The most interesting folklore

Chapter 37 The Most Interesting Astronomical Calendar (3)
In ancient my country, which month was the first month of each year was different in each dynasty. Before the Han Dynasty, the order of the months was often changed every time a dynasty was changed.The Xia Dynasty used January as the first month, the Shang Dynasty took December as the first month, and the Zhou Dynasty took November as the first month.Every time these dynasties corrected the order of the month, they called the first month of the correction the "first month".It was not until Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty that the month arrangement method of the Xia Dynasty was restored, and it has been used until now.According to the "Spring King's First Moon" in the Spring and Autumn Period: "The first month is the first month. When a monarch ascends the throne, if he wants to live in the Tao, Hu Yue is called Zhengye." It means: most of the ancient emperors accepted civil and military officials in the first month of each year. In order to show solemnity and respect, January was changed to the first month.

It can be seen from the above explanation that the "positive" of the first month is the positive of "correction".So why read the "Long March" "Zheng" sound again?This is because in the Qin Dynasty, Qin Shihuang was named Yingzheng. In order to avoid name taboos, he pronounced "the first month" as "the first (sign) month".Later, people got used to it and have been using it until now.

28. Why does the winter solstice start to "count nine"?
The so-called counting nine refers to counting nine consecutive nine days from the day of the winter solstice (or the next day), which is called "Nine Days from Winter".After the 81st day of Jiujiu, the season is between the staggering and the vernal equinox, when the cold subsides and warms up, and the winter ends and spring comes, it is commonly known as "Nine Nine Sunny Days", so the number nine is also known as "Nine Nine Dispelling Cold". The ancients used this method To survive the long cold of winter.

There are different ways to count nine to dissipate the cold, and the forms are different. The popular folk is: "Nine Nine Songs": one nine two nine, do not shoot; three nine four nine, walk on the ice; five nine six nine, look at willows along the river ; Seventy-nine rivers open; eighty-nine geese come; ninety-nine plus one-nine, cattle walk everywhere.

Why there is Sanjiu, the saying of "Sanjiu" refers to the third 9 days after the winter solstice, which is around the morning of January 1th to 12th."Xin" refers to the first, middle and last volts, basically counting from the third geng day after the summer solstice. During the winter solstice, the northern hemisphere has the shortest day and the longest night, so the earth's surface receives the least sunlight on this day. But the winter solstice is not the day with the lowest temperature. After the winter solstice, although the sunlight exposure time increases, the heat expenditure on the ground is still more than the income. Therefore, the ground temperature decreases, and when the absorbed solar radiation energy on the ground is equal to the heat emitted from the ground, The weather will be the coldest. At this time, it will be about the middle and late January (March 20), and it will be said "cold in March 7". For the same reason, the summer solstice is the day with the longest daylight hours and noon in many parts of our country. The day with the highest altitude of the sun and the strongest solar radiation. Even after the summer solstice, the solar radiation received by our country gradually decreases, but the heat absorbed by the ground is still greater than the heat released, and the heat continues to rise slowly. Around the end of July, the heat absorbed by the atmosphere It is in an equal state with the release, and the temperature in some areas of our country is the highest, so there is a saying that "the heat is in the three volts".

29. What are the specific times referred to by the twelve hours?

The ancients used Dizhizi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, and Hai to divide a day into twelve hours. Each hour is equivalent to two hours now, namely:
子时：夜半(23点至1点)。丑时：鸡鸣(1点至3点)。寅时：平旦(3点至5点)。卯时：日出(5点至7点)。辰时：食时(7点至9点)。巳时：隅中(9点至11点)。午时：日中(11点至13点)。未时：日映(13点至15点)。申时：哺时(15点至17点)。酉时：日落(17点至19点)。戌时：黄昏(19点至21点)。亥时：人定(21点至23点)。

30. Why does China call a week "one week"?
In the 31st year of Guangxu (1905), the Qing government announced the suspension of the provincial and general examinations, the abolition of the imperial examination system that had lasted for more than 1000 years, and the establishment of the "Ministry of Learning".Compilation and translation courses are set up under the Compilation and Translation Book Bureau. The task is to study and compile various official teaching materials "for the purpose of unifying the country".In the compilation of various textbooks, the problem of how to deal with a "new term" will naturally be encountered. In 1909, the Compilation and Translation Bureau set up a new organization to unify and standardize the terminology in textbooks.Yuan Jiagu personally participated in the work of this museum and presided over the formulation of many unified names.

The ancient Chinese calendar arranges the 28 constellations in the order of the sun, moon, fire, water, wood, metal, and earth. It is called "Qiyao" for a week of seven days. The "seven days for a week" in the Western calendar coincides with the "seven days" in our country; the "seven days" in Japan are exactly the same.However, Yuan Jiagu felt uncomfortable and inconvenient to use. After discussing with his colleagues, he called a week a week and used "Sunday, Monday...Saturday" to refer to the days of the week in turn.

This is the origin of the "week" that is "in line" with the international "seven-day week" system and has Chinese characteristics.The establishment of a seven-day week as China's own "week" was formulated under the auspices of Yuan Jiagu, the first director of the Compilation and Library Bureau during the Guangxu period.

31. What do the moon, moon, and shadow of each month in the lunar calendar refer to?

The first day of each month in the lunar calendar is Shuo Ri, and the moon on the day of Shuo Ri is called Shuo Yue.The new moon is a new moon. On the first day of each month in the lunar calendar, the moon is exactly between the earth and the sun, and the place that can be illuminated by the sun is just on the back of the moon. In addition, it rises and falls with the sun, so people on earth cannot see it.

The fifteenth day of each month in the lunar calendar is looking at the sun. The moon on the day of looking at the sun is called full moon, and the full moon is also called full moon. The shadow of the moon is round.At this time, the moon moves to the opposite side of the sun on the celestial sphere, and the distance between the sun and the moon is 180', that is, the earth is located between the sun and the moon. Seen from the earth, the entire light of the moon faces the earth. "Erya?Release name?"Shi Tian": "Wang, the name of the full moon. The sixteenth day of the month and the fifteenth day of the month, the sun is in the east, the moon is in the west, and they look at each other from a distance." The full moon stage, the full moon rises from the east at dusk, and the moon rises from the east at dawn. It sinks to the west.

The last day of each month in the lunar calendar is a dark day, and the moon on this day is called a dark moon.the end of the month.Xu Shen's "Shuowen": "The moon is at the end." From each, Xu Shen's "Shuowen" explained each: "The grass grows up and out."And every word sounds the same as ignorant.

People call the changing process of the new moon and the full moon every month as the new moon.

32. Are the first quarter moon and last quarter moon the names of the music?

The first quarter moon comes out in the first half of the night, comes out in the west, and the moon faces west.In the "Chu Yue" or "Suo" of each month in the lunar calendar.For "new moon".

After the new moon, the moon gradually moves out of the area between the earth and the sun. At this time, we begin to see a small part of the moon illuminated by the sun, which is shaped like a crescent eyebrow, so the moon phase at this time is called "crescent moon".This "crescent moon" can only be seen in the evening western sky.

Around the eighth day of the lunar calendar, the moon has moved to an angle 90' ​​east of the sun as seen from the earth.At this time, we can see the bright west half of the moon, and the moon phase at this time is called "winding".The first quarter moon can only be seen in the first half of the night, and no one is in the west at midnight.After winding, the moon becomes full day by day, and we can see most of the bright hemisphere of the moon. The moon phase at this time is called a "gibbous moon".At the fifteenth and sixteenth o'clock of the lunar calendar, it is called "moon-watching" or "full moon".

After the full moon, the moon continues to move eastward, and the rising time of the moon is getting later every day, and at the same time, the bright part of the moon is also getting smaller every day. The shape of the semicircle is called "bottom chord".After going through several stages of gibbous moon, last quarter moon and crescent moon in sequence, it returns to the position of crescent moon again.It is customary in our country to refer to the "crescent moon" in the second half of the month as the "waning moon".

The average time it takes for the moon to return to the new moon position from the new moon position is 29,s3 days, that is to say, the average change cycle of the moon phase is 29 days, which is called a "synodic month".

33. Do plums entering and plums out mean planting plums and harvesting plums?

In the traditional method of our country, the determination of plum blossoms and plum blossoms is calculated based on solar terms combined with stems and branches.According to the stipulations of the calendar, the first C day after Grain Grain is the plum blossom, and the last day after Xiaoshu is the plum blossom.If the Heavenly Stem of Eargrass on the day is Bing, the day will be designated as Renmei, and the Earthly Branch on the day of Slight Heat is Wei, then the day will be designated as Chumei.Therefore, the plum blossoms in the almanac are always between June 6 and 6; the plum blossom dates are between July 15 and 7. The annual plum season is relatively fixed and the same everywhere.

The plum blossoms and plum blossoms determined in meteorology are different from those in the almanac.In meteorology, the delineation of plum blossom, plum blossom and rainy season is determined according to the background of large-scale weather circulation, the geographical distribution characteristics of weather systems, the geographical distribution of precipitation, and the changes of meteorological elements.Because the evolution of the circulation situation is not consistent or the same every year, there are complicated differences in the meteorological entry and exit dates and plum periods.When the Meiyu frontal zone and its rain belt arrive or form in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River or the Jianghuai area, it is called the Meiyu period; when the rain belt stagnates or lingers, it is called the Meiyu period; When the region is under the control of the western Pacific subtropical high, the plum rains in the Jianghuai region will end, that is, the plum blossoms will come out.

34. Since there are "hours", did there also be "big hours" in ancient times?
In ancient times, before the Han Dynasty, "time" refers to the season, and "one time" is equivalent to the current season.There are four seasons in a year, and of course there are also "four seasons" in a year.Until now, some books still use "four seasons" to represent a year.

After the Han Dynasty, "hour" no longer indicates the season, but is used to indicate the unit of daily calculation time.People use the "copper pot hourglass" method to time, and divide a day and night into 12 hours. One hour in ancient times is equivalent to two hours today.In classic novels such as "Dream of Red Mansions" and "Water Margin", the word "time" is different from the current way of saying it. One hour in it is the current two hours.The first watch to the second watch, and the second watch to the third watch are all separated by two hours.

Later, people divided each day into 24 parts on average, and each part was still represented by "hour".Since the "one hour" at this time is only equivalent to half of the "one hour" after the Han Dynasty, that is, "one hour", the time referred to is shortened. In order to distinguish it from the previous "time", the current "time" is called "time". "hour".Then, people divide the time of one hour into 60 equal parts, and each part is called 1 minute; each minute is divided into 60 equal parts, and each part is called 1 second.Hours, minutes, and seconds are determined in this way, and this is what we know now as hours, minutes, and seconds.

In addition, since there is "hour", there is also "big time" in ancient times. "Hour" is also derived from "big time".After people divided the day and night into 12 hours, clocks and watches were introduced to my country.People call one hour "big hour", and one hour of the new time is called "hour".Later, with the popularization of clocks and watches, the term "big time" disappeared, while "hour" is still used today.

The four units of timekeeping in ancient my country are hour, watch, hour, and quarter.There are two main types of timekeeping methods in ancient my country:
① The law of weather and time.The ancients used timekeeping only to divide a day into several time periods according to the color of the sky. For example, when the sky is about to light up, it is called Meidan; when the sun rises, it is called morning;Later, the day and night were divided into twelve equal parts, that is, twelve hours.The ancients initially divided a day and night into twelve hours according to the changes in the sky. Their names are: midnight, cock crowing, Ping Dan, sunrise, eclipse time, corner (Yu) middle, day middle, day shadow (d accompany), Asr (bu) time, sunset, dusk, and man's settling.For example, "The Peacock Flies to the Southeast": "The cock crows and the machine weaves, and there is no rest at night....' After the dying dusk, the lonely people set the beginning."

② Earthly Branches and time law.In the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, ten and earthly branches represented the twelve hours, and the twelve earthly branches represented the changes of the twelve hours of the day and night.Each hour is divided into two hours. For example, Zishi is Yuchu and Yuzheng, and Choushi is Chouchu and Chouzheng.In this way, a day and night at twelve o'clock is subdivided into 24 hours, which is completely consistent with the current usage.

35. What is the time of reconciliation?

The ancients divided the night time into more harmony points.

One night is divided into five shifts, and drums are used to tell the time, so it is called five shifts, five drums, or five nights.Each update is approximately equal to one hour, which is the current two hours.Starting at [-]:[-] p.m., the first shift refers to [-]:[-] to [-]:[-], the second shift refers to [-]:[-] to [-]:[-], the third shift refers to [-]:[-] to [-]:[-] the next morning, the fourth shift refers to [-]:[-] to [-]:[-], and the fifth shift refers to From three to five.Because the night is long or short, as the unit of time for the night, it also changes accordingly.But no matter how it changes, as the third watch in the middle of the night, it will always be the middle of the fifth watch, which is also known as "midnight" and "midnight in the middle of the night". "Chicken Crows and Five Watches" means the "five watches" day, which is the time of dawn.For example, "The Peacock Flies Southeast": "Heads up and sing at each other, every night up to five o'clock."

The ancients divided a watch into five points, and the ancient 1 point equals the modern 24 minutes.For example, the ancients said "two o'clock in the middle of the night" refers to 11:48 at night.In the past, there was a Drum Tower in the Forbidden City in Beijing. After dusk, the Drum Tower rang 108 bells and then started a watch.Drum towers are also built in Nanjing, Xi'an, Tianjin and other cities, and watchmen strike the clock every night according to the time indicated on the drum tower.

36. What kind of time was used in ancient times?

Carved leakage is also called leaky carving and clepsydra.There are two main types of clepsydra: the draining type and the water-receiving type.Most of the early engraved leaks were of the drainage type.Water flows from the side of the bottom of the clepsydra, so that the leaky arrow floating on the water surface of the clepsydra falls with the water surface, and the time is indicated by the scale on the leaky arrow.Later, the water-receiving type was created. Water was poured into the receiving kettle from the clepsydra at a constant flow rate, and the leaky arrow floating on the water surface of the receiving kettle indicated the time with the rise of the water surface, improving the timing accuracy.In order to obtain a constant flow, the water level of the clepsydra should first be kept constant.Secondly, the cross-sectional area of ​​the water pipe that injects water into the kettle must be fixed, and the water pipe adopts the principle of "thirsty bird" (siphon), which is convenient for adjustment and repair.

The clepsydra has been handed down from generation to generation, and gradually developed from a single clepsydra to a set of four clepsydra.People put four clepsydra in turn on a four-level wooden frame. The upper one is called the sun pot, and the lower three are called the moon pot, star pot, and water-giving pot.The clepsydra and the star pot each have a copper spout for dripping water, and there is a ruler inside the watering pot.The sun pot drops to the moon pot, then to the star pot, and finally to the water pot.The more water there is in the pot, the buoyancy of the scale gradually rises, and people can know the time by the scale that the scale floats out of the water.The more stages of the clepsydra, the more accurate the timing.

In ancient times, timers such as engraved leaks were used to keep time, and they were used until the last feudal dynasty-the Qing Dynasty.Because the clepsydra is relatively bulky and complicated, only the palace and the government have to set up a special drum tower for display and use.The Shenwu Gate of the Forbidden City in Beijing is the Genggu Tower in the Forbidden City. After dusk, the bell tower rings 108 times and then rises.The first watch of the fifth watch began, and at this time, the bell was ringing and the drum was beating on the clock.

It is well known that 15 minutes is a moment.The name of a quarter of an hour originated from the ancient Chinese timekeeping tool, the copper pot hourglass.As early as the Han Dynasty, the working people of our country invented the most primitive man-made clock - the copper pot drip.First of all, a pole is erected in the water leaking pot, and the scale is engraved with equidistant scales on the pole. The water leakage in the pot gradually decreases, and the scale on the pole is also revealed in turn to know the time. The unit is naturally "carving".In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there were clocks and watches, 24 hours equaled 100 quarters, and a quarter was 14 minutes. Therefore, 4 minutes was directly taken as a quarter to represent a quarter of an hour.

Hourglass timers have been used in my country for a long time.After modern Western automatic mechanical clocks were introduced to China, people found that the 15 minutes timed by automatic mechanical clocks was exactly equivalent to the time for a scale of water to drip from the hourglass storage jug.Later, people gradually called 15 minutes a quarter of an hour.

(End of this chapter)