孔院微课堂 | 雨水，有哪些含义？

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孔院微课堂

yǔ

雨

shuǐ

水

Rain Water

“雨水”是中国二十四节气之一。雨水节气，万物复苏——春天真的到了。

Rain Water is one of the 24 solar terms in China. A new solar term arrives, Rain Water. With the advent of spring, everything comes back to life. 

二十四节气中的中国文化之雨水（中文版）

解说词

“春雨贵如油”，雨水节气，万物开始复苏，春天真的到了。

万物生长离不开雨水。《易·系辞》说，万物“润之以风雨”。所以，雨水是充满生命内涵的节气。

我国有些地方雨水节气流行着“送雨水”的风俗。民间认为，雨水节气是生命复苏的关键日子，人像树木一样，需要“借水上水”才能生存，而且认为人在六十岁以后需要借外力相助“上水”，才能获得旺盛的生命力。所以，每逢雨水节气，女儿要用寄生在老树上的幼树炖猪蹄或炖鸡，用沙罐装好，再用红纸、红绳封住罐口。这天，女儿由丈夫陪同回娘家，进门后由女婿恭敬地献给岳父岳母。如果是新婚女婿，岳父岳母还要回赠雨伞，希望女婿出门奔波可以遮风挡雨，祝福女婿人生旅途顺利平安。

雨水节气有“一候獭祭鱼”一说。《吕氏春秋·孟春》中高诱注道：“獭猵，水禽也。取鲤鱼置水边，四面陈之，世谓之祭。”似乎獭也知道感恩雨水。獭捕鱼后先祭后食，此举令人感动。清初诗人孙枝蔚《老妻病愈设饼祭神》诗曰：“一点虔诚意，惟同獭祭鱼”。

过了雨水便是“龙抬头”，古时是祭祀龙神的日子。古人认为龙是祥瑞之物，更是春风化雨的主宰。所以，每年的这一天，人们都要到龙神庙或水畔焚香祭祀龙神，祈求龙神兴云布雨，保佑一年五谷丰登。人们还在这一天耍龙灯，也是祈雨之意。

“二月二，摸龙头，一年吃喝不用愁。”在古城开封，至今还保留着龙亭摸龙头的习惯。龙亭是古时的皇家建筑，龙亭内大大小小的龙形塑像、纹刻不计其数。每逢二月二，开封市民就会一大早赶到这里来摸龙头、上香，以求一年的好运。

俗话说“春雨贵如油”，人们带着敬畏与感恩，走在雨水里，走在冰消雪解、万物复苏的春天里。

二十四节气中的中国文化之雨水（英文版）

解说词

A new solar term arrives, Rain Water. With the advent of spring, everything comes back to life. 

The rain is so important that nothing can grow without it. According to Chinese ancient records, “All things are moistened by wind and rain”. In this case, the Rain Water is the solar term with abundant life connotation. 

In some regions of China, the custom of “Sending Rain” is quite popular in the Rain Water. People believe that the Rain Festival is the key day for life recovery. Like trees, people need to “borrow water” as “supply water” to survive. And people over 60 years old need to borrow outside help to supply water and hereby obtain life vigor. Therefore, each year when the Rain Water arrives, daughters usually stew pigs’ feet or chicken with the new branches on the old trees, put them into the clay pot, and then seal the clay pot with red paper and red rope. After that, daughters will return to their parents’ house accompanied by their husbands. After entering the door, the husbands will respectfully present the pot to the parents-in-law. If the young couple is newly married, the girl’s parents will give the son-in-law an umbrella to protect him from wind and rain. 

It is widely believed the solar term Rain Water is the time for the otters to sacrifice fish to the gods. It was recorded in an ancient book written over 2200 years ago that “Otters know to show their gratitude to the rain by sacrificing the fish they caught.” Sun Zhiwei, a poet in the early Qing dynasty, wrote the sentence “Show a little sincerity just as otters sacrifice their fish”. 

Rain Water is also the time to worship the Chinese dragon imperial. The Chinese ancients considered dragons to be auspicious. Chinese dragons are the maters of oceans and rain. So, every year on this day, people go to the Dragon Temple or the riverside to burn incense to sacrifice to the dragon imperial and pray for a good harvest. Besides, on this day, people dance with dragon lanterns, known as Dragon Dance, to pray for the rain as well. 

In ancient city Kaifeng, people still keep the habit of “Touching Dragon’s Head” in the Dragon Pavilion. The Dragon Pavilion is an ancient royal building with countless dragon-shaped statues and patterns. Every year on the day of February 2nd (of the lunar calendar), Kaifeng citizens come here to touch the dragon’s head and pray for good luck. 

A Chinese proverb says: “Rain in spring is as valuable as oil”. With respect and gratitude, people walk in the rain in spring when the ice melts and everything begins to wake up.

内容转自：光明日报&中国传媒大学

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