Grain Buds

As winter temperatures fall and atmospheric moisture decreases, rain becomes less common and snow more frequent. Rainbows largely disappear, one of the signs that winter has become firmly established.

Ancient people believed that in winter the qi of Heaven and Earth no longer interacted: heavenly qi rose upward while earthly qi sank downward, yin and yang became separated, and all things entered a state of closure and storage.

Heaven and Earth become closed off from one another, all things withdraw and conceal themselves, and deep winter becomes fully established. Nature enters its most silent period of seasonal dormancy.

Tropical cyclones over the northwestern Pacific and South China Sea enter their most active phase of the year, with frequent typhoon formation affecting Southeast Asia and the coastal regions of East Asia.

The combination of abundant rainfall and high temperatures in tropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere drives rice into a rapid jointing stage. Rice paddies become intensely green and full of vitality.

As the dry season deepens in tropical regions of the Southern Hemisphere, animals compete fiercely for increasingly scarce water sources. On the African savanna, large numbers of animals often gather around the same remaining water source, creating spectacular scenes.