Category: Chinese Culture

The traditional East Asian calendars divide a year into 24 solar terms (节气). Grain rain (谷雨Gǔyù) is the 6th solar term. It begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 30° and ends when it reaches the longitude of 45°. It more often refers in particular to the day when the Sun is exactly at the celestial longitude of 30°. In the Gregorian calendar, it usually begins around April 20 and ends around May 5.

Last Solar Term in Spring: Grain Rain(谷雨Gǔyù)

24 Solar Terms: Grain Rain(Gu yu) 24节气之谷雨

Grain Rain(谷雨ɡú yǔ) Introduction
“Grain Rain” is the sixth solar term in the 24 solar terms. It is the last solar term inspring when the sun reaches the celestial longitude of 30 degrees around April 20 toApril 21 every year. The term “Grain Rain” is originated from a folk story. When CangJie, an official from the Yellow Emperor period, created writing characters, grain camedown from sky like rainfall. Therefore, the Yellow Emperor named this day as the “GrainRain”. When this day comes, the amount of rainfall increases much than the day of“The Rain”, which is very important for the growth of the crops. After this day, theduckweed starts to grow after rainfall, the cuckoo starts to sing and hoopoe starts toappear on mulberry tree. The temperature in most of the basin areas increases quickly.Apart from the north-west part, most of the basin areas in China reach 20 to 22 degreeCelsius.

Growing up with Chinese Lesson 96

Growing up with Chinese（成长汉语） is an entertaining, fun and easy Chinese series. This series teaches 300 of the most commonly spoken Chinese phrases to teenagers. It is hosted by Charlotte MacInnis, known to the Chinese audiences as Ai Hua.

Key words:
歪 wāi:crooked
梨 lí:pear
高 gāo:above average
分梨 fēn lí:to split a pear
分离 fēnlí:to separate
年糕 niángāo:sticky rice cake
吉利 jílì:lucky
迎接 yíngjiē:to meet
其中 qízhōng:among
越来越红火 yuèláiyuè hónghuǒ:more and more prosperous

第三届新英格兰地区“汉语桥”大学生中文演讲比赛

2013年3月23日，第三届新英格兰地区“汉语桥”大学生中文演讲比赛成功在麻州大学孔子学院在麻州大学波士顿校区举办。来自哈佛大学、波士顿学院、克拉克大学、塔夫茨大学、麻州大学、罗德岛大学等新英格兰地区13所大学的18名学生，分初级和高级两个组进行了比赛。

Spring outing and Planting in Qingming Festival清明节踏青植树

Do you know why people all out in Qingming Festival? And why people planting in this day? As the saying goes: melon seeds before and after the tomb-sweeping day, the kind of beans.一听清明节就想到扫墓，很严肃吧，其实完全相反，清明节是一年当中除了春节最热闹的节气，踏青、荡秋千、蹴鞠、植树等等。你今年的清明节小长假要怎么过呢？

Do you Know the Origin on Qingming/Cold Food Festival?清明节的来源

The Cold Food Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday celebrated for three consecutive days starting the day before the Qingming Festival in the Chinese Calendar.寒食节是清明节前的一个传统节日。寒食节亦称“禁烟节”、“冷节”、“百五节”，在夏历冬至后一百零五日，清明节前一二日。是日初为节时，禁烟火，只吃冷食。
Qing Ming is popularly associated with Jie Zi Zhui, who lived in Shanxi province in 600 B.C. Legend has it that Jie saved his starving lord's life by serving a piece of his own leg. When the lord succeeded in becoming the ruler of a small principality, he invited his faithful follower to join him. However, Jie declined his invitation, preferring to lead a hermit's life with his mother in the mountains.谈到清明节，有点历史知识的人，都会联想到历史人物介子椎。据历史记载，在两千多年以前的春秋时代，晋国公子重耳逃亡在外，生活艰苦，跟随他的介子椎不惜从自己的腿上割下一块肉让他充饥。后来，重耳回到晋国，作了国君（即晋文公，春秋五霸之一），大事封赏所有跟随他流亡在外的随从，惟独介子椎拒绝接受封赏，他带了母亲隐居绵山。
Believing that he could force Jie out by burning the mountain, the lord ordered his men to set the forest on fire. To his consternation, Jie chose to remain where he was and was burnt to death. To commemorate Jie, the lord ordered all fires in every home to be put out on the anniversary of Jie's death. Thus began the "cold food feast", a day when no food could be cooked since no fire could be lit.晋文公无计可施，只好放火烧山，他想，介子椎孝顺母亲，一定会带着老母出来。谁知这场大火却把介子椎母子烧死了。为了纪念介子椎，晋文公下令每年的这一天，禁止生火，家家户户只能吃生冷的食物，这就是寒食节的来源。
The "cold food" festival occurs on the eve of Qing Ming and is often considered as part of the Qing Ming festival. As time passes, the Qing Ming festival replaced the "cold food" festival. Whatever practice is observed，the basic observation of Qing Ming is to remember one's elders by making a special effort to visit their graves, ashes or ancestral tablets. To make the visit even more meaningful, some time should be spent to remind the younger members of the family of the lives and contributions of their ancestors, and the story of Jie Zi Zhui who choose death over capitulation.寒食节是在清明节的前一天，古人常把寒食节的活动延续到清明，久而久之，清明取代了寒食节。拜介子椎的习俗也变成了清明扫墓的习俗了。无论以何种形式纪念，为了使纪念祖先的仪式更有意义，我们应该让年轻一代的家庭成员了解先人过去的奋斗历史，当然，还要学习介子椎宁死不屈的气节。

Chinese Sweep Tomb on qingming清明祭祖

Known as the Grave-sweeping（扫墓sǎo mù） or Spring Remembrance, Ching Ming ("clear and bright"), is when Chinese families show their respect by visiting the graves of their ancestors to clear away weeds, touch up gravestone inscriptions and make offerings of wine and fruit.

These Customs on Qingming Festival 清明节的那些习俗

To sweep tomb扫墓 To sweep tomb扫墓
This is the most important day of sacrifice. Both the Han and minority ethnic groups at this time offer sacrifices to their ancestors and sweep the tombs of the diseased. On each Qingming Festival, all cemeteries are crowded with people who came to sweep tombs and offer sacrifices. Traffic on the way to the cemeteries becomes extremely jammed. The customs have been greatly simplified today. After slightly sweeping the tombs, people offer food, flowers and favorites of the dead, then burn incense and paper money and bow before the memorial tablet.清明节是我国传统节日，也是最重要的祭祀节日，是祭祖和扫墓的日子。扫墓俗称上坟，祭祀死者的一种活动。汉族和一些少数民族大多都是在清明节扫墓。按照旧的习俗，扫墓时，人们要携带酒食果品、纸钱等物品到墓地，将食物供祭在亲人墓前，再将纸钱焚化，为坟墓培上新土，折几枝嫩绿的新枝插在坟上，然后叩头行礼祭拜，最后吃掉酒食回家。

Why do Chinese Fly kites on Qingming Festival为什么清明放风筝

Flying kites is a traditional activity on on Qingming Festival or Tomb-Sweeping Day. People like flying kites on Qingming Festival or Tomb-Sweeping Day, no matter in the daytime or at night. In the evening, they attach strings of little colorful lanterns to the kite or the thread, which look like twinkling stars in the sky, giving them the name "sacred lantern". In the past, some people would cut off the thread when the kite flew to the sky, letting it drift to wherever the wind took it. It is said that this can cure diseases, prevent disasters and bring good luck.放风筝是清明时节人们喜爱的活动。人们不仅白天放，夜间也放，夜里在风筝上或风筝拉线上挂上一串串彩色的小灯笼，像闪烁的明星，被称为"神灯"。过去，有的人把风筝放上蓝天后，便剪断牵线，任凭清风把它们送往天涯海角，据说这样能除病消灾，给自己带来好运。