穀gǔ雨yǔ前qián後hòu一yī場chǎng雨yǔ,，勝shèng似sì秀xiù才cái中zhōng了le舉jǔ

What does 穀雨前後一場雨，勝似秀才中了舉 (gǔ yǔ qián hòu yī chǎng yǔ, shèng sì xiù cái zhōng le jǔ) mean?

穀雨前後一場雨，勝似秀才中了舉 (gǔ yǔ qián hòu yī chǎng yǔ, shèng sì xiù cái zhōng le jǔ) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "One rainfall around Grain Rain surpasses a scholar passing the provincial examination." In use it means: Rain during the Guyu solar term is so valuable for spring planting that farmers consider it more cause for celebration than a local scholar achieving success in the imperial civil service examinations. 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 Rooster.

Literally: "One rainfall around Grain Rain surpasses a scholar passing the provincial examination."

The reading

Imperial China measured success in two currencies: scholarly honor and good harvests. For the village, a timely Guyu rain outranked even the triumph of one of their own passing the provincial exam. Ink on a certificate cannot fill a granary, and the examiner's seal cannot water a seedbed. There is a practical wisdom in communities that celebrate rain as though it were the highest achievement, because for people who grow food, it genuinely is.

What kind of proverb it is

• Typeyànyǔ 諺語
• FocusPresent-minded
• Element水 Water
• Zodiac tie雞 Year of the Rooster

Source Folk agricultural proverb comparing farming fortune to imperial examination success, known across rural central China

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 Wealth, Work & Diligence, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Rooster, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.