Beijing Evening News Five Colors | Author Zong Chunqi
Winter is the coldest season of the year. In winter, "water begins to freeze, and the ground begins to freeze". Or ask: When does winter begin?
According to the climate theory, it is winter when the average temperature is below 10 degrees Celsius for five consecutive days.
Photo by Bai Jikai of Tanzhe Temple
According to the lunar calendar, October is winter. Lu You’s "Making Winter Work": "It’s time to give clothes to the moon, and it’s time to start autumn." September is called the month of giving clothes, and the Book of Songs says, "July is full of fire, and clothes are given in September." On the first day of October, the ancients called it "the first autumn day", and the son of heaven began to wear fur coats from this day. Emperors of past dynasties often gave ministers and soldiers golden clothes to keep out the cold on this day. On the first day of October, Chinese people celebrate the "Cold Clothes Festival", giving "cold clothes" and burning "cold clothes paper" to their deceased relatives. This is also the third festival in a year to remember our ancestors after Qingming and Zhongyuan.
According to the solar terms, winter begins in beginning of winter. This year’s solar term in beginning of winter is November 7th, and October 14th of the lunar calendar.
The ancients attached great importance to the solar term of beginning of winter. According to the Book of Rites, Zhou Tianzi began to fast three days before the beginning of winter. On this day in beginning of winter, the son of heaven personally led all the doctors to the northern suburb of the capital to welcome the arrival of winter. After you come back, you can "reward the dead, sympathize with the widowed"-reward the martyrs who died for the country and pay for their families. There are also a series of sacrificial activities: "La Ancestor, Five Sacrifices". There are different explanations about the Five Sacrifices. One explanation is to worship the five-color emperor in the palace; One explanation is to worship the gods of the five senses: door, door, well, stove and zhongliu; Another explanation is to worship the officials of Jin Mu’s five elements of fire, water and earth: Ru Shou, the golden god, Ju Mang, Xuan Ming, the water god, Zhu Rong, the earth god and thick earth. In short, all the "gods" that can be thought of and used in production and life should be sacrificed.
After beginning of winter, the Emperor of Heaven wanted to let the peasants rest, let the army generals train and practice martial arts, and let the civilian officials collect taxes-"It is the life of the water, and the fishermen collect the water from the spring." Shuiyu is in charge of Chuanze, and the fisherman is in charge of fishermen. The son of heaven warned these officials in advance: "Don’t or dare to encroach on the common people, thinking that the son of heaven takes the blame from the next"-don’t exploit the people and cause them to resent the son of heaven; "if there is such a person, there is no sin!" This is probably the earliest warning to officials that "corruption is not allowed".
Northern agricultural proverb: "If beginning of winter doesn’t cut vegetables, it will definitely suffer from frost." The critical value of Chinese cabbage freezing is-5℃. At this time, if Chinese cabbage is allowed to grow in the ground, it will be frozen.
According to "China Meteorological Disaster Ceremony: Beijing Volume", on November 7, 1968, the temperature dropped by 12.6℃ in 48 hours in beginning of winter, and the daily minimum temperature was-7.8℃. Chinese cabbage in the suburbs of Beijing suffered severe freezing damage, with a loss of more than 100 million kilograms.
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