Dog days
Dog days, commonly known as dog days.
Entering dog days means that the hottest time of the year is coming.
Although dog days are not included in the twenty-four solar terms, they are also an important stage of traditional Chinese seasons.
Like the twenty-four solar terms, the origin, implication, calculation methods, customs, etc. of the dog days all reflect the wisdom of the ancestors and are an excellent traditional Chinese culture.
Causes of Dog Days
Dog days are the hottest time of the year.
After falling into ambush, the surface humidity increases, absorbing more heat and dissipating less heat every day. The heat on the surface layer accumulates, so it gets hotter every day.
Entering the three-volt period, the accumulated heat on the ground reaches its peak and the weather is the hottest. In addition, there is a lot of rain in summer, the air humidity is high, and the heat capacity of water is much larger than that of air, which is also an important reason for the hot weather. The subtropical high strengthens in July and August. Under the control of the subtropical high, the subsidence airflow inside the high pressure makes the weather clear and less cloudy, which is conducive to the sunlight shining on the ground to increase the temperature and make the weather hotter.
Three volts, originated in the state of Qin in the Spring and Autumn Period, the earliest record is in “Historical Records Qin Ji Liu”: “Qin Degong falls at the beginning of the second year.
Qin Degong is the son of Qin Xiangong and the younger brother of Qin Wugong. In the 20th year of Qin Wugong (678 BC), after Qin Wugong passed away, the officials did not make Qin Wugong’s son Gongzi Bai the king, but supported Qin Degong as the king.
After Qin Degong succeeded to the throne, a major move was to move the capital of Qin State to Yong (now Fengxiang, Shaanxi). In 677 BC, Qin Degong used 300 cattle, sheep and pigs each to sacrifice to the Emperor of Heaven in Langzhi, and lived in Dazheng Palace in Yongcheng after divination. In this way, the descendants of the state of Qin can drink horses from the Yellow River, and the states of Liang and Rui will come to pay tribute. Qin Degong moved the capital, laying the foundation for the prosperity of the later Qin Mugong era.
In the second year of Qin Degong (676 BC), Qin Degong ordered the setting of Furi in the calendar, and the construction of a temple dedicated to Furi.
The custom of dog days
As the saying goes, put the dumplings in Futoufu and the noodles in Futoufu, and pancakes in Sanfu and eggs. People in different regions eat different foods on this day. People in the Northeast eat dumplings, people in Gansu and Xuzhou eat lamb, people in Shanghai eat wontons, and people in Hangzhou eat ham… So, what do you eat in your hometown?
Regarding the custom of eating dumplings during the dog days, there is a saying that dumplings are made like treasures, implying good luck, and “Fu” and “Fu” have the same pronunciation, so dumplings are eaten.
Eating dumplings on the day of Fufu is to hope that you can spend the summer safely and wish for blessings.
Another way of saying is that during the dog days, people have a bad appetite and can’t eat anything, and dumplings are exactly the food that appetizers and gluttony are in Chinese traditional customs.
