What does the twenty-four solar terms mean? The story of origin.

Twenty-four solar terms are precious historical and cultural heritage left by the ancients. There is a story behind the determination and naming of each solar term. What we need to know is that the establishment of the 24 solar terms is not only the result of climate change, but is defined according to astronomical phenomena and finally determined by combining climate. Today, let's take a look at what Xiaoman means in the 24 solar terms. What's its story?

What does Xiao Man mean?

Xiaoman's "fullness" has two explanations:

One is to describe the fullness of crops. When Xiaoman is full, the grain of wheat summer crops in the north has tended to be full, but it is not yet mature, so it is called Xiaoman.

The second is to use "full" to describe the amount of rain. If there is not enough water in the field when it is full, it may cause cracks in the ridge, and even rice can't be planted. So there is an agricultural proverb, "If you are dissatisfied, you don't care."

The story of origin

About the origin of Xiaoman, there is a legend about a girl named Silkworm God. Once upon a time, there was a family with only father and daughter. The daughter is not only beautiful, but also smart. On this day, my father had something to go far away, leaving his daughter and a white horse. This horse is very strong, running thousands of miles every day, as fast as the wind. Stranger still, this horse is very familiar with human nature, and it can understand people's words. Everyone says this is a "god horse". When the father went out, he told his daughter to feed and love the horse well, and he would come back soon.

However, my father didn't come back for a long time. One day, my daughter said to the horse half seriously and half jokingly, "Ma, do you understand me?" If you can get my father back, I will marry you as my wife. "Unexpectedly, the girl voice down, the horse ran away and disappeared. It turned out that my father was sick in the distance and was worried about how to get back, but suddenly he found his horse running, which was very surprising.

After returning home, the father knew what his daughter had said to the horse. Father felt uneasy and pondered for a while. He decided to shoot the horse the next day. And peel off the horse's skin and put it on a stone. One day, my daughter accidentally met Ma Pi while playing. The horse skin suddenly split and swept her away like a gust of wind. It turned out that Shenma skin swept away the lovely girl and went straight to the southwest. In the far southwest, there is a place called Hu Da, which is a desolate wilderness and the mountains are covered with mulberry trees. But when she got there, the girl in horse skin lost her original shape and became a silkworm with the shape of a horse's head and climbing on a tree. She only eats mulberry leaves. Later, she became the owner of this mulberry forest, and the emperor named her the silkworm god.