Friday marks Mangzhong, or the Grain in Ear, the ninth solar term of the year and the third solar term of the summer. During Mangzhong, farmers in China will welcome one of the busiest periods for agricultural activities.

In Chinese, the "Mang" in Mangzhong has two meanings. The first refers to the awns of crops, while the second refers to the busy mode of farming.

Therefore, Mangzhong not only describes the condition of crops with awns during this time, but also indicates that farmers will be very busy during this time.

Farmers usually consider Mangzhong as a dividing line. In southern China, this is the last season to sow crops with awns such as barley and wheat, while for northern China farmers will need to reap their summer crops to avoid rotting.

Mangzhong also starts a period of abundant rainfall which is nicknamed "Plum Rain" season, especially in the provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Fujian. Frequent rain will make the weather hot and humid, and it is the right time to ripen plums.

As Mangzhong falls in summer and is accompanied by abundant rainfall, some areas will also need to be careful about natural phenomena like tornadoes, typhoons, landslide and floods.

The 24 Chinese solar terms

The 24 solar terms, or the 24 Jieqi （节气）in Chinese, are seasonal division points on the lunar calendar. They were invented by ancient Chinese as a system to organize their perception of the regularity of seasons. During each division of a solar term, specific natural phenomena and astronomical events will occur, which were considered important to the agricultural activities and daily life for ancient Chinese. Nowadays, the 24 solar terms have become a cultural celebration in China.

(Cover image via VCG)

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at nature@cgtn.com.)