It's gloomy outside the window, but I don't feel cold at all, but I feel a little warm, probably because so many small reporters are very excited to get together! Before the lecture began, the staff sent a form to each reporter present, with 24 solar terms printed on it, so that we could have a look in advance and have a good foundation. At first, it was about grandpa sitting on the podium. He first introduced his life experience. 1992, invited to join the daily newspaper. Before that, he sailed a boat, fished, practiced medicine and taught books. Retired last year. I was invited by the editor-in-chief to give a lecture because a new book, Solar Terms: Whispering, was published recently, which talked about the 24 solar terms.
After listening to grandpa's introduction, I realized that the origin of the original 24 solar terms can be traced back to Shangzhou, and it was not until the Tang Dynasty that it was officially perfected. There are many proverbs here. Let me give you an example first. Now we all know that Tomb-Sweeping Day is actually a solar term, with 24 solar terms in a year, six solar terms in a season and two solar terms in January.
In the past, our ancestors were still relatively backward in astronomy, so they always thought that the sun revolved around the earth, but coincidentally, people still discovered and applied the 24 solar terms, and ancient agricultural production was closely related to the 24 solar terms. As early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, our clever ancestors used a vertical rod to measure the length of the midday sun shadow to determine the vernal equinox, summer solstice, autumn equinox and winter solstice. Shadows are moderate vernal equinox, shortest summer solstice, moderate autumn equinox and longest winter solstice.
Twenty-four solar terms are called "wisdom of time" in the farming era, and the perfect combination of farming and folk customs is a cultural heritage left to future generations. This course really benefited me a lot!