Vernal equinox： Spring ploughing is a good time at that time.

　　March 20, 2020 ushered in the fourth solar term of the 24 solar terms: the vernal equinox.

Caption Beijing Li Zhenmeng photo

　　On the vernal equinox, the sun shines directly on the equator of the earth, and day and night are almost equal. The "vernal equinox" means half, that is, it is divided into two parts, equally divided day and night, and balanced cold and summer. In addition, it is said that the vernal equinox also divides the spring equally-in ancient times, beginning of spring to long summer was the spring, and the vernal equinox was in the middle of three months in spring.

　　It is precisely because of the characteristics of balance and equal distribution that the vernal equinox is considered as the best time to lay eggs. The tradition of "laying eggs" at the vernal equinox has a history of more than 4,000 years in China, and the saying that "when the vernal equinox arrives, eggs are pretty" has been passed down to this day.

　　There are three stages in the vernal equinox: "wait for the arrival of the mysterious bird, wait for the thunder to sound, and wait for the electricity to start." Swallows fly, spring thunder sounds, lightning and thunder … Nature is becoming more colorful. After the vernal equinox, the climate is mild, the rain is abundant, the shore willows are green, and the wheat is jointing, which is a good time for spring ploughing, spring seeds and plant germination.

　　The vernal equinox is an important season for farming, which can be seen from some proverbs and customs.

　　For example, there is a proverb that says, "When you are startled at the vernal equinox, don’t relax when you plant" and "When you get up at the vernal equinox, every moment is worth a thousand dollars" … These are all telling people that you should water the wheat seedlings in time during the vernal equinox, apply jointing fertilizer and prevent diseases and insect pests, so as to make the wheat yield and quality high.

　　In addition, I believe many people will not be unfamiliar with the phrase "99 plus 19, plowing cattle everywhere" in the winter 99 song. "99 plus 19" is the vernal equinox. Cattle farming is a good helper for farmers to farm. When the vernal equinox has arrived, cattle farming will begin a year’s work. In the south of China’s Yangtze River, it is an important custom to "reward the oxen" at the vernal equinox. People feed the oxen with glutinous rice balls to reward them for their hard work day after day.　　

Caption Beijing Shen Xin photo

　　Sending pictures of spring cows is also one of the customs of the vernal equinox. The so-called Spring Cattle Map means that the annual lunar solar terms are printed on two pieces of red paper or yellow paper, and farmers’ ploughing patterns are also printed. According to legend, in ancient China, on the vernal equinox, some folk singers would send pictures of spring cattle from house to house, and every time they went to a house, they would say something about spring ploughing and good luck that didn’t go against the farming season. Although the words come out casually, every sentence is melodious, commonly known as "talking about spring", and people who talk about spring are called "spring officials" Shanxi folk song cloud: "Spring breeze moves in spring, and spring water flows in the spring river. Spring people drink spring wine and spring officials whip spring cattle. " Described is such a picture.

　　In addition, the vernal equinox customs such as offering sacrifices to hundreds of birds and sticking finches’ mouths also carry people’s expectations for the farming season. Sacrificing hundreds of birds has two purposes: one is to thank them for reminding them of the farming season, and the other is to hope that birds will not peck at the grain and pray for a good harvest. Sticking finches’ mouths means that every family will eat dumplings on the vernal equinox, and some dumplings that are not wrapped in hearts will be cooked and placed on the outdoor field edge with thin bamboo forks, so as not to damage crops by finches.

　　"The spring equinox wheat gets up, and the fat water should follow closely." A spring rain is warm, and after the spring rain, I am busy plowing. After the vernal equinox, spring tube, spring ploughing and spring planting … are about to enter a busy stage.

　　At the vernal equinox, people cherish the hard work of the present time and make a good wish for a bumper harvest in the coming year. (zhangqian)