立夏称人 Weighing in and wishing for a pleasant Summer

[Photo: IC]

The Chinese tradition of checking one's weight falls on Lixia(立夏), one of the 24 solar terms of the Lunar Calendar marking the beginning of Summer. In the old days when air conditioning was unheard of, the Chinese would weigh(称重量 chēng zhòngliàng) themselves on the first day of Summer, and hope for a cool(凉爽的 liángshuǎng de) and pleasant(怡人的 yírén de) season free of the heat(热 rè) that often threatens weight(体重 tǐzhòng) loss. The weigh-in consisted of the person stepping into a basket on the scale(秤 chèng) as one would weigh vegetables at the market. In this series of photos taken a day before Lixia, which falls on May 6, people reenact this tradition by weighing their children in baskets.

[Photo: IC]

[Photo: IC]

[Photo: IC]

重点词汇 Key Word:

称

• <动词 v.> weigh; measure
  E.g. Qǐng gěi wǒ chēng wǔ gōngjīn dàmǐ.
  请给我称五公斤大米。
  I'd like five kilogrammes of rice, please.

• <动词 v.> call; refer to somebody/something as
  E.g. Wǒ gāi zěnme chēnghu nǐ ne?
  我该怎么称呼你呢?
  How would you like to be addressed?

• <名词 n.> name; appellation
  E.g. Sūzhōu yǒu “dōngfāng Wēinísī” zhī chēng.
  苏州有“东方威尼斯”之称。
  Suzhou is said to be the "Venice of the Orient."