“微雨众卉新，一雷惊蛰始。”作为二十四节气当中的第三个节气，惊蛰标志着万物的复苏。惊蛰时节，受到气候的影响，雨水逐渐增多，出现了阵阵春雷。与此同时，藏在地下过冬的蛇虫鼠蚁等动物昆虫，也开始钻出地面，四处活动，到处一片生机盎然。

(资料图片)

“All plants regain life in spring drizzle, and all insects wake up amid the sound of thunder.”As the third of the 24 Solar Terms, the Awakening of Insects heralds that everything comes back to life in spring. Around the period, spring rainfalls become frequent, along with spring thunders. At the same time, animals and insects like snacks, rats, and ants wake up from hibernationand begin to look for foods, injecting vitality into the land.

“惊蛰”与“启蛰”

“Awakening of Insects”and “Waking from Hibernation”

图片来源：新华网

Photo from Xinhuanet.com

“惊”意为惊醒，而“蛰”则表示动物蛰伏地下冬眠。“惊蛰”两字，着笔于动物对气候变化的反应，形象的勾画出一幅春回大地的景象，简单的笔墨颇得中国诗画写意的精髓。对于通晓中文的人来说，看到“惊蛰”二字，仿佛春天就在眼前。

但实际上，唤醒冬眠动物的并非春雷声，而是日渐回暖的气温，这一时节除塞北还是一片银装素裹的冬日景观，中国大部分地区气温都回升至零度以上。

The Awakening of Insects means animals waking up from hibernationas winter ends and spring arrives. It reflects the animals’reaction to the change of weathers, and depicts a vivid picture of the return of spring, conveying a poetic sense of Chinese ink painting with simple strokes. For those who are familiarwith the Chinese language, they will know that spring is just around the corner when they see the phrase “Awakening of Insects”.

In fact, it isn’t spring thunder but growing temperature that awakens animals in hibernation. Duringthat time, expect for the northernmost of China that is still covered by ice and snow, most parts of the country have seen temperature rising above the freezing point.

《大戴礼记·夏小正》书影 图片来源：无觅东西

Inside pages of the ancient book Dadai Book of Rites—Xiaxiaozheng(Photo from Wumi Dongxi)

惊蛰在古时又名“启蛰”，汉朝时期编撰的礼制著作《大戴礼记·夏小正》中就记载：“正月启蛰，言发蛰也。”但是因为西汉第六位皇帝汉景帝名叫刘启，人们为了避讳，就将“启蛰”改成了“惊蛰”。后来在唐朝时期，朝廷打算将“惊蛰”改回“启蛰”，可由于民间早已习惯了“惊蛰”的说法，也就没有再做更改，“惊蛰”也就一直延续到了今天。

In ancient times, the Awakening of Insects was also called “Waking from Hibernation”. According toDadai Book of Rites—Xiaxiaozheng, a monographon rites dating back to the Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD), “Qizhe (Waking from Hibernation)falls on the first lunar month, and it indicates that animals begin to wake up fromdormancy.”Considering that “Qizhe”was againstthe tattooon using the personal name of Liu Qi, the sixth emperorof the Han Dynasty, it was renamed “Jingzhe”(Awakening of Insects). In the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the government attempted to change its name back to “Qizhe”. However, by then people had gotten used to the name “Jingzhe”, which has been preserved to this day.

唯一以动物昆虫习性命名的节气

The Only Solar Term Named after Animal Behavior

图片来源：新华社

Photo from Xinhuanet.com

二十四节气的命名多与气候、季节相关，如小暑、大寒、立春、夏至等，或是对农作物状态的描述，如小满、芒种，而惊蛰则是二十四节气中唯一一个以动物昆虫习性命名的节气，可见“虫”的苏醒对于农事活动的重要性。

The names of the 24 Solar Terms are related to either climate and seasons, for example, Minor Heat, Major Cold, Start of Spring, and Summer Solstice, or the growth of crops, for example, Small Full Grain and Grain in Ear. However, the Awakening of Insects is the only solar term named after animal behavior, indicating the importance of insects in agricultural activities.

草木灰 图片来源：老付谈三农

Plant ash (Photo from “Laofu on Agriculture, Farmers and Rural Areas”)

在这春暖之际，虫蚁复苏，因此“驱虫”是惊蛰的重要节俗。《千金月令》里写道，在惊蛰的时候，人们会通过扫院子、撒草木灰或石灰等方式，防范病虫害。

When temperature rises in spring, insects wake up from hibernation, so dispelling injuriousinsects from home is an important traditional custom on the day of the Awakening of Insects. According to Lunar Phenologyof Qianjin, when the Awakening of Insects arrived, people would prevent pest-incurred diseases through activities such as cleaning their courtyards and splashing plant ashes or lime.

山东农民会在庭院生火烙煎饼

图片来源：好客山东之声

(Photo from “The Sound of Hospitable Shandong”)

陕西有逢惊蛰、吃炒豆的食俗

图片来源：齐鲁晚报

(Photo from Qilu Evening News)

此外，各地还有不同的惊蛰习俗，比如山东农民会在庭院生火烙煎饼，俗信烟熏火燎可除虫害；陕西有逢惊蛰、吃炒豆的食俗，炒豆的噼啪之声，象征着虫子被消灭；此外民间还流传着放鞭炮“爆惊蛰”、闻雷抖衣、吃梨以远离疾病等各种有趣的驱虫之俗。

In addition, different regions have developed different folk customs for the Awakening of Insects. For instance, farmers in Shandong bake pancakes on a stove in the courtyard because they believe the smoke and flame can dispel pests; Shaanxi people have the tradition to eat fried soybeans on the day of the Awakening of Insects, and the clacking sound created by frying soybeans in the wok symbolizesthat pests are eliminated. Other folk customs include burning firecrackers, shaking clothes amid the sound of thunder, and eating pears, all of which convey the prayers to prevent diseases and dispel pests.

惊蛰至，农事忙

Busy in Farming with the Awakening of Insects

惊蛰前后农民们开始耕种

图片来源：新华网

Farmers become busy with agricultural activities around the Awakening of Insects.

Photo from Xinhuanet.com

伴随着气温回暖、降水增多，全国大部分地区迎来“可耕之候”，惊蛰也被农民视作是正式开始春耕的日子。关于惊蛰春耕的农谚有很多，如“到了惊蛰节，锄头不停歇”、“惊蛰春雷响，农夫闲转忙”，步入惊蛰节气，也就意味着真正的农忙之春到来了。

在这一时节，我国华南、东南一带河谷地区已经可以进行水稻和玉米的播种了，但是我国北方以及广大的中西部地区，则会出现倒春寒的现象，可导致水稻、玉米等农作物出现烂种、刚出土的幼苗被冻死，因此切忌不能盲目早播，尽量避免气候对农作物造成负面作用。

With the rise of temperature and the increase of precipitation, most parts of China kick off farming activities. The Awakening of Insects is considered by farmers as the day to start spring plowing. There are many old sayings on the relationship between the Awakening of Insects and spring plowing. For example, “hoes won’t rest with the Awakening of Insects”, “farmers become busy amid the sound of spring thunder with the Awakening of Insects”, just name a few. That means that the Awakening of Insects heralds the start of the farming season.

Around the Awakening of Insects, rice and corn are sowed in river valleys in southern and southeastern China. However, unusuallycold spell still lingers in most parts of northern, central and western China, which may cause crop seeds rotten in fields and buds frozen. Thus, farmers shouldn’t blindly sow seeds as early as possible, so as to avoid the negative impact of bad weathers.

二十四节气

是中国人千百年来以独特的视角

观察自然、体察物候变化

总结的规律

浸透着华夏文明的智慧

“惊蛰”

是人们从春天的无数个瞬间中

抽取的一帧最典型画面

因此用它来标记春天的到来

最适合不过了

The24 Solar Terms represent the natural laws

compiled by Chinese people based on their observation of nature

and phonologicalchanges from a unique perspective

over thousands of years,

and are imbued with the wisdom of Chinese civilization.

The Awakening of Insects is a typical image depicting

one of the numerous moments in spring.

Thus, nothing is better than

the Awakening of Insects to mark the arrival of spring.

参考资料：

1.《惊蛰到了为什么要吃梨？里面蕴藏着美好的寓意》

2.澎湃新闻：《惊蛰：唯一以动物昆虫习性命名的节气》

3.中国网：《惊蛰：用两个字标记春天》

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