi began to determine his age in the name of cadres and branches. "Twenty-four solar terms" is a special festival in the calendar, indicating the season, phenology, climate change and the establishment of "December construction".

2. The rotation of the Big Dipper is closely related to the change of seasons. Taking the direction pointed by bucket handle, namely the Big Dipper, as the standard for judging seasons, it is called sword fighting, also known as Jian Yue. The method of the era of cadres and branches, the first month to build Yin, beginning of spring as the beginning of the year, the beginning of the month to pay the festival. One year is divided into twelve years ("completed in December"), in which "completed" represents the direction of the top of the bucket handle of the Big Dipper.

3. The ancient "Twenty-four solar terms" were determined by the direction of the top of the Beidou bucket handle, and the rotation of bucket handle pointed to the "Twelve Chens" in turn, which was called "December Construction" (or "December Order"). In ancient culture, the branch and the time position of gossip are linked, and the yin position is the root position of the acquired gossip, representing the end and beginning, such as Yi Shuo Gua Zhuan: "The root, the divination in the northeast, is also the beginning of all things.

4. During the Western Han Dynasty, the name of "Twenty-four solar terms" appeared for the first time in the article "Huai Nan Zi Tian Xun". During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, "Twenty-four solar terms" were absorbed into taichu calendar as a supplement to the calendar guiding agriculture. The solar terms are divided by the "average time method".

Every time the sun moves 15 degrees on the ecliptic, it is a "solar term", and each "solar term" has the same degree and different time. Twenty-four solar terms are 24 time points, and when the "point" falls is the natural result of celestial movement. The solar terms divided by the method of "fixing qi" began in the beginning of spring and ended in the great cold.

Second, the custom of solar terms

1, beginning of spring

Beginning of spring means the beginning of a new cycle, which is the beginning of everything and the meaning of all self-renewal. During the early spring, the temperature, sunshine and rainfall began to rise and increase. Beginning of spring is called the first month festival, the establishment of the Spring Festival, the beginning of a year and the beginning of a year. In this festival, there are ceremonies and activities to celebrate the Spring Festival. In ancient times, Hou Lichun wanted to put up "Yichun" spring stickers, bid farewell to old cloth, pray for the Spring Festival, and offer sacrifices to the Spring God and Tai Sui.

Step 2 rain

After the spring, the southeast wind began to blow and the rain began to increase. "Agricultural Book" said: "When the door refers to rain, the east wind thaws and the ice and snow disperse into water." After the rain, we began to plant trees.

3. Shocked

The thorn symbolizes that the temperature rises, the weather gets warmer, and all kinds of animals that are dormant in the ground begin to wake up and creep. There is a saying in agriculture that "it rains early and the vernal equinox comes late, so it's just the right time to wake up the seedlings" and "the seeds are too scared to plant". On that day, I heard that the year was bumper, the weather was good, and the grain was plentiful.

4. vernal equinox

At the vernal equinox, the direct point of the sun is on the equator, and then the direct point of the sun continues to move northward, so the vernal equinox is also called the "ascending equinox". In ancient times, it was also called "Japan-China", "Day and Night" and "Mid-spring Moon". The vernal equinox is an important solar term, which not only has astronomical significance: the northern and southern hemispheres are equally divided day and night, but also has obvious characteristics in climate.

On the vernal equinox, there is a folk custom of laying eggs vertically. Tens of millions of people around the world are doing "vertical egg" experiments. How this toy, called "China Custom", became a "world game" is still difficult to verify.