By+SEBASTIEN+ROUSSILLAT

With the arrival of 春天 （chūn tiān）， spring， nature shows signs of rebirth and renewal. The character 春 congruously resembles a plant sprouting under the sun. In China its not the 水仙 （shuǐxiān）， daffodil， that heralds the beginning of spring， but rather 迎春花 （yíng chūn huā）， winter jasmine. The 春風 （chūn fēng）， spring breeze， dissipates the grim clouds of winter to make way for 藍天白云 （lán tiān bái yún）， blue skies and white clouds. 春暖花開 （chūn nuǎn huā kāi）， fl owers blossom in the warm spring， and 風平浪靜（fēng píng làng jìng）， the wind is soft and the waves are calm. These phrases about spring scenes serve as poetic metaphors for feelings of inner tranquility or for peaceful situations.

But 天有不測風云 （tiān yǒu bú cè fēng yún）， the sky often brings unanticipated winds and clouds， or the future is unpredictable. The ancient Chinese relied upon 星相學 （xīng xiàng xúe）， astrology， to forecast worldly events. They believed that changes in the sky foretell or refl ect changes in human society. Hence is the importance of climatic elements in Chinese philosophy. Thus， the emperor was called 天子 （tiān zǐ）， son of Heaven， and the country is also called 天下 （tiān xià）， everything under the sky. All of the celestial bodies were subjects for study by Chinese astrologers； including 日 （rì）， sun， 月 （yuè）， moon， and 星 （xīng）， star. 星 combines the characters 日 and 生（shēng）， born， suggesting that stars are born from the sun.

Many Chinese words correspond to celestial bodies. For ex- ample， 明 （míng）， clear or bright， combines the two characters for sun and moon， the two brightest bodies in the sky. Likewise， there is a moon in 陰 （yīn）， feminine or negative， and a sun in 陽 （yáng）， masculine or positive. The two planets are deemed natural duali- ties of opposite natures – like yin and yang – such as light and dark， hot and cold， fi re and water， life and death.

When the Chinese endure many trials and hardships， they say they have passed through 風風雨雨 （fēng fēng yǔ yǔ）， winds and rains. Nevertheless， life isnt always so hard and after the rain comes clear skies， 雨過天晴 （yǔ guò tiān qíng）. In France， we say that after the rain comes the time for mushrooms. But for the Chinese this is the time for bamboo shoots， 雨后春筍 （yǔ hòu chūn sǔn）. This signi- fies thriving development and rapid growth. But the wind and rain are not always enemies； when arriving at the right time and appropriate amount they create favorable weather， this is 風調(diào)雨順 （fēng tiáo yǔ shùn）. Also， the wind brings news and friends. Hearsay is 風聞 （fēng wén）. When greeting an unexpected friend you might ask 什么風把你吹來了 （shén me fēng bǎ nǐ chuī lái le）？ “What good wind brings you here？”

Fatalistic people in China attribute their fortunes to 天意（tiān yì）， the will of Heaven. This is similar to what we call Gods will in the West. The Chinese expression 盡人事， 聽天命 （jìn rén shì， tīng tiān mìng） also has an English equivalent： man proposes， God disposes. Natural gifts are 天賦 （tiān fù）. Sudden good luck is 天上掉餡兒餅 （tiān shang diào xiànr bǐng）， stuffed breads falling from the sky！ But when facing natural disasters， Chinese people also believe they are handed out by Heaven， so referring to them as 天災 （tiān zāi）.

我的天 （wǒ de tiān）， good Heavens！ Its time to wrap up.改天見 （gǎi tiān jiàn）， see you later！