Author: chinesemoment

As a popular movie star born in Taiwan, Shu Qi "began in the softcore porn modeling industry, appearing on the cover of Penthouse Hong Kong for February 1995 issue and the Chinese edition of Playboy magazine. She eventually came under the management of Hong Kong producer Manfred Wong, who signed her on to several Hong Kong softcore films such as Sex & Zen II in 1996," according to Wikipedia. She then appeared in some mainstream Hong Kong movies and became very famous. She has won a Hong Kong Film Award, Golden Bauhinia Award and Golden Horse Award, successfully transforming from a porn star to a popular movie star. She also played in "If You Are the One 2" and "A Beautiful Life" this year and was involved in many commercial endorsements. Her income reached 36.45 million yuan (US$5.63 million) in the assessment period.

Li Bingbing graduated from Shanghai Theatre Academy and is now an A-list actress in the Chinese mainland. In 2001, she starred in the television series "Young Justice Bao," which propelled her to stardom in China. She won many awards for her roles in the movies "A World Without Thieves" (2004), "The Knot" (2004) and "The Message" (2009). In 2011, she starred in the English-language film "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan," a joint project with Hollywood. Her income reached 33.72 million yuan (US$5.21 million) in the assessment period.

Offering sacrifice to the Deity of Waterwheel Offering sacrifice to the Deity of Waterwheel“抢水”仪式
The waterwheel is an important tool for irrigation. A saying goes, “Three things start in Grain buds, filature, tanker and waterwheel.” Before the start of waterwheels, villagers perform a ceremony for “capturing water.” Senior citizens usually arrange the date and make preparations for the waterwheel ceremony. On the day of the ceremony, every household gets up at dawn and lights a torch. They eat semolina cakes, semolina pies and semolina rolls on waterwheels. When the leader sounds the drum and the gong (signaling the start of the ceremony), all echo by beating instruments. Then they go to the river and start several scores of waterwheels filled with water. Thus water is led to farmlands, to achieve the purpose of irrigation. Offering a sacrifice to the deity of waterwheel is an old rural tradition. According to legends, the deity of waterwheel is a white dragon. People place fish and meat and scented candles in front of the waterwheel. One special thing among the offerings is a glass of water. They spill it on farmlands during the ritual. This represents their wish of having enough water for farming. This tradition demonstrates the importance attached to irrigation and drainage.旧时水车车水排灌为农村大事，谚云：“小满动三车（三车指的是丝车、油车、水车）。”水车例于小满时启动。此前，农户以村圩为单位举行“抢水”仪式，行于海宁一带，有演习之意。多由年长执事者约集各户，确定日期，安排准备，至是日黎明即群行出动，燃起火把于水车基上吃麦糕、麦饼、麦团，待执事者以鼓锣为号，群以击器相和，踏上小河汉上事先装好的水车，数十辆一齐踏动，把河水引灌入田，至河浜水光方止。祭车神亦为农村古俗，传说“车神”为白龙，农家在车水前于车基上置鱼肉、香烛等祭拜之，特殊之处为祭品中有白水一杯，祭时泼入田中，有祝水源涌旺之意。以上旧俗表明了农民对水利排灌的重视。

Sheng hu zhu zhi ci is a poem written by a modern poet, Shen Yun. In the poem, a lively rendition of a Xiaoman Performance (a kind of performance on the day Grain Buds begins) tales place in the southern regions of the Yangtze River. The purpose of this activity is to offer sacrifices to the deity of silkworms. He depicts that on the day of Grain Buds (whichusually falls on May 21st), people in the hometown of silkworm business all come out of their houses and gather together in the temple. They put on performances and offer sacrifices. The beating of gongs and drums resound to the skies. The gathering goes on in full blast.近代人沈云有《盛湖竹枝词》云：“先蚕庙里剧登场，男释耕耘女罢桑。只为今朝逢小满，万人空巷斗新妆。”诗人描绘了小满时节江南蚕乡的祭祀活动“小满戏”的场景，锣鼓喧天，丝竹贯耳，观众摩肩接踵，热闹非凡。

In China, different solar terms have different Proverbs. In Grain Buds, we will introduce Less Rainfall in Grain Buds, Less in Rainy Season.

The herb of common sowthistle put forth flowers Although Grain Buds means that grains are about to become full, they are not mature yet. In ancient times, people usually ate potherbs to stay their hunger. Eating herbs of common sowthistle has a long history in China. Many ancient books have recorded this.小满虽然预示着麦子将熟，但毕竟仍然处在一个青黄不接的阶段。在过去，百姓们在这个时候往往以野菜充饥。食苦菜在中国有着悠久的历史，苦菜的品种也多种多样。《埤雅》以荼为苦菜 。 《毛诗》曰：“谁谓荼苦？”是也。 鲍氏曰：“感火之气而苦味成。”《尔雅》曰：“不荣而实者谓之秀，荣而不实者谓之英，”此苦莱宜言英也。鲍氏曰：“感火之气而苦味成。”蔡邕 《月令》以谓苦荬菜。

24 solar terms is good tools for Chinese farmer. And now summer is coming. Let's look at how to calculate of Grain Buds Date.