Chapter 11: Lichun and Agriculture: The Plan for the Year and Not Violating the Farming Season

I. "The Plan for the Year Is Made in Spring": The Agricultural Weight of the Year's Beginning, Lichun

For the ancient Chinese, whose state was founded upon agriculture, the significance of Lichun was, first and most concretely, agricultural significance. Lichun is the year's beginning, and more than that, the beginning of agricultural labor—the entire year's agricultural production must be planned and prepared for, beginning from this starting point of Lichun. A simple yet profound farming proverb, "the plan for the year is made in spring" (一年之计在于春), condenses precisely this spirit of taking Lichun as the general guiding principle of agricultural affairs.

Why must the "plan" for agricultural affairs be established at this "beginning" of Lichun$15 Because agricultural production's dependence on "timing" is absolute, admitting of no deviation. Sow too early, and the seeds will freeze to death; sow too late, and the crops will have insufficient time to mature. Every crop has its own strict planting season, determined by the timing of Heaven. And Lichun, as the year's beginning, the start of spring plowing, is precisely the critical starting point for coordinating and arranging the entire year's agricultural work—when to prepare the fields, when to sow the seeds, when to weed the seedlings, when to harvest, all must be comprehensively planned from this beginning of Lichun. That the ancients regarded Lichun with such solemnity, holding so grand a ceremony to welcome spring, was, at root, because Lichun bore upon the entire year's harvest, upon the sustenance and survival of the entire people.

II. "Not Violating the Farming Season": Master Meng's Beginning of Kingly Rule

"Not violating the farming season" (不违农时) is the most central proposition of pre-Qin agricultural thought, and also the fundamental spirit that Lichun proclaims. Master Meng, in Mencius, "King Hui of Liang I," elevates "not violating the farming season" to the height of "the beginning of kingly rule":

"If the farming seasons are not violated, the grain will be more than can be eaten. If nets of close mesh are not allowed to enter the pools and ponds, the fish and turtles will be more than can be eaten. If axes are allowed into the hills and forests only at the proper season, the timber will be more than can be used. When grain, fish, and turtles are more than can be eaten, and timber is more than can be used, this enables the people to nourish the living and mourn the dead without regret. That the people can nourish the living and mourn the dead without regret is the beginning of kingly rule" (不违农时，谷不可胜食也；数罟不入洿池，鱼鳖不可胜食也；斧斤以时入山林，材木不可胜用也。谷与鱼鳖不可胜食，材木不可胜用，是使民养生丧死无憾也。养生丧死无憾，王道之始也).

How profoundly this passage of Master Meng reveals the relationship between "timing" and "governance"! "Not violating the farming season"—not violating the seasons of agricultural labor, allowing the common people to plow with peace of mind at the proper time (spring), and thus "the grain will be more than can be eaten"—the grain will exceed what can be consumed. "Allowing axes into the hills and forests only at the proper season"—entering the mountains and forests to cut timber only at the proper season (that is, felling trees only outside the growing season)—and thus "the timber will be more than can be used." This phrase "at the proper season" accords entirely, in spirit, with the "Monthly Ordinances"' prohibition, in the first month of spring, of "the felling of trees"—spring is the time when Wood virtue generates and grows, when vegetation is just being born, hence the felling of trees is forbidden; only once autumn and winter arrive, when vegetation has matured into usable timber and vital qi has withdrawn into storage, may one "enter the hills and forests at the proper season."

Most worthy of careful consideration is Master Meng's conclusion: "That the people can nourish the living and mourn the dead without regret is the beginning of kingly rule." According with Heaven's timing, not violating the farming season, enabling the common people to nourish the living and bury the dead without any regret—this is "the beginning of kingly rule." Note the character "beginning" (始)—the "beginning" of kingly rule turns out to rest upon "not violating the farming season"! This means that, in Master Meng's view, the foundation of the most consummate form of governance (kingly rule) lies not in political stratagem, not in punishment, but in according with Heaven's timing, cherishing the people's strength, and not violating the farming season. And all of this must begin from this "beginning of the farming season," Lichun. Lichun, therefore, is not only the beginning of agriculture, but also the seasonal symbol of "the beginning of kingly rule"—it reminds every ruler that the way of governing a state ought to be like the farmer's approach to spring: according with Heaven's timing, cherishing the strength of the land, and protecting the people's livelihood—only thus can the nurture and growth of all things, the peace and stability of all under Heaven, be achieved.

III. The Rite of the Sacred Field: The Political Philosophy of the Son of Heaven Personally Plowing

Within the pre-Qin tradition of welcoming spring and encouraging agriculture, there existed an extremely solemn state ceremony—"the Rite of the Sacred Field" (籍田之礼, also written 藉田), in which the Son of Heaven personally went into the fields to plow in spring, setting an example for all under Heaven to encourage agricultural labor.

The "Monthly Ordinances" of the Book of Rites, for the first month of spring, records: "In this month, the Son of Heaven, on the first auspicious day, prays to the Sovereign on High for a good harvest of grain. He then selects an auspicious hour, and the Son of Heaven personally places the plow and share in the space between the mail-clad attendant and the charioteer, and leads the Three Dukes, the Nine Ministers, the feudal lords, and the great officers to personally plow the Sovereign's Sacred Field. The Son of Heaven pushes the plow three times, the Three Dukes five times, and the ministers and feudal lords nine times" (是月也，天子乃以元日祈谷于上帝。乃择元辰，天子亲载耒耜，措之于参保介之御间，帅三公九卿诸侯大夫，躬耕帝藉。天子三推，三公五推，卿诸侯九推). In this month, the Son of Heaven must, on an auspicious day, pray to the Sovereign on High for an abundant harvest of the five grains; he then selects an auspicious hour, personally places the plow and share (farming implements) upon the carriage between the accompanying armored attendant and the charioteer, and leads the Three Dukes, the Nine Ministers, the feudal lords, and the great officers to personally cultivate the "Sacred Field" (the Son of Heaven's ceremonial field). The Son of Heaven pushes the plow three times, the Three Dukes five times, and the ministers and feudal lords nine times.

Why should the exalted Son of Heaven personally go into the fields to guide the plow$16 This was by no means mere performance, but carried an extremely profound political philosophy. First, it "encouraged agriculture" for all under Heaven—if the Son of Heaven himself plowed, who among the subjects of the realm would dare neglect agricultural labor$17 Through the personal example of the supreme ruler, the supreme importance of agriculture within the state was proclaimed. Second, it was an act of "praying for grain"—through this sacred ceremony of the Son of Heaven personally plowing, a prayer was offered to the Sovereign on High, to Heaven and Earth, for the year's abundant harvest. Third, and most profoundly, it was an act of "communing Heaven and humanity"—the Son of Heaven, as the intermediary between Heaven and humanity, by personally participating, in spring (the season of generation and growth), in "plowing" (the affair of generation and growth), incorporated himself, and the entire regime, into the great rhythm of Heaven and Earth's generative growth, bringing human affairs into accord with the Way of Heaven. The Rite of the Sacred Field is the most solemn, most concrete embodiment of the principles of "not violating the farming season" and "governing in accordance with the season"—it takes the abstract notion of "according with Heaven" and grounds it in that very real plow and share held in the Son of Heaven's hands, in that bowed posture of "pushing the plow three times."

IV. The Unity of Agricultural Rhythm and the Rhythm of Life

The agricultural rhythm that Lichun opens—spring plowing, summer weeding, autumn harvesting, winter storing—is entirely unified with the life rhythm of Heaven and Earth—spring generating, summer growing, autumn harvesting, winter storing. This unity is by no means coincidental, but is the fundamental embodiment of Chinese agrarian civilization's principle of "taking Heaven as the model."

The Xunzi, in "Kingly Regulations," states: "Spring plowing, summer weeding, autumn harvesting, winter storing—if these four are never untimely, then the five grains will never be cut off, and the common people will have surplus food" (春耕、夏耘、秋收、冬藏，四者不失时，故五谷不绝，而百姓有余食也). If spring plowing, summer weeding, autumn harvesting, and winter storing—these four agricultural tasks—never miss their proper season, then the five grains will never be exhausted, and the common people will have grain to spare. Observe: the agricultural tasks of "plowing, weeding, harvesting, storing" correspond precisely to Heaven and Earth's "generating, growing, harvesting, storing"—the farmer's labor is precisely conducted in accordance with the rhythm of Heaven and Earth's qi: when Heaven and Earth "generate" (spring), humanity "plows"; when Heaven and Earth "grow" (summer), humanity "weeds"; when Heaven and Earth "harvest" (autumn), humanity "harvests"; when Heaven and Earth "store" (winter), humanity "stores." The rhythm of human labor is entirely embedded within the life rhythm of Heaven and Earth.

Lichun, as the starting point of this unified rhythm, thus carries a dual significance—it is both the beginning of Heaven and Earth's "generation" and the beginning of humanity's "plowing"; both the beginning of nature's rhythm and the beginning of agriculture's rhythm. At this moment of Lichun, the life rhythm of Heaven and Earth and the labor rhythm of humanity become perfectly one at this single point of "beginning." This is precisely the deepest wisdom of Chinese agrarian civilization: humanity does not oppose nature, nor does it place itself above nature, but rather humbly and wisely embeds its own labor and survival within the great rhythm of Heaven and Earth—when Heaven and Earth generate, humanity plows; when Heaven and Earth store, humanity rests. Lichun is precisely the solemn starting point of this unity of the rhythms of Heaven and humanity.

V. The Guanzi and the Lüshi Chunqiu on Agricultural Labor and Lichun as the Root of Statecraft

The spirit of "valuing agriculture" that Lichun proclaims received extremely systematic elaboration among the pre-Qin philosophers, most notably in the Guanzi and the Lüshi Chunqiu. These discussions elevate the agricultural labor that Lichun opens to a height bearing upon the very foundation of the state.

The Guanzi, in the opening of "Shepherding the People," states: "In general, whoever holds land and shepherds the people must attend to the four seasons, and guard the granaries" (凡有地牧民者，务在四时，守在仓廪). Any ruler who possesses land and governs the common people must, as their essential task, never miss the four seasons (agricultural labor), and, at their foundation, keep the granaries full (of grain). Placing "attending to the four seasons" at the forefront of statecraft is precisely because, if the most critical of the four seasons—"spring plowing"—is once missed, the entire year's "granaries" become impossible to speak of. The Guanzi also contains the timeless saying: "When the granaries are full, the people know ritual and moderation; when clothing and food are sufficient, the people know honor and disgrace" (仓廪实而知礼节，衣食足而知荣辱)—only once the common people's granaries are full and their clothing and food sufficient can they attend to ritual and moderation, can they have regard for honor and disgrace. And the fullness of the granaries, the sufficiency of clothing and food, must, at root, be grounded in this "beginning of agricultural labor," this "plan for the year," Lichun. One might say that, within the logic of statecraft in the Guanzi, the spring plowing that Lichun opens is precisely the earliest, most solid material foundation of the entire state's ritual and moral education, its long-term stability and order.

The Lüshi Chunqiu devotes entire chapters—"Exalting Agriculture," "Managing the Land," "Distinguishing the Soil," "Examining the Seasons"—to a systematic discussion of agricultural labor. The chapter "Examining the Seasons" corresponds especially closely to the spirit of Lichun; it repeatedly emphasizes the importance of "attaining the proper timing"—"as for crops, it is humanity that plants them, the earth that generates them, and Heaven that nurtures them" (夫稼，为之者人也，生之者地也，养之者天也): crops are planted by humanity, generated by the earth, and nurtured by Heaven; and for the forces of Heaven, Earth, and humanity to be threaded together and made effective, the key lies precisely in "attaining the proper timing"—not missing the farming season. The "Examining the Seasons" chapter discusses in detail the vast difference, for various crops, between "attaining the proper timing" and "missing the proper timing": "crops that attain the proper timing flourish; crops that miss the proper timing are meager" (得时之稼兴，失时之稼约)—crops that accord with the proper season flourish, while crops that violate the proper season yield poorly. This extreme emphasis on "timing" is precisely the most forceful footnote to the importance of Lichun as "the beginning of the farming season." The ancients understood well: however great the power of Heaven and Earth (the earth generating, Heaven nurturing), if humanity fails to plow "at the proper time," this power of Heaven and Earth has no means of being realized as a real, tangible harvest. And the starting point at which this "timing" is grasped is precisely Lichun. The fundamental significance of Lichun for agriculture, and for statecraft, is thus made abundantly clear in these discussions among the pre-Qin philosophers.