Time goes by and years change. Follow the phenological illustration and understand the twenty-four solar terms. Today (November 7), we usher in the first solar term of winter – Beginning of Winter. At this time, cold air is becoming more frequent, the winter territory is expanding at an accelerated pace, vegetation is shrinking, and the earth is gradually entering the winter season. China Weather Network and the China Meteorological Administration’s 24 Solar Terms Key Open Laboratory have launched a national water-ice distribution map during the Beginning of Winter solar term to see where the thin ice appears and where the cold is.
At the beginning of winter, the cold air not only becomes more active, but also becomes stronger. The most intense cooling period of the year has arrived. As the temperature drops sharply and the chill increases significantly, winter comes quietly in many places, and the forefront of winter often reaches the Jianghuai area. The ancients divided the Beginning of Winter solar term into three periods: the first period when water begins to freeze; the second period when the ground begins to freeze; and the third period when pheasants enter the flood and become mirages.
Beginning of winter: water begins to freeze
Frost is seen when frost falls, and ice is seen at the beginning of winter. An ancient saying goes: “The water surface has just condensed, but it has not yet become solid.” Although there was no quantitative standard for temperature in ancient times, “water begins to freeze” was used as a signal for the beginning of winter, which is intuitive and simple. At this time, the lowest temperature in many places has dropped below the freezing point, and a thin layer of ice has quietly formed on the water surface in the early morning. When the sun rises, the thin ice slowly melts, but it has not yet frozen solidly.
At the beginning of winter all year round, the north is already a cold scene with “the wind calling the winter”. It can be seen from the national water ice distribution map that the lowest surface temperatures in southern Beijing, Tianjin, southern Hebei, western Shandong, northern Shaanxi, western Sichuan and other places began to drop to freezing point or below, and ice appeared quietly. The folk proverb “On the first day of winter, the water is cold for three minutes” is a true portrayal of the above-mentioned areas. At this time, in the south, the warm air mass has not completely retreated, occasionally bringing a period of warm and balmy “Indian Spring” weather.
The second phase of winter: the ground begins to freeze
Beginning of winter and beginning of winter, all things are collected. The land gradually gathered cold air and began to seal and freeze, but it has not yet reached the level of freezing and cracking. As the saying goes, “the soil and air are condensed and cold, but not chè”. At this time, the frozen soil mostly stays on the surface, and will gradually melt when the warm sun returns and the temperature rises. However, the formation of deep frozen soil requires a longer period of low temperature accumulation.
Three phases of winter: pheasants entering the flood turn into mirages
Creatures in nature are most sensitive to the cold. When they sense the winter, they each have their own strategies to deal with it. Between autumn and winter, migratory birds migrate south one after another, and even pheasants are hard to find. When the ancients saw that the color and texture of large clams on the seaside resembled those of pheasants, they had the romantic imagination of “pheasants entering the water and turning into large clams”. Of course, the pheasant did not sink into the water, but simply hid deep in the mountains and forests to escape the severe cold.
Plants, trees, birds and animals follow the order of time and hibernate to avoid the cold, while people are more willing to use the steaming smoke of fireworks to resist the first chill. “The beginning of winter makes up for the winter and makes up for the empty mouth.” After a busy year, people are accustomed to nourishing themselves with delicious food on this day to reward themselves and build up strength for the cold winter. People in the north pay attention to eating dumplings. Dumplings are homophonic to “Jiaozi” and mean “Jiaozi”; in the south, they prefer chicken, duck and fish. Friends sit around and a steaming pot of ginger duck soup will spread the warmth from the tip of the tongue to the bottom of the heart.
Plowing in spring and working in summer, harvesting in autumn and storing in winter. Winter is the season of recuperation after harvest, when all things accumulate energy and lie dormant, waiting for the coming life. After being busy, you might as well find a ray of warm sunshine, have a hot meal, and calmly feel the unique fireworks in winter.
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