一年近半，忙中有幸——芒种

5日12时58分，迎来芒种节气

芒是有芒作物，种是夏种开始

有芒的麦子快收，有芒的稻子快种

芒种时节

北方麦黄，江南梅熟

“连雨不知春去，一晴方觉夏深”

在北方，阳光充盈、天气干热

在南方，长江中下游进入梅雨季节

Grain in Ear is the ninth solar term. It begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 75° and ends when it reaches the longitude of 90°. It more often refers in particular to the day when the Sun is exactly at the celestial longitude of 75°. In the Gregorian calendar, it usually begins around June 5 (June 6 East Asia time) and ends around June 21.

芒种是第九节气。它开始于太阳到达75°的天文经度，当它到达经度为90°时结束。它更经常指的是一天，当太阳是完全在天文经度为75°。在公历中，它通常始于6月5日（6月6日东亚时间），并于6月21日结束。

“Grain in ear” means the grains are mature. It happens around June 5 every year when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 75 degrees. During this period, crops like barley and wheat all get mature and are waiting to be harvested. In Chinese, “Grain in Ear” is called Mang Zhong. Mang means grains at the same time busy. It forecasts the farmer is getting back to the busy field work. It is the busiest time to seed millet and the deadline for sowing activities. During this period, areas around middle stream and downstream of the Yangtze River enter the rainy season. Sensing the wetness, the mantis comes out, the shrike starts to sing and the mockingbird stops tweet.

“穗粒”是指籽粒成熟。它发生在每年6月5日左右，当太阳到达经度为75度。在此期间，大麦和小麦等作物都成熟了，正在等待收割。在中国，“Grain in Ear”叫芒种。芒意味着谷物同时忙碌。它预测农民回到繁忙的田野工作。这是millet播种的最忙时间和播种活动的截止日期。在此期间，扬子江中游和下游地区进入雨季。感湿，螳螂出来，伯劳鸟开始歌唱，知更鸟停止鸣叫。

The arrival of Grain in Ear signifies the ripening of awny crops such as wheat and it is also a busy period for farmers. That can be seen from many farm sayings. One of the sayings is, “Getting busy with farm work in Grain in Ear,” prevailing in many provinces. Grain in Ear is especially critical for planting rice. There is a saying in Guizhou that goes, “If you don’t plant rice in Grain in Ear, planting will be in vain.”

在穗的到来意味着有芒作物如小麦成熟也是农民忙碌的时期。从许多农场谚语中可以看出。其中一句话是，“忙着赶农活”，在许多省份盛行。水稻种植尤其重要。贵州有句谚语：“如果不种粮食，种植就白费了。”

Traditional customs

As the flowers withered away, people in old times used to hold ceremony to sacrifice for the “God of Flowers”, showing their gratitude and their eagerness to see the flowers again next year. This custom is already long gone and people can only read the scene in some of the ancient novels. In China’s south Anhui province, people steam dumplings with new fresh wheat flour after seeding the paddy rice. They make the flour into different shapes such as cereals, animals, vegetables and fruits, color them and pray for villagers’ safety.

传统习俗

随着花儿的凋谢，旧时人们习惯举行祭祀仪式，为“花之神”祭祀，表达他们对来年再次见到花朵的感激和渴望。这种习俗早已不复存在，人们只能在一些古代小说中读到这一场景。在中国南部安徽省，人们用新鲜的小麦面粉蒸饺子后播种水稻。他们把面粉做成各种形状，如谷物、动物、蔬菜和水果，并为村民们的安全而祈祷。

Healthy living tips

The best food to eat during “Grain in Ear” period, as suggested by Chinese doctors, is mulberry. Around two thousand years ago, mulberry had already been considered as royal food and among the folk, it was called the “holy fruit”. It has abundant glucose, cane sugar, Vitamin A, B and C and many mineral substances and is very good for humans' heart, liver and kidney.

健康生活小贴士

中国医生建议，在“穗穗”期间吃最好的食物是桑树。大约二千年前，桑已被认为是皇家食物，在民间，它被称为“神圣的水果”。含有丰富的葡萄糖、蔗糖、维生素A、B、C和多种矿物质，对人的心脏、肝脏和肾脏都非常有益。