阅读理解The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms (节气). They mark the changing seasons and agricultural cycles (农业周期). Among the 24 solar terms, Xiaoman, the eighth solar term, falls around May 20th or 21st each year.
The name "Xiaoman" means "little full" in Chinese, showing the fact that the foods in the field are beginning to be full, but they are not yet ripe. It's a time when farmers can watch their fields turn golden under the warm spring sun. They hope to have a good harvest (丰收) soon in autumn.
During Xiaoman, the weather gradually changes from spring to summer. The days become longer and hotter, and the rainfall increases, providing the necessary water for food growth. This period is important for farmers, as it can influence the quality of their harvest.
A special custom related with Xiaoman is silkworm raising (养蚕) . Silkworm raising is an important way to make a living for people who live in south of the Yangtze River, especially in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. The ancient Chinese believed that Xiaoman is the birthday of the god of the silkworm. Silkworms need to be taken good care of at this time of the year with the fresh mulberry (桑 葚) leaves. It's also regarded as the best time to cook cocoons (茧) and produce silk. Famous Chinese poets such as Li Bai and Du Fu from the Tang Dynasty (618-907), and Su Shi from the Song Dynasty (960-1279) all wrote poems that described the silkworm raising activities at that time, such as silk reeling.
Today, it's popular for Chinese children to raise white silkworms in a paper box, covered with green fresh mulberry leaves. For them, raising silkworms is not a way to make a living, but to see the magic of nature. It's exciting to carefully watch the silkwormsgrow bigger and bigger, and finally become white cocoons.
