There are 24 solar terms (节气) in China, and the Grain Rain (谷雨) is one of them. It falls on April 19 this year.

This solar term is called the Grain Rain because it’s known for “rain”. From its name, we can guess it means a time of more rain. So if you go out in the next two weeks, you may need to bring an umbrella with you.

But this is a great time for planting crops. If you miss the time for planting during the Grain Rain, you’ll feel sorry later. So maybe you can try to plant some flowers or vegetables in your garden. When the spring rain falls, farmers begin to grow crops. Farmers often say, “Spring rain is as precious (珍贵的) as oil.” It brings farmers hope for a good year ahead.

There are also many interesting customs (习俗) during the Grain Rain. In the northern part of China, people like to eat Chinese toon. In the southern part of China, people pick the tea leaves during the time. People call them Grain Rain tea. It’s known for its freshness and sweet smell.

In China, writing brushes, ink sticks, paper and inkstones are called the Four Treasures of the Study. Among the high-quality treasures, the writing brush produced in Huzhou, the ink stick produced in Huizhou, the Xuan paper made in Xuancheng and the inkstone made in Duanxi are the best-known.

The writing brushes are mainly made of the hair of animals. Those made of wool are called yanghao and those made of the weasel’s tail hair are called langhao. Their artistic effects (效果) in writing and painting cannot be copied by any other pens.

The ink stick is the pigment (颜料) used in writing and painting. The ink stick produced in Huizhou is of high quality. A story goes like this: Xi Chao and his son produced a kind of high-quality ink stick. As a result, Emperor Li Yu in the Southern Tang Dynasty agreed to give them the family name “Li”. In the Song Dynasty, its producing area was changed into Huizhou, and it was then called the Hui Ink Stick.

Paper is among the four great inventions in ancient China. The famous Xuan paper appeared in the Sui and Tang dynasties. In Xuanzhou, (now Xuancheng, Anhui), where the Xuan paper is produced, it’s said that Cai Lun’s pupil Kong Dan happened to see the ebony (黑檀) in a river. It was wet with the water and turned white. Then he used the bark (树皮) to produce the world-famous Xuan paper.

The inkstone was already, very popular in the Han Dynasty. The Ming and Qing dynasties saw the appearance of the Four Famous Inkstones-Duan Inkstone, She Inkstone, Tao Inkstone and Chengni Inkstone. They can be used not only in writing and painting but also for admiration.

Confucianism (儒家思想) has been followed by Chinese people for more than two thousand years. To help people understand how to behave towards others, Confucianism teaches the Five Constants (五常). These are ren, yi, li, zhi and xin. They are general virtues (美德) around the world. The most important two are ren and li.

Ren is the feeling of care and love we should have for others. Confucius explained ren could best be understood as loving others. He is famous for teaching people “What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others”. It is quite similar to what is known in the West as the Golden Rule (treat others as you wish to be treated).

While the meaning of ren is easy to understand, li is a little harder to express. It can be thought of as duty or even respect. Generally, li is the way we should connect with people in our everyday life. In Confucian writings, discussions about li include the proper way to drink tea and how to remember ancestors (祖先). While ren is mostly about our opinions and feelings, li is about how we express our opinions and feelings towards others and towards the world around us.

Perhaps the most well-known Confucian virtue is xiao. This is the duty children have to their parents. Xiao means loving, respecting, obeying and taking care of one’s parents in their old age. In Confucianism, xiao is important for a harmonious (和谐的) society: Without it, the whole world would fall into a mess.