Solar term of Lesser Fullness of Grain (小滿) : When wheat on the ridge and furrow ripes, shedding the red pedals

Northern Song Dynasty prime minister Kou Zhun (寇准, 961-1023) wrote in his poem Summertime (夏日), “weather is cooling down a little bit, it is dizzling and wheats are riping.” (輕寒微雨麥秋時). Why did the author adopt the words Mai (麥, wheat) and Qiu (秋, autumn) in the poem titled as Summertime? I actually tested the knowledge of some youngsters with this question and it was found that only a handful of them could answer this correctly: “Qiu” here is not denoting “the autumn”, but “riping”. This also reveals that even many people could memorize The song of twenty four solar terms (二十四節氣歌), but seldom could one precisely point out the signs of nature (物候) of those solar terms.

These lines from Kou Zhun actually depicts the natural phenomena related to the solar term Less Fullness of Grain (小滿). (Translator’s note: This is the official English translation of China Meteorological Administration).  According to Chapter of Proceedings of Government in the different months in the Book of Rites (禮記‧月令),“the autumn of wheats have already arrived” (麥秋至) during the first month of the summer. Scholars interpreted this sentence in the following way: as the autumn is the time when a majority of crops ripes, the term “autumn” becames the synonym of “riping” to wheats. Therefore, even though wheat ripes in the summer, one still calls the ripening of wheat as “the autumn of wheats” (麥秋). For example, during Eastern Han Dynasty, scholar Cai Yong(蔡邕, 133-192) suggested in his Notes on Chapter of Proceedings of Government in the different months (月令章句) that “as crops usually sprout in spring and ripe in autumn (各以其初生為春, 熟為秋), we regard the summer, when wheat ripes, as the autumn of the wheat (以孟夏為秋)”.

However, recently there are debates over accuracy of such explanations. Scholars found that in ancient Oracle Bone Script (甲骨文), there are two different ideographs to denote the character Qiu 秋. The first one looks like an insect, which refers to the time when crickets chirp during the autumn time. In this way, this ideograph refers to the time of the season. However, there is another ideograph in the shape of the cricket added with a symbol “fire”(which also means riping) , which refers to the ripening of crops. Therefore, one can find that the denotation of ripening is actually one of the original meanings of the character Qiu (秋).

Wheat is the most important crop in the Yellow River Basin. Farmers sowing the seeds of wheat in winter, which sprout in spring and gradually ripen in early summer. Therefore, the solar term of this period is called Lesser fullness of grain (小滿). One could refer to a farmer’s adage, “lesser fullness, lesser fullness, wheat is full and plump” (小滿小滿, 麥粒飽滿).

Therefore, the period of solar term lesser fullness of grains could be regarded as a time for anticipation and joy. Imagine the endless plain, countless ridges and furrows, waving of wheat that spreads the fragrance far away. This is the sign of good harvest, the farmers are anticipating that with best wishes.

Of course, sprouts in the spring and harvest in autumn are fascinating, yet the scenario of the summer fields is no less stirring.

Tang dynasty poet Dai Shulun (戴叔倫 732-789) wrote, “When wheat begins to ripe, the leaves of mulberry become bigger and bigger. At that time, sparkling rain refills the farms with freshness.” (麥秋桑葉大，梅雨稻田新). The rainy weather usually happens in April and May when wheat is ripe, no wonder the poet said that it is a bleeze of freshness.

 Ouyang Xiu (歐陽修, 1007-1072) also wrote a poem titled Lesser Fullness of Grains, which said, “I love the scenario of wheat on the ridges and furrows the most, when the wheat is hedging for the winds and shedding red pedals.” (最愛壟頭麥，迎風笑落紅). Nonetheless, I have to make a remark from agricultural perspective. If the farm sows seeds on spring, the wheat would be ripe on the autumn.

According to Suowen Jiezi (說文解字, the original meaning of characters), the ideograph of Man (滿) in the solar term Xiao Man (小滿, Xiao : lesser, Man, Fullness) means abundance of rainfall and the flooding of rivers and streams.

This natural phenomenon is much more common in the Southern China.

The sea wind from the South brings in moisture which condenses into rainfall, therefore Chinese idiom says, “lesser fullness, lesser fullness, brings in fullness in the river”(小滿小滿, 江河漸滿).

In Northern China, however, air is still dry and rainfall is limited.

However, even in the South, sometimes drought would appear and led to tremendous loss of crops.

Therefore, to prepare for the solar term of lesser fullness of grains, there is a ritual of Worshiping the God of water wheels (祭車神, Ji Cheshen).

The Chinese character of Che here means water wheel, which is used to irrigate the fields by pumping the water from the ponds. Another perspectives towards this ritual regards the God of water wheel as the white dragon, and the reason for worshipping the white dragon is to beseech them to stir the heaven and bring in rains for the crops.

The Chinese character Che (車) in the name of the ritual is referring to the wheel of the water wheel, which is an agricultural device for pumping water from the pond to irrigate the farm. Another myth arisen from this ritual suggests that the god of water wheel is actually a white dragon. To worship this white dragon could allow it to fly in the air, stirring the clouds and create rainfalls, in doing so the crops in the field would continue to grow.

During the 15-day period of the solar term of Less fullness of grains, apart from the ripening of wheats (麥秋至), another notable phenomena is the full bloom of bitter vegetables. (苦菜秀). 

The bitter vegetable (kucai, 苦菜) is blooming in early summar, with flourishing flowers and leaves.

The bitter vegetable is belonging to Asteraceae, which is also commonly called Ixeris (多頭萵苣) or bitter stem celtuce (苦苣菜). The leaves and stems of the plant are all edible.

Therefore, in the wake of the flourishing of the bitter vegetable, there are practices of eating this during the solar term of lesser fullness of grains.

According to Li Shizhen (1518-1593)’s Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu; 本草綱目), eating bitter vegitable can help us to achieve the following: “to protect our heart, to foster our Qi(氣), to reduce weight, and to defer aging.”(安心益氣, 輕身養老).

From Chinese medicine’s persective, it is good to taste sour food in spring ad bitter food in summar in order to stay healthy.

During the solar term of lesser fullness of grains, weather is becoming hot, it is easy for one to be affected by dysfunctions in spleen and stomach, and it is common for one to lose apetite. Therefore, eating the bitter vegetable is believed to be able to clear the inner excessive heat, remove the toxins in our body, which is favourable to physique and health.

In the same token, in Southern coastal region of China, people often make soups with boiling clams and bitter gourds, which is said to be able to rejuvenate the heart and the spleen.

Out of the twenty four solar terms, it is found that the term Greater (大) and Lesser (小) often come in pairs. For example, Lesser Heat (小暑) verses Greater Heat (大暑), Lesser Snow (小雪) verses Greater Snow (大雪), and Lesser Cold (小寒) verses Greater Cold (大寒) (Translator’s note: all translations are adopted from China Meteorological Administration), but it is notable that Lesser Fullness of Grains (小滿) does not have its “greater”counterpart.

The big and small seasons often come in pairs, for example, small heat, big heat, small snow, big snow, small freezing big freezing, however, only small fullness is not equivalent to big fullness. This reflects that our ancestors had realized the wisdom in life alongside with the discovery in the rhythm of the nature. Full is undoubtedly good, but excessive fullness (Da, 大, Greater) will be too much that is unbearable for us. Therefore, we have Lesser Fullness but not Greater Fullness, so as to follow the old saying,“when you believe that you are in fullness, troubles will come to you; when you are humble, fortunes will fall on you.” (滿招損, 謙受益). This is the realization of the Tao of the nature and wisdom in human life.

參考資料：

期刊文章

1. 韋良秀：〈初夏最美是小滿〉，《河北林業》，第5期（2018年）。

2. 無名氏：〈小滿：綠遍山原白滿川，子規聲裡雨如煙〉，《餐飲世界》，第5期（2021年）。

3. 餘世存：〈二十四節氣之小滿〉，《國家人文歷史》，第12期（2016年）。

報刊文章

1. 安奮偉：〈小滿：小得盈滿 將熟未熟〉，《山西日報》，2022 年5月21日，第3版。