You may be interested in: What are the folk customs of Xiaoshu?
What is the meaning of Xiaoshu solar term: the official start of summer season
Xiaoshu is the eleventh solar term among the twenty-four solar terms in the lunar calendar. It is the fifth solar term in summer and represents the official start of the summer season. When the sun reaches 105 degrees longitude, it is called Xiaoshu solar term. Shu means hot, and Xiaoshu means mild heat. It means that the weather is starting to be hot, but it has not yet reached the hottest period, which is basically the case in most parts of the country. Crops across the country have entered a stage of vigorous growth, and field management needs to be strengthened.
Customs of the Xiaoshu solar term
1. Eating summer sheep
"Eating summer sheep" is a traditional custom in southern Shandong and northern Jiangsu during the Xiaoshu season. After the onset of summer, it is the summer leisure time just after the third summer and before the autumn harvest. Farmers who have been busy for half a year will eat summer sheep in groups of three to five households and seven or eight families. At this time, the little goat, which had grown up drinking mountain spring water and eating green grass for several months, was already tender and fragrant. This custom can be traced back to the Yao and Shun period. There is a saying among the local people that "Pengcheng Fuyang has a bowl of soup, and there is no need for a miracle doctor to prescribe a prescription." The Xuzhou people's favorite thing about eating summer sheep is the local folk song: "Pick up a girl on June 6th, new year's Eve" Wheat cake and mutton soup. "
On the day of Xiaoshu, people in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province have the habit of eating mutton in Fu, which is called "eating Fu Yang". This custom can be traced back to the Yao and Shun period. There is a folk saying "Pengcheng Fu Yang has a bowl of soup." There is no need for a miracle doctor to prescribe medicine." Xuzhou people's favorite thing about eating Fuyang is the local folk song "Pick up the girl on June 6th, new wheat cakes and mutton soup."
2. Food new
There are many places where people have the custom of "eating new foods" during the Xiaoshu period. Farmers will use new rice to worship the grain gods and ancestors, and then people will happily taste new wine. The newly harvested wheat is fried, then ground into flour and eaten with water and sugar. This way of eating has been around since the Han Dynasty, and it was more common in the Tang and Song Dynasties. Su Gong, a medical scientist in the Tang Dynasty, said that fried noodles can "resolve". It can relieve irritability, stop diarrhea, and strengthen the large intestine."
Among the people, people want to taste new rice after Xiaoshu. This is the custom of "eating new rice" in Xiaoshu. During the Xiaoshu season, farmers will grind the newly harvested rice into rice. The new rice is then cooked into fragrant rice to worship the Grain God and the ancestors. On this day, every household will eat new rice and taste new wine. It is said that "eating new" means "eating Xin", which is the first Xin day after Xiaoshu Festival. People in cities will buy a small amount of new rice and newly-launched vegetables, fruits, etc. on the day of Xiaoshu, and cook the new rice with the old rice when they return home. There is also a saying that "you eat millet in Xiaoshu, and you eat grain in summer", and our country is vast and rich in resources. It is the time when all things grow, so seasonal and delicious foods are most abundant at this time. For example, "Tokyo Menghua Lu" records about the customs of Kaifeng in the Song Dynasty: "It is the time of the moon, and alleys and intersections, bridges and shops, are selling large and small." Rice with rice, roasted pork, dried preserved meat, bamboo shoots, mustard melon, Yitang melon, Weizhou white peach, Nanjing golden peach, water pear, golden apricot, Xiaoyao plum, red water chestnut, Shajiaoer, medicinal papaya , water papaya, ice and snow, Liangshui lychee ointment, all use Yubu umbrellas, and stack the beds and stools in the street. Ice and snow are the most popular in the two houses outside the old Song Dynasty, and they all use silverware. Sugared mung beans, crystal soap, yellow cold dumplings, chicken head seedlings, water snow, fine material Qingchu'er, chicken skin with sesame drink, fine jelly, vegetarian picks, Chengshen cooked forest dumplings, sesame dumplings, Jiangdou pot , mutton steamed buns, turtle stuffing and so on. "Seasonal delicacies are abundant, so you might as well choose seasonal foods with many benefits and easy availability to quench summer heat and quench thirst.
3. Fasting
The fasting day of the Miao people in western Hunan is before the small summer heat every year. During this period, it is forbidden to eat chicken, duck, fish, turtle, crab, etc. It is said that eating it by mistake will bring disaster, but you can still eat pig, beef, and mutton.
4. Eating Fu Noodles
As the saying goes, "Hot comes in the third volt." After the Xiaoshu, Fu Tian comes, which means Fu, so people should go out less to avoid the summer heat. Will eat cool and refreshing food to survive the hot dog days.
When it comes to Futian, it happens to be less than a month after the wheat harvest in my country's wheat production areas. Every house is full of wheat. But when it comes to Futian, people are exhausted and have no appetite. Dumplings are a good appetizer among traditional foods. , so people use newly ground flour to make dumplings, or eat noodles made from new white flour, so there is a saying that "the first one is for dumplings, the second is for noodles, and the third is for pancakes and eggs." In Shandong, some people eat raw cucumbers and boiled eggs to cure the bitter summer. They eat eggs and no other food in the morning. According to research, the custom of eating noodles in Furi appeared in the Three Kingdoms period. "Wei's Spring and Autumn Annals" records: "If you take a towel to wipe your sweat with the soup cakes during the volt solar eclipse, your face will look bright and clear." The soup cakes here are hot soup noodles. "The Chronicles of the Years of Jingchu" says: "Soup cakes with a solar eclipse in June are called to ward off evil." May is an evil month, and June is similar to May, so it should also be "to ward off evil." You can also eat water noodles and fried noodles in Futian. To cross the water surface is to boil the noodles and pour them out in cold water, mix them with minced garlic, and pour them with marinade. Not only is it delicious, but it can also "break the heart". Fried noodles are made by stir-frying flour in a pot, then washing it with boiling water and adding sugar. It has the functions of "relieving polydipsia, stopping diarrhea and strengthening the large intestine".
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5. Xiaoshu licking cattle
In Linyi area of ??Shandong Province, every Xiaoshu solar term , people have the custom of improving the diet of cattle. During the dog days, wheat kernel soup was cooked for the cows to drink. It is said that the cows will be strong after drinking it, and can work without sweating. There is a folk song: "Bull whip in spring, lick the oxen (ox), wheat kernel soup, lick the cow rice, lick the cow and drink" If you don’t sweat anymore, stay up until June and do it again.”
6. Eating lotus root
In addition, there is a folk custom of eating lotus root during Xiaoshu. During the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty, lotus root was designated as a tribute to the imperial family. Lotus root has the same pronunciation as "even", so people eat lotus root to wish for a happy marriage. Like the lotus, the lotus root emerges from the mud without being stained, so it is also regarded as a symbol of clean and honest personality. Lotus root contains a large amount of carbohydrates and is rich in calcium, phosphorus, iron and a variety of vitamins. It also has a lot of potassium and dietary fiber. It has the effects of clearing away heat, nourishing blood and removing troubles, and is suitable for consumption in summer. Smash fresh lotus root over low heat, slice it into slices and add an appropriate amount of honey. You can eat it at will. It has the effect of calming the nerves and falling asleep, and can cure blood deficiency and insomnia.
7. City Ice
Ice is cold in nature. Use ice to refrigerate meat, fish, eggs, fruits, etc. in midsummer. It can inhibit the activity of microorganisms and keep them fresh and clean for a long time. However, it is not advisable to eat too much at this time, because the properties of ice are opposite to the hot climate at this time. When hot and cold meet, it is most likely to cause diseases. It is stated in "Recipe": "If you use ice in summer, it will only affect your diet and make your breath cool to your ears. You should not eat it. Although it is temporary at the time, it will become a disease in the long run." Women should be especially careful not to eat too much ice. The Chinese people have long been able to store and use ice. "Zhou Li" records: "Lingren palms ice, and it cures the mirror at the beginning of spring." The jian is a container as big as a Zhen. Ice cubes are placed at the mouth of the jian to store food in it, just like today's refrigerators. Refrigerate food.
Before there was artificial ice, the ice generally used was stored ice, which people in Wudi called cold ice. Whenever it's summer, there are people selling ice on the street. Some also put fresh fruits such as bayberry, peach, and red rose in the ice, which are usually called ice bayberry, ice peach, etc. Fresh fish shops use ice to keep the fish fresh, which is called chilled.
The Zhou Dynasty had regulations for distributing ice cubes in summer (see "Zhou Li·Tianguan")), and later generations also followed suit. "Ye Zhong Ji" says: "The capital of Shihu of the later Zhao Dynasty was Ye. There were 140 houses with ice rooms above. There were several wells in the rooms. The wells were 15 feet deep to hide the ice and kick the ministers in the lunar month." "Yuan Dynasty" He County Chronicle records: "The ice cellar is outside the salary gate, and there are twenty-four cellars to control the twenty-four airs. Whenever there is severe cold, the water is poured into the fields. Since the ice is strong, it is stored in the cellar. It needs to be protected in midsummer. "It's fresh and refreshing." In the fifth month of the lunar calendar, people started selling ice on their shoulders. Lu You, a poet of the Song Dynasty, wrote in his poem "Chongwu": "The pomegranate flowers at the bottom of the leaves are more and more crimson, and Yuanchi ice is sold on the street for the first time." He himself explained: "There is no water hidden in Kuaiji, and the sellers come by themselves." In the hot summer, in order to keep food fresh, or to eat ice cubes to cool down and relieve the heat, the ice market came into being. "Miscellaneous Odes of Yandu" writes: "Knocking on copper lamps, listening to ice selling on the streets. Floating melons sink and plums are crisp. The heat of the three volts is overwhelming.
"This depicts the ice seller selling ice cores along the street in summer.
8. Playing chess
Playing chess, "History of the Road" said it was made by Emperor Yao and was used to play chess. Educating his son Danzhu. Nowadays, Go and Xiangqi are widely used. Go was called chess in ancient times. "Zuo Zhuan·Xiangong Twenty-Five Years" records: "Ning Zi regards the king as chess." Why should he avoid it? Confucius said: "Although it is a small path, it must be worthwhile." "Mencius" also has a record: "Yiqiu is the game of chess for the whole country." "It can be seen that during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the custom of playing chess was already very popular. "Xijing Miscellanies" records that someone once played chess under the bamboo in the Han Palace; Du Fuzi of Duling in the Western Han Dynasty was good at playing chess and was known as the best in the world. In the Tang Dynasty Before the Tang Dynasty, the chess game had seventeen vertical and horizontal lanes, two hundred and eighty-nine squares, and one hundred and fifty black and white chess pieces. After the Tang Dynasty, it became nineteen vertical and horizontal lanes, and three hundred squares. Sixty-one steps.
As for chess, it was called Xiangxi in ancient times. It is said that it was made by Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, and he wrote the "Xiang Jing". He also ordered Geng Xin to compose "Xiang Opera Fu". At that time, the chess pieces were based on the image of the sun, moon and stars and followed the six laws. Pawns were used to replace the original chess pieces, and later evolved into the current form of chess. In the Song Dynasty, Sima Guang created the "Ancient Chess Game" and invented the Seven Kingdoms chess. The entire chess game is divided into seven kingdoms, with the king in the center. Qin is in the west, Chu and Han are in the south, Qi and Wei are in the east, and Yan and Zhao are in the north. Each country uses eleven chess pieces, distinguished by different colors, which can be combined or vertical. Lian Heng. Later, it was changed to the Three Kingdoms, but it is no longer popular.
During the Six Dynasties, the popularity of chess became the most popular, and it became a common hobby in the country. Names are listed to identify the masters of chess. The evaluation of official positions is based on the level of chess players. What's more, when the emperor met meritorious ministers, he also used chess pieces as rewards. Liu Hun pinned the chess records, which included 278 people. Emperor Wu of Liang also wrote books on chess such as "Go Game", "Chess Positions" and "Chess Methods". It can train the mind, enable people to use ingenuity, skillfully and unexpectedly win, and develop the habit of being precise and cautious, and predicting current events. The so-called poomsae are all about the advantages and disadvantages of the two sides in the game, and the victory or defeat. Therefore, the ancients attached the book of chess to the book of war, and the famous generals of the past dynasties, such as Emperor Wu of the Jin Dynasty, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, Xie Xuan, and Guan Yu, all loved playing chess and did not waste it even in the army.
The summer is long and boring. Playing chess under the shade of tung trees is a very interesting thing. Outsiders can also watch from the sidelines.
9. Fishing
It is not comfortable in the heat of midsummer. It is suitable for strenuous exercise and relaxing activities. Fishing in the willow pond is the most pleasant leisure activity.
10. Fighting Thrush
The thrush has picturesque eyebrows and a graceful and varied cry, just like a raccoon. Males are good at singing and aggressive, so people like to keep them in high cages and hang them carefully under the gallery. Feeding is very fun. The melodious sound of the thrushes can relieve boredom and add excitement. On the day of Xiaoshu, bird feeders carry bird cages to parks and other places to set up battles with thrushes to decide the winner. The folk song describes the situation of fighting the thrush: "The body is like a barbarian, the tail is like a harp, the neck is like a shaved bamboo, and the mouth is like a nail. Add a pair of beef tendons and legs, and win all nine cages in one cage. ”
Raising thrushes requires careful attention. Hang the birdcage high, put in water cans and food cans, and set up a geranium pole in the cage so that the thrushes will not freeze their feet when they perch on it in winter. Use egg yolks every day Mix it with water and feed it with a little fine sand. When the weather gets hotter, you can put the bird cage in the water basin and let it bathe by itself. This will make the feathers more shiny and avoid death from infection.
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11. Hairpin Jasmine
Jasmine likes the hot sun and blooms in hot summer . The flowers are rich in fragrance and can dispel turbid odor.
In places such as Jiangsu and Shanghai, flower sellers in summer often tie the jasmine flowers with thin wires into bouquets, flower ribbons, etc. for women to wear hairpins. Flower farmers in Huqiu, Suzhou, put jasmine in horse head baskets and sold them along the streets. They called them Daihua. Women usually bought and wore hairpins. "Book of Jin" records that "everyone in the capital wears Naihua in their hairpins", and Naihua is the current jasmine. In midsummer, pick jasmine flowers every night, take half a cup of well water, put the flower on the cup with something, so that the flower is one or two inches above the water, and seal it with thick paper. The flowers can be worn the next day, and the water can be used to make tea. The fragrance is fragrant, especially wonderful.
Wu Weiye of the Qing Dynasty wrote in a poem: "The new table is always full of fragrance after soaking, and the fine strands are threaded into half-open pistils." At the turn of April and May in Peiping, there are people on the street selling goods with burdens. Jasmine has a clear and fragrant floral fragrance, which can be used by elegant guests to order tea and women to dress up. Hu Mengxiang wrote a poem about jasmine, saying: "This flower is the most abundant, and it is also produced in Fujian. When the boats come to the north, how far is the road? The rich and noble in Yanzhong are fragrant, and the pots are full of arrogant flowers. The hall is filled with water. Use the fishy juice to bloom, and the stars will reveal the early morning light. I love it when I get up early in the boudoir, so it is best to pick it near the temples." 12. Raising Grasshoppers
Grasshopper's first name is Ge Ge, whose name was first seen in "The Old Theory of Chong Hui". Grasshoppers often make sounds by rubbing their wings together, and the sounds are loud and clear. During summer and autumn, children mostly raise them. "Ping Hua Zhai Ji" says that there is an insect that looks like a clam and has a fat body. People in the capital call it the Grasshopper, and people in the south call it Gege, and they like to catch and raise it. Grasshopper Yan'er eats loofah flowers and melon pulp, and its cry is similar to that of Kuwei but is clearer than that of Kuwei. Under the clear dew, the smoke grasshopper chirped all night long, the sound was desolate and extremely sad.
In the Zhejiang area, in midsummer there are people selling grasshoppers on their shoulders in the streets and alleys. They are kept in paper boxes or small bamboo silk cages. The dense chirping of insects was so exciting and sad that women and children gathered together when they heard the chirping. Therefore, the place where the grasshoppers were sold became a lively trading place. Each grasshopper sold for five to more than ten copper coins. After wealthy people bought them back, they kept them in mahogany boxes with glass embedded in them and a bottom underneath that could be opened for easy feeding. The food is generally edamame, rice, green spicy eggplant and pumpkin flowers. At night, hang the grasshopper above the bed, and the chirping of insects will be clear and sweet. "Qing Jia Lu" records the customs of the Wu region: "In the deep autumn, grasshoppers are kept in cages, listening to their chirping for fun, and hiding them in their arms. They may also be fed with cinnabar to keep them from becoming stiff through the winter. The cages are made of dried gourds, with gold and jade covers. The carvings are exquisite. Insects come from the north, and when the wind blows, thousands of baskets and hundreds of camps are filled with them. "
People in the north like to raise grasshoppers, and most of them use cages. A good smoked grasshopper is worth more than ten gold. The grasshopper cage is made of a small gourd with the upper section removed. The color is preferably like beeswax. It is inlaid with ivory or covered with purple plants. Flowers and birds are carved around it for ventilation. The craftsmanship is extremely delicate and ingenious. If the shape is flat, open a glass window next to it, which may be worth hundreds of gold. When the weather is cold, the grasshoppers hide here to keep warm and make their chirping louder. If you feed the grasshopper with silver vermilion, it will have a red and shiny belly and be able to withstand cold. Most Manchu women of the Eight Banners hollowed out the soles of their shoes and put grasshoppers inside, so that the screams of the grasshoppers corresponded to the sound of their shoes, which is also called "squeaky". Han Baoquan's poem "Ode to Brother" written by Han Baoquan in the Qing Dynasty wrote: "Young young pity is a guest, and I have passed thousands of miles away from the mountains. Fanlong is a simple man, and he has many people with his tongue. Looking back at the sky from the north, who can rely on the song from the south. The road of the world cannot be traveled, Why bother calling me brother? ”
13. Fireflies
Fireflies are beneficial insects that eat various pests and are very beneficial to agricultural production. There are two types of fireflies, male and female. The male has a yellow body, a black head, compound eyes, soft wings covered with dots and lines; the female has no wings and is shaped like a maggot. Both male and female worms have light-emitting devices at their tail ends. When they breathe, air flows through them, causing oxidation and emitting light, which is very beautiful. During the Xiaoshu solar term in summer, female insects lay eggs in aquatic plants, and the eggs also glow faintly. Around the time of the Great Heat, small fireflies fly out. Che Yin in the Jin Dynasty was from a poor family and had no money to buy lamp oil for studying, so he put dozens of fireflies in a kit to illuminate his reading in the summer (see "Book of Jin Che Yin Biography"). In the fifteenth year after the founding of the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Chang of the Sui Dynasty collected fireflies from the Luhua Palace in the Eastern Capital and went out to the mountains at night to release all the fireflies. During the period, the fluorescent lights flashed all over the rock valley (see "Book of the Sui Dynasty: The Chronicles of the Emperor Chang"). 》).
"Yan Fanlu" quotes Shen Cunzhong's "Qingye Lu": "Ding Zhuya was defeated, and there was a Si in his family. There were several crimson sarongs, most of them were like candle cages, but there were no postscripts and no insects. They were named Ju Firefly Sacs and had fire. It’s so clever that it doesn’t use the heat of fire.” Probably the fluorescent light of fireflies is weak, but when it is gathered in large numbers in one place, it is very bright. On summer nights, children often use eggshells, tissue paper, or muscovite sheets to make transparent fire cages, and put fireflies in them, and the fireflies flicker on and off. Hold it and enjoy it, it's called a firefly lamp.
14. Tourist attractions
In the evening of Xiaoshu summer, the sun sets and the cool breeze blows. People are resting in the courtyard, mooring boats in the willow pond, or rafting on the river. To relieve the heat. Famous scenic spots in China, such as Huqiu Mountain Pond in Suzhou, Qinhuai and Hou Lake in Nanjing, Slender West Lake in Yangzhou, Taotang in Wuhu, East Lake in Shaoxing, South Lake in Jiaxing, West Lake in Hangzhou, Litchi Bay in Guangzhou, and the Three Gorges in Beijing The sea, Qinglongtan in Tianjin, Daming Lake in Jinan, Baihuazhou in Nanchang, Lijiang River in Guilin, and Dianchi Lake in Kunming all provide people with good places to spend the summer and relieve the heat. Those who have the conditions may wish to visit.
On a hot summer day, it is most comfortable for people of all ages, young and old, to cool off with water. On the cruise ship, you can catch the wind with your lapels draped, and the scenery of the mountains and water will fill your heart. When you enter the harbor at night, the lights will be brilliant. Visitors from all over the world gather together, enjoying the bright moonlight and the waves, the lights and the water, enjoying wine and delicacies, orchestral competition, or chatting while sipping tea while enjoying the fragrance of tea. Relaxing body and mind amidst the elegance of the landscape and leisurely atmosphere is truly a summer pleasure.