24 Solar Terms: 8 things you may not know about Frost’s Descent

The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. Frost’s Descent (霜降), the 18th solar term of the year, begins this year on Oct 23 and ends on Nov 6. 【小题1】, during which time the weather becomes much colder than before and frost begins to appear. Here are four things you should know about Frost’s Descent.

Frosty autumn

【小题2】. During Frost’s Descent, frost begins to appear. But in the lower reaches of the Yellow River region, frost first appears in late October or early November. As Frost’s Descent comes, the world is filled with the atmosphere of late autumn.

Eating fruit

Eating persimmons during Frost’s Descent can help people resist the cold and protect their bones. In the countryside, people believe that their lips will crack if they don’t eat persimmons during this period. The apple is one kind of recommended fruit during Frost’s Descent. Apples can moisten the lungs, quench one’s thirst and help one’s digestion.【小题3】. It can promote the secretion of body liquids, clear away heat and reduce sputum.

Eating duck

It’s a custom to eat duck on the first day of Frost’s Descent in south Fujian province. There is a saying in Fujian which goes, “Even nourishing all year is not as good as nourishing the human body on the first day of Frost’s Descent.”【小题4】.

【小题5】

People in areas such as Daxin county in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region celebrate the first day of Frost’s Descent. In the Frost’s Descent Festival, the Zhuang people offer sacrifices, dance and sing folk songs. With a history of more than 360 years, the festival is to commemorate Cen Yuyin, a heroine in battles against foreign aggression.

It’s commonly known that the Chinese invented chopsticks (or kuaizi in Chinese) as a set of instruments to be used when eating but the reason behind that is not commonly known. Actually, the Chinese were taught to use chopsticks long before spoons and forks were invented in Europe (the knife is older, not as an instrument for dining but as weapon). Chopsticks were strongly advocated by the great Chinese philosopher Confucius (551—479 BC). Chinese people, under the cultivation of Confucianism, consider the knife and fork bearing sort of violence, like cold weapons. However, chopsticks reflect gentleness and benevolence, the main moral teaching of Confucianism. Therefore, instruments used for killing must be banned from the dining table, and that is why Chinese food is always chopped into bite size before it reaches the table.

Eating Chinese food would not be as enjoyable if the wrong utensils were used. Using two slim and slippery sticks to pick up grains of rice and little pieces of meat and vegetables is actually not a difficult task to accomplish. In fact, there are foreigners who are as competent in using the chopsticks as the Chinese.

The truth of using chopsticks is holding one chopstick in place while pivoting the other one to pick up a mouthful. How to position the chopsticks is the course you have to learn. First, place the first chopstick so that thicker part rests at the base of your thumb and the thinner part rests on the lower side of your middle fingertip. Then, bring your thumb forward so that the stick will be firmly trapped in place. At least two or three inches of chopstick of the thinner end should extend beyond your fingertip. Next, position the other chopstick so that it is held against the side of your index finger and by the end of your thumb. Check whether the ends of the chopsticks are even. If not, then tap the thinner parts on the plate to make them even.

When dining with Chinese friends or business partners, it is always better for foreigners to try learning how to operate the chopsticks. You should only ask for a fork and spoon if all else fails. Using chopsticks to eat rice is a problem to most foreigners. Generally the tip to eat rice is to bring one’s rice bowl close to one’s mouth and quickly scoop the rice into it with one’s chopsticks. Since this is difficult for foreigners, and so simply lifting portions of rice to the mouth from the bowl held in the other hand is perfectly acceptable.

There are superstitions associated with chopsticks too. If you find an uneven pair at your table setting, it means you are going to miss a boat, plane or train. Dropping chopsticks will inevitably bring bad luck. Crossed chopsticks are, however, permissible in a dim sum restaurant. The waiter will cross them to show that your bill has been settled, or you can do the same to show the waiter that you have finished and are ready to pay the bill.

Happy Rain on a Spring Night

Good rain knows its time right;

It will fall when comes spring. With wind it steals in night; Mute, it moistens each thing. O’er wild lanes dark cloud spreads; In boat a lantern looms. Dawn sees saturated reds; The town’s heavy with blooms. (Translated by Xu Yuanchong)

When Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu (712-770) wrote this poem, he was living in Chengdu. Sometimes he went to farm in the field. The poem shows his care for farmers.

The very first word, “good”，shows the poet’s joy and love for the spring rain. The rain is good indeed, as it “knows” the proper time to come. Here the poet uses personification (拟人), as if the rain were smart enough to know that it should come in time for the farmer’s busy plowing (农耕) season.

When the rain comes, it appears during the night without making any noise. Unlike the thunder (雷) and lightning of summer storms, the quiet spring rain makes its contributions without seeking (寻求) to be known.

In the night sky，the clouds look dark and heavy，indicating (暗示) that there will be enough rain during the night. Then the poet imagines: tomorrow morning, all of the flowers in the city will bloom (盛开) after the rain.