Winter · No.19
Beginning of Winter
Li Dong
Winter begins: thin ice forms on northern ponds, the ground hardens, and grain goes into storage.
After Beginning of Winter the sun sits low, daylight shrinks noticeably and cold air from Siberia comes south in waves. Thin ice skins the ponds in the north, the soil begins to freeze, earthworms curl into knots, pheasants grow scarce and clams appear on the shore. The farming year closes: grain into stores, vegetables into cellars, fruit trees whitewashed, animals given extra feed. The day is treated as a festival, with dumplings in the north and chicken and duck stews in the south, and Shaoxing starts brewing rice wine. Friends send each other seasonal food. Cold rooms still need air.
Three pentads
- 1
Thin ice films the ponds and cracks underfoot
- 2
The ground freezes and hardens like stone
- 3
Pheasants grow scarce and large clams appear
What people eat now
dumpling
Dumplings at the start of winter mark the season's turn in the north, the family sitting round to fold a whole tray.
ginger duck
In southern Fujian old ginger and sesame oil braise a duck at the start of winter until the street smells of it.
sugarcane
In Chaoshan people buy sugarcane at the start of winter, gnawing it section by section, juice running down their wrists.
What people wear
After the start of winter each day is colder, and northern heating makes indoors and outdoors two seasons. Wear a down coat, hat and scarf outside, and strip to a sweater at the door. In the unheated south the damp cold is fought with layers, keeping your waist and ankles covered.