雨yǔ打dǎ黃huáng梅méi頭tóu,，四sì十shí五wǔ天tiān無wú日rì頭tou

What does 雨打黃梅頭，四十五天無日頭 (yǔ dǎ huáng méi tóu, sì shí wǔ tiān wú rì tou) mean?

雨打黃梅頭，四十五天無日頭 (yǔ dǎ huáng méi tóu, sì shí wǔ tiān wú rì tou) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "Rain at the start of plum rain season means forty-five days without sun." In use it means: If it rains on the first day of the meiyu plum rain season in the Yangtze Delta, the entire rainy period will be long and severe, with overcast skies lasting up to forty-five days. 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 Dog.

Literally: "Rain at the start of plum rain season means forty-five days without sun."

The reading

The opening day of plum rain season acts as a preview of everything to come. A wet start locks in weeks of grey sky, mildew, and damp that seeps into stored grain and wooden furniture alike. Families along the Yangtze learned to read that first rainfall as a promise or a threat: heavy drops meant hanging laundry indoors for over a month and checking stored rice daily for mold. How something begins often sets the tone for its entire duration, and the first day of a difficult season deserves careful attention.

What kind of proverb it is

• Typeyànyǔ 諺語
• FocusLooks ahead
• Element水 Water
• Zodiac tie狗 Year of the Dog

Source Yangtze Delta weather proverb specific to the meiyu plum rain season, Jiangnan regional oral tradition

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 The Way of Water, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Dog, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.