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Name of the solar term: 立春 lìchūn lit. “Beginning of Spring”
Gregorian date: Feb 4 +/- a day (Jan 20, 2020)
What is lichun all about
Before celebrating this year’s Spring Festival, let’s raise a toast to the beginning of spring, which actually starts today. Ancient Chinese observed the rotation of the Big Dipper in the sky and discovered its connection with the apparent motion of the earth's orbit, thus providing a foundation for the 24 solar term system. In Chinese astrology, the spring equinox is seen as the starting point of the annual cycle and the position of the sun on that day is set as zero degrees solar longitude, but culturally people still regard lichun as the first of all 24 solar terms which will arrive when the solar longitude reaches 315 degrees in the sky.
The natural world is about to light up
The micro seasons of lichun feature an array of events that portend the advent of spring. The first is called "东风解冻 dōngfēng jiědòng the east wind defrosts the land" thanks to ancient Chinese who mainly resided around the reaches of the Yellow River. For these riverside dwellers, a wind from the east ocean was expected to bring warmth to the land.
Lichun holds an important status culturally, not only because it is thought of as the first solar term to kick off the bunch, but also due to the fact that it marks the beginning of another sowing and farming season, which was and is a critical element of the livelihood of millions of farmers in China.
No gods of any other seasons would receive such a courteous reception
The ritual of celebrating lichun and welcoming the god of spring dates back to the Han Dynasty, or about 2,000 years ago. It is not just some custom that prevailed among the villagers but was also taken quite seriously by local governments and even the royal family. The emperor would ride on a wagon decorated with light green and blue ornaments and flags to hold a prayer ceremony, while many people would dress in the same colors for the parade.
A Ming Dynasty scroll displays the diverse activities during the ceremony to welcome spring
But for most farmers in northern China, there is still time before they need to get their feet muddy in the field again, so the ceremony became their last chance to enjoy their winter break. The villagers usually spent weeks planning all manner of entertainment, from theatre performances to acrobatics.
Unlike the other solar terms, during which regions across China practice various and differing culinary rituals, on lichun, most everyone will take a bite of a spring roll or spring pancake.
Certainly healthy, but doesn't look so tasty
But back then, the vegetables were eaten by themselves without any added carbs, and due to the scarcity of oil and grease, the vegetables were all consumed raw. The most common vegetables include but are not limited to garlic, green onion, green chive, bok choy, cilantro, and ginger. (Perhaps you can use this as a recipe for a historical keto salad.)
Freshly baked daily, the sourdough is striped with a wicker bowl to make it look as good as it tastes
Later on, this dish was improved with milder seasonal veggies and was dubbed 春盘 chūn pán spring plate. Yet, only in the Sui and Tang Dynasties did anyone begin to eat these veggies by rolling them up inside a steamed pancake. The prototype of the spring roll, a deep-fried pancake roll with veggie fillings, was also invented around the same time. By the Ming and Qing Dynasties, thanks to more advanced oil pressing techniques, vegetable oil replaced animal fat in many recipes which also made them more affordable, and the vegetables used in the spring pancake were also cooked. Et voila, that’s how our familiar and beloved spring pancake and spring roll came into being. But enough talk, why not go make a plate of your own right now?
READ: Solar Terms 101: Light up Winter With Fiery Red Decorations for Your Home
Images: Twitter (@ricoquegin), Zhihu, 大锤说史
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