Dumplings at the beginning of winter, noodles at the beginning of spring, dumplings at the beginning of winter.

The Beginning of Winter is the first solar term in winter, representing the beginning of winter and the beginning of March. The beginning of winter, the beginning of spring, the beginning of summer, and the beginning of autumn are collectively called the "Four Lis". Plant in spring, cultivate in summer, harvest in autumn, and store in winter. All things sprout in spring, grow in summer, harvest in autumn, and rest in winter. The beginning of winter means that vitality begins to stagnate, everything enters a state of recuperation and storage, grass and trees wither, and stinging insects go dormant. For example, "Xiao Jingwei" says: Douzhiqian is the beginning of winter. Winter is the end, and everything is collected.

As for the division time of the four seasons, China has traditionally used the "Four Lis" (the beginning of spring, the beginning of summer, the beginning of autumn, and the beginning of winter) in the "Twenty-Four Solar Terms" as the beginning of the four seasons, and the "two points" ( The two solstices (summer solstice and winter solstice) are the midpoints of the four seasons, which have obvious astronomical meanings. The changes in the four seasons throughout the year are a continuous process. It is also the process of transformation of yin and yang, where one waxes and wanes and the other grows, and quantitative changes produce qualitative changes.

Phenological phenomena

The beginning of winter means that all things begin to enter a state of rest and collection. Wu Cheng, a scholar of the Yuan Dynasty, compiled "The Collection of Seventy-two Periods of the Moon Order". He divided the twenty-four solar terms of the year into "seventy-two periods", and each solar term was divided into three periods. The three periods of Beginning of Winter are: "The first period of water begins." Ice; in the second period, the ground begins to freeze, and in the third period, the pheasant entering the flood becomes a mirage. "

It means that at this time, the water has already turned into ice, and the land begins to freeze, and the pheasant entering the flood becomes a mirage. Pheasant refers to a large bird such as pheasant, and mirage refers to a large clam. After the beginning of winter, large birds such as pheasants are rare, but large clams whose shells have similar lines and colors to those of pheasants can be seen on the beach. Therefore, it is believed that pheasants turn into giant clams after the beginning of winter.