春分：春色正中分 | Spring Equinox: A 'balanced' spring day

chun

春

fen

分

春分者，

阴阳相半也。

故昼夜均而寒暑平。

The Spring Equinox (Chinese: 春分), as the fourth solar term of the year starts on March 20 this year. The Spring Equinox signals the equal length of the day and night time. 

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3月20日迎来了二十四节气中的第四个节气——春分。太阳直射地球赤道，昼夜时长几乎相等。

Here are things you may not know about the Spring Equinox.

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关于春分你可能需要了解这几件事：

燕子北去Swallows fly north

中国古代将春分分为三候(three "hou's,")。

一候元鸟至（swallows fly back to the North in the first hou）

燕子翩翩归来

带来了

生机、好运和祈望

二候雷乃发声（thunder cracks the sky in the second hou）

阵阵春雷后

淅沥春雨便会到访大地

雨滴洗翠色

翠色太欲滴

三候始电（lightning occurs frequently in the third hou）

电光一闪

夜空就这样

瞬时吸引了万物的注意

竖蛋Egg-standing games 

春分期间，竖蛋是全国流行的一种游戏（popular game）。这一古老的习俗（old custom）可以追溯到4000年前。人们相信，如果有人能把鸡蛋立起来，他将来就会有好运（good luck）。

Some believe that the Spring Equinox is the best time to practice this game because on this day the axis of the earth is relatively balanced against the orbital plane of the earth's rotation around the sun, which makes it easier to erect an egg.

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春分，是玩竖蛋游戏的最佳时光。在这一天，地球的轴线相对于地球绕太阳公转的轨道面是平衡的，这使得鸡蛋更容易竖起。

放风筝Flying kites

春分也是放风筝的好时机。在古代，医疗资源匮乏（medical resources）。为了祈求健康（pray for health），他们把自己的病情（medical issues）写在纸风筝上。当风筝在空中时，人们会剪断风筝线，让它随风飘散，象征着疾病的远离（symbolizing the flying away of diseases）。

Later flying kites developed into a popular game of spring. On the Spring Equinox, people write a blessing on the kite, hoping that the gods in the sky would see it.

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后来，放风筝发展成为春天里非常受欢迎的游戏活动。春分时，人们会在风筝上写上祝福，希望天上的神仙能看到它。

吃春菜Eating spring vegetables

春分“食春芽（Spring buds）”是大自然的赐予，中医经典著作《黄帝内经》（Huangdi Neijing (Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor)）说要“食岁谷”，意思就是要吃时令食物（seasonal vegetables）。

Notes:Huangdi Neijing, which is believed to be China's earliest classic work on medicine, has been known as the "originator" of traditional Chinese medicine.

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注：《黄帝内经》是中国最早的医学典籍，被称为医之始祖。

Eating spring vegetables during the Spring Equinox helps people to preserve health and bring good luck. "Spring vegetables" refers to seasonal vegetables that differ from place to place. 

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在春分吃“春菜”有助于人们保持健康和带来好运。“春菜”是指各地不同的时令蔬菜。

犒劳耕牛Reward farm cattle

江南地区则流行犒劳耕牛、祭祀百鸟的习俗。

Farmers will reward cattle with sticky rice balls to express their gratefulness during the Spring Equinox. Meanwhile, people will also make sacrifice to birds, to thank them for bringing signals for farm work and to ask them not to eat grains later in the year.

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春分已至，农民以糯米团喂耕牛表示犒赏；祭祀百鸟，一则感谢它们提醒农时，二是希望鸟类不要啄食五谷，祈祷丰年之意。

图片来源：China Daily、soogif动图、CGTN、视觉中国、东方IC

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编辑：张婷婷

设计：王雅雯

审核：王伟

监制：施力维

SPRING

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