“春种秋收，春播秋实”是农业生产中不变的定理。秋天往往被看作收获的季节，但是二十四个节气中有一个节气的到来也标志着作物的成熟，预示着丰收，它就是小满。欧阳修的“麦穗初齐稚子娇，桑叶正肥蚕食饱”正是对小满时节小麦孕穗，种桑养蚕情景的写照。

小满是二十四节气中夏季的第二个节气，在太阳达黄经60度， 每年公历5月20—22日交节。

Sowing in spring and harvesting in autumn has been long-standing axiom for agriculturalactivities. Usually, autumn is considered the season of harvest. However, there is a solar term also indicates the ripeness and harvest of crops—theGrainBuds. In one of his poems, Ouyang Xiu, a renowned scholar in the Song Dynasty (960-1279), wrote that “innocent children plays in joy when the wheat bears ears and silkworms feed infull when mulberry trees are lush.”This vividly depicts the scene of the wheat incubating ears and silkworms feeding on mulberry leaves around theGrainBuds.

【资料图】

TheGrainBudsis the second solar term in summer. It arrives when the sun reaches 15 degrees in the ecliptic longitudeand usually fells on May 20 to 22 each year.

小 满 之 名

Origins of the Grain Buds

图片来源：新华网

Photo from Xinhuanet.com

“所谓小满”，在南方和北方的含义并不相同。在南方，小满是一种气候特点，指雨水丰盈。《说文解字》记载：“满，盈溢也。”小满节气期间，南上的暖湿气流与北下的冷空气在华南一带交汇，形成了持续大范围的强降水，就有了：“小满小满，江河易满”这一民谚。小满时节如果降雨偏少就会造成田埂干裂，影响作物生长。

The Grain Buds conveys different connotations in southern and northern China. In the south, it refers to a climatic condition, namely sufficient rainfalls. According to Analytical Dictionary of Chinese Characters, “Man”(Fullness) means overflowing. During the Grain Buds, the warm and humid airflow from south meets the cold airflow from north above southern China, forming extensive and heavy rainfalls. Therefore, a folk saying goes that “all rivers are full with the arrival of the Grain Buds”. If the rainfall is insufficient around the Grain Buds, the fields will dry up, thus affecting the growth of crops.

图片来源：新华网

Photo from Xinhuanet.com

在北方，小满说的则是作物长势。在小满时节，北方地区尚未进入雨季，降雨量很小但是气温上升非常迅速，这时往往是北方地区日照时间最长的时期，而我国北方地区农田以旱地为主，粮食作物以小麦为主。时至小满，麦子等夏熟作物籽粒开始饱满，但未完全成熟，所以小满之“满”指的正是小麦的饱满程度。

In northern China, the Grain Buds refers to the growth of crops. Around the Grain Buds, the rainy season hasn’t arrived yet in the north region. Despite the little rainfall, the temperature rises up quickly. The sunshine hours are the longest in the year. Farmers in northern China mainly grow the wheat as the grain crop. When the Grain Buds arrives, the seeds of summer crops such as the wheat become plump, but haven’t been completely ripe yet. Therefore, the Grain Buds refers to the plumpness degree of wheat seeds at the time.

小满节俗：浓浓乡土气

Folk Customs Related to the Grain Buds

“二十四节气”是古代农耕文明的产物，它不仅是指导农耕生产的时节体系，更是包含有丰富民俗事象的民俗系统。

The 24 Solar Terms were a fruit of agricultural civilization of ancient China, which not only serve as the seasonal guidelines for guiding agricultural production, but also contain rich folk cultures.

吃 苦 菜

Eating Sowthistle

吃苦菜

图片来源：中国国家地理微博

Eating Sowthistle

Photo from Weibo@中国国家地理

古人习惯把小满分为“三候”，即“一候苦菜秀；二候靡草死；三候麦秋至。”俗语意为小满时节，苦菜枝叶繁茂故而适宜百姓采摘食用充饥；一些喜阴的枝条细软的植物由于小满时节阳气日盛，将会逐渐枯死；北方冬小麦籽粒饱满，收割在即。这种季节行为跨越历史长河而被民间百姓保留至今，成为了小满时节家家户户到野外采摘苦菜、吃苦菜的习俗。

Ancient Chinese summed up “threephenological phenomena”for the Grain Buds: The sowthistle thrives, the shepherdspurse herbwithers, and the wheat is becoming ripe. That means during the Grain Buds, the sowthistle becomes lush and is suitable for eating, some sciophilousherbs wither as the sunshine becomes strong, and the wheat in northern China bears plump ears and will be ready to harvest soon. Such seasonal activities have been practiced across thousands of years, forming the folk custom that almost every household gathered and ate sowthistles on the day of the Grain Buds.

祭 三 神

WorshipingThree Deities

农耕水车

图片来源：新华网

A waterwheel for irrigation

Photo from Xinhuanet.com

蚕茧

图片来源：新华网

Silkworm cocoons

Photo from Xinhuanet.com

民间还有“祭三神”的习俗。古人信仰万物有灵，“三神”对应“三车”即为水车车神、油车车身和丝车车神。所谓“小满动三车”，依照自古习俗，水车会在小满启动。小满还是油菜籽成熟的时节，“动油车”是指人们将油菜籽收割并送至油坊，启动油车榨油。而“动丝车”是指小满前后，蚕要开始结茧，养蚕人家要忙着动丝车缫丝。后来甚至衍生出了“小满会”，当天会上演歌舞剧等各色民俗节目。

There is also a folk custom of worshiping the “three deities”. Ancient Chinese believed that everything has a spirit. The “three deities”refer to the waterwheel god, the oil mill god, and the silk spinning wheel god. An old saying goes that “three wheels roll with the arrival of the Grain Buds”. Oilseed rapes become ripe during the Grain Buds. In the past, harvested oilseeds were delivered to oil mills, where they were pressed to produce edible oil. Around the Grain Buds, silkworms begin cocooning, and silkworm keepers began to reel silk with spinning wheels. Later, the Grain Buds Fair was formed, at which people staged folk performances such as songs and dances.

人生最好是“小满”

Grain Buds: The Best State of Life

游客在池杉湖荷花观赏区拍摄荷花

图片来源：新华网

Tourists take photos of lotus flowers in Chishan Lake.

Photo from Xinhuanet.com

在二十四节气中，许多节气都是相对而来，如小寒大寒，小暑大暑，但唯独有小满而没有大满。其实，有小满无大满正体现了中国人的处世哲学：不疾不徐，不求全求满。

小满，将满未满。古人云：“君子宁居无不居有，宁处缺不处完。”《易·丰》中有：“日中则昃，月盈则食，天地盈虚，与时消息。”民间也有“水满则溢，物盈则倾”的说法。正所谓“满招损，谦受益”，一切都到极限，不留余地，其结果可想而知。所以，古人在“满”字前加“小”字，满满都是智慧。

Of the 24 Solar Terms, some correspondto each other, for example, the Minor Cold vs. the Major Cold and the Minor Heat vs. the Major Heat. However, there isn’t a solar term named the Greater Fullness. In fact, the Grain Buds reflects the life philosophy of Chinese people: pursuing no fullness but rightness.

The Grain Buds is a state close to fullness. An old saying said, “a virtuous man would rather be insufficient than be overfull.”According to The Book of Changes, “the sun will incline westwards after it reaches the noon, and the moon will eclipseafter it becomes full; The heaven and the earth evolveall the way alongside the time”. Besides, a folk saying goes that “when the water is full, it overflows;when the material is full, it is poured”. Just as the saying goes, “pride leads to loss while modesty brings benefit.”Things will turn bad after they reach the maximum limits. Therefore, ancient Chinese added the word “lesser”in front of “fullness”, which indicated their life wisdom.

【参考文献】

1. 新华网：《小满小满 江河易满》

2. 中国青年报：《节气里的韵味 人生最好是“小满”》

3. 中华网：《小满至，这一天的习俗你了解多少》

4. 北京日报：《小满：麦穗初齐稚子娇，桑叶正肥蚕食饱》

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