About traditional Chinese culture

GEN Z

[To view the list of my other drama companion pieces (with links to them), check : HERE.]

SOLAR TERMS AND TRADITIONAL CHINESE AGRICULTURAL CALENDAR

The drama opens on a mention  of the Awakening of the insects Solar term period :

Jingzhe was March 26 this year. Was thinking they could have released it then to satisfy the ZLS fandom.  Anyway, here's the info :

"China's 24 solar terms: Jingzhe, Awakening of Insects

Jingzhe {惊蛰], or Awakening of Insects, is the third of China's 24 solar terms. It means that the warmer weather wakes up the animals hibernating in the soil.
Once upon a time, insects hid in the soil in winter without drinking or eating, which is called "zhe" in Chinese, meaning hibernation. When it comes to the day of Jingzhe, thunder wakes up the hibernating animals, called "Jing," meaning "wake up in a panic". In fact, insects can not hear the thunder, animals wake up because the weather is warming up and they are ending their hibernation.

Eating pear is a custom during Jingzhe. Pears can be eaten raw, steamed, juiced or boiled in water. Because the weather is dry during this time, eating pears can be hydrating and relieve a dry throat.
In ancient China, when there were more kinds of creatures, some infectious diseases did not have special medicine. On the day of Jingzhe, the time when all bugs wake up, eating pears is also a way to remind everyone to be careful.
In Chinese, the homophone of "pear" is "Li," which means "away from". It is said that eating pears can keep pests away from crops, which can ensure a good harvest for the whole year.
Still in Chinese, "pear" and "plow" pronounce the same, which means that crops can start to be planted. The Chinese people have attached great   importance to Jingzhe since ancient times, and it is considered to be the beginning of the spring farming season."

"The solar terms are the seasonal division points on the Chinese lunar calendar. In the past, Chinese people used the system to schedule their agricultural activities or alter their diet at various times of the year. Today, lots of traditions and customs regarding the 24 solar terms, such as eating special foods, are still popular in the country.
In 2016, China's 24 solar terms were inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity."

24 Solar Terms in 2023

Now, May 14 is when in this calendar?

"Start of Summer (Chinese: 立夏), {Lixia]the 7th term of the year, begins on May 6 and ends on May 20 this year.

Start of Summer signals the transition of seasons. On this day, the sun's rays reach an angle of 45 degrees to the earth. The temperature will rise quickly during this period, yet in northern China weather remains mild, not tropical.
Here are five things to learn about the Start of Summer.
The term Start of Summer was originated at the end of the Warring States Period (239BC). Since it is a crucial time for the harvest of summer crops such as wheat and canola, ancient Chinese emperors in different dynasties attached great importance to the Start of Summer.
In the Zhou Dynasty (1050-221 BC), the emperor led his officials to stage a welcome rite for the Start of Summer and encouraged his residents to seize the key time to do farm work. It's said that most of the decorations were arranged in the color red, including the emperor and the officials' dress, the jade pendants, the horses and the flags, in order to show respect to the god of summer and pray for a good harvest.

The custom of weighing people at the Start of Summer originated from the Three Kingdoms Period (220-180) and prevails in South China today. It was believed this practice would bring health and good luck to the people weighted.
After lunch on the day of Start of Summer, people would suspend a stool or basket from a beam. The young and old took turns to get weighed while the person calculating the weight would offer good wishes and auspicious words. It is said those who were weighed would stay healthy in the hot summer and those who weren't would suffer illness.

In ancient China, people believed a round egg symbolized a happy life and eating eggs on the day of Start of Summer was a prayer for good health. They put leftover tea into boiled water together with eggs and the original "tea egg" was created. Later people improved cooking methods and added spices to the eggs to make them taste delicious. Today tea egg has become a traditional snack in China.
As an old Chinese saying goes "hanging an egg on children's chest can prevent them from getting summer diseases", parents will prepare boiled eggs and put them in a knitted bag before hanging them on their child's chest.
When at school, children gather together to play egg competitions by colliding each other's eggs in pairs and the one whose egg is not broken wins.

According to Chinese traditional medicine, Start of Summer is a key time to moisten the heart. When the weather grows hotter dampness and heat can affect human health. Food rich in vitamins and cool in nature is highly recommended. Vegetables, such as cucumber, tomato, watercress and celery and fruits that include watermelon, pear and strawberry are top recommendations."

PS oh yes, for those not familiar with Chinese taboos, don't make a gift of pears to people, especially to your loved one, since that's ominous because of the "parting" (divorce) meaning.

PPS  This note about solar terms reminded me that a group of lady musicians of Chengdu composed some time ago zhongguofeng/Chinoiserie music for the 24 solar terms. They released an album in 2019 titled "Twenty-Four Solar Terms" of Yinque Poetry.  Zhao Fangjing, member of the "Yinque Poetry Listening Music Club." 【音阙诗听】group (and solo singer too) included several songs. Among those, the "mangzhong" 芒种 (translated either as Grain in beard or Grain in ear, but sometimes faultily as Mango or Mangosteen) song became a hit. It was also famously performed, on stage for TV in 2021,  by Zhao Lusi with her guzheng, singing and dancing here: https://youtu.be/VrubQPxdbpQ

Now here's the Lixia -Start of Summer tune for your seasonal enjoyment :  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNmyQz8WfcM  sung by 昆玉 Kun Yu, other member of the group. (the lyrics to that song are in description of the video, but without  pinyin or translation; nevertheless you can find link to pinyin and translation by clicking on her picture. )

(Infos sourced from CGTN and https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202305/06/WS59bb9915a310d4d9ab7eb5e9_1.html, and travelchinaguide.com. For sources of info and picture of Zhao Fangjng:  the Internet archive where you can listen to other of her songs : https://archive.org/details/zhao-fangjing-songs/Zhao+Fangjing.+Alley.mp3)

24 Solars is so difficult to explain. Thank you for your hard work!

thank you for this!!

SooReneccs In 1 episode there was  mentioned a 7 body locks- soul returning lock. I had translated it into pinyin but no result. I know it something to do with acupuncture point? Do you have any articles/links about that? Sorry  if out of topic and thanks in advance. 

Looking into it although not being a specialist of acupuncture or a therapist, I am not sure. Will rewatch if time allows, to find specific moment and context.  This drama being a work of fiction there may be instances where real notions were changed to suit the imaginary (for instance, the zipping mouth part looked amusingly  wuxia-inspired!). You may remember the delicious self-defense lesson taught by Zisheng to Shaoshang in last year's beautiful drama Love Like the Galaxy, where he put his Life Gate Mingmen in her hand? Well, this acupunct is not on the lower back but on the lower front part of the body between navel and pubic area, and has uses that are more related to healthy qi than to send enemy fainting... if you see what I mean.  One could argue that since it is all gate to internal, the lower back also could be touched, but there's a bone in the way!  So that specific "point" was to lure the young lady into a nice embrace, of course, lol

Will try to give more info and links about acupuncture and TCM soon, after my partial and superficial introduction to luni-solar Chinese calendar culture.  

Anyone who wants to share knowledge is welcome here too, of course!

SooReneccs  Ooh yes, I did do qigong exercices at one point, until unrelated trouble made me unable to go on except looking at it from far away.  I do remember that closing point. The routine was nice, I did feel in better shape then. Perhaps I'll take it up again, although somewhat lacking a suitable place to do it alone from memory, and people to do it with: nearest group is not close-by now, and getting there is complicated for me. 

Maybe you could do a quick introduction about acupuncture, if you have time and like to share about it? 

I thought the inflatable mannequin in the drama was fun, Found in pinterest and on google some posters and drawings about meridians and acupuncts. 

Sorry, went back and re-watched, its epic 3, when Rebecca fainted @38.35.  Mr.Ren then lifted her arm and pressed her armpit, if not mistaken pressed HT 1 /Heart 1, artery to heart(.forbidden to do acupuncture)  He then did acupuncture to P8/Pericardium meridian/Laogong(where in qigong palm over palm at closing of qigong exercises, P8 overP8) These 2 points  H1 and P8 ,if not mistaken is to reduce heart fire and calm the Shen/mind/spirit/body. Difficult as don’t know Mandarin, 1 word in pinyin is different in writing. That was  the epi , when Toutou's friend, the nurse, came for the seminar and Ren said will teach them 1st^t aid in TCM. Suppose to be in epi 4, they short-changed us!! I memorised Heart and Pericardium points as in TCM there is a “mother-child” i.e. stomach is child to mother, the heart, if child got problems, it will pull qi from mother, thus eventually there will be heart problems. And mother can cure child problems that the beauty of TCM!

Thank you very much. Exploring the links provided , at a glance many interesting articles !, Thanks for your trouble again.

@SooReneccs    Checking back on episode 3, about your query regarding "Soul returning lock", I found the mention by Master Ren of the 還魂鎖 (trad) / 还魂锁(simpl) Huánhún suǒ = "resurrection lock", at 41:01,  but like you, did not find it in the lists as an acupoint. "Lift(ing) the major tendons in front of the armpits with all your might" looks like a sort of chiropractic maneuver;  I have no opinion on the validity as life saver. 

What Master Ren did to make Rebecca come back from her faint was targeting her palm on an acupoint there, but I did'nt find the relevant one on the description of "Powerful Acupressure Points to nourish your spirit during challenging times" ( links to illustrated article), which I learned some of back in the days, and used with varying luck.  (I remembered Lung 1 & 2 and Pericardium 8; the latter is also in the palm, btw)

One paper about emergency use of TCM mentions that " It has been stated in TCM that the immediate application of the triangle pyramid needle to puncture the Twelve Hand Jing Points can help remove the noxious blood from patients who suffer from coma and/or excessive phlegm production induced by the emergent wind stroke. It is well known that the Twelve Hand Jing Point is the golden recipe to rescue all kinds of emergencies such as sudden deaths, coma and cholera. With regard to the wind stoke-induced unconsciousness, the acupoints that are commonly applied are Renzhong (GV 26), Zhongchong (PC 9), Hegu (LI 4).

Acupuncture has been widely applied in China for thousands of years to improve the recovery of consciousness post coma or traumatic brain injuries. The acupoints commonly applied in first aid emergency to show the therapeutic efficacy are Renzhong (GV 26), Yongquan (K-1), Shixuan (EX-UE 11), Hegu (LI 4), and Neiguan (PC 6) "

So, Renzhong and Hegu look like they have traditionally a big importance.  Another paper had a long article about the Conception (Ren) anf Governor (Du) Vessels. 

Maybe some of these links will be of interest to your specialized interest, too ?