The Autumn Equinox: The time when dew is cold, the time for worshipping the moon

When I drafted the article for the Beginning of the Autumn (立秋), I adopted “My heart was thrilled with falling leaves, and the weather is getting cooler” as the subheading. The Chinese character Liang (涼, cool), is an excerpt from the first major feature of the Beginning of the Autumn, “cool wind comes” (涼風至). But now, “cool” is not enough to describe the weather, in particular Northern areas above the Yis not enough to describe the weather, in particular Northern areas above the Ce cool"ains, which is everlasting.hes of humanitangtze River (長江) and Huaihe River (淮河), where people are shivering all days and nights due to the feeling of “coldness” (「冷意」蕭瑟). It is often criticized that Chinese characters can only represent things in vague impressions. This is definitely false as different Chinese characters can be applied to represent subtle changes. For example, we collectively use two Chinese characters to express the meaning of Jibing (疾病) “diseases”. Inspecting closely, we can catch on the difference between “Ji” (疾), which refers to slight conditions, and Bing (病, serious disease), which happens when the “Ji” became serious (in the situation of Jishen, 疾甚). Here is another example. People adopt two Chinese characters Beishang (悲傷) to describe sadness. Inspecting closely, we can catch on the difference between Bei (悲), which is a psychological phenomenon, and Shang (傷), which refers to the physical pain due to a cut in our skin. This leads me to a thought: After the beginning of the Autumn, the temperature changes gradually and ancient Chinese use different characters to represent the nuanced differences. For example, if the Beginning of the Autumn is mainly “cool” (Liang, 涼) in temperature, it is natural that the late-autumn and early winter gives us the idea of “freezing” (Han, 寒). In somedays around the solar term of Autumn Equinox, it is more exact to use the Chinese character “Leng” (冷，Cold) to describe the weather. In Liezi Chapter of Tangwen (《列子‧湯問》), it was annotated that “Liang (涼, cool) is the beginning of Leng (冷, cold) and Han (寒, freezing) is extremely cold”. The transition from coolness to and from coldness to freezing are described in a clear and orderly manner.  In Song Dynasty, Xie Yi (謝逸, 1068-1112) wrote a poem Putting on red lipstick (〈點絳唇〉), which said, “The Golden Atmosphere of the Autumn Equinox: wind is clear, dew is cold, and half of the autumn has already passed (金氣秋分，風清露冷秋期半).” Here the term “Leng” (冷，cold) is applied to describe the weather around Autumn Equinox.

If the Spring Equinox (春分) is the half of the spring, then the Autumn Equinox (秋分) should be regarded the “mid-point” of the autumn. From this logic, the Spring Equinox should represent “mid-autumn”. However, it is often found that the date of the Spring Equinox is often different from the fifteenth day of the eighth month – which is popularly known to be the day of Mid-Autumn Festival. Therefore, historically speaking, we actually have two “Mid-Autumn” Festivals, one is the “Mid-Autumn” defined by the solar term calendars, another is the Mid-Autumn in the fifteenth of the eighth month in the lunar calendar. Inspecting the historical roots, we will find that the two “Mid-Autumns” actually have very close relationship with each other.

No matter it is the “Mid-Autumn” in the Autumn Equinox, or the “Mid-Autumn” in the fifteenth day of the eighth month, both are traditional festivals that aim at worshipping the mood goddess. The two share the same cultural tradition. As early in the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 B.C.), the Autumn Equinox (秋分), alongside with the Spring Equinox (春分), the Summer Solstice (夏至) and the Winter Solstice (冬至), were important dates for worshipping the Sun, the Moon, the Earth and the Heaven. The Autumn Equinox is the date for worshipping the moon goddess. Ancient Chinese worshipped the Sun and the Moon in a solemn and respectful manner, aweing them as respectively the ruler of all “Yang” (陽, bright) things and “Yin” (陰, dark) things. In The Classics of Rites (《禮記》), the Emperors of the Zhou Dynasty worshipped the Sun god in the morning of the Spring Equinox and worshipped the Moon goddess in the evening of the Autumn Equinox. The place for worshipping the Sun god was facing the East, named “tan” (壇), which is a high platform made of mud and stones. On the other hand, the place for worshipping the Moon goddess was facing the West, which is called “Kan” (坎, a pit on the ground). This lasts until the Qing Dynasty, when such official rituals of worshipping still took place in a serious manner. As mentioned in A Diary of Major Activities held in the Empire’s Capital (《帝京歲時紀勝》, a book written in mid-Qing Dynasty (circa 18^th Century A.D.), “In the Spring Equinox, we worship the Sun. In the Autumn Equinox, we worship the Moon. These are important ceremonies held by the Government (春分祭日，秋分祭月，乃國之大典。)”. Nowadays, we still worship the moon in the fifteenth day of the eighth month, which is a continuation of the tradition of the Autumn Equinox.

The date of Autumn Equinox, which was fixed according to the solar terms, is not necessarily to be in sync with the cycle of the moon. Therefore, it is often said that during the worship of the Moon goddess in the Autumn Equinox, the moon at that time is not full yet, sometimes we even can’t see the moon in the sky. The poem Consort Yu (〈虞美人〉) written by Song Dynasty Poet Liu Chenweng (劉辰翁, 1232-1297) quotes, “It is laughable that the worship to the moon never meets a full moon (笑他拜月不曾圆)”. This may be related to this phenomenon. On the other hand, in the Mid-Autumn Festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth moon, we can always see the full moon unless it rains. Worshipping the moon at that time is regarded as more appropriate and surrounded by the aura of holiness from the moon. Historically, the “Mid-Autumn” on the fifteenth day of the eighth month came later, it was believed that it became a popular festival as late as in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and was celebrated every year since then. Gradually, the worship to the moon among people moved to this date. Therefore, worshipping the moon at the Autumn Equinox became an official event led by the Emperor and the Government Officials, however among general public this ancient tradition is gradually fading out.

Therefore, no matter from the source of Chinese ancient calendar, or from the sources in other ancient Chinese archives, the two “Mid-Autumns” - the Autumn Equinox and the fifteenth day of the eighth month, are usually collectively denoted in literature, poems, and lyrics. This reflects how art and literatures were derived from the practice related to solar terms. For example, in a poem Facing the Moon in the Mid-Autumn (〈中秋對月〉) written by Tang Dynasty Poet Li Pin (李頻, 818-876), it wrote, “It hangs on the night at the Autumn Equinox, the moon spirit is at its fullness and brightest (秋分一夜停，陰魄最晶瑩)”. In this way, the poet combined the two “Mid-Autumns” and use these terms interchangeably to represent the full moon. In Song Dynasty, there are more literary works in similar veins. For example, we quoted Xie Yi (謝逸, 1068-1112)’s poem Putting on red lipstick (〈點絳唇〉) early in this article, after the poet said, “The Golden Atmosphere of the Autumn Equinox (金氣秋分)”, he mentioned the moon is “in its fullness and brightest (光滿)” on the fifteenth day of the eighth month and “fragrance of sweet osmanthus (桂花) drifts far apart (飄香遠)”. Other examples include the poem “Memory of the hose of Mr. Pan and Mr. Mao” (〈懷潘鄮屋〉) written by Chen Yunping (陳允平, circa 1220-1295), which said, “the Autumn Equinox suddenly passes” (過眼忽秋分), when “there is a bright moon over the four seas and the white clouds are shading thousands of mountains (四海一明月, 千山共白雲)”. In the poem The song about the meeting of the golden wind and the jade-like dews (〈金風玉露相逢曲〉) written by Qing Dynasty poet Gu Taiqing (顧太清, 1799-1877), it said “The Mid-Autumn of the Bing-Yin year is also the same day as the Autumn Equinox (丙寅中秋, 是日秋分)”. The scenery of that night was absolutely tranquil: “The night is like a shining river, while the moon is like a white mirror, with bright and clear Claire (天光如水，月光如鏡，一片清輝皎潔)”. In the poem, it is also mentioned that the arrival of the Mid-Autumn means “half of the autumn has passed (平分秋色)”, lamenting the quick passage of time.

Understanding this, we are able to ruminate in every autumn equinox. No matter whether we can see the bright full moon or not, such knowledge at least lets us have the capacity for revisiting the solemn ceremony of worshipping the moon goddess in the Autumn Equinox in ancient China. Even though the Autumn Equinox is not on the fifteenth day of the eighth month in the lunar calendar, we can reflect on this seemingly ordinary day coloured with touches of humanity and romance. Such a good cultural tradition always has the power of cultivating our heart as if the clear water coming from the mountains, which is everlasting!  

Reference

Journal Article

1. 吳彬瑛：〈二十四節氣民俗文化特徵研究〉，《文化創新比較研究》，第29期（2019年）。

News or Magazine Article

1. 楊璞：〈金氣秋分 風清露冷秋期半〉，《中國中醫藥報》，2017 年9 月25 日，第7版。

2. 楊民僕：〈祭月是在秋分還是在中秋〉，《新華日報》，2022 年9 月23 日，第17版。