24 Solar Terms and 72 Pentads: The Poetic Aesthetics of Chinese Life

The book contains a selection of more than one hundred paintings from the series “24 Solar Terms and 72 Pentads” created by contemporary Chinese abstract painter Xu Dongdong over a period of eight years.

24 Solar Terms and 72 Pentads：

The Poetic Aesthetics of Chinese Life

Xu Lijing， Xu Dongdong

CITIC Press Group

January 2022

168.00 （CNY）

Xu Lijing

Xu Lijing is the deputy editor-in-chief of Economic Daily.

Xu Dongdong

Xu Dongdong is a member of China Artists Association and a visiting professor at Xi’an.Jiaotong University， Sichuan University and other universities. He has created a unique Chinese abstract painting genre. The National Art Museum of China， China Artists Association and the United Nations have all hosted solo exhibitions of his works.

Looking at the year， month， and day in Arabic numerals， we will not have a strong natural reaction and rich association with the change of seasons in an instant， but when we read the 24 solar terms instead， we will immediately have the most intuitive and vivid feeling towards the change of seasons. The 24 solar terms are an overview of the changes of the four seasons in the Chinese calendar， and also a simple， pure， intimate and full-of-life ode to heaven and earth， to the Divine Land， to the Chinese nation， to the ancestors， and to the life of the forefathers who valued and loved agriculture.

The 72 pentads embody an astronomical view， a geographical view based on the Yellow River basin， a temporal view of seasons and climate， a view of agricultural production and civilization， and a Chinese view of life. It is nature， the world， and the universe， a nostalgic feeling for the hometown that has remained since ancient times， a praise and intimacy for the Divine Land， a sense of concern， interest， curiosity， and imagination for all kinds of life phenomena and rich values in the virtue of all good life.

The 24 solar terms take a large view of the small， reflecting the broad overview of the four changes in weather and seasons in the determination and division of each specific solar term. The ancients’ vision extended to the celestial phases， natural seasons， agriculture， biology， and customs， and they perceived these specific things and phenomena from the viewpoint of the great changes in heaven and earth. While the 72 pentads are multum in parvo. Among the endless “substances” and “qualities” in the world， the ancients carefully chose those objects they considered the most vivid， the most distinctive， and the most representative of the grand changes and summarized the pentads that reflect the evolution of the seasons， in which the wisdom that “one falling leaf is indicative of the coming of autumn” and the essence of “seeing a world in a flower.”

We savor the transition and naming of every solar term and pentad， and follow the course and different states of life in the four seasons of “sow in spring， develop in summer， harvest in autumn， store in winter，” then we will find that each of them has irreplaceable beauty and connotation. Each of them should be considered as the best arrangement.

What can we see in these farmer’s proverbs？ We see the “man” in “Heaven， Earth， and Man，” the industrious Chinese worker who watches the weather， guards the fields， calculates the cultivation of each season， each month， each day， and even each moment， tends to the rice， fruits， cotton， and beans， and works carefully， non-stop. He doesn’t feel laborious but rather joyful. He makes the ordinary ingredients into seasonal delicacies， and the coarse food is given a sense of ritual to celebrate the season. For every day of hard work from spring to winter， he gives life a strong poetic sense in mundane matters.

In the 24 solar terms and 72 pentads， there are eternally immutable cosmic phenomena， seasonally changing weather events， and the alternation of all things natural， where the grand and the subtle are wonderfully blended together.

The seasons are natural as well as cultural. When you walk in the 24 solar terms and 72 pentads， you are also walking in a cultural time and space that is incomparably rich， beautiful， and heavy. The ancient wisdom， philosophy， and poetic sense of the Chinese people are still vivid and alive after thousands of years， and they bring us new enlightenment and new values in the world’s “profound changes unseen in a century.”

If the values of the Chinese culture represented by the 24 solar terms and 72 pentads could be better understood and more widely disseminated in the world， the world would be a better place with fewer conflicts， more respect and reverence for life and the universe as a whole.

In the observation of the four seasons， the attention， regardless of the season in which it is focused， runs through two main lines： the change of the yin and yang， of heaven and earth， and the benevolent love of heaven and earth for all life.

The mountains and waters are pure， the sun and the moon are bright， and the clarity and purity of everything in heaven and earth are unprecedented in this period and will not be seen again. At such a beautiful and wonderful time of the year， why did the ancestors make Pure Brightness a festival to visit their graves and make it a day of sorrow and sadness？ In experiencing the traditional wisdom of the 24 solar terms and the 72 pentads， I have gained much insight into how ancient sages understood and observed the natural world and explored the relationship between humans and the universe. Through attentive appreciation， we can know that the most beautiful comes along with the most virtuous. And the most beautiful in the world is naturally to be shared with our beloved. That’s why， during the Pure Brightness， we should visit and attend to the tombs of our deceased loved ones so that they know that even if we are separated by death， the most beautiful things will always remain with them. In the ethical and moral beauty of the Pure Brightness of filial piety and goodness， there is very important life education and philosophical enlightenment of the ancients. To pay tribute to our ancestors in mellow spring when the breeze is gentle and the sky is bright is to remind us to cherish and respect the living of life. It is time to admonish us that nature has its own rules， that sorrow and joy should not be excessive， and that lives are similar and continuous. People should be cautious and moderate in memorializing their ancestors and daily work. We should not indulge in the joy of the bright spring and should not be excessively sad when we lament the loss of life that can never be recovered.

The four seasons are the transmigration of spring， summer， autumn， and winter and the trajectory of the human soul pulsing in the universe. By observing its changes， understanding its method， and experiencing the beauty of the culture behind the trajectory， we can truly understand the four seasons from the inside and further understand life. The transition of the four seasons is the process of life from non-existence to existence and from existence to non-existence.

The 24 solar terms and the 72 signs are the expansion and reflection of natural law. Not only are there qi and yin and yang in natural law， but the 24 solar terms and 72 pentads tell us that there is a sequence of changes in natural law and that it is a cycle. In this cyclical process， there is a specific rhythm prescribed by natural law， and human life has to adapt to this rhythm given by the law of the whole cosmos.

When we understand the deep meaning of “the law of nature” and “the integration of heaven， earth， and human，” we will understand that the 24 solar terms and the 72 pentads are not only the appearance of seasonal changes but also the philosophy of time and moreover， the philosophy of life.

The discussion of the 24 solar terms and the 72 pentads of the Chinese calendar is incomplete without the Chinese cultural tradition. The 24 solar terms and the 72 pentads are inextricably linked to ancient astronomy， meteorology， geography， biology， Chinese medicine， Yi Jing， divination， Trigrams， philosophy， folklore， religion， morality， and ethics. They have influenced all aspects of Chinese social life for thousands of years. They not only played an important role in guiding people’s production and life in the agricultural era but also influenced the lives of Chinese people subtly today， being the most familiar and delightful part of our cultural bloodline.

Heaven and earth possess great beauty， but they are wordless; the four seasons silently bless all things， and when do they ever utter it？ It is all up to us to perceive it ourselves.

The transition of the seasons is both natural， not subject to human will， and cultural， where each day， each season， each solar term， and each pentad can become completely different depending on our awareness and our ideological level. Following the footsteps of the four seasons and perceiving life in the alternation of the twenty-four solar terms and the seventy-two pentads， is actually a process of enlightenment.