First, why is it called "Xiaoman"? The naming of the 24 solar terms is particular, so where did the name "Xiaoman" come from?
In the Song Dynasty, a man named Ma Yongqing made an explanation: "Xiaoman, in mid-April, means that the spirit of wheat has reached this point, and Fang Xiaoman is still immature." (See "The Record of Lazy True Son") Wu Cheng of the Yuan Dynasty also had a similar saying: "In mid-April, if you are small, things will be full." (See "twenty-four solar term")
? From this, we can see the origin of "Xiaoman", that is, in this solar term, summer crops such as wheat in northern China have begun to become full, but they are not really mature, so the ancients called this solar term "Xiaoman", which means "small and full". As the farmer's proverb says, "Little full, little full, the wheat is getting full."
? From the origin of the name "Xiaoman", it can be known that "Man" here means "fullness", because crops such as wheat in northern China are in the filling stage when the grain is about to be full, which is obviously aimed at the northern region.
? For the southern part of China, this "small full" is related to precipitation, and the word "full" is used to describe the water quantity. At this time, a large amount of precipitation began in the south, and the so-called "full" means "full of water". Because it is just beginning to enter the rainfall period, the precipitation is not much, so it is called "small full". In southern China, there is a proverb that "when a small man is dissatisfied, he breaks the ridge", which means that if there is not enough water in the field when a small man is full, it may cause the ridge to crack. People think that there is no rain in a small man, so there are some agricultural proverbs such as "Small man is dissatisfied, but the grain is not in charge" and "Small man is dissatisfied and the wheat is in danger". The "dissatisfaction" here refers to the lack of water in the reservoir because there is no rain. There is also a saying in agricultural proverbs that "the river is full, and the river is full".
It can be seen from the above that the "fullness" of Xiaoman has two meanings, one is to describe the fullness of crops, and the other is to describe the situation of rain surplus and shortage.
Second, what does Xiaoman mean by "three waits"? The "Three Stages" are summarized according to the phenological characteristics of the Yellow River Basin in ancient China. Because each solar term is fifteen days, the ancients took five days as a period, and a solar term can be divided into three periods, and a year can be divided into seventy-two periods. Each "climate" corresponds to a phenological phenomenon, indicating the characteristics of this solar term. What three stages did the ancients divide Xiaoman into?
? Wait for the bitter vegetable show. It means: in the solar term of Xiaoman, bitter vegetables have flourished, while wheat has begun to mature. Bitter vegetables are born in March and bloom in June, such as wild chrysanthemum, which is everywhere. Its leaves are like serrated teeth, which are bitter in the mouth and are good ingredients for clearing away heat and relieving summer heat.
? Second, wait for weeds to die. It means: in the full season, the sun is shining, and some soft grass that likes shade begins to die in the strong sunshine.
? Third, wait for the wheat to arrive in autumn. It means: the fresh wheat is ripe.
Third, why is there no "big man"? Xiaoman has different performances in the north and south. In the south, this solar term reflects the climate characteristics of heavy rainfall. In the north, it means that the seeds of summer crops in the north begin to become full, of course, they are not yet mature, but are "small full" and not "big full". Then, the question is, why is there only a "small full" and no "big full" among the 24 solar terms?
? It is not difficult to find that among the 24 solar terms, there is a slight summer heat and a great summer heat, a light snow and a slight cold and a great cold, but only a little full, not a big full.
? Some people analyze this phenomenon on the principle of being a man, and think that a small man is full without loss, full without profit, and full without overflow. This measure is accurate, proper, up and down, extendable and retractable, which is the highest realm of life. China's traditional Confucian doctrine of the mean, taboo "too full" and "too full", there are "full recruit damage, modest benefit" and "extremes meet". Therefore, in the naming of the twenty-four solar terms, this unique phenomenon has appeared: there is only "small fullness" but no "big fullness".
? Indeed, a small life is enough.