The 24 solar terms

Reference

Song of Solar Terms

节气歌 春雨惊春清谷天，夏满芒夏暑相连， 秋处露秋寒霜降，冬雪雪冬小大寒。

  1. Beginning of Spring 立春
  2. Rain Water 雨水
  3. Waking of insects 惊蛰 (/'ɪnsɛkt/ n. [昆] 昆虫；昆虫类，昆虫纲（insect的复数形式）)
  4. Spring Equinox 春分 (/ˈekwɪnɑːks,ˈiːkwɪnɑːks/ n. 春分；秋分；昼夜平分点)
  5. Pure Brightness 清明 (/pjʊr/ adj. 纯的；纯粹的；纯洁的；清白的；纯理论的 | /ˈbraɪtnəs/ n. [光][天] 亮度；聪明，活泼；鲜艳；愉快)
  6. Grain Rain 谷雨
  7. Beginning of Summer 立夏
  8. Grain Full 小满
  9. Grain in Ear 芒种 (抽穗;耳朵)
  10. Summer Solstice 夏至 (/ˈsɒlstɪs/ /ˈsɑːlstɪs/ n. 至，至日；至点)
  11. Slight Heat and Great Heat 小暑、大暑
  12. Beginning of Autumn 立秋
  13. Limit of Heat 处暑
  14. White Dew 白露 英 [djuː] 美 [duː] n. 露;露水 vt. 弄湿
  15. Autumn Equinox 秋分 /ˈekwɪnɑːks,ˈiːkwɪnɑːks/ n. 春分；秋分；昼夜平分点
  16. Cold Dew 寒露
  17. Frost's Descent 霜降 /dɪˈsent/ n. 下降；血统；袭击 vt. 除去…的气味；使…失去香味
  18. Beginning of Winter 立冬
  19. Light Snow 小雪 /laɪt/ n. 光；光线；灯；打火机；领悟；浅色；天窗 adj. 轻的； (Lesser Snow) /ˈlesər/ adj. 较少的；次要的；更小的 adv. 较少地；更小地；不及
  20. Heavy Snow 大雪 (Greater Snow)
  21. Winter Solstice 冬至
  22. Slight Cold and Great Cold 小寒、大寒

Refer to twenty four solar terms

Book(1-4): This is the 24 solar terms

Listen to the language of nature!

Story Plotline

A little girl named Yaya comes to her grandparents' home in the countryside. Crops planted in the spring, growing in the summer, harvested in the autumn, and preserved in the winter, Yaya experiences the changes of the 24 solar terms there.

8 Key Sections to Understand Solar Terms

  • Tales of Solar Terms
  • Agricultural Activities
  • Ancient Poems and Proverbs
  • The 72 Hou
  • Historical Origins
  • Folk Festivals
  • Astronomy and Climate
  • Flora and Fauna

Book Introduction

First set of original Chinese picture books for children to learn about 24 Solar Terms.

Planned and written by researchers from Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

A Song on Solar Terms

  • Spring rain wakes spring of pure grain bequest. (/bɪˈkwest/ n. 遗产；遗赠)
  • Summer grain buds and ears flourish in summer heat. (/bʌd/ n. 芽，萌芽；蓓蕾 vi. 发芽，萌芽 vt. 使发芽英 | /ˈflʌrɪʃ/ 美 /ˈflɜːrɪʃ/ v. 繁荣，茂盛；茁壮成长，处于旺盛时期；)
  • Autumn heat abates with dewy autumn and cold frost. (/əˈbeɪt/ vt. 减轻；减少；废除 vi. 减轻；失效 | /ˈduːi/ adj. 带露水的，露湿的；如露的)
  • Winter snow, heavy snow, winter cold descends. (/dɪˈsend/ vi. 下降； vt. 下去；沿…向下)

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express their most sincere gratitude to the experts and scholars who offered their guidance and helped review the book.

Back Cover - Content Introduction

There are four seasons in a year. The ancient Chinese divided four seasons into 24 solar terms, each representing a distinctive phase of seasonal change. Solar terms can not only provide guidance on agricultural production, but also help us anticipate changes of weather in our daily life.

The book tells a story of a little girl, Yaya, who visits her grandparents in the countryside and experiences the changes of 24 solar terms throughout the year there. Opening this book, together with Yaya, you will have a journey of experiencing traditional Chinese folk festivals, learning about old rituals, observing animals and plants, and listening to the language of nature.

Book 1: Spring

TODO

Book 2: Summer

TODO

Book 3: Autumn

TODO

Book 4: Winter

  • Fluffing the Cotton (fluff /flʌf/ vt. 抖松；使…起毛 vi. 起毛；变松)
  • Removing Seeds of the Cotton
  • Storing the Cotton

Grandma observes that winter in rural areas is far colder than that in the city. She promises Yaya she'll make her a new, and maximally windproof coat after the coming autumn cotton harvest. This makes Yaya hope for an early winter this year because she can't wait to try on her new coat.

  • rural /ˈrʊrəl/ adj. 农村的，乡下的；田园的，有乡村风味的
  • windproof /'wɪnd,prʊf/ adj. 防风的
  • proof /pruːf/ n. 证明；证据；校样；考验；验证；试验 adj. 防…的；不能透入的；证明用的；耐…的 vt. 试验；校对；使不被穿透

Canvas

The snowfield is a vast canvas painted in footprints. Gazing at the canvas, Yaya wonders who "painted" secretly last night.

雪地是一块巨大的画布，上面画着脚印。雅雅凝视着画布，心想昨晚到底是谁在“作画”。

  • vast /væst/ adj. 广阔的；巨大的；大量的；巨额的 n. 浩瀚；广阔无垠的空间
  • secretly /ˈsiːkrətli/ adv. 秘密地；背地里

Beginning of Winter

The temperature is falling, the trees are bare, and small wild animals are rarely seen in the fields at this time. Perhaps some are already hibernating. Dad says that for some poikilothermal animals like snakes and frogs in particular, sleeping through the harsh winter months is the surest way of survival.

Yaya observes that humans spend most of their time in winter at home, so isn't that like hibernation?

The Beginning of Winter

The Beginning of Winter falls on November 7 or 8. The Chinese character for "Winter" also means making an end, or finishing, which signifies the storing of harvested crops that have been laid out in the sun to dry for a few days before winter's approach. It's when small wild animals retreat to their nests and burrows to hibernate. Although humans don't hibernate at the Beginning of Winter, Chinese people do make a point of eating the invigorating, fortifying foods that help to withstand winter's frigid rigors.

  • If the weather at the Beginning of Winter is sunny, there will be a chill winter; if the weather at the Beginning of Winter is cloudy, there will be a warm winter.

The Sun reaches ecliptic longitude 225o

Record the thermometer reading on this day.

  • Highest temperature _____ oC
  • Lowest temperature ______ oC

Snow and Rainfall

Precipitation drops dramatically in most regions across China around the Beginning of Winter, diversifying from rain, to sleet, snow, and hail. Frigid temperatures take hold, but may also unexpectedly rise. With more pollutants accumulating in the atmosphere, it forms heavy fog or haze easily.

Three Hou of the Beginning of Winter 立冬三候

  • During the first hou, the water starts to freeze.
  • During the second hou, the ground starts to freeze.
  • During the third hou, the pheasants dive in the river to morph into clams.

Water Starts to Freeze

When the temperature drops, land in the North begins to freeze and harden, and thin ice forms on rivers and lakes. In the south, it's the season for autumn harvesting and winter sowing, when everyone takes the chance to rush-plant winter wheat.

Hibernation

For some small wild animals, hibernation is the surest way to survive winter's frigid rigors and scarce food. The body temperature of poikilotherms, such as snakes and frogs, drops in tandem with the outside temperature, immobilizing them into a state of torpor. Certain endotherms, for example, hedgehogs, also hibernate. They curl up in a warm hole or burrow and sleep the winter out, reaching s state where they can survive on no food and a very low rate of respiration.

What animals do you know that hibernate?

  • poikilotherm /'pɒɪkɪlə(ʊ),θɜːm/ n. 变温动物
  • endotherm /'ɛndə,θɚm/ n. 恒温动物

Orchids Bloom

The orchid, Chinese plum flower, bamboo, and chrysanthemum are traditionally known as the "four Gentlemen" of the garden. Orchids need shade, so they often grow in valleys. With glossy, slender leaves and elegant, subtly tinted petals emitting a light fragrance, they evoke the persona of o modest gentleman. The many orchid varieties include the cymbidium kanrans, which bloom around the Beginning of Winter, and whose fragrance gets stronger with the declining temperature. To Chinese ancients, orchids embodied aesthetic perfection, and were also associated with the joy of deep friendship.

  • glossy /ˈɡlɑːsi/ adj. 光滑的；有光泽的
  • cymbidium /sɪm'bɪdɪəm/ n. 兰花
  • kanrans

Getting Warm

Every household needs to prepare for the onset of winter. People fire up their stoves at home. When they go out, their soft, freshly padded great coats fend off the cold. Even the coats of the farm cattle, horses, sheep, and dogs are coarsening to withstand the chill of winter. Cattle rest in the shed and horses in their stable, where their owners have laid in ample hay for them to eat. Stables, sheepfolds, doghouses and henhouses are all sealed to keep out the arctic wind.

Pruning

Many fruit trees also go dormant in winter. This gives fruit growers a chance to spruce their trees up a little by trimming and thinning out their branches and cutting away any deadwood, old, or pest-damaged branches. The trees are then more receptive to the resultantly improved light and ventilation, and gain optimum benefits from better distributed nutrients that ward off pests and diseases, and help produce better and more plentiful fruits. Different fruit trees require different pruning methods according to their shape and age.

Light Snow

"If you don't harvest vegetables by the Light Snow, they will be frozen," Grandpa says as he and others descend to the deep, roomy cellar laden with vegetables. Chinese cabbages are best piled up in pyramid fashion, and there should be specific places to store potatoes, yams, garlic, and other vegetables that will feed the family through winter.

The Light Snow

The Light Snow falls on November 22 or 23. This solar term signifies the start of snow and its level. The weather is cold and dry. As winter sets in the north part of the South, the North faces a strong cold front, so the first winter snow usually falls in northern China. It's a light sprinkling of snow that rapidly melts without trace. The snowfall at the Light Snow is highly beneficial to agricultural production.

  • Although the snowfall at the Light Snow is not abundant, it is precious when swept on to the fields.

The Sun reaches ecliptic longitude 240oC

Keeping Warm

The strong cold front around the Light Snow eventually drives temperatures in most parts of North China below 0oC. Consequently at this most arid time of year, snowfall is extremely valuable. Although only a sprinkling, it's a reminder to wear more clothes and keep warm. It is also a signal for fruit growers to protect their trees from frost.

Three Hou of the Light Snow

  • During the first hou, there is no rainbow.
  • During the second hou, the yang energy rises, while yin energy falls.
  • During the third hou, bad weather causes inaccessibility.

Host of Daffodils

With its big and fleshy spherical bulb, the daffodil resembles garlic or onion, thus it is also called "elegant garlic" or "heavenly green onion." Daffodil is easy to grow. The tried and true method is to place the bulb in clear water of appropriate amount in autumn. With sufficient sunshine and a proper temperature, it should bloom in winter.

Winter Tree Care

When the temperature drops, fruit growers usually coat the trunks of their fruit trees with straw ropes to protect them from frost.

The trunks of trees such as poplars and willows are coated with around a meter of whitewash from the base up. This is for two reasons. First, a thin coat of whitewash helps kill the fungus, bacteria, and pests that live on trees. Second, an un-whitewashed trunk absorbs large amounts of solar heat during the day, but its temperature plummets at night, which makes the trunk vulnerable to frostbite. Coating it in whitewash helps to reflect 40% to 70% direct sunlight off the trunk, which reduces temperature differential between day and night and helps keep the trunk from cracking.

Grain Storage

The various grains and vegetables harvested in autumn now need to be stored. Radishes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, Chinese cabbages, green Chinese onions, pumpkins are put in the cellar; amply-aired grains are bagged and stored in granaries.

Blizzards

Blizzards are manifested in fierce winds and heavy snowfall, and generally occur after several falls. When blizzards erupt in gales of uncompacted snow, the sky becomes a vast expanse of white opaqueness. Strong winds are what whip up blizzards. They commonly occur in pastoral areas of North China.

Pickles

There is a Chinese saying:"Pickle Chinese cabbages during the Light Snow and eat it on the Heavy Snow." Every household gets busy during the Light Snow producing easy-to-store foods for the winter, like pickled Chinese cabbage and pickled radish, making sausages and bacon, or brewing wine.

Heavy Snow

On getting up this morning, Yaya is shocked by a vast expanse of whiteness outside the windows; all she can see wears a thick layer of snow. The roof of the bullpen has collapsed under its weight, and her brother is busy repairing it. Yaya hands him the tools he needs, and later meets up with a few friends for a snowball fight.

The Heavy Snow

The Heavy Snow falls on December 6,7 or 8. Different from the Light Snow, which signifies only a sprinkling of snow, there is sustained heavy snowfall during the Heavy Snow, and temperatures drop significantly. The general decline of precipitation makes the climate fairly dry nationwide.

  • A fall of seasonable snow gives promise of a fruitful year.

The Sun reaches ecliptic longitude 255o

Nationwide Snow

The weather during the Heavy Snow usually includes heavy snow, sleet, rime, and haze, transforming North China into a land of ice and snow.

Three Hou of the Heavy Snow

  • During the first hou, the Hedan birds do not sing.
  • During the second hou, tigers start to mate.
  • During the third hou, grass roots sprout.

Snowflakes

During the Heavy Snow, snowflakes descending from the sky are North China's most beautiful "flowers". Have you ever examined snowflakes? They are sometimes composed of snow droplets, or fall in large clumps; sometimes hexagonal in shape, and sometimes falling like goose down. Snowflake enthusiasts and scientists have observed and recorded many different types of snowflakes around the world, and so far pinpointed as many as 20,000 patterns. How do snowflakes appear in so many shapes? This is inseparable from the cloud environment in which they grow, and also relates to the changes in temperature, moisture and airflow that snowflake crystals weather on their journey through the upper atmosphere.

  • Branch-Stellate-Shaped Snowflake
  • Fan-Shaped Snowflake

The Hedan Bird Stops Singing

During the Heavy Snow, the Hedan bird does not sing. In fact, Hedan is not a bird at all but a mammal called Trogopterus xanthipes. Its patagium, the furry, parachute-like membrane stretching from wrist to ankle, enables the animal to glide from tree to tree.

A Fall of Seasonable Snow Gives Promise of a Fruitful Year

As well as acting as "bed sheets" that insulate winter wheat from teh cold, snow contains plentiful nitrides which nourish the soil after thawing. Snow can also neutralize overwintering worm eggs by freezing them to death.

Rolling Snowball

Do you know that not all now can be rolled into big balls? The fact is, only the snowflakes that form in moderately cold temperatures stick together. The ones that fall on colder days aren't all that big, and lack the cohesion necessary to form big snowballs.

So the next time you see snow, try making a snowball and see how big it can be.

Snowball Fights

Children love to make snowballs, have snowball fights, and ski in the open air. Those sports are good for blood circulation, and so keep them warm.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Freezing outside it may be, it is toasty indoors. Family members are sitting around the stove roasting sweet potatoes.

Winter Solstice

The tradition of serving jiaozi on the day of the Winter Solstice originates in commemoration of famed doctor Zhang Zhongjing(c.150-c.215) of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The story goes that, having retired from his official post, Zhang returned to his hometown in one frigid winter and noticed that many local people's ears were frostbitten. Distressed at their plight, he concocted a medicinal filling for ear-shaped jiaozi, boiled in a huge pot, which he then distributed to local residents. The medicinal herbs incorporated in these delicious and nutritious jiaozi healed their frostbitten ears. Following the example of her grandma, Yaya makes several ear-shaped jiaozi.

The Winter Solstice

The Winter Solstice falls between December 21 and 23. As the founding solar term, the Winter Solstice was also celebrated as the Winter Festival or Changzhi Festival, when families offered sacrifices to their ancestors. The Winter Solstice occurs when the Sun is directly over the Tropic of Capricorn. It is the day with the shortest day time and the longest night time of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.

  • However you reckon them, the coldest days of the year come after the Winter Solstice.

The Sun reaches ecliptic longitude 270o

Astronomical Phenomena

In the Northern Hemisphere, the Winter Solstice marks the shortest day and the longest night of the year. At around 10 p.m. this night, it's possible to see the handle of the Big Dipper pointing north.

Three Hou of the Winter Solstice

  • During teh first hou, the earthworms are still curled up.
  • During the second hou, the milu sheds its antlers.
  • During the third hou, spring water starts to flow.

The Nine Enneads Ballad

  • During the first and second periods, keep your hands covered;
  • During the third and fourth periods, tread on icy ground;
  • During the fifth and sixth periods, see how the willows turn green;
  • The seventh period is when rivers thaw;
  • The eighth period greets the return of wild geese;
  • And the ninth period is when cattle begin to work in the field.

The Nine Winter Enneads

Chinese ancients subdivided the wintry days ensuing from the Winter Solstice into nine nine-day periods, after which the weather becomes warmer, and fluffy willow catkin seeds drift like snow throughout city streets and byways. There is a popular folk rhyme that defines these periods.

Camellias Bloom

Camellias /kəˈmiːliə/ has thick and glossy light green leaves. Together with big disk and bright-colored petals, it looks elegant. There are around 2,000 species of this exotic, traditionally ornamental flower that is loved around the world.

The Milu Sheds Its Antlers

Chinese people perceive milu, or Pere David's deer, as a nondescript animal having the head of a horse, the antlers of a deer, a donkey's tail, and a cow's cloven hooves. The Winter Solstice is when the male milu sheds its antlers, but by the following summer new antlers will grow once more.

Making Jiaozi

It is customary for Chinese people to eat jiaozi on the day of the Winter Solstice. Chinese ancients attached the same importance to the Winter Solstice as the Spring Festival. Different from cisui, on the Lunar New Year's Eve, which means bidding the outgoing year farewell, tiansui, used to indicate the day preceding the Winter Solstice, literally means becoming a year older. This signifies that although the Lunar New Year has not yet arrived, people already become one year older. It's on this day that families in the North gather to make jiaozi, and each person performs a specific task. Someone kneads the dough, someone rolls out the jiaozi wrappers, and someone else peels garlic for the dipping sauce. The whole house is warm and redolent of chat, laughter when eating jiaozi together.

Counting Down the Wintry Days till Spring

Chinese ancestors devised a way of plotting the transition from winter to spring. They would draw nine plum blossoms, each with nine petals, and add color to a single petal on each day that passed after that of the Winter Solstice. When all nine petals of the nine drawn plum blossoms had been colored in, winter was deemed to be over.

Gourmet Treats

Great significance was attached to the Winter Solstice in earlier times, and specific dishes were prepared to celebrate that day, which is a custom that is still observed. People in northern China eat jiaozi, while people in southeastern China's Fujian Province eat duck with ginger. The seasonal treat is steamed sticky rice with red beans on the lower reaches of the the Yangtze River, tangyuan (glutinous rice balls with sweet fillings) in Shanghai, and glutinous rice cake in Taiwan.

  • Jiaozi
  • Duck with Ginger
  • Steamed Sticky Rice with Red Beans
  • Tangyuan

Slight Cold

As Yaya trudges through the snow with her father, a flowery fragrance emanates from a clump of wintersweet shrubs. The scent becomes stronger as Yaya and her father draw closer to it.

The Slight Cold

The Slight Cold falls between January 5 and 7. The Slight Cold marks the start of the coldest days of the year. According to meteorological data, teh temperatures of the Slight Cold are usually lower than that of the Great Cold. There is a Chinese saying, "The coldest days are during the third nine-day period after the Winter Solstice (which comes on the heels of the Slight Cold)." The arrival of the Slight Cold signifies the last month of the lunar calendar.

  • Dripping water freezes during the Slight Cold and Great Cold.

The Sun reaches ecliptic longitude 285o

Preventing Frost Damage

Frigid temperature during the Slight Cold threaten frost damage to crops and trees. This is why fruit growers will remove snow from fruit trees timely to prevent their branches from freezing or breaking off.

Three Hou of the Slight Cold

  • During the first hou, wild geese head north.
  • During the second hou, magpies start nesting.
  • During the third hou, male pheasants begin to crow.

Nesting Magpies

Magpies generally build their nests in the branches of large trees near human communities. As this task takes several months to complete, the birds allow themselves ample time to ensure that all is in readiness for them to incubate their eggs in the coming year. They fly back and forth to teh crown of their chosen tree, carrying in their beaks sticks, mud, feathers, and animal hair with which to build the frame of the nest, and the twigs that they line it with. A warm, solidly-built nest can take as long as four months to finish.

Wintersweet Smells Sweet

Do you know the Chinese character "la" in lamei (wintersweet) is the same character appearing in lazhu (candle) which stands for wax? It is because wintersweet's flower buds are smooth and thick just like a layer of wax is spread on the surface. Many people, however, make the mistake of using the character "la" in la yue (the twelfth month of the lunar calendar) because they think wintersweet blooms in that month. In fact, wintersweet's florescence is beyond the last month of the lunar calendar. Also, it is distinct from Chinese plum blossom, which blooms later. Other differences are as follows: wintersweet belongs to Calycanthaceae while plum blossom Rosaceae; the petals of wintersweet are yellow and solid while plum blossom's variegated and soft; the fragrance of wintersweet is stronger than plum blossom's.

Snowfield Games

After a heavy fall of snow when everything is clad in white, children delight in snowfield games and inventing snow toys. For instance, a small sled can be improvised by attaching a rope to a wooden board that one can sit on while one pulls him in front, and one pushes him from the back. They can take turns to enjoy it.

Laba Porridge

The Laba Festival is the main event during the Slight Cold. On the eighth day of the 12th month of the lunar year (ie. Laba), every household cooks laba porridge. In some regions there is also the tradition of pickling laba garlic. It's easy, so give it a try! You'll be amazed at how the color of the garlic changes after marinating in vinegar. There are many legends about the origins of the Laba Festival. Some say it is the day when Sakyamuni became Buddha; others say it is to commemorate Yue Fei (1103-1142), the famous general of Southern Song Dynasty in Chinese history. Parents and grandparents have plenty of stories to tell about the origins of the Laba Festival.

Pickling Laba Garlic (Vinegar, Garlic, Bottle)

  • Peel the garlic
  • Put the garlic into a bottle and add vinegar
  • Seal the bottle until garlic turns green. It's then ready to eat. The vinegar in the bottle can also be used for cold dishes, or as a dipping sauce for jiaozi

Spring Festival Ballad

The vibrant Spring Festival atmosphere is all pervasive once Laba (the eighth day of the last lunar month) arrives. The Spring Festival Ballad recounts the customs and traditions synonymous with this most important Chinese festival:

  • The New Year follows closely on the heels of Laba.

  • Enjoy your laba porridges for a few days until the 23rd day of the last lunar month, when your parents will buy you malt sugar candy.

  • On the 24th day, people spring-clean their houses.

  • On the 25th day, everyone makes tofu.
  • On the 26th day, each family buys pork.
  • On the 27th day, people go shopping for new clothes.
  • On the 28th day, the dough is leavened.
  • On the 29th day, people make steamed buns.
  • On Lunar New Year's Eve, be ready to stay up the whole night.
  • On Lunar New Year's Day, dance to celebrate the New Year.

Great Cold

The 23rd day of the last lunar month is known as Preliminary Eve. On that day, markets and fairs are heaving with shoppers for Spring Festival treats. Yaya's grandma tells her that this day is also known as the Kitchen God Festival, when people clean their homes, eat malt sugar candy, and offer sacrifices to teh Kitchen God hoping that he will give a good report of the temporal world to the Jade Emperor. Everyone can then be sure of being blessed with a safe and prosperous new year.

The Great Cold

The Great Cold, the last of the 24 solar terms, falls between January 19 and 21. Temperatures are still very low at this time, and snow freezes on the ground. But following close behind the Great Cold comes the Spring Festival. This solar term is consequently imbued with happy expectations of family reunions and a fresh start.

The Slight Heat, Great Heat, Limit of Heat, Slight Cold, and Great Cold all reflect the change of temperature and degree of heat or cold at different periods of the year. After the Great Cold, a new round of solar terms begins.

  • After the Great Cold, a new year starts.

The Sun reaches ecliptic longitude 300o

A Frozen World

Heavy snowfall generally occurs around the Great Cold, and is often accompanied by strong winds and a drop in temperature. When going out, you'd better wrap up well in an overcoat, scarf and mittens to avoid frostbite.

Three Hou of the Great Cold

  • During the first hou, broody hens incubate their eggs.
  • During the second hou, raptorial birds hunt for prey.
  • During the third hou, the river freezes solidly at the center.

Raptorial Birds Hunt for Prey

Flowers and plants, birds and animals all behave according to the seasons. Their regular patterns are regarded as the distinguishing signal of the solar terms. It's around the Great Cold that raptorial birds like eagles and falcons are keenest to hunt prey, hovering in the sky as they scan the landscape for food that will give them sufficient energy to weather the cold.

Winter Swimming

"During the third and fourth periods, tread on icy ground." Ice skaters are attracted by the thick and solid ice on rivers. It is also a time when certain brave souls break through the ice on rivers and jump in for a swim. Studies show that, with due preparation, regular winter swimming can ease anxiety and enhance the capacity to resist the cold, and also improve the body's microcirculation, so enhancing the immune system.

Wintersweet Blooms

As the Spring Festival approaches, wintersweet blossoms appear amid the cold winds in the snow fields of Southern regions. In northern China, meanwhile, the potted wintersweet also flowers, and wafts its distinct fragrance, after which new leaves later bud on the shrub. Wintersweet is, along with teh pine and bamboo, one of the Three Friends of Winter.

In Chinese, mei refers to both the wintersweet and the plum. The former is popular by virtue of its distinctive flowers and fragrance, and the latter is planted mainly for its fruits. Preserved plums are a national favorite.

Cleaning and Shopping For the Spring Festival

As the Lunar New Year draws near, every household is busy making preparations. Everyone is allotted certain tasks, such as cleaning the house from top to bottom and pasting red paper-cuts on windows. People also go shopping at fairs or malls for lanterns, Spring Festival couplets, fire crackers, and new clothes for children.

Secrets in the Snowfield

The snow-shrouded ground basks in the winter sunshine, like a huge cotton-padded quilt, a corner of which the warm sunshine lifts to reveal the budding green winter wheat. Cloud it be that spring has arrived before the end of winter?

冰雪覆盖的地面，在冬日的阳光下，就像一床巨大的棉被，暖暖的阳光托起一角，露出嫩绿的冬小麦。

Arrival of the New Year

Everyone who has worked hard the past year embraces the arrival of the New Year with faces wreathed in smiles.

过去一年里努力工作的每个人都面带微笑迎接新年的到来。

The passing of the Beginning of Winter, the Slight Snow, the Great Snow, the Winter Solstice, the Slight Cold, and the Great Cold signifies the end of the three months of winter. The Great Cold is the last of the 24 solar terms.

But before the cold completely disappears, winter jasmine blooms in hidden nooks and crannies. Then spring arrives once more, and a new round of the 24 solar terms begins.

Who Gets the Golden Snowflake?

Rules of the Game: Two players enter the playground from entrances A and B and write down the names of the seven patterns they have encountered on their travels. The one who finishes first wins the golden snowflake in picture 7.