Summer · No.9
Grain in Ear
Mang Zhong
Wheat with awns must be cut and rice with awns must go in, the busiest weeks of the farming year.
Grain in Ear is the tightest stretch of the farm year: wheat must be cut fast and rice planted fast, with the plum rains in between. The middle Yangtze sinks into weeks of drizzle, walls sweating with damp, while the north stays dry. Mantises hunt among the leaves, shrikes begin to call and mockingbirds fall silent. Cut wheat has to be dried and stored, and seedlings have to go in during any gap in the rain; a week lost costs a whole season. Southern households simmer green plums in sugar or salt. Others send off the flower goddess by tying coloured silk to branches.
Three pentads
- 1
Mantises hatch and hunt small insects among leaves
- 2
Shrikes begin calling from the top of the hedges
- 3
Mockingbirds stop singing and go quiet
What people eat now
green plum
Green plums are still sharp at Grain in Ear, the time to simmer them with rock sugar into sour plum drink.
zongzi
The Dragon Boat Festival falls near Grain in Ear, when families soak rice and wrap zongzi, reed leaves scenting the grain.
mulberry
Mulberries ripen dark purple at Grain in Ear; pick a handful and your fingers and lips come away stained.
What people wear
Grain in Ear is hot and humid, and the plum rains leave laundry damp for days. Keep several quick-dry shirts and choose light, breathable underwear. Sandals or mesh shoes work outdoors; rinse and dry your feet at home. Offices run cold air, so leave a thin jacket on your chair.