The beauty of the seasons: Beginning of Autumn丨Is Beginning of Autumn also divided into “early” and “late”?

Xinhua News Agency, Tianjin, August 7 (Reporter Zhou Runjian) "The sky is fading from summer, and the leaves are rustling with autumn sounds." At 2:23 am Beijing time on August 8, the beginning of autumn, one of the 24 solar terms, will arrive. From this time on, the yang energy gradually withdraws, and all things become restrained, starting from luxuriant growth to maturity and fruition.

Tianjin folklore expert and columnist You Guoqing said that although the name of this solar term contains the word "autumn", the beginning of autumn is only the arrival of autumn in the astronomical sense, not the beginning of autumn in the meteorological sense. The division of seasons in climate is mainly based on the change of "average temperature", that is, the local average temperature for five consecutive days is below 22 degrees Celsius, which is considered to be the beginning of autumn in the climate sense.

After the Beginning of Autumn, it takes some time for the heat to dissipate and the temperature to drop. Many places in my country are still in the hot summer. There is a folk saying that "The Beginning of Autumn is hotter than the Great Heat, and it feels like warming yourself by a fire around noon."

After the beginning of the dog days on July 11, people who have endured the hot and humid weather for a while are eager for the cool autumn breeze to blow earlier. In this regard, the folk customs in some parts of my country divide the beginning of autumn into "early beginning of autumn" and "late beginning of autumn".

Specifically, there are roughly two different ways of classification: the first method takes the seventh month of the lunar calendar as a reference. If the seventh month of the lunar calendar has not yet arrived when the Beginning of Autumn comes, then it is called "early Beginning of Autumn". Conversely, if the seventh month of the lunar calendar has already arrived when the Beginning of Autumn comes, then it is "late Beginning of Autumn". In this way, the lunar date corresponding to the Beginning of Autumn this year is June 22, which is "early Beginning of Autumn"; the second method of classification is based on time points. 0:00 to 12:00 is "early Beginning of Autumn", and 12:00 to 24:00 is "late Beginning of Autumn". In this way, the Beginning of Autumn this year is "early Beginning of Autumn".

As a result, many proverbs and sayings have been created among the people, such as "Early autumn is chilly, late autumn is so hot that cows can die", "Throw away the fan if it is early autumn, late autumn is hot and endless", etc.

Yu Guoqing said that these folk sayings are passed down from generation to generation. Although they make sense, they have no rigorous scientific basis. The main factors affecting the climate are solar radiation, atmospheric circulation and human activities. Therefore, there is no obvious correspondence between whether the beginning of autumn is early or late and whether the weather is hot.

Whether it is early or late, the hot temperature has come to an end, and the season is moving towards the "gradual rise of autumn". The falling leaves indicate the arrival of autumn, and the years are welcoming the harvest. Autumn is the season of harvest and also the season for people to have infinite longings. Let us welcome the arrival of the beginning of autumn together through folk customs such as "biting autumn", "touching autumn" and "putting on weight in autumn", and say together "It's a good autumn with cool weather".