[双语节气]雨水 Rain Water

今天是二十四节气中的第二个，雨水。从今天开始，气温慢慢回升，冰雪融化，降水也开始渐渐多起来，这也是为什么这个节气被称为“雨水”的原因。

Today is the second of the 24 solar terms, Rain Water. From today the temperature will slowly rise, the ice and snow will melt, and the rainfall will increase gradually; that is why it is called Rain Water.

每一个节气会持续十五天，每五天称为一候（古代五天为一候），每一候中都有自古以来农民从日常耕作中总结的具有代表性的自然现象。“雨水”期间的三候分别是怎样的呢？

As we have mentioned before, each solar term lasts 15 days, among which every 5 days is called a one “候”, Hou means 5 days in ancient Chinese. Moreover, every Hou contains representative natural phenomena that farmers summarized from their daily farming activities since ancient times. So how about the phenomena during the 3 Hous of the Rain Water?

一候獭祭鱼。为什么是水獭祭鱼呢？从雨水开始气温慢慢回升，结冰的河面也融化了，水獭开始捕鱼。水獭捕鱼习惯把捕到的鱼摆在岸边，像陈列祭品一样，所以叫做“水獭祭鱼”。

First, otters sacrifice with fish. You must be curious how otters sacrifice with fish? As we mentioned earlier, the temperature will slowly rise from today, and the frozen river will melt, so the otters start to fish at this time. And the otters used to put the fish they caught on the shore, like a display of offerings, so that’s why ancient Chinese call it “otters sacrifice with fish”.

二候鸿雁北。冬天飞往南方过冬的大雁，在雨水五日之后开始从南方飞回北方。

Second, wild geese heading the north. The wild geese flying to the south for winter start to fly back from the south to the north five days after the Rain Water.

三候草木萌动。雨水十天之后，冻了一个冬天的土地，温度慢慢回升，花草树木也渐渐复苏，柳树发芽，杏树开花都是在这个时候。

Third, grass and trees sprout. Ten days after the Rain Water, the land temperature slowly picks up. The trees and flowers come back to life with willow trees sprouting and apricot blossoming.

在之前的视频中有提到二十四番花信风，也就是从小寒到谷雨这八个节气，人们挑选一种花期最准确的花为代表，叫做这一节气中的花信风，意即带来开花音讯的风候。雨水这三候对应的是（油）菜花，杏花和李花。

We have also talked about the 24 flowering winds in our past videos, which means from Minor Cold to Grain Rain, every five days, a corresponding flower starts to bloom. During Rain Water, the three flowers are rape flower, apricot blossom, and plum blossom.

雨水期间是春耕的最佳时机，所以也有一种说法叫做“立春天渐暖，雨水送肥忙”。但是这段时间也是温度变化比较大的时期，大家一定还是要记得保暖哦~

Rain Water period is the best time for spring planting, so there is also a saying that “the spring is getting warmer, and the rain is busy sending fertilizers to the ground”. However, the Rain Water period is also a period of significant temperature changes, so please remember to keep warm!