A Clap of Spring Thunder: The Awakening of Life and the Way of Dormancy in the Jingzhe Solar Term
This article offers a deep reading of Jingzhe (Awakening of Insects) among the Twenty-Four Solar Terms, drawing on pre-Qin Confucian and Daoist philosophy, etymological origins, astronomy, and phenology. Through an examination of the historical renaming from 'Qizhe' to 'Jingzhe,' an analysis of how spring thunder rouses hibernating creatures, and the cosmic vision of the Zhen (Thunder) hexagram's 'the sovereign emerges from Zhen' in the Book of Changes, the essay reveals the critical threshold at which life transitions from dormancy to vigorous action, illuminating the ancient Way of bending and stretching to preserve one's being.
Chapter Four: The Monthly Ordinances of the Book of Rites -- Mid-Spring: A Complete Cosmic Tableau
I. The Nature of the Monthly Ordinances: An Action Guide Between Heaven and Humanity
Among all pre-Qin texts, the most detailed and systematic description of the mid-spring month in which Jingzhe falls is found in the Monthly Ordinances (Yueling) section of the Book of Rites (its content is largely identical to the "Mid-Spring" section of the Lushi Chunqiu; scholars generally believe the two share a common source). The Monthly Ordinances is not a simple calendrical record but a complete guide to action bridging Heaven and humanity -- it tells us, at a given moment in time, how the heavenly signs appear, how things on earth stand, and how human affairs should be conducted.
The Monthly Ordinances sketches a complete cosmic tableau for the month of mid-spring, opening with:
"In the month of mid-spring, the sun is in the lunar mansion Kui; at dusk, the constellation Hu is at the meridian; at dawn, the constellation Jian is at the meridian."
These three statements identify the sun's position, the constellation at the southern meridian at dusk, and the constellation at the southern meridian at dawn -- the astronomical reference points by which the ancients determined the season.
The Ordinances then describe the Five Phases attributes of mid-spring:
"Its days are jia and yi; its sovereign is Taihao; its spirit is Goumang; its creatures are the scaled; its note is jue; its number is eight; its taste is sour; its smell is rank; its sacrifice is to the door; the organ first offered is the spleen."
This passage constructs an extraordinarily precise system of cosmic correspondences. Let us analyze each in turn.
II. Item-by-Item Reading of the Five Phases Correspondences of Mid-Spring
"Its days are jia and yi" -- The month of mid-spring corresponds to the Heavenly Stems jia and yi. Among the ten Heavenly Stems, jia and yi belong to Wood. Why$27 Because the correspondence between the ten Heavenly Stems and the Five Phases is: jia-yi = Wood (spring), bing-ding = Fire (summer), wu-ji = Earth (late summer), geng-xin = Metal (autumn), ren-gui = Water (winter). Mid-spring belongs to Wood, hence jia and yi.
"Its sovereign is Taihao" -- The presiding sovereign of mid-spring is Taihao (also written as Taixi or Fuxi). Why is the sovereign of spring Taihao$28 This relates to the system pairing the Five Phases with five cosmic sovereigns: the sovereign of spring is Taihao (virtue of Wood), of summer Yandi (virtue of Fire), of the center Huangdi (the Yellow Emperor, virtue of Earth), of autumn Shaohao (virtue of Metal), and of winter Zhuanxu (virtue of Water). Taihao is among the most ancient legendary rulers, traditionally credited with first drawing the Eight Trigrams, creating the written script, and teaching the people to weave nets for fishing. He was a founder of civilization, the first glimmer of human wisdom. To place such a "founder" as the sovereign of spring fits perfectly with spring as the beginning of all things, the inception of life.
"Its spirit is Goumang" -- The assistant deity of mid-spring is Goumang. Goumang is the spirit of Wood and the spirit of Spring in ancient mythology. "Gou" (a variant of "gou," meaning curved or hooked) refers to bending; "mang" refers to the fine, pointed shoot of newly sprouted vegetation. Together, "Goumang" evokes the image of a young plant, curving as it pushes through the soil, its tender shoot reaching upward -- what vivid and precise naming! The Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shanhaijing), "Beyond the Eastern Seas," records: "In the east is Goumang, with the body of a bird and the face of a human, riding two dragons." At the season of Jingzhe, when all things revive, Goumang is the deity who rouses the plants and brings forth all living things.
"Its creatures are the scaled" -- The representative category of creatures for mid-spring is the "scaled creatures" (lin chong), that is, animals with scales, headed by the dragon and including fish and snakes. In the pre-Qin classification of animals, creatures were divided into five categories: scaled (spring), feathered (summer), naked (center/humanity), furred (autumn), and shelled (winter). One explanation for why scaled creatures correspond to spring is that the dragon is their chief, and the dragon is the symbol of spring -- "the dragon raises its head," "the flying dragon is in the heavens." The dragon rises amid clouds and rain in spring, in harmony with the surging yang qi and awakening of all things. Snakes too are scaled creatures, and the snake is a quintessential hibernator -- what Jingzhe rouses includes precisely these concealed scaly beings.
"Its note is jue" -- The musical note of mid-spring is "jue." Among the five notes (gong, shang, jue, zhi, yu), jue corresponds to Wood and to spring. The jue tone is clear and rising, like the sound of branches stretching upward, of life sprouting forth. The ancients believed that each season had its characteristic "sound" -- not that only the jue note could be heard in spring, but that the vibrational frequency of heaven and earth's qi in spring resonated with the frequency of the jue note.
"Its number is eight" -- The symbolic number of mid-spring is eight. In the pre-Qin numerological system, 1 and 6 belong to Water, 2 and 7 to Fire, 3 and 8 to Wood, 4 and 9 to Metal, 5 and 10 to Earth. The "completion number" of Wood is eight, hence its assignment to spring. This system of correspondences between numbers and phases has extremely ancient origins, possibly connected to the traditions of the River Diagram (Hetu) and the Luo Writing (Luoshu).
"Its taste is sour" -- The taste of mid-spring is sour. The correspondence of the five tastes (sour, bitter, sweet, pungent, salty) with the Five Phases is: sour = Wood (spring), bitter = Fire (summer), sweet = Earth (late summer), pungent = Metal (autumn), salty = Water (winter). Why does the sour taste belong to Wood$29 One explanation: sourness has an astringent and saliva-producing quality, and the sap of newly sprouting trees (such as green plums and sour jujubes) tends to be sour. In the ancients' sensory system, taste was not merely a sensation of the tongue but a manifestation of the qi of heaven and earth.
"Its smell is rank (shan)" -- The odor of mid-spring is the rank smell. Among the five odors, the rank smell corresponds to Wood and to spring. It is a grassy, raw scent, consonant with the newly sprouting, freshly stirring quality of spring vegetation.
"Its sacrifice is to the door (hu)" -- The object of sacrifice in mid-spring is the door-spirit. The door is the portal of a house, the place of entry and exit. Why sacrifice to the door in spring$30 Because spring is the season when all things move from inside to outside, from hiding to emergence -- dormant creatures exit their burrows, plants break through the soil, and people step outside to begin spring plowing. The "door" is the portal of passage, symbolizing this movement of "going out." To sacrifice at the door accords perfectly with the theme of "opening" and "emerging" that defines spring. It echoes, from afar, the original meaning of Jingzhe's true name "Qizhe" -- the opening of dormancy.
"The organ first offered is the spleen" -- The organ first presented in sacrifice is the spleen. Regarding the correspondence of the five organs to the Five Phases, different views existed in the pre-Qin era. The Monthly Ordinances here assigns the spleen to spring, which differs from the later medical tradition of assigning the liver to Wood (spring). This reflects variations in the Five Phases correspondence system across different periods and schools. But regardless of the specific assignments, the underlying logic is consistent: every organ of the body corresponds to some dimension of the cosmos, and offering a particular organ in sacrifice expresses the resonance between the human body and heaven and earth.
III. Direction, Color, and the Son of Heaven's Conduct
Summarizing the above correspondences, the cosmic coordinates of the mid-spring month in which Jingzhe falls are clear and complete: its Phase is Wood, its direction is east, its color is blue-green (qing), its presiding sovereign is Taihao, its assistant deity is Goumang, its creatures are the scaled, its note is jue, its number is eight, its taste is sour, its smell is rank, its sacrifice is to the door, its organ offering is the spleen, and its Heavenly Stems are jia and yi. This complete set of correspondences constitutes a total cosmic tableau of "mid-spring."
Based on this system, the Monthly Ordinances prescribes explicit rules for the Son of Heaven's conduct during mid-spring:
"The Son of Heaven resides in the great chamber of the Blue-Green Hall, rides a chariot adorned with luan birds, drives blue-green horses, flies blue-green banners, wears blue-green robes, adorns himself with blue-green jade, eats wheat and mutton, and uses vessels with open, penetrating patterns."
Why must the Son of Heaven wear blue-green and ride blue-green horses in spring$31 This is not an aesthetic preference but a cosmological requirement -- spring belongs to Wood, and the color of Wood is blue-green. As the intermediary between heaven and earth, the Son of Heaven must align all his conduct with the prevailing cosmic principle of the season. Wearing blue-green is not for beauty but to harmonize with the "virtue of Wood" of heaven and earth. The phrase "vessels with open, penetrating patterns" (qi shu yi da) also carries deep significance -- spring is the season when all things unfurl and flow freely; even the patterns on vessels should be open and flowing, symbolizing the unimpeded passage of vital qi.
Embedded here is a profound political philosophy: the ruler does not govern the world by his own will but must follow the Way of Heaven. Every action of the Son of Heaven -- what color to wear, what food to eat, in which direction to reside -- cannot be left to personal whim but must strictly follow the dictates of the Way of Heaven. This both constrains the ruler's power and sacralizes his authority.
IV. The Edicts of Mid-Spring: Bestowing Blessings in Season, Nurturing Vitality
The Monthly Ordinances also prescribes the edicts to be issued in mid-spring, whose core spirit is "bestow blessings in season, nurture vitality." Several entries deserve particular attention:
"In this month... do not drain the rivers and marshes, do not empty the ponds and pools, do not burn the mountain forests." Why not$32 Because mid-spring is the season when all things grow and reproduce; exhausting the waters and burning the forests are acts of "destruction" that run counter to the Way of Heaven's "nurturing" in spring, and must inevitably bring calamity.
"In this month, protect the newly sprouted, nurture the young and small, and succor the orphaned." This entry places nature's "nurturing of the young" alongside society's "care for the orphaned," embodying the spirit of unity between Heaven and humanity -- as heaven and earth protect young plants, insects, and fish, so too must the human world protect young children and succor the destitute. What profound compassion! It elevates observations of nature into ethical demands upon human society.
Beyond "nurturing the young and succoring the orphaned," the Monthly Ordinances specifically mentions: "Reduce the prisons, remove the fetters and shackles, do not inflict excessive flogging, and halt litigation." Why should punishments be lenient in spring$33 Because spring is the season of "life," when the qi of heaven and earth is generative, expansive, and giving. Punishment is "killing," "contracting" -- it belongs to autumn. To issue lenient edicts in spring is to accord with the virtue of Heaven's love of life. This principle of "governing in harmony with the season" is the essence of the Monthly Ordinances -- governance must keep pace with the heavenly seasons: spring generates, summer grows, autumn harvests, winter stores; so too should edicts nurture, fulfill, restrain, and conceal in turn.
V. The Warning of the Monthly Ordinances: Consequences of Untimely Edicts
After describing the proper conduct for mid-spring, the Monthly Ordinances sternly warns of the consequences of improper actions:
"If in mid-spring one implements autumn's edicts, then the state will suffer great floods; cold qi will descend en masse; and invaders will attack. If one implements winter's edicts, then yang qi will fail to prevail; wheat will not ripen; and the people will plunder one another. If one implements summer's edicts, then the state will suffer great drought; warmth will arrive too early; and insect pests will cause harm."
What is the logical basis for these warnings$34 It rests on a core belief: each season has its particular "qi," and edicts too have their particular "qi." Mid-spring is the critical moment when yang qi surges forth, yin and yang contend, and vitality burgeons -- with Jingzhe's thunderclap, yang qi has only just broken through the gloom. At such a delicate threshold, if one issues "untimely" edicts and disturbs the normal ebb and flow of yin and yang, climatic and agricultural disasters will ensue.
From a modern perspective, such causal claims of course lack scientific basis. But if we understand the Monthly Ordinances' warnings from a different angle, they contain a profound political wisdom: governance must have its rhythm. When all things are sprouting and need nurturing, do not be harsh or violent. Though the Monthly Ordinances frames this political wisdom within a cosmological structure of Heaven-humanity resonance, its core insight -- that governance must adapt to the objective needs of society and the rhythms of nature -- retains its value even today.