What is the origin of the vernal equinox solar terms?

What is the origin of the vernal equinox solar terms?

The vernal equinox was also called "Japan-China", "Day and Night Equinox" and "Midspring Moon" in ancient times. "Li Mingshi Yi" said: "The dividing line, the turn of Huang Chi, the sun stops here, and the day and night are equally divided." It means: the meaning of the vernal equinox, first, refers to the equal division of day and night, each day and night is 12 hour; Second, in ancient times, it was spring from beginning of spring to long summer, and the vernal equinox happened to be in the three months of spring, and spring was equally divided.

The vernal equinox is also a festival and ritual celebration. The ancient emperors had a system of offering sacrifices to the sun in spring and the moon in autumn. The ritual of the Zhou Dynasty was to offer sacrifices on the altar.

In ancient times, the corresponding phenological phenomenon in the Yellow River Basin was that "a mysterious bird came, and when it thundered, the electricity started" (see "Nong Sang Tong Ji"), which meant that swallows flew in, thundered and lightning began. At this time, the overwintering crops in most parts of China entered the spring growth stage. Central China agricultural proverb: Wheat rises at the vernal equinox, and every moment is worth a thousand dollars. The vernal equinox is also a traditional festival. In the Zhou dynasty, there was a ceremony to worship the sun at the vernal equinox.

There is also a legend about the origin of the vernal equinox. Four thousand years ago, Xi Zhong was sent by Emperor Yao to DaiLi Xun Village in Wendengshi Town. After a lot of research and analysis, according to the astronomical phenomenon that birds and stars are seen in the south at dusk, the time of vernal equinox is determined, which lays the foundation for the determination of the four seasons and the final formation of the twenty-four solar terms. Xi Zhong has been to Ruogu, which is not a legend. Biography of Historical Records of Huo Zhi records that "Xi Zhong House was ordered to be destroyed by foreigners, and it was called Ruogu".

In fact, the vernal equinox was born in the Yellow River Basin, which is one of the 24 solar terms. We can see that "rain" and "fear" are inserted into the bisector between beginning of spring and the vernal equinox. These two names describe the meteorological or biological characteristics of the first half of spring.

Legend of the origin of vernal equinox

A long time ago, there was an emperor who deeply loved the people and cared about folk life. His name is Yandi. When he knew that people needed more food to satisfy their hunger, he prayed to heaven to provide people with food seeds. So, God sent a red finch to send food seeds to Emperor Yan. Emperor Yan, who loved the people, immediately distributed the five-grain seeds to all people. People happily planted the five-grain seeds in the fields, looking forward to a good harvest day by day. But after a long time, those rice seedlings did not bloom and there was no bumper harvest.

So Emperor Yan went to ask God, and God said it was because the sun hid and fell asleep, and the seeds of the five grains didn't get enough sunshine, so they couldn't blossom and bear fruit. Emperor Yan was very worried that his people would not have enough to eat and lead a bad life. He asked God how to wake up the sun. God said: On the day of the vernal equinox, day and night are divided equally, and someone needs to ride a colorful bird to go to Penglai Island to get the sun back and hang it in the sky again. Penglai Island is a fairy tale island. No one has been there. It is said that there are many difficulties to reach this island. For the people, Emperor Yan decided to go to the island to find the sun himself.

So, on the day of the vernal equinox, Emperor Yan rode a colorful bird across the sea of Wan Li and came to Penglai Island. Strange to say, many birds are afraid to go near the rough sea because they are afraid of being swept into the sea by the waves. However, on the vernal equinox, when Emperor Yan rode colorful birds, the sea was very calm and the sea was blue.

When Emperor Yan came to Penglai Island, he picked up the sun and rode back to his hometown. He hung the sun on the city head of his hometown to let the sun shine on the earth. Since then, the earth has been rich in food, and all people are very happy. Emperor Yan was honored as the sun god.

People are very grateful to Yan Di, the sun god, so they always worship the sun every spring equinox, and people will stand on the back of a bird like Yan Di. Later, people even found that even eggs could stand up on this day.

After the vernal equinox, swallows fly back from the south, spring thunder begins and lightning comes.