Beginning of Winter
「冻笔新诗懒写，寒炉美酒时温。」
Temperatures fall markedly, and most parts of China enter winter conditions. Average daily temperatures in the north drop below 0°C, while Northeast and Northwest China are generally below –5°C, and many southern regions fall below 10°C as well. The cold becomes deep and pronounced.
Precipitation decreases further across the country. The north is dominated by dry and cold weather, with the first snow beginning to appear though snowfall remains limited. Southern rainfall is also relatively low, and autumn drought may continue into winter drought.
Around Beginning of Winter, temperatures in northern regions fall below freezing and the surfaces of rivers and lakes begin to form ice. The ice remains thin and has not yet sealed the waters completely, marking the first visible condensation of winter cold.
The earth begins to freeze, the upper layers of soil harden, crops cease growing, and plants and animals enter states of winter dormancy. The land formally enters its season of hibernation.
The ancients observed that pheasants became increasingly scarce after Beginning of Winter while large shellfish seemed more abundant along the coast, inspiring the poetic imagination that pheasants entered the water and transformed into giant clams. It reflects the romantic way in which ancient observers interpreted seasonal phenological change.
Solar-Term Farming
Farm with the Seasons · Work with Nature
Northeast China
Farming Focus for This Solar Term
The autumn harvest is fully complete and open fields enter the freezi…
Farming Advice
- Complete autumn tillage pro…
- Service farm machinery and …
Northwest China
Farming Focus for This Solar Term
Winter wheat enters the pre-winter seedling-management stage, irrigat…
Farming Advice
- Roll winter wheat fields to…
- Apply winter irrigation in …
North China
Farming Focus for This Solar Term
Winter wheat enters the tillering stage, and proper winter irrigation…
Farming Advice
- Control excessive winter-wh…
- Clear drainage ditches in r…
Middle and Lower Yangtze
Farming Focus for This Solar Term
Late-rice harvesting enters its final stage, rapeseed transplanting a…
Farming Advice
- Plough promptly after the l…
- Clear drainage ditches in r…
Southwest China
Farming Focus for This Solar Term
Winter wheat sowing and seedling management progress broadly, rapesee…
Farming Advice
- Check winter-wheat emergenc…
- Top-dress rapeseed seedling…
South China & Taiwan (China)
Farming Focus for This Solar Term
Late-rice harvesting expands fully, sugarcane enters the key period o…
Farming Advice
- Harvest late rice during cl…
- Fertilise and earth up suga…
Seasonal Delicacies
Eat with the Seasons · Nothing Out of Season
Seasonal Tastes · A Guide to Eating with the Seasons
Traditional Customs
When Rites Fade, Seek Them Among the People · Old Ways Still Endure
Seasonal Rites · Everyday Traditions
Solar-Term Poetry
Poetry · The Heart of Heaven and Earth
「立冬」
冻笔新诗懒写，寒炉美酒时温。
醉看墨花月白，恍疑雪满前村。
Modern Translation
On the day of the Beginning of Winter, the weather is so cold that even the brush has frozen stiff, giving me the perfect excuse to be lazy and leave new poems unwritten. Fine wine is kept warm from time to time over the cold-season brazier. Through drunken, blurred eyes, I look at the flower-like patterns of ink upon the inkstone beneath the pale moonlight and, in a daze, imagine that snow has covered the village ahead.
In-Depth Commentary
Li Bai’s poem captures the distinctive languor and ease of a winter day. The opening line, “冻笔新诗懒写”, reveals a spontaneous, unrestrained sense of leisure: the weather is cold, the brush has frozen, and that becomes a convenient reason not to write poetry. The next line, “寒炉美酒时温”, brings warmth into the winter scene; fire and fine wine make an especially comforting pair in cold weather. “醉看墨花月白” describes the poet, hazy with drink, watching moonlight fall across the ink patterns on his inkstone and experiencing a strange visual illusion. The final line, “恍疑雪满前村”, is the poem’s inspired stroke: in his drunken state, he mistakes the ink-like patterns before him for white snow covering the village ahead. This illusion merges indoors and outdoors, ink and snow, drunken perception and actual scenery. It conveys both the cold of a Beginning of Winter night and a dreamlike, romantic poetic beauty. The poem begins with the smallest details of everyday life, yet almost casually captures the distinctive state of mind that accompanies a seasonal transition.
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