小xiǎo滿mǎn桑sāng葉yè尖jiān,，蠶cán兒ér快kuài上shàng山shān

What does 小滿桑葉尖，蠶兒快上山 (xiǎo mǎn sāng yè jiān, cán ér kuài shàng shān) mean?

小滿桑葉尖，蠶兒快上山 (xiǎo mǎn sāng yè jiān, cán ér kuài shàng shān) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "When mulberry leaf tips appear at Minor Fullness, silkworms should quickly go up the mountain frames." In use it means: When new mulberry leaf tips emerge during the Xiaoman solar term, it is time to move mature silkworms onto the peaked bamboo frames where they spin their cocoons. Both events are triggered by identical temperature conditions. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Wood note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Rabbit.

Literally: "When mulberry leaf tips appear at Minor Fullness, silkworms should quickly go up the mountain frames."

The reading

In the Jiangnan countryside, the silkworm room and the mulberry grove exist in a conversation that requires no words. Fresh leaf tips on the mulberry coincide precisely with the silkworm's readiness to climb and spin. The frame set up for spinning, called a mountain for its peaked shape, becomes the silkworm's final workplace. What the tree says and what the worm needs align without human intervention; the farmer's role is simply not to miss the signal.

What kind of proverb it is

• Typeyànyǔ 諺語
• FocusPresent-minded
• Element木 Wood
• Zodiac tie兔 Year of the Rabbit

Source Sericulture proverb from Jiangnan silk regions, particularly Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces

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.