二十四节气 The Twenty-Four Solar Terms

二十四节气èrshísì jiéqì是shì中国Zhōngguó古人gǔrén根据gēnjù太阳tàiyáng在zài天空tiānkōng中zhōng的de位置wèizhi，把bǎ一年yì nián划分huàfēn成chéng的de二十四个èrshísì ge时间段shíjiānduàn。

The twenty-four solar terms are the twenty-four segments into which ancient Chinese people divided the year, based on the sun's position in the sky.

从cóng“立春Lìchūn”到dào“大寒Dàhán”，每一个měi yí ge节气jiéqì都dōu对应duìyìng着zhe气候qìhòu和hé农作物nóngzuòwù生长shēngzhǎng的de变化biànhuà。

From "Start of Spring" to "Greater Cold," every solar term corresponds to changes in climate and crop growth.

古代gǔdài农民nóngmín依靠yīkào节气jiéqì安排ānpái耕种gēngzhòng和hé收获shōuhuò，比如bǐrú“清明Qīngmíng前后qiánhòu，种zhòng瓜guā种zhòng豆dòu”就是jiùshì一句yí jù流传至今liúchuán zhìjīn的de农谚nóngyàn。

In ancient times farmers relied on solar terms to arrange planting and harvesting; for instance, "around Tomb-Sweeping Day, plant melons and beans" is a farmers' proverb passed down to this day.

除了chúle指导zhǐdǎo农业nóngyè，节气jiéqì还hái深深shēnshēn地de影响yǐngxiǎng着zhe中国人Zhōngguórén的de日常rìcháng生活shēnghuó和hé饮食yǐnshí习惯xíguàn。

Besides guiding agriculture, solar terms also deeply influence Chinese people's daily life and eating habits.

例如lìrú，在zài“冬至Dōngzhì”这一天zhè yì tiān，北方人běifāngrén习惯xíguàn吃chī饺子jiǎozi，南方人nánfāngrén则zé更gèng喜欢xǐhuan吃chī汤圆tāngyuán。

For example, on the day of Winter Solstice, northerners are used to eating dumplings, while southerners prefer to eat sweet rice balls.

随着suízhe城市化chéngshìhuà的de发展fāzhǎn，虽然suīrán很多hěn duō人rén已经yǐjīng不再bú zài从事cóngshì农业nóngyè，节气jiéqì却què依然yīrán出现chūxiàn在zài日历rìlì和hé天气预报tiānqì yùbào中zhōng。

As urbanization has developed, although many people no longer work in agriculture, solar terms still appear in calendars and weather forecasts.

有趣的是yǒuqù de shì，二十四节气èrshísì jiéqì早zǎo在zài2016年èr líng yī liù nián就jiù被bèi联合国教科文组织Liánhéguó Jiàokēwén Zǔzhī列入lièrù了le人类rénlèi非物质文化遗产fēiwùzhì wénhuà yíchǎn名录mínglù。

Interestingly, as early as 2016 the twenty-four solar terms were included by UNESCO on the list of human intangible cultural heritage.

这zhè说明shuōmíng，古老gǔlǎo的de智慧zhìhuì并bìng没有méiyǒu因为yīnwèi时代shídài的de变化biànhuà而ér失去shīqù价值jiàzhí，反而fǎn'ér以yǐ新xīn的de方式fāngshì延续yánxù下去xiàqù。

This shows that ancient wisdom has not lost its value because of changing times — on the contrary, it continues on in new forms.

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Key words 生词

节气jiéqìsolar term

农谚nóngyànfarmers' proverb

气候qìhòuclimate

依靠yīkàoto rely on

依然yīránstill; as before

延续yánxùto continue; carry on

Grammar note 语法点

除了…，还…

'Besides..., also...' adds an extra point beyond what was already mentioned.

除了指导农业，节气还深深地影响着中国人的日常生活。 — Besides guiding agriculture, solar terms also deeply influence Chinese people's daily life.

并没有…，反而…

'Did not..., but on the contrary...' — negates an expected outcome and states the opposite reality.

古老的智慧并没有失去价值，反而以新的方式延续下去。 — Ancient wisdom has not lost its value; on the contrary, it continues on in new forms.

Check yourself 小测验

1. What are the twenty-four solar terms based on?

2. According to the text, what do northerners and southerners eat on Winter Solstice?

3. What happened to the twenty-four solar terms in 2016?

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二十四节气Èrshísì jiéqìThe Twenty-Four Solar Terms

Key words 生词

Grammar note 语法点

Check yourself 小测验

Reading is the easy part. Speaking is where you get stuck.

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