大dà寒hán不bù寒hán,，春chūn分fēn不bù暖nuǎn

What does 大寒不寒，春分不暖 (dà hán bù hán, chūn fēn bù nuǎn) mean?

大寒不寒，春分不暖 (dà hán bù hán, chūn fēn bù nuǎn) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "If Great Cold is not cold, Spring Equinox will not be warm." In use it means: An abnormally mild Dahan (Great Cold, around January 20) predicts a cold, delayed spring. When winter fails to reach its proper depth, the seasonal rhythm is disrupted and spring warmth arrives late. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Water note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Snake.

Literally: "If Great Cold is not cold, Spring Equinox will not be warm.."

The reading

Cycles depend on each phase reaching its full expression before yielding to the next. A winter that holds back its cold does not spare you; it merely delays the discomfort into a season unprepared for it. Nature balances its accounts with a precision that human calendars cannot override. Skipping a necessary hardship often means meeting a worse one later.

What kind of proverb it is

• Typeyànyǔ 諺語
• FocusLooks ahead
• Element水 Water
• Zodiac tie蛇 Year of the Snake

Source Solar term prognostic proverb, found in multiple regional agricultural collections

Sits beside

Keep reading

Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Harmony, Virtue & Balance, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Snake, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.