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, 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 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 after the rain.

Look at the “rabbits” in the pictures on the right.

【小题1】 Are they toys? Well, if you think so, think again. These cute “rabbits” are huabobo. It is a traditional bun (小面点) in Shandong.

These rabbit-shaped ones are made by Zang Chaiyuan, a young woman from Yantai. 【小题2】 Her grandmother was good at making these buns. They would not only look beautiful but also taste great.

After she finished college, Zang wanted to start up her own huabobo business. At first, her parents were against the idea. 【小题3】 She started by learning the basic skills from huabobo masters. In the beginning, the buns would often break apart after being steamed (蒸). Zang felt discouraged. But by practicing her skills again and again, she was finally able to make perfect buns.

Zang believes that paying attention to detail is important. These days, she carefully designs her “rabbits” facial features (面部特征). She also creates nice-looking dresses for her “animals”. After being steamed, the “rabbits” seem to take on a life of their own.

【小题4】 Every day, the woman receives around 40 orders from around China. Each of these orders is for two to three kilograms of buns. Zang’s huabobo has given this traditional bun new life. What is your favorite local food? Can you make it yourself? What do you think you could do to help pass down this tradition?

The Chongyang Festival falls on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month (农历). So it is also called the Double Ninth Festival. To celebrate the festival, people usually climb mountains and enjoy chrysanthemums (菊花), so the festival is also known as the Height Ascending (登高) Festival or the Chrysanthemum Festival. Nine has the similar pronunciation with “forever”. So the Chinese government set the day as the Seniors’ Day in 1989.

During the Warring States Period, there was the Chongyang Festival. But it was only celebrated in the imperial palace (皇宫). From the Han Dynasty, it began to be popular among the common people. During the Jin Dynasty, there were customs of enjoying chrysanthemums and drinking wines on the day. It was not officially set as a festival until the Tang dynasty. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, people in the imperial palace all ate flower cakes and climbed the mountain to celebrate. Climbing the mountain has been a kind of custom since the Western Han Dynasty.

Chrysanthemum means long life, so enjoying chrysanthemums and drinking chrysanthemum tea are also popular. Inserting Zhuyu and sticking chrysanthemum are also traditions to avoid the bad as they have special smells which can repel (驱逐) insects and keep out the cold.

Eating Chongyang cakes is another tradition on the festival. There is no fixed way of the cake. But the one with nine layers (层) with two sheep on it is the best. Two sheep mean Chongyang, and Nine layers show people could do well in everything.