Today, the most polarized day in China

Today is Xiaoman (Grain Buds).

The ancients said:

“Xiaoman means things have grown a bit but aren’t fully ripe yet.”

Everything is gradually flourishing, yet not complete—

The wheat grains are almost ripe but not quite,

The rivers are swelling but haven’t overflowed,

Midsummer is on its way but hasn’t arrived.

This is one of the most subtle moments in China’s year.

The same Xiaoman,

In North China, wheat waves turn yellow; in the Northeast, spring planting is in full swing;

Some places see increasing rain,

While in others, the highlands are just turning green.

North China

Wheat waves gradually turn yellow, ushering in the most critical moment of the year

Xiaoman

Is first and foremost a solar term for wheat.

On the North China Plain,

Winter wheat in places like Hebei and Shanxi

Has entered the grain-filling stage,

The once green wheat fields begin to show hints of pale yellow,

The kernels gradually plump up,

But they aren’t truly ripe yet.

“Wheat turns yellow day by day until Xiaoman”

There’s a farming proverb in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River:

“If Xiaoman doesn’t fill up, the wheat faces a risk.”

That “risk” refers to hot, dry winds.

If high temperatures, low humidity, and strong winds occur together,

The wheat that’s filling could quickly lose water,

Leading to shriveled kernels and affecting the harvest.

So Xiaoman isn’t a time to celebrate the harvest;

It’s a time of final waiting before the harvest.

Northeast

Some are about to harvest, others have just planted

Heading further north,

Xiaoman takes on a different look.

On the black soil of the Northeast,

Spring planting is still ongoing.

In parts of Heilongjiang and Jilin,

Corn, soybeans, and rice have just been sown,

Farmers are busy catching up with the planting schedule,

Tractors shuttle across the freshly plowed land.

Farmers welcome the season for transplanting rice seedlings

East China

Paddy fields gradually fill, entering the “plum rain season”

Down in Jiangnan,

Xiaoman is hidden in the rice paddies.

As Xiaoman arrives, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River

Begin an important period for rice production.

In Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Anhui, and other areas,

Farmers care most not about the wind, but about the water.

Yunhe Rice Terraces in Lishui, Zhejiang Province

Between the river networks, paddy fields are filled with water

Distant mountains fade into the moist air

A folk saying goes:

“If Xiaoman doesn’t fill up, Mangzhong (Grain in Ear) won’t care.”

This means,

If the fields can’t hold water during Xiaoman,

Come Mangzhong,

The rice seedlings will be hard to transplant smoothly.

So, in this solar term, Jiangnan

Is always wrapped in a hazy, humid air.

South China

Rain intensifies, and true summer begins

Further south,

Xiaoman takes on yet another meaning.

In Guangdong, Guangxi, and other areas,

During Xiaoman,

Warm, moist air currents grow stronger,

Rainfall increases significantly,

South China gradually enters its most humid time of year,

Also the period most prone to heavy rainfall.

Thus,

Here, “full” means the rivers are swelling.

Lijiang River in Guangxi

One of China’s most beautiful karst landscapes

A folk saying goes:

“Xiaoman and Daman (Greater Fullness) fill the rivers.”

In the Pearl River basin and along the Xijiang River,

River levels start to rise,

Heavy rain arrives frequently,

Many places enter flood season.

The air becomes damp and sticky,

Sudden showers come and go quickly.

One moment it’s a stuffy afternoon,

The next, it could be a downpour.

Southwest

Grass gradually fills the pastures, and the highlands finally turn green

At higher altitudes,

Xiaoman marks another kind of awakening.

In places like Aba in Sichuan and the Tibet Autonomous Region,

The true growing season begins.

Ice and snow recede, meadows green up,

Grass on the slopes starts to grow wildly,

Yaks and sheep begin their migration to higher pastures,

Green spreads from the valleys all the way up the slopes.

The First Bend of the Yellow River at Aba, Sichuan

For pastoral regions,

Xiaoman

Is the start of the most abundant time of the year.

After enduring a long, harsh winter,

Life on the plateau seems to hit the fast-forward button.

The grass and trees change day by day.

Here, what Xiaoman fills is the pasture.

It’s also the moment when China’s most vast green

Begins to spread.

Bomi Gang, Nyingchi, Tibet

That’s it—the same Xiaoman,

Yet China feels like it’s experiencing different seasons.

It also shows that the 24 solar terms

Have never been a single, uniform timetable.

In China,

They are constantly reinterpreted

By latitude, mountains, rivers, and monsoons—

So a single “Xiaoman”

Grows into many versions.

[References]

[1] “The 24 Solar Terms” Chinese Heritage, December 2010 issue

[2] “Solar Terms” Chinese Heritage, December 2010 issue

[3] “Do You Really Know the 24 Solar Terms?” Chinese National Geography, December 2013 issue

Authoring Team

Editor: Chaonan

Designer: Weiwei

Images: Visual China

Topic

Comment section: Tell us your favorite solar term

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