【国际理解】四季的节拍——夏至The Rhythm of the Four Seasons---Summer Solstice

The Rhythm of the Four Seasons---Summer Solstice

“夏至点”时，阳光几乎直射北回归线上空，北半球正午太阳最高。那一天是北半球白昼最长、黑夜最短的一天，从这一天起，进入炎热季节，天地万物在此时生长最旺盛。所以古时候又把这一天叫做日北至，意思是太阳运行到最北的一日。过了夏至，太阳逐渐向南移动，北半球白昼一天比一天缩短，黑夜一天比一天加长。

At the "Summer Solstice Point", the sun shines almost directly on the Tropic of Cancer when the sun altitude arrives the highest in the northern hemisphere at noon. On this day, the northern hemisphere gets its longest daytime and shortest night in a year. From this day on, the earth gets into hot summer, and everything grows the most vigorously at this time. In the ancient times, people also called the Summer Solstice “Ri Beizhi” which means the sun arrives to the northernmost latitude on earth. After the summer solstice, the sun gradually moves southwards, so the day time in the northern hemisphere becomes shorter and shorter while the night becomes longer and longer day by day.

夏至三候

Three phenological phenomena of the Summer Solstice

一候鹿角解：古人认为，麋与鹿虽属同科，但二者属一阴一阳。鹿的角朝前生，属阳。夏至日阴气生，而阳气始衰，属阳的鹿角就开始脱落。

The First Phenological Phenomenon: Deer Shed Their Horns.

The ancients believed that although elk and deer belong to the same family, they are different in the aspect of Yin and Yang. Facing forward, the deer’s horns represents Yang. With the coming of the Summer Solstice, the Yin starts to grow while the Yang declines. So the deer’s horns which represent Yang begin to fall off.

二候蝉始鸣：蝉鸣是夏天最重要的声音之一。夏蝉又叫知了，雄性的知了在夏至后都会鼓翼而鸣。

The Second Phenological Phenomenon: Cicadas Begin to Sing.

Cicada singing is one of the most important sounds in summer. The summer cicadas are also called Zhiliao. The male cicadas will vibrate the abdomens and sing songs after the summer solstice.

三候半夏生：半夏是一种野生药草，因在夏日之半生长而得半夏之名。

The Third Phenological Phenomenon: The Born of Pinellia Ternata.

Pinellia ternata is a kind of wild medicinal herb. It is named Pinellia ternata because it grows in the mid summer.

夏至习俗

The Customs of Summer Solstice

吃面条：民间有“吃过夏至面，一日短一线”的说法，意用面条之长比喻夏至之长昼。而且夏至时恰巧也是麦子刚刚收割完毕的时节，吃面也有品尝新麦的含义。

Eating noodles: A folk proverb goes “After eating the summer solstice noodles, the daytime gets shorter at the speed of two to three minutes per day.” in which the long noodles is compared to the long daytime of the summer solstice.And summer solstice is also the time that farmers finish harvesting their wheat. So eating noodles during the summer solstice also means tasting the newly harvested wheat.

吃苋菜：中国有些地区，此日多有未成年的外甥和外甥女到母亲的娘家吃饭，舅家必备苋菜和葫芦做菜，俗话说吃了苋菜，不会发痧，吃了葫芦，腿里就有力气。

Eating the amaranthus: In some areas of China, on the day of Summer Solstice, many underage nephews and nieces go to their mothers’ parents’ home for dinner. And the uncles from their mothers’ sides will serve them with dishes made from amaranthus and gourds. Since there is a saying---After eating amaranth, you won't suffer from heatstroke. After eating gourd, you will have strong legs.

艺中学子夏至主题竹编工艺品

Bamboo weaving crafts about the Summer Solstice from students in Shuangliu Art & Sports Middle School

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