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Awakening of Insects
A roll of thunder stirs the spring; the trees put on new green.
Solar term date
Dates follow the Hong Kong Observatory’s calendar. They are civil dates, rather than precise astronomical times.
About this solar term
Awakening of Insects begins at solar longitude 345°. Its name links spring thunder with the stirring of creatures that sheltered through winter; warming conditions, rather than thunder itself, drive their activity.
Traditional signs include peach blossoms, singing orioles and the imagined transformation of hawks into doves. Such transformations belong to historical seasonal lore, not modern biology.
The term evokes the energy of mid-spring and the return of busy days in the fields.
Seasonal signs
Peach blossoms open and orioles sing; in old lore, hawks become doves.
Traditional seasonal signs combine observation with historical imagination. Weather and wildlife vary by region and year.
A reading of the poem
Spring's warmth stirs the hidden creatures and spreads across the earth. Peach blossoms glow like brocade; in old seasonal lore, hawks become doves. Time presses growth onward, buds unfold in turn, and people return to the work of planting across the fields.
Tang dynasty · Traditionally attributed to Yuan Zhen
咏廿四气诗·惊蛰二月节
Poem source