The Beauty in the Grass and Trees

Yin Ruojin

CITIC Press Group

January 2019

58.00 （CNY）

This is a book of life aesthetics that uses solar terms as an outline to introduce the vegetation and food of the seasons. It covers in detail the grass and trees corresponding to the twenty-four solar terms and extends from vegetation to folklore， food， and crafts， advocating a life following the laws of nature and the wisdom derived from nature.

I grew up in a mountain town where the seasons are distinct. There are blooming flowers in spring， cool breezes in summer， colorful fallen leaves all over the mountains in autumn， and snow in winter. “Beginning of Spring， Rain Water， and Waking of Insects. Spring Equinox， Pure Brightness， and Grain Rain following. Beginning of Summer， Grain Full， and Grain in Ear. Summer Solstice， Slight Heat， and Great Heat connecting. Beginning of Autumn， Limit of Heat， and White Dew. Autumn Equinox， Cold Dew， and Frost’s Descent following. Beginning of Winter， Slight Snow， and Great Snow. Winter Solstice， Slight Cold， and Great Cold following.” I have memorized this “Twenty-four Solar Terms Song” by heart since I was a child. Since childhood， I have liked observing the change of the seasons and gradually realize the wonders of the twenty-four solar terms. On the day of the Beginning of Spring， no matter how cold the weather is， the sun begins to have a touch of warmth， and snow and ice start to melt as if under orders. On the day of the Beginning of Autumn， there is suddenly a cool breeze at night， though it’s still scorching hot during the day. On the day of the Autumnal Equinox， the leaves on the mountains outside the city are the most colorful. On the day of the Slight Cold， the day I was born， it’s the coldest time of the year， with thousands of miles of snow and ice， and the earth is sealed， yet it also implies life and hope.

Grandmother and mother would follow the twenty-four solar terms to adjust the family’s diet and daily routine. These seemingly mundane matters， such as serving a bowl of green bean soup on the Great Heat， putting on a heavy coat and thick bedding on the Beginning of Autumn， or using mugwort to boil water for bathing on the Dragon Boat Festival... are indicative of the fact that adjusting one’s routine in accordance with the twenty-four solar terms. These are the habits deeply ingrained in the Chinese bloodline.

After quitting my job at a 4A advertising agency in 2012， I traveled around the world， fell in love with Scandinavian and Japanese variety goods， and opened a Zakka-style variety store out of passion. One day， I suddenly felt that no matter how beautiful the things abroad were， they could not reach my heart. Back then， I couldn’t tell which part of Chinese culture and philosophy touched my heart the most， but there seemed to be a strong attraction that lured me to draw energy from traditional culture. I studied Yijing， Buddhism， incense lore， Guqin， Chinese painting， and traditional Chinese medicine. At that time， I did not have any special requirements for materials， and I did not feel any pain in spending surplus profits from the store on classes. Nor did I think about what I wanted to do with these from a pragmatic point of view， I just found them interesting. Now it seems that the energy and time invested in these are too worthwhile， and the biggest change that occurred to me is that I’m closer to the desire in my heart.

Later， I began to study the festival foods of the twenty-four solar terms and came into contact with many people in the mountains and countryside. I found that they discussed the time of cultivation and harvest using not the months or seasons but the solar terms. For thousands of years， people have summarized the time nodes of crops’ growth and maturity， which often coincide with solar terms. I can’t help but wonder about the solar term culture， which is still well carried on among the mountains and countryside.

The Chinese believe in nature devoutly and unfailingly. They believe in the land， the heaven， and the four seasons， and that everything in the universe， birth and death， joy and sorrow， coming and going， are all in harmony with the way of balance. The harmonious realm where man is an integral part of nature is the spiritual pursuit of the Chinese people， and this realm fascinates me. One of the starting points for this pursuit is the system of the twenty-four solar terms based on the cycle of the seasons， the climate， and natural changes around the year. From farming activities to folklore， food， health care， poetry， and literati activities， each connection between the solar terms and people， celestial phenomena， flowers， fruits and vegetables， and all things， is endless in the aftertaste.

In Lin’an， Hangzhou， the local government stipulated that bamboo poles could only be used to beat walnuts on the mountain after the day of the White Dew. In the days leading up to this day， people could only pick up the walnuts that had fallen to the ground without using the bamboo poles to hit the trees， thus ensuring that the walnuts were completely ripe. Farmers in Fuping， Shaanxi province， don’t start making dried persimmon until the Frost’s Descent. Only the dried persimmons after that day taste sweet， and only then do they form a more frostlike powder. These visits and communications in the fields allowed me to observe and learn about the growth patterns of fruits and vegetables through the seasons.

“The moon， dew， wind， clouds， flowers， and birds are the language of nature. And from this language， we can understand the essence of nature， that is， the laws of nature. To write about natural phenomena is to talk about the process of change of the moon， dew， wind， clouds， flowers， and birds in a year.” Zhu Kezhen said in the article “The Natural Phenomena in the Poems of the Great poets of the Tang and Song Dynasties.”

And my observation for this booklet ends up focusing on my regular favorite flowers and plants and the trivial yet interesting things they bring to life， which is the best perspective for me to observe the flow of the seasons. The vegetation on the hill behind my childhood house， the flowers and trees in the garden downstairs of my home in Shanghai， the arranged flowers in the vase in my study and on my desk， the vegetables and refreshments on my dining table， the fruits on my plate， all of them change with seasons， and when I visited Keyuan Garden in Suzhou， I saw on the lintel of the entrance engraved four characters， “Si Shi Feng Ya，” in which “Si Shi” means the four seasons， and “Feng Ya” means the literary pursuits for grace and elegance. The garden designers had intentionally built the water pavilion downwind of the lotus flowers on the lake. When the summer breeze blows， the lotus viewers in the water pavilion will be immersed in the fragrance of the lotus， which brings the exquisite taste of the seasons. “Feng Ya” is to drop the desire for fame and fortune to perceive nature， heaven， and earth with a calm and delicate heart. That is to enjoy seasonal scenery， eat seasonal food， drink seasonal tea， pick seasonal flowers， and feel the beauty of the flow of the seasons.

As a child， I loved to read botanical atlases， and my enlightened reading material was the Compendium of Materia Medica and a Barefoot Doctor’s Handbook that I got by chance from an elder. When I saw the names and diagrams of the herbs in them， I would be fascinated and imagine how they would look growing in the mountains and forests. When I grew up， I collected the Illustrations of the Book of Songs by Hosoi Dongyang and the Paintings of the Flowers of Baien by Mori Baien， both authors from Japan， and I loved them even more. During my painting practice， I also love to draw the lines of plants in nature， so although I have left the brushes behind for many years and have only retrieved a little bit of fine brushwork and calligraphy in recent years， I chose to bravely pick up the brushes and illustrate this booklet about the solar terms myself， in order to satisfy my itching desire and to convey my sincerity in regards to these flowers and plants.

Of course， the contents of this book are only personal observations and experiences of an ordinary person in her growth and life. Suppose you can appreciate some of the beauty of the vegetation in the four seasons and are willing to discover richer and more interesting thoughts about the theory that man is an integral part of nature hidden behind. In that case， it will be worth my nearly one year of dedicated writing.

Yin Ruojin

Yin Ruojin is a life aesthetician. She has learned painting since childhood. She loves vegetation， tea， literati paintings， and calligraphy， studying the diet therapy culture of traditional Chinese medicine， traveling between the lucid waters and lush mountains， and living a life following the flow of the seasons. She is dedicated to spreading oriental aesthetics.