二十四节气、数九歌

二十四节气：立春、雨水、惊蛰、春分、清明、谷雨；立夏、小满、芒种、夏至、小暑、大暑；立秋、处暑、白露、秋分、寒露、霜降；立冬、小雪、大雪、冬至、小寒、大寒 （可用意译加注释的方式予以翻译） The twenty-four seasonal divisions:

On the Chinese calendar, a year is divided into four seasons, each lasting 3 Chinese months. They are Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Each month in turn falls into two seasonal divisions, each lasting about 15 days or half a month, hence the 24 seasonal divisions. The 24 seasonal divisions are Beginning of Spring, Rain Water, Waking of Insects, Spring Equinox, Pure Brightness, Grain Rain; Beginning of Summer, Grain Full, Grain in Ear, Summer Solstice, Slight Heat, Great Heat; Beginning of Autumn, Limit of Heat, White Dew, Autumn Equinox, Cold Dew, Frost’s Descent; Beginning of Winter, Slight Snow, Great Snow, Winter Solstice, Slight Cold, Great Cold

二十四节气歌：春雨惊春清谷天，夏满芒夏暑相连，秋处白秋寒霜降，冬雪雪冬小大寒

The Song for the 24 Seasonal Divisions:

Spring begins while rain water wakes insects, spring equinox comes before days of pure brightness and rain for grains; summer begins when

grain is full and soon in ears, summer solstice comes before heat slight and then great; autumn begins with heat limited and dew white, autumn equinox comes before dew cold and descent of frost; winter begins with snow slight and then great, winter solstice comes before cold slight and then great.

九九歌：一九二九不伸手，三九四九冰上走；五九和六九，河边看杨柳；七九河冻开，八九燕归来；九九加一九，耕牛遍地走。

The Song for the Nine Nines:

So cold as the first and second nines are that you cannot hold your hands out bare; the third and fourth nines see the coldest days with people traveling or playing on ice everywhere; the fifth and sixth nines are days in early spring with willows by the river turning green and budding; the seventh nine sees the river free of ice and running while the eighth nine witnesses the swallows merrily returning; the ninth nine and then another nine, and cattle come to the fields plowing. (Note: On the Chinese calendar, there are eighty-one cold days, divided into nine nine-days or nines, with the third and fourth nines being the coldest)

一九二九伸不出手，

三九四九冻死猫狗， 五九六九隔河看柳， 七九河开，八九雁来， 九九寒尽，春暖花开。

The first and second “nine days” are so cold That we dare not hold out our hands, Stray cats and dogs freeze to death During the third and fourth “nine days”

The fifth and sixth “nine days” see a thin veil of green On the far bank of the river,

The rivers thaw during the seventh “nine days” The eighth “nine days” welcome the wild geese back, Winter finally draws to an end in the last “nine days” When bright blossoms and flowers smile in warm spring.