Spring · No.6
Grain Rain
Gu Yu
More rain arrives just as newly sown grain needs it; duckweed surfaces and peonies reach their fullest bloom.
Grain Rain closes the spring. Rain grows noticeably heavier and the temperature holds near twenty degrees Celsius. Seedlings in the paddy need exactly this water, which is what the name means: rain that brings up a hundred grains. Duckweed spreads across pond surfaces, cuckoos call the sowing, and hoopoes settle in mulberry trees just as the leaves are at their richest. Work is intense: transplanting rice, thinning cotton, picking the last spring tea. Fishing villages hold a ceremony at the shore. People drink tea picked now and take a long walk in the damp green.
Three pentads
- 1
Duckweed begins to sheet across the water
- 2
Cuckoos beat their wings and call for sowing
- 3
Hoopoes settle in the mulberry, leaves at their best
What people eat now
pre-rain tea
Tea picked before Grain Rain, called pre-rain tea, has thick leaves that hold their flavour through several infusions.
pagoda tree blossoms
Around Grain Rain pagoda-tree blossoms hang in white strings; mixed with flour and steamed, or fried into cakes, they taste faintly sweet.
garlic scapes
Garlic scapes are pulled in April, crisp and mildly hot; fried with cured pork, they are the dish of these weeks.
What people wear
Grain Rain closes spring with wet, heavy air. Wear quick-drying long sleeves under a light jacket and change out of wet clothes promptly; pick breathable shoes instead of keeping your feet sealed all day. Mornings still carry a chill, so keep the jacket out until the start of summer.