穀gǔ雨yǔ前qián後hòu,，種zhòng瓜guā種zhòng豆dòu

What does 穀雨前後，種瓜種豆 (gǔ yǔ qián hòu, zhòng guā zhòng dòu) mean?

穀雨前後，種瓜種豆 (gǔ yǔ qián hòu, zhòng guā zhòng dòu) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "Around Grain Rain, plant melons and beans." In use it means: The solar term Guyu (Grain Rain, around April 20) brings the last spring rains before summer, making it the final optimal window for planting many crops. In southern regions, this is the counterpart to the Qingming planting proverb used further north. 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 Rabbit.

Literally: "Around Grain Rain, plant melons and beans.."

The reading

Different regions read the same calendar at different speeds, and both readings are correct for their place. A proverb that sounds identical to another may carry distinct local knowledge underneath the familiar words. Universal wisdom always wears local clothing. The rain that names this solar term is not metaphorical but literal, and crops know the difference.

What kind of proverb it is

• Typeyànyǔ 諺語
• FocusPresent-minded
• Element水 Water
• Zodiac tie兔 Year of the Rabbit

Source Solar term agricultural proverb, southern Chinese variant

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 Nature, Seasons & Health, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Rabbit, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.