Summer Begins

The beginning of summer is established. The warmth deepens, and all living things flourish.

Summer announces itself not with a date but with a feeling — the first morning when you step outside and the air wraps around you like a blanket. The calendar marks this threshold as the beginning of the season of fullness. Spring was about emergence. Summer is about expansion. Everything that was tentative now grows without apology. The question shifts from "will it survive?" to "how far can it reach?"

Lixia, the seventh solar term, arrives around May 5 to 7 when the sun reaches 45° of celestial longitude. As the first term of summer, it marks a seasonal transition that was critically important for agricultural societies: the winter wheat was ripening, the spring crops needed weeding, and the summer planting season was about to begin. The three pentads describe crickets beginning to chirp, earthworms emerging from the soil, and the gourd plant flourishing. These are observations of increasing warmth and biological activity. The earthworm's emergence is particularly telling — it signals that the soil has warmed enough for life to return to the surface. In some regions, Lixia was associated with the custom of weighing oneself — a folk practice believed to ward off the weight loss that often accompanied the hot summer months. This custom reflects the practical concerns of an agricultural society rather than a universal tradition. This term's deeper meaning is about the shift from preparation to full engagement: the waiting is over, and the season of growth has truly begun.

“Beginning” refers to the calendar’s solar division, not a single worldwide temperature shift. In coastal, mountain, tropical, or Southern Hemisphere settings, the signs differ. The historical value lies in naming a transition that farmers could use for planning, while leaving room for local evidence.