1. The Waking of Insects
The shortest way to spring is from the eyes to the heart. Although a heavy snowfall has just fallen in the north of Northeast China, and the real spring is still far away, the sound of the solar terms is still heard. Therefore, I still feel spring budding in my heart.
“Everything is shocked, and the earthquake is thunder, so it is called Jingzhe, because the stinging insects are frightened and run away.” The spring thunder is still brewing, the insects are still sleeping soundly, and the figure of spring always lags behind The sound of its footsteps. For example, in the case of the Waking of Insects, it will take another month or two before you can hear the sound of thunder that wakes up all things dormant.
I remember when I was a child, in that village on the black earth, when the first thunder rolled every spring, the old people would look at the place where the sky and the earth meet in the distance, and recite the half-sentence passed down from their ancestors. The farmer's proverb: "Thunder strikes one hundred and eighty times." Then he counted the day after 180 days, and on that day, frost began.
Among the solar terms of the year, only spring is out of touch with reality. After the Beginning of Summer, the seasons speed up. Therefore, we all have an afterthought about the solar terms of spring. We always get some snippets from books, and then experience and verify them one by one in the days to come.
When the old people listen to the thunder rolling across the sky, and when their eyes wander between the clear sky and the earth, we are running in the long east wind. During the half-month of the Waking of Insects, it has entered the second month of the lunar calendar. The book says that in distant places, peach and plum buds have begun to bloom, and orioles have begun to sing. Really far away, in time and space. While we were running in the wilderness outside the village, we would suddenly hear several cuckoo calls. The sound fell from high in the sky, with a long aftertaste, hindering our footsteps. Quan looked up at the sky, looking for that little figure.
This is very accidental. Cuckoos usually appear in large numbers in late spring and early summer. This one is such a diligent one. It flies from nowhere, carrying sunshine and wind on its wings, and flies over our fields early with a mysterious mission. Eye. Its cry replaces the spring thunder, calling things on the earth in another tone.
Although those dormant creatures are still sleeping, they are already heading towards the exit of their dreams. Just like us who have been shackled all winter, running on the land where the snow has not yet melted, it seems like we are running out of a long dream. Although there is no deafening thunder, no peach and plum blossoms competing for spring, there is the most beautiful expectation in my heart. This is enough, and it is not considered a letdown.
Waking of Insect is on a sunny day. After a snowfall, the sky is fresh and clean, and the sun is blooming on my hair and clothes. The snow is also burning slowly on the earth, exuding a light warmth. So, although the river has not thawed, the eyes are flowing softly; although the vegetation is not blooming, the heart is colorful and brilliant. It turned out that my dormant heart had already been awakened.
At this time of year, spring and heart are getting better. The huge winter has faded away behind me, and there are still many indulgent dreams. In our lives, there will always be a thunder that shakes away the depression and confusion, and makes the hope in the heart sprout. Ahead, there is a new beginning, and everything is green.
2. Spring Equinox
Spring is a child that will not grow up.
His eyes were as clear as the sky and flowing water. He experienced vigorous growth and by the spring equinox, he could finally walk. He laughed, ran, fell, got up, and got himself covered in mud.
The ground is dry during the Spring Equinox, but it’s still not our place. We, children of spring, are just melting the ice and snow with our laughter, leaving a soft mud on the ground. The figure of spring becomes clearer, leaving only a few shallow footprints of winter. The warm breath flows between heaven and earth, and the seasons are waiting to meet the awakening elves. Maybe at this time, the swallow is on its way back, chasing the footsteps of spring on the cloud road.
The rain will come occasionally, but it is a short-lived speck of stars, with a tentative attitude, hesitantly touching it and leaving. The wind is continuous, dragging its long tail, sweeping away the accumulated water and mud on the ground. The fields are still lonely, the snow has gone, and the dark oily soil reveals a sense of hope. It's still early for planting, and the seeds in the barn are already waiting.
Spring has begun to deepen. I envy the Central Plains or the South. The earth is full of life. Willows linger, grass grows and orioles fly, spring water is like eyes, and tourists outing are like weaving. That is the beauty in imagination. But here we have no greenery to walk on. If we have to go out for a walk, we can only walk on the wind, the sunshine, and a sense of hope.
Reading Ouyang Yongshu's "Ruan Lang Gui", the feeling of spring rushes towards my face, "When I am outing in the South Garden in the middle of spring, the wind is gentle and I can hear the horses neighing. The green plums are like beans and willows are like eyebrows, and butterflies are flying as the day goes by." It's also mid-spring in the Northeast, but Mei doesn't come to settle down, Liu Yi has just woken up, and Die'er is still trying hard to move towards this life in the cocoon of her previous life.
I like the day of the Spring Equinox, when the yin and yang are half in phase, the day and night are even, and the cold and heat are equal. Just like me in middle age, when I reach the dividing line between before and after life, no matter whether I look back with regret or look forward to confusion, at this moment and here, it is peaceful and brilliant.
Although the north and south are far apart, there are still some things that are the same on this day. It’s the first day of the year when day and night are equal, which is a special feeling. Just like dedication and gain are equal, like leisure and fulfillment are equal, like joy and sorrow are equal, like cold and warmth are equal.
Day and night are perfect and harmonious, and they have not yet waxed and waned. Although there are only two days in a year, they are both an end and a beginning.
In this solar term, we are not just watching and imagining. We took off our heavy clothes and walked in the east wind. When we stepped on the soft ground, we felt light and ready to fly. I remember when I was a child, on sunny days like this, several children from our neighboring houses would tie a rope to the two poplar trees in the south garden to make a simple swing. Then the seasons sway together with the sky and the earth in the eyes and beside the body. Although the willows are not in full bloom and the flowers and plants are not sprouting, my heart is already full of flowers of joy.
Half of spring has passed, and the other half is continuing. No matter whether it is deserted or depressed around us, it is heading towards prosperity after all. A wonderful date is beginning, and colorful dreams have begun.
So, the Spring Equinox, although there are no orioles singing thousands of miles away, no flowers blooming, no running water to bring warmth, and no swallows whispering, it is still the most beautiful and most beautiful love in my heart, just like in my life at this moment.
3. Qingming
For a long time, I deliberately avoided this day. Either pass by in a hurry, or treat it as usual, as if that ray of sad longing has turned into wind and rain, making the heart full of clouds.
Later it gradually became clear that Qingming refers to a period of solar terms, not just this day. However, it was rare to have a sunny day on this day, and the rain in the ancient poem has not stopped until today. The clear energy and clear scenery of Qingming make everything appear, but it begins with a chaotic day or a drizzle.
The wind has begun to blow endlessly. When my home was on the northeastern plains, every day during this solar term, the wind swept across the sky and earth. When we were children, we loved running in the wind, with small flags made of cloth fluttering in the hunting ground above our heads. The earth is soft, and I miss the feeling of falling, like falling into a huge and warm embrace. There were more cuckoos, flying over from high in the sky, and their cries fell down, filling the entire village.
The earth is beginning to show its vitality, the river has opened, and clear and chilling songs are being sung along the way, sending away the skylight, clouds and shadows. Occasionally, in some places, grass has sprouted, hiding shyly. The trees also quietly changed their colors, smiling little by little. Farming has not yet begun, and the fields are accumulating warmth.
Occasionally there will be rain, which is also thin and slightly cold. It's not very lingering, it's often sporadic, and it ends in a short while. It comes and goes without a trace, but it has also wetted the flow of light and moistened all things.
No matter how you look at it, it’s not the time of late spring. In the Central Plains and the South, flowers have already bloomed and withered, but here we are beginning to flourish. The scene of grass growing and orioles flying was the first stroke of paint on the canvas.
Later on, usually on the last day or two of the Qingming Festival, you will see swallows in the sky. Those are some swallows that set out early. They fly over countless willows, green flowers and red flowers. They are not sentimental and fly back to the warm nest under the distant eaves. When the swallows arrive, spring finally takes hold. Although it is a little slow, every beautiful detail will not be omitted.
I always appreciate the simplicity and happiness of the old days in many ancient poems. Qingming in ancient times is such a simple and joyful festival, and various customs linger for a period of spring.
Outing does not belong here and now. Those greens on the Great Plains are just born and cannot withstand our joyous footsteps. Our large-scale outing here takes place during the Dragon Boat Festival, more than two months later. But the swing has long been there. When the snow melted away, we, as teenagers, were already flying carefree in the clear stream with the company of two trees and a rope.
The kite will still fly into the sky, carrying all our joy. I remember that it was also during the Qingming Festival, so far away that it seemed impossible to trace back. My uncle was making a big Bagua kite. We gathered around, with uncontrollable excitement on our faces. Our happiness has already been prepared, just waiting for that mighty good wind to send our hearts into a clear sky. Running children, long lines, kites flying high, pure sky, leisurely clouds, crisp smiles, I think this is the most beautiful picture of spring.
Well, I still like Qingming. I like it as a spring festival that brings us fresh touches. Therefore, in Qingming, not only the sky, earth and eyes will be clear and clear, but our hearts will also be as clear as drops, like the rain that knows whether it is warm or cold.
4. Xiaoman
Xiaomanque comes to the whole.
In my eyes and heart, this is a solar term about birds. All kinds of birds are here, singing songs in the mountains and forests. The silhouettes of migratory birds in the sky glide by like a dream, scattering strings of calls. Once it falls into my heart, it becomes a memory.
Hometown on the Great Plains, a small village, and a young boy, in this sunny season, we together watch the prosperity of a season. Brand new seedlings have grown on the earth, and poems are written in the eyes. Cuckoos are still flying high, swallows are busy under the eaves, sparrows gather and then disperse. In the thin forest on the dam in the south of the village, many unknown birds are flying, dancing in the broken shadows of the sun.
I like to stand in the sunshine and let my eyes and thoughts dance in the wind.
The many footprints I have left on that piece of land have all been lost with time. The only thing that remains is the attachment in my heart. The further we go, the closer we get.
Xiaoman is also a solar term about wild vegetables. Many people go into the mountains and forests to look for wild vegetables. Xiaoxing'an Mountains is rich in products, and there are many types of wild vegetables. I like the feeling of searching through mountains and forests, as if every encounter is a beautiful beginning. Sometimes I will encounter a tree of snow-white lilacs, and I will fly away leisurely.
Some flowers have fallen and flowed down the mountain streams, and the fish went upstream to chase a happiness that I didn’t know.
There are also many wild vegetables growing on the land in my hometown, but they are all the most ordinary ones. It didn't take long for the mother-in-law's dandelions to bloom. I'm looking forward to those little umbrella-like dandelions that bloom after they bloom. More of it is ginseng, which is bitter but has endless aftertaste.
Having passed the threshold of Beginning of Summer, summer is now beginning to get better.
Xiaoman is a very charming and philosophical name. Just like my mood during this solar term, the small ones are full of simple happiness, just like the days in childhood.
Before long, catkins began to fly all over the sky, as light as a dream, touching the curtains and curtains, dotted with an equally light mood. Just like the footsteps of childhood, it seems that a gust of wind can blow. At this time, the earth is clear and airy. I like to wear the cloth shoes made by my mother and run on the earth. Now that I think about it, there should be many flowers and plants and many stories growing in the footprints of the past. As long as I look back, I will meet my heart.
I like this solar term, Xiaoman, as if it comes for my heart. It walks with the mood in the process of beauty. Every farewell is full of expectations and looking forward to meeting again.
Today at a friend’s house, two swallows flew in through the open door, hovered, and then landed on the heating pipe, crowing at each other, as if they were telling each other love words in Xiaoman’s days.
The swallow is as happy as the human being.
So, in this half-month good time, cherish it with your heart. Then, embrace that beauty and move toward all the passing years that come your way.
5. Ear Grain
This is a solar term that is lost in the chirping of birds. The summer is gradually getting darker, the sunlight is piled on the earth in layers, and the newly born crops are growing in the long The wind is joyful. Walking in such a world, every step is warm and a beautiful story can grow.
Eawn, in our black land, is a solar term that has little relevance to its name. All kinds of farming have basically been completed, and there are no crops with awns that need to be harvested in summer, so this solar term still exists in our hearts. Like a symbol, it separates a plot in time.
The flying catkins, carrying the sunshine all over the sky, sway into the scenery in the eyes. I liked myself when I was a child. The two swallows that occasionally flew into the house lit up all my longings. An unexpected rain washes this solar term of childhood as bright as eyes. Or take the flower dog and run in the wind, in the sunshine, at the foot of the village, leaving behind simple and happy songs along the way.
Season is like running water, and the awns are the brightest and warmest period. Like a touching story, all the plot has just unfolded. Every detail catches the eye and the heart, bit by bit, gathers together, and the heart is like a windy island, filled with stars in the sound of waves. I remember the distant night. The sound of frogs began to sound intensively from today, rising and falling like continuous waves. The dream became a rocking boat, sailing towards the endless meadow south of the village.
I have always liked reading "A Dream of Red Mansions". Chapter 27 is the most beautiful chapter. Many unforgettable stories happened there, such as Baochai fluttering at the butterfly and Daiyu burying the flower. And that day, it was Manzhong. The book describes in detail the scene of the women in the Grand View Garden worshiping the God of Flowers at the Ear Grain Festival, which is so lively and beautiful that it makes people feel relaxed and relaxed.
However, we do not have these beautiful customs here, nor do we have Tumi, let alone what causes Tumi flowers to bloom. I only remember that when I was a child, during the days of awning, the flowers of the apricot and cherry trees in the South Garden had already fallen, and the trees were green, mixed with small green fruits. In my eyes, they transformed into a kind of beauty with hope, and I had expectations in my heart, so all the days of waiting became sweet.
In this solar term, everything is just right. There is no spring cold, and the heat has not yet arrived. The shade of the trees on the mountain is not old, the running water is still cool, the clouds are still light, the time is slow, and the vicissitudes are far away. Although the flowers are over, all the good things in my heart are still in bloom. Like the first ripples on the water, it completes the unfinished plot.
What a wonderful half-month, with strength in its tranquility and beauty, connecting the whole summer with the most cherished things. Quietly holding a book, sitting in front of the window, embracing the sunshine in June, the crystal curtain moves, the balcony reflects, and the footsteps of the passing years gently and slowly, it is as beautiful as a fairy tale, as beautiful as a legend.
When the heart is calm, life becomes beautiful; when the heart is not crowded, the world becomes far away; when the desire in the heart fades, sunshine and rain become lovely. Simple and light, even if the burden is on the body, it is still the weight of fragrance, just like the former flower seller who carried a load of brilliant flowers on his shoulders.
So, Mangzhong, although there is no harvest or planting on our land, in my heart, I have harvested something and continued to sow many beautiful seeds.