Today is the summer solstice. The summer solstice is the fourth solar term in summer and the tenth of the twenty-four solar terms.
The arrival of the summer solstice means the arrival of midsummer. The weather is hot, rainstorms are frequent, plants are lush, and seasonal fruits such as watermelon, bayberry, and lychee gradually occupy the table.
"The Seventy-two Collections of Yueling" divides the summer solstice into three phenology: first, "deer antlers", when the antlers fall off; second, "the horns begin to sing", the males begin to sing; Emergence.
But in addition, the summer solstice has an important position in the twenty-four solar terms. On the summer solstice, when the sun shines directly on the Tropic of Cancer, the northern hemisphere has the longest day. The astronomical significance of the summer solstice is so obvious, therefore, in the observation of celestial phenomena by the ancients, "summer solstice" and "winter solstice" are the two earliest established solar terms.
One of the first two solar terms established
"The summer solstice is one of the first two solar terms established in my country, and the other is the winter solstice. There is an idiom - 'immediate effect' that actually describes the method of establishing the solar terms of the beginning of summer and the beginning of winter." Folklore and Intangible Heritage Research Office, Institute of Literature, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences Director Bi Xuling said.
"According to legend, Zhou Gongjidan, son of King Wen of Zhou, was ordered to build the eastern capital of Chengzhou, also known as Luoyi, which is today's Luoyang, Henan. When he built Zhoucheng, he established it in today's Gaocheng Town, Dengfeng City, Henan Province. A set of devices to determine the seasonal solar terms by measuring the change of the shadow of the sun - the soil and the wooden table. The soil is a ruler placed horizontally, and the wooden watch is an upright benchmark. According to legend, Zhou Gong will show the longest day of the shadow (shadow). It was designated as the 'Winter Solstice', and the day with the shortest appearance was designated as the 'Summer Solstice'. Since then, observing the Winter Solstice and the Summer Solstice has become an important event for all dynasties."
On the basis of winter solstice and summer solstice, the ancients further subdivided the solar terms. The two days of "day and night are divided and cold and summer are equal" were established as the spring equinox and autumn equinox, and later the "four standings" (the beginning of spring, the beginning of summer, the beginning of autumn, and the beginning of winter) were added. By the pre-Qin period, the "four seasons and eight festivals", the backbone of the twenty-four solar terms, had appeared.
In the Qin and Han dynasties, with the continuous improvement of astronomical observation methods, the ancients divided the sun's ecliptic (the sun's orbit on the imaginary celestial sphere) into 24 equal parts on the basis of measuring the sun's shadow, so that each solar term could be found on the ecliptic. An accurate comparison angle, thus fully grasping the relationship between solar terms and the operation of the sun, the 24 solar terms are finally finalized. In the "Huainanzi" of the Han Dynasty, all the names of the twenty-four solar terms have appeared.
"Summer Solstice" was an important festival
"To" means "extremely". It is recorded in the "Copyon of Ke Zun Xian Du": "The sun reaches the north, the length of the sun reaches, and the shadow of the sun reaches as short as possible, so it is called the summer solstice." , false, extreme, extreme, all things here are false and great and extreme”.
On the day of the summer solstice, the day is the longest. Combined with the concept of yin and yang of the ancients, the ancients believed that the day of the summer solstice was the "anode". .
The addition of philosophical concepts endows the summer solstice with richer meanings beyond astronomical observations and farming. In ancient times, the summer solstice was not only a solar term, but also an important festival.
"The Summer Solstice Festival is no less lively than the Dragon Boat Festival, and has formed some interesting customs." Bi Xuling introduced.
First, on the Summer Solstice Festival, there is the custom of "taste new things on the summer solstice". At this time, the "mang seed" has just passed, and it has become a festival to taste the food made from the newly harvested grain at the summer solstice, which is a ritual activity to celebrate the harvest.
Second, the summer solstice festival food is very rich. "In addition to cold noodles and wontons, the popular summer solstice festival foods include pea cakes, black rice, red dates and boiled eggs and other nourishing foods."
Third, the summer solstice also has the custom of awarding ice on the summer solstice and taking a holiday on the summer solstice. "To give ice is to give ice. The summer solstice was hot, and the ancient officials would get a day's vacation, and the emperor would reward them with ice and wine to cool off the heat. In the Song Dynasty, the summer solstice holiday even lasted for three days. Officials can then go home and reunite with their loved ones to drink and cool off from the heat."
Fourth, the summer solstice has the custom of giving colorful fans and sachets. The summer solstice in the Liao Dynasty was called the "Chao Festival", and women gave each other colorful fans to drive away heat; sachets could repel mosquitoes and suppress odor.
Fifth, the custom of weighing on the summer solstice. "Nowadays, the custom of weighing on the summer solstice is rare, but in ancient times, there was a shortage of doctors and medicines, and once sick, it was difficult to recover quickly. People have a soft spot for weighing on the summer solstice. This also pinned people's good wishes for a long and healthy life. During the weighing, men and women, old and young, line up one by one to be weighed, and some people report the weight. The scene is very lively, just like a festival."
"The summer solstice is an important period for crop growth, and many folk activities during this period are to pray for a bumper crop." Fang Yun, a lecturer at the School of International Education of Shanghai University and a doctor of folklore, focused on the sacrificial activities during the summer solstice.
"Zhou Li·Chunguan" records: "When the summer comes, the local things will be stingy." In the Zhou Dynasty, people sacrificed to the gods on the summer solstice to eliminate epidemics and famines. "Records of the Grand Historian: Fengchan Book" said: "On the summer solstice, sacrifices to the ground are all performed with music and dance." Until the Qing Dynasty, the royal family still maintained the ceremony of worshiping the ground on the summer solstice. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the ceremony was held at the Temple of Earth in Beijing.
"This kind of sacrificial ceremony still exists. The Jinhua area of Zhejiang Province sacrifices Tian Gong and Tian Po on the summer solstice, which is to sacrifice the gods of the land for a good harvest. Yangjiang, Guangdong also holds a sickle festival during the summer solstice. The day before the opening of the sickle , Every household makes cakes and tea, prepares wine, and dances the 'Helou Dance' on the square to pray for good weather and good harvests."
Today, the "Summer Solstice" is no longer an important festival in our country, and the "Summer Solstice" has returned to a solar term. However, customs such as cold food, tasting new, and calling people on the summer solstice are still preserved in the folk.
"Winter solstice dumplings and summer solstice noodles", in many areas, there is still the custom of eating noodles on the summer solstice. In the southwest, Guangdong and Guangxi, it is still a summer custom to eat lychees on the summer solstice. In addition, the Summer Solstice Festival is usually adjacent to the Dragon Boat Festival, and all kinds of rice dumplings are also one of the seasonal foods of the Summer Solstice.
"The solar term of the summer solstice is full of the reciprocation of the poles, the rotation of the four seasons, the growth of all things, and the alternation of life, which reflects the cultural connotation of the Chinese people's pursuit of 'harmony between man and nature' and 'following the trend'," Fang Yun said.
There are summer solstice related festivals all over the world
The establishment of the summer solstice is based on a summary of the laws of the sun's movement. The feature of "the longest day in the northern hemisphere" is so obvious that in other parts of the world, although China's unique "24 solar terms" system has not been developed, the "summer solstice" was established very early and regarded as an important It is not uncommon for festivals to commemorate.
"Midsummer festivals in some European countries originate from the summer solstice." Liu Jie, a lecturer at East China University of Science and Technology, said that in Shakespeare's famous work "A Midsummer Night's Dream", it reflects the midsummer festival entertainment that existed in England and many parts of Europe in the late Middle Ages. Festive atmosphere, "As in northern China, it is the season when the wheat harvest is over, so there will be sacrifices to the grain goddess, flower crowns, bonfires and dance parties. Later, the 'Midsummer Festival' gradually changed to commemorate the Christian saint, the Baptist. John's birthday holiday 'St. John's Day'. Scandinavian countries such as Sweden and Finland still have different degrees of reservations."
After the "Saint John's Day" was spread to Brazil by the Portuguese, it merged with local folk customs to form the Brazilian June Festival. This time coincides with the "Winter Solstice" in Brazil in the southern hemisphere. Juneteenth is the most important winter festival in Brazil, and the celebration lasts from June 13 to mid-July. The carnival mainly consists of bonfires, four-pair dances, open-air concerts, and in some areas, there are activities such as walking barefoot on charcoal fires and holding fake weddings. Corn products are a traditional food for the festival, reflecting the inextricable link between Juneteenth in Brazil and the traditional harvest celebrations in South America.
Liu Jie also mentioned that Stonehenge, a famous prehistoric site in the UK, may also be a historical site observed by European ancestors. The main axis of Stonehenge, the ancient road leading to the stone pillars, and the rising sun on the morning of the summer solstice are on the same line; in addition, the line connecting two stones points to the direction of the winter solstice sunset. Therefore, people speculate that Stonehenge is likely to be built by ancient humans to observe celestial phenomena.
Qin Xiao, a doctor of folklore at East China Normal University, mentioned that the summer solstice festival was popular in Mie Prefecture, Japan as early as the Edo period, and it still has reservations. Whenever the early morning of the summer solstice, people gather on the beach in front of the shrine's husband and wife rock, dressed in white clothes, half of their bodies are immersed in the sea water, and worship the "Amaterasu God" who arises from the connection between the sea and the sky. In Ehime Prefecture, there is a custom of bathing in water with grapefruit on the winter solstice.
The arrival of the summer solstice means the arrival of midsummer. The weather is hot, rainstorms are frequent, plants are lush, and seasonal fruits such as watermelon, bayberry, and lychee gradually occupy the table.
"The Seventy-two Collections of Yueling" divides the summer solstice into three phenology: first, "deer antlers", when the antlers fall off; second, "the horns begin to sing", the males begin to sing; Emergence.
But in addition, the summer solstice has an important position in the twenty-four solar terms. On the summer solstice, when the sun shines directly on the Tropic of Cancer, the northern hemisphere has the longest day. The astronomical significance of the summer solstice is so obvious, therefore, in the observation of celestial phenomena by the ancients, "summer solstice" and "winter solstice" are the two earliest established solar terms.
One of the first two solar terms established"The summer solstice is one of the first two solar terms established in my country, and the other is the winter solstice. There is an idiom - 'immediate effect' that actually describes the method of establishing the solar terms of the beginning of summer and the beginning of winter." Folklore and Intangible Heritage Research Office, Institute of Literature, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences Director Bi Xuling said.
"According to legend, Zhou Gongjidan, son of King Wen of Zhou, was ordered to build the eastern capital of Chengzhou, also known as Luoyi, which is today's Luoyang, Henan. When he built Zhoucheng, he established it in today's Gaocheng Town, Dengfeng City, Henan Province. A set of devices to determine the seasonal solar terms by measuring the change of the shadow of the sun - the soil and the wooden table. The soil is a ruler placed horizontally, and the wooden watch is an upright benchmark. According to legend, Zhou Gong will show the longest day of the shadow (shadow). It was designated as the 'Winter Solstice', and the day with the shortest appearance was designated as the 'Summer Solstice'. Since then, observing the Winter Solstice and the Summer Solstice has become an important event for all dynasties."
On the basis of winter solstice and summer solstice, the ancients further subdivided the solar terms. The two days of "day and night are divided and cold and summer are equal" were established as the spring equinox and autumn equinox, and later the "four standings" (the beginning of spring, the beginning of summer, the beginning of autumn, and the beginning of winter) were added. By the pre-Qin period, the "four seasons and eight festivals", the backbone of the twenty-four solar terms, had appeared.
In the Qin and Han dynasties, with the continuous improvement of astronomical observation methods, the ancients divided the sun's ecliptic (the sun's orbit on the imaginary celestial sphere) into 24 equal parts on the basis of measuring the sun's shadow, so that each solar term could be found on the ecliptic. An accurate comparison angle, thus fully grasping the relationship between solar terms and the operation of the sun, the 24 solar terms are finally finalized. In the "Huainanzi" of the Han Dynasty, all the names of the twenty-four solar terms have appeared.
"Summer Solstice" was an important festival"To" means "extremely". It is recorded in the "Copyon of Ke Zun Xian Du": "The sun reaches the north, the length of the sun reaches, and the shadow of the sun reaches as short as possible, so it is called the summer solstice." , false, extreme, extreme, all things here are false and great and extreme”.
On the day of the summer solstice, the day is the longest. Combined with the concept of yin and yang of the ancients, the ancients believed that the day of the summer solstice was the "anode". .
The addition of philosophical concepts endows the summer solstice with richer meanings beyond astronomical observations and farming. In ancient times, the summer solstice was not only a solar term, but also an important festival.
"The Summer Solstice Festival is no less lively than the Dragon Boat Festival, and has formed some interesting customs." Bi Xuling introduced.
First, on the Summer Solstice Festival, there is the custom of "taste new things on the summer solstice". At this time, the "mang seed" has just passed, and it has become a festival to taste the food made from the newly harvested grain at the summer solstice, which is a ritual activity to celebrate the harvest.
Second, the summer solstice festival food is very rich. "In addition to cold noodles and wontons, the popular summer solstice festival foods include pea cakes, black rice, red dates and boiled eggs and other nourishing foods."
Third, the summer solstice also has the custom of awarding ice on the summer solstice and taking a holiday on the summer solstice. "To give ice is to give ice. The summer solstice was hot, and the ancient officials would get a day's vacation, and the emperor would reward them with ice and wine to cool off the heat. In the Song Dynasty, the summer solstice holiday even lasted for three days. Officials can then go home and reunite with their loved ones to drink and cool off from the heat."
Fourth, the summer solstice has the custom of giving colorful fans and sachets. The summer solstice in the Liao Dynasty was called the "Chao Festival", and women gave each other colorful fans to drive away heat; sachets could repel mosquitoes and suppress odor.
Fifth, the custom of weighing on the summer solstice. "Nowadays, the custom of weighing on the summer solstice is rare, but in ancient times, there was a shortage of doctors and medicines, and once sick, it was difficult to recover quickly. People have a soft spot for weighing on the summer solstice. This also pinned people's good wishes for a long and healthy life. During the weighing, men and women, old and young, line up one by one to be weighed, and some people report the weight. The scene is very lively, just like a festival."
"The summer solstice is an important period for crop growth, and many folk activities during this period are to pray for a bumper crop." Fang Yun, a lecturer at the School of International Education of Shanghai University and a doctor of folklore, focused on the sacrificial activities during the summer solstice.
"Zhou Li·Chunguan" records: "When the summer comes, the local things will be stingy." In the Zhou Dynasty, people sacrificed to the gods on the summer solstice to eliminate epidemics and famines. "Records of the Grand Historian: Fengchan Book" said: "On the summer solstice, sacrifices to the ground are all performed with music and dance." Until the Qing Dynasty, the royal family still maintained the ceremony of worshiping the ground on the summer solstice. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the ceremony was held at the Temple of Earth in Beijing.
"This kind of sacrificial ceremony still exists. The Jinhua area of Zhejiang Province sacrifices Tian Gong and Tian Po on the summer solstice, which is to sacrifice the gods of the land for a good harvest. Yangjiang, Guangdong also holds a sickle festival during the summer solstice. The day before the opening of the sickle , Every household makes cakes and tea, prepares wine, and dances the 'Helou Dance' on the square to pray for good weather and good harvests."
Today, the "Summer Solstice" is no longer an important festival in our country, and the "Summer Solstice" has returned to a solar term. However, customs such as cold food, tasting new, and calling people on the summer solstice are still preserved in the folk.
"Winter solstice dumplings and summer solstice noodles", in many areas, there is still the custom of eating noodles on the summer solstice. In the southwest, Guangdong and Guangxi, it is still a summer custom to eat lychees on the summer solstice. In addition, the Summer Solstice Festival is usually adjacent to the Dragon Boat Festival, and all kinds of rice dumplings are also one of the seasonal foods of the Summer Solstice.
"The solar term of the summer solstice is full of the reciprocation of the poles, the rotation of the four seasons, the growth of all things, and the alternation of life, which reflects the cultural connotation of the Chinese people's pursuit of 'harmony between man and nature' and 'following the trend'," Fang Yun said.
There are summer solstice related festivals all over the world
The establishment of the summer solstice is based on a summary of the laws of the sun's movement. The feature of "the longest day in the northern hemisphere" is so obvious that in other parts of the world, although China's unique "24 solar terms" system has not been developed, the "summer solstice" was established very early and regarded as an important It is not uncommon for festivals to commemorate.
"Midsummer festivals in some European countries originate from the summer solstice." Liu Jie, a lecturer at East China University of Science and Technology, said that in Shakespeare's famous work "A Midsummer Night's Dream", it reflects the midsummer festival entertainment that existed in England and many parts of Europe in the late Middle Ages. Festive atmosphere, "As in northern China, it is the season when the wheat harvest is over, so there will be sacrifices to the grain goddess, flower crowns, bonfires and dance parties. Later, the 'Midsummer Festival' gradually changed to commemorate the Christian saint, the Baptist. John's birthday holiday 'St. John's Day'. Scandinavian countries such as Sweden and Finland still have different degrees of reservations."
After the "Saint John's Day" was spread to Brazil by the Portuguese, it merged with local folk customs to form the Brazilian June Festival. This time coincides with the "Winter Solstice" in Brazil in the southern hemisphere. Juneteenth is the most important winter festival in Brazil, and the celebration lasts from June 13 to mid-July. The carnival mainly consists of bonfires, four-pair dances, open-air concerts, and in some areas, there are activities such as walking barefoot on charcoal fires and holding fake weddings. Corn products are a traditional food for the festival, reflecting the inextricable link between Juneteenth in Brazil and the traditional harvest celebrations in South America.
Liu Jie also mentioned that Stonehenge, a famous prehistoric site in the UK, may also be a historical site observed by European ancestors. The main axis of Stonehenge, the ancient road leading to the stone pillars, and the rising sun on the morning of the summer solstice are on the same line; in addition, the line connecting two stones points to the direction of the winter solstice sunset. Therefore, people speculate that Stonehenge is likely to be built by ancient humans to observe celestial phenomena.
Qin Xiao, a doctor of folklore at East China Normal University, mentioned that the summer solstice festival was popular in Mie Prefecture, Japan as early as the Edo period, and it still has reservations. Whenever the early morning of the summer solstice, people gather on the beach in front of the shrine's husband and wife rock, dressed in white clothes, half of their bodies are immersed in the sea water, and worship the "Amaterasu God" who arises from the connection between the sea and the sky. In Ehime Prefecture, there is a custom of bathing in water with grapefruit on the winter solstice.
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