Solar terms

I’m reading Fuschia Dunlop’s Invitation to a Banquet and in her chapter about farm-to-table (“Farm to Chopsticks”), she mentions how seasonal food preparation follows the seasons of the old agricultural calendar.

I am familiar with the 12 lunar months (13 in a year when it’s make-up time every 4 years) but I didn’t know about the solar terms, 24 of them, approximately two weeks in length spanning the year. They have poetic and descriptive names for agriculture like 驚蟄 “Awakening of insects” and 芒種 “Frost’s descent”. Farmers used the solar terms to guide them when to sow their seeds and harvest crops.

According to the massive table outlining the solar terms, there are solar terms associated with each Chinese zodiac and Earthly Branch, and Western astrological signs. My Pisces sign maps to 雨水 “Rain water” and 驚蟄 “Awakening of Insects” while my Horse (and Wǔ 午 Earthly Branch) maps to 芒種 “Corn on ear” and 夏至 “Summer solstice”. Whatever all that means!

What I now notice is that solar terms have a prominent spot along the left side of the traditional page-a-day lunar calendar. I don’t have one, my mother didn’t use one but her mother did. We had, at best, the bi-cultural calendars that are available from the bank and Chinese grocers around Lunar New Year. And since they are traditionally in Chinese, I never inspected it beyond seeing which day on the lunar calendar it is (i.e., when is Mummy’s birthday this year??). I follow the Yutlik Club IG account who post the page-a-day every day for our information and education. It’s one of those things that “when I have more space” (i.e., a house) I’ll get one one year!

Sources:
* “Solar terms” on Wikipedia
* Canadian-based Yutlik Club