Traditions of “Grain Rain,” the Season of Spring Showers
The solar term Guyu marks the start of spring rains, a season of bounty and sadness in ancient Chinese literature
“Good rain knows the time is right/ It will fall when spring comes/ With the wind it steals in the night/ Mutely, it moistens everything,” wrote the poet Du Fu (杜甫) in “Happy Rain on a Spring Night (《春夜喜雨》)” in the eighth century. But he was far from the only person to associate the rain with auspicious meanings.
Today marks the solar term Guyu (谷雨), or “Grain Rain.” Also known as “happiness rain” and “timely rain,” spring showers meant a lot to China’s traditional farming society. As a proverb goes, “Three rains in spring may secure a big harvest in autumn,” and ancient farmers regarded spring rain as an endorsement from heaven.
Since the spring rain can nourish crops, it also became associated with meanings like “benevolence” and “education.” The metaphor was frequently applied to lectures by wise teachers and emperors’ mercy toward commoners. “Bamboo shoots grown after the spring rain (雨后春笋)” goes one saying, implying the abundant growth of new things.
Different areas of China experience the seasonal shower differently. The Jiangnan region south of the Yangtze River sees fine, misty rains in what’s known as “apricot blossom season,” with overcast skies and high humidity. The monk Zhinan (志南) of the Southern Song dynasty (1127 – 1279) once wrote, “The apricot blossom rain moistens but does not soak my clothing; I am faced with a warm breeze that sways the willow branches,” showing that spring rain in Jiangnan is mostly a gentle, balmy drizzle that adds to the beauty of the landscape (unlike the region’s summer downpours).
By contrast, in the Lingnan region (covering present day Guangdong, Guangxi, and southern Fujian), spring rain can sometimes be violent. The Southeast Monsoon and Southwest Monsoon patterns meet in the region, generating convection, which leads to torrid showers and violent winds.
Falling rain and overcast skies generated mixed emotions among ancient literati, many of whom would express their empathy for fading flowers during this time, and write poems on cherishing springtime as well as their homesickness. Thus, spring rain is sometimes associated with sorrow. In Bai Juyi’s (白居易) “Song of Everlasting Sorrow (《长恨歌》),” the lines “Teardrops drifted down her delicate face/ As spring rain drizzles down on a pear tree blossom,” described Tang (618 – 907) concubine Yang Yuhuan’s (杨玉环) sadness and beauty.
Similarly, Li Yu (李煜), the last emperor of the Southern Tang state in the 10th century, wrote in “Meeting Each Other Happily (《相见欢》),” “Red spring flowers in woods fade away/ Too soon./ How could they endure early cold rain and late wind so unsure,” comparing his loneliness and failed kingdom to the fading flower destroyed by the spring rain.
The nice thing about spring, though, is that it comes around every year. Thus, the dimming of the season also inspired comparisons to people meeting and parting. In “Encountering Li Guinian in Jiangnan (《江南逢李龟年》),” Du Fu wrote of seeing his friend Li Guinian: “Now when the Jiangnan scenery is most sweet/ I meet you again in the seasons when flowers fall.” All good things have to come to an end—so go out and enjoy the spring while you can.
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