首页分享用英语讲中国传统节气——谷雨Grain Rain

用英语讲中国传统节气——谷雨Grain Rain

来源：花匠小妙招时间：2025-07-28 15:33

Grain Rain is the sixth solar term in the twenty-four solar terms，which is from an old Chinese saying - Rain aids the growth of countless grain. This means the rain is very important for the growth of grain at this time of year.As recorded in A Collective Interpretation of the Seventy-two Phenological terms: "The soil has fortified with nutrients and started to become loosen since Grain Rain, and now it is raining again to support the growth of grain. It is the very period that sow the grain by scattering them on the field." Also, it links grain and rain with the meaning of "Rain brings up the growth of hundreds of grains", has great significance of agricultural climate. Spring is about to end and summer is coming. As the last solar term in spring, this period sees the temperature rise and rainfall increase.

谷雨，二十四节气的第六个节气，也是春季最后一个节气，有“雨生百谷”的说法，暗示了此时降雨对于谷物生长的重要性。谷雨，源自古人“雨生百谷”之说。《月令七十二候集解》中记载：“三月中，自雨水后，土膏脉动，今又雨其谷于水也……盖谷以此时播种，自上而下也。”谷雨将“谷”和“雨”联系起来，蕴涵着“雨生百谷”之意，反映了谷雨的农业气候意义。

二、The Three periods of Grain Rain谷雨三侯

We divided the fifteen days in Grain Rain solar term into three periods: On the first five days, duckweed starts to grow; after five days, cuckoos flutter their wings; another five days later, hoopoe can be spotted on mulberry trees.Willow catkins is falling down, the cuckoo moaning at night, Peony blooming with pistil out，cherry becoming red and ripe…… The natural phenomena tells people that spring is coming to an end.

我国古人将谷雨时节的十五天分为三候：一候萍始生；二候鸣鸠拂其羽；三候戴胜降于桑。柳絮飞落，杜鹃夜啼，牡丹吐蕊，樱桃红熟……自然景物告示人们，时至暮春了。

The representative flowers of Grain Rain are: peony for the first period, blackberry rose for the second period and neem flower for the third flower. Peony flower, also known as Grain Rain flower, is a flower named after the solar term.

谷雨花信为：一候牡丹、二候荼蘼、三候楝花。牡丹花也叫谷雨花，它是一种以节气命名的花。

三、Climate Change气候变化

From the perspective of climate background, in the Grain Rain period, the high westerly wind rapids in East Asia are significantly weakened and moved north, the warm and wet air mass in South China is more active, the westerly wind belt circulation from west to east fluctuates more frequently, and the activity of depression and Jianghuai cyclone gradually increased.

从气候背景看，在谷雨时节，东亚高空西风急流出现明显减弱和北移，华南暖湿气团比较活跃，西风带自西向东环流波动比较频繁，低气压和江淮气旋活动逐渐增多。受其影响，江淮地区会出现连续阴雨或大风、暴雨等强对流天气过程。聚焦天气舞台的“主角”，在全国不同地区，需要格外关注大风、沙尘、冰雹、强降水等天气过程。

With the arrival of Grain Rain, the rainfall in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the Yangtze River began to increase significantly, especially in south China. Once the cold air and warm and wet air meet, a long precipitation process is often formed. Thus, it has also entered the annual flood season.

伴随谷雨的到来，我国长江中下游、江南一带雨水开始明显增多，特别是在华南地区，一旦冷空气与暖湿空气交汇，往往形成较长时间的降水过程。由此，也进入了一年一度的汛期。

四、The customs of Grain Rain 谷雨习俗

（1）Picking tea采茶

The South has the custom of picking tea in the grain rain season. The newly-picked Spring Tea in the grain rain season is rich in nutrients and has the functions of heat-clearing and eyesight-clearing. On the day of Grain Rain, no matter what the weather is, people will come to Tra Son to pick some new tea and drink it.

南方在谷雨时节有摘茶的习俗，在谷雨时节新采的春茶富含营养物质，具有清热、明目的功效。谷雨这天，不管天气如何，人们都会到茶山采摘一些新茶回来喝。

（2）Eating cedrela sinensis吃香椿

The customs of grain rain vary from place to place. Picking tea is a custom in Guyu in the south of China. It’s said that drinking tea on Guyu this day will help people clear away heat, exorcise evil spirits and improve eyesight. So no matter what the weather is like on this day, people will go to pick some new tea to drink. In the north of China, people eat Chinese toon as a custom on Guyu this day, so we also say Chinese toon is as tender as silk before rain.

南方在谷雨时节有摘茶的习俗，“春山谷雨前，并手摘芳烟。” 传说谷雨这天的茶，味道醇厚浓烈，香气逼人，喝了会清火、辟邪、明目等，所以谷雨这天不管是什么天气，人们都会去茶山摘些新茶回来，北方在谷雨时则有食用香椿的习俗，所以有“雨前香椿嫩如丝”之说。

（3）赏牡丹Admiring Peony

Going out to view the wonderful sight of peonies in bloom three days after Grain Rain has become a tradition in northern China. The flowering of the peonies coincides with Grain Rain so it is also known as the “Flower of the Grain Rain”. Its flowers are large and bright, with many layers of colored petals. The flower represents grace and dignity in Chinese culture. Chinese people also associate peonies with wealth and rank.

谷雨过三天，园里看牡丹。谷雨时节牡丹花开，因此，牡丹也被称为“谷雨花”。牡丹花大色艳，花瓣层层叠叠，雍容华贵。牡丹作为富贵的象征深受国人喜爱。

（文/苏迎龙，图/苏迎龙，编辑/苏秀娟，审核/王俊华）