Lesser Heat:
Scorching Sun, Hot Wind and Green Lotus Turning Red

The Southern Song poet Yan Wanli (楊萬里1127-1206) depicted the unique scenery of Hangzhou in his poem Going out of Cheng-Ci Monastery at the dawn to farewell Lin Zifang (曉出淨慈寺送林子方) : “Boundless green leaves o’water-lily link the sky, Blossoms o’lotus reflecting the Sun more than e’er rosier” (接天蓮葉無窮碧，映日荷花別樣紅). This scene is extraordinarily gorgeous. During the summer in June, the intersection of thousands of hectares of green lotus with the sky is refreshing to both our body and soul. Lotus flowers which lean against the background of lotus leaves are particularly vivid and delightful. People often regard Lotus as a symbol of character as lotus are known to be not stained despite emerging from muddy water. On the other hand, Yáng Wanli’s poem also revealed the unnoticed aspect about lotus to the readers. We often praise the plum for blossoming in extremely difficult condition of cold at the time between winter and spring. Nonetheless, after a majority of other flowers bloom in the spring, the lotus flowers choose to bloosom at the season of heat strokes, which are equally respectful for its audacity to withstand such a difficult season.

Lotus flowers begin to blossom in the sixth month of the year, an extremely hot month during summer. That’s why “The Sixth Month of the Year”is also called “The Month of Lotus”.The arrival of Lesser Heat (小暑) symbolizs the beginning of “The Month of Lotus” in midsummer. As 2023 is the year of Gui Wu (癸卯年), the Lesser Heat in 2023 will be on the seventh of July in western calendar. Four days after Lesser Heat, on the eleventh of July, Sanfu (三伏, three hottest days) will start. Therefore, in Chinese wisdom, “it is essential to hide yourself from strong heat”. (隱伏以避盛暑)

Although the time in sunshine gradually decreases after the Summer Solstice (夏至), the heat of the ground accumulates and escalates. During Lesser Heat, the Sun shines directly overhead while hot steam rises from the ground to the sole of feet. The heat above and bottom is what the proverb “Lesser Heat and Greater Heat, Steaming above and cooking below” (大暑小暑，上蒸下煮) means. According to The Book of Rites: Proceedings of Government in the Different Months (禮記‧月令), the wind blows in this season is “warm wind” (暖風) which is similar to hot waves. It is far hotter than the “warm southerly breeze” (熏風) blown in early summer. The poem Rhapsody on Contemplating the Mystery (思玄賦) written by Zhang Heng (張衡, 78-139) says, “It feels even hotter when the warm wind in summer blows. Crying so hard out of frustration that cannot utter any sound (溫風翕其增熱兮，惄鬱悒其難聊)”, which describes the vivid and lively scenario.

Wind and rain usually come one after another. After Lesser Heat, as if the escalating hot temperature, the rainfall also increases staggeringly, and often accompanied by thunderstorms. Due to the rapid rise in temperature, plum rain is going to be replaced by strong wind, storms and thunders, which are as fierce as the scorching sun in sunny weather. This is obviously devastating to agriculture and daily life. Since ancient times, both scorching heat and frigid weather are the common natural threats faced by mankind. How to adapt to the cycle of the nature and pray for good weathers are essential cultural heritage underlying the twenty four solar terms. Therefore, since ancient times, the customs in Sanfu (三伏, three hottest days) had included the worship of the Yan Emperor (炎帝, the God of the sun) and Zhu Rong (祝融, the God of fires) with the hope that the heat and sunlight are sufficient for various crops to ripe so that people need not worry about lacking food and clothing.

The last month of summer which starts with Lesser Heat is often sweltering. How to beat the heat and keep cool has become an important survival skill. This has even evolved into the art of living. Tao Yuanming (陶淵明365-427) says in his poem The Family Letter to My Sons (與子儼等疏) that “If I lay against the northern window in the fifth and sixth month of the year, I would perceive myself as the ancestor King of Fu xi when the cool wind blows” (五六月中，北窗下臥，遇涼風暫至，自謂羲皇上人)”. The window in the northern direction which is in the shade is relatively cooler. When wind breezes, it cheered the poet up and made him live like a carefree ancient recluse.

In the poem Summer (夏日) written by Zhu Xi (朱熹1130-1200), it says “despite the heat in the last month of summer, blooming plants and trees provide us with cool shades”, which can help us to “chill out and refresh our mind and leads to peace of mind (泠然滌幽襟)”. In the poem, a special term Lingran (泠然) is adopted to describe how blissful the chill is. With technological advancement in modern society, air-conditioning facilities are everywhere. Nevertheless, how many people will write a poem or sing praise about this kind of coolness, which is simply artificial?

The twenty-four solar terms is rooted from astronomy calender. The time frame of four seasons included may not totally match the lunar calendar based on the lunar cycle. For example, according to the system of twenty-four solar terms, the last month of summer in 2023 will start from Lesser Heat on the 7^th of July, which corresponds to the sixth month of the year in lunar calendar. However, the reality is that 7^th of July is the 20^th of the fifth month of the year in lunar calendar. Nevertheless, with the change in calendar system, ancient Chinese gradually got used to equate the solar term Lesser Heat with the sixth month of the year in lunar calendar. Therefore, in the sequel poem of the twenty four solar terms written by Tang-dynasty poet Yuan Zhen (元稹, 779-831), one of the poems is titled Lesser Heat – The Solar Term in the Sixth Month of the Year (小暑六月節). It says, “The heatwave comes suddenly, as the solar term of Less Heat has arrived. The bamboos make noises let us know that the rain comes, and the mountain is surrounded by darkness and soon we hear the sound of thunders (倏忽溫風至，因循小暑來。竹喧先覺雨，山暗已聞雷)”. Nowadays, there are plenty of articles about solar term Lesser Heat which mentioned the customs related to “The Double-Six day” (the sixth day of the sixth month of the year, 六月六) such as drying clothes and books repeatedly under the sun strokes. Maybe we can find the hints of the roots of such practices in this poem.

If we examine it carefully, we will discover that the solar term of Lesser Heat and the Double-Six day are not really connected in temperoral perspective. Maybe the custom is just related to our psychological perception that the sixth month is equal to the solar term of the Lesser Heat. We can find that rituals are more related to our psychological needs and wishes than the exact co-occurance of the Lesser Heat and the Double Six day as the two do not actually match. Sometimes, exactness in scientific perspectives may not be totally relevant.

Reference

Book

1. 張長新主編：《節氣·農事·農諺》，北京：中國農業出版社，2017年7月。

Journal Article

1. 劉蘭英：〈小暑大暑接踵至  三伏苦夏緊相連〉，《中醫健康養生》，第7期（2020年）。

News or Magazine Article

1. 周潤健：〈小暑詩詞裏的「炙熱」與「清涼」〉，《新華每日電訊》，2022年7月7日，第11版。