旧时水车车水排灌为农村大事，谚云：“小满动三车（三车指的是丝车、油车、水车）。”水车例于小满时启动。此前，农户以村圩为单位举行“抢水”仪式，行于海宁一带，有演习之意。多由年长执事者约集各户，确定日期，安排准备，至是日黎明即群行出动，燃起火把于水车基上吃麦糕、麦饼、麦团，待执事者以鼓锣为号，群以击器相和，踏上小河汉上事先装好的水车，数十辆一齐踏动，把河水引灌入田，至河浜水光方止。祭车神亦为农村古俗，传说“车神”为白龙，农家在车水前于车基上置鱼肉、香烛等祭拜之，特殊之处为祭品中有白水一杯，祭时泼入田中，有祝水源涌旺之意。以上旧俗表明了农民对水利排灌的重视。    Offering sacrifice to the Deity of Waterwheel“抢水”仪式 The waterwheel is an important tool for irrigation. A saying goes, “Three things start in Grain buds, filature, tanker and…

   近代人沈云有《盛湖竹枝词》云：“先蚕庙里剧登场，男释耕耘女罢桑。只为今朝逢小满，万人空巷斗新妆。”诗人描绘了小满时节江南蚕乡的祭祀活动“小满戏”的场景，锣鼓喧天，丝竹贯耳，观众摩肩接踵，热闹非凡。    Sheng hu zhu zhi ci is a poem written by a modern poet, Shen Yun. In the poem, a lively rendition of a Xiaoman Performance (a kind…

   In Anhui, Jiangxi and Hubei provinces, there is a saying that goes, “if there is not enough rainfall in Grain Buds time, there may not be water later for…

   But there’s one more, which I’m going to teach you myself, and which might just be the most important rule of bargaining. I’m sure even Zhang Ayi practices this,…