At precisely 17:56:16 Beijing time on June 5, 2025, we welcomes "Grain in Ear" (Mangzhong), the ninth solar term in the traditional 24-solar-term calendar. This day marks the official beginning of midsummer.

Grain in Ear is a season when harvest meets hope.

"Grain" refers to crops such as wheat that bear awns and are ready for harvest. In northern China, golden wheat fields await the sickle as farmers busily reap the ripened grain.

"Sowing" refers to the planting of grains like millet and rice. In southern China, this period is critical for transplanting rice seedlings, and lush green paddies stretch across the landscape.

"Busy Sowing" aptly captures the vibrant tempo of this solar term.

Grain in Ear showcases the exuberant growth of all living things.

As the wind sweeps by, it carries the aroma of ripening wheat and the cool freshness of newly blooming lotus ponds.

Rain nourishes the mountains and fields, hastening the ripening of plums on tree branches and feeding the flourishing rice shoots.

Dragonflies skim the water's surface, cicadas begin their summer chorus—life bursts forth with energy in the humid heat.

Grain in Ear carries centuries of life wisdom and cherished expectations.

In ancient customs, people brewed green plum soup—its sweet-sour flavor easing the heat of early summer.

Colorful silk threads were tied around wrists to express hopes for peace and safety.

And there was the elegant ritual of "bidding farewell to the Flower Deity", offering flower petals to honor the spirit of spring and to thank nature for its gifts.

Grain in Ear is also a critical moment for sowing one's dreams.

On the ridges of the fields, the bowed backs of farmers mark the day's toil.

At their desks, students press pen to paper with purpose.

Wherever sweat falls, echoes of growth follow; every effort of cultivation promises eventual reward.

Grain in Ear has arrived, and all things flourish.

May you, in the busyness of midsummer,

sow your hopes and patiently await the fullness of time.

In the rhythm of cultivation and harvest,

but also the truth of living——

to seize the moment and cherish the present,

so that when autumn comes,

you may reap a harvest that is truly your own.