芒种
Máng Zhòng · Grain in Ear
Each year lands around 6/6 in the Gregorian calendar (the exact date shifts slightly year to year).
Three Hou — five days each
- Mantises hatch
- Shrikes begin to call
- Mockingbirds fall silent
The 'three hou' (三候) is the traditional five-day-each observation pattern within a single solar term — fifteen days in all.
What this term marks
Mang-Zhong (Grain in Ear). The 'awned grains' can now be sown. Farming's busiest hour — 'spring counts days, summer counts hours'. After Mang-Zhong, planting is late.
Folklore & farming
'Boil green plums, brew wine' — plums ripen, Jiangnan custom to make green-plum liquor. In southern Anhui, 'sending off the flower deity' — a farewell rite for the spring-flowers' departing spirit.
What it means in a BaZi chart
Mang-Zhong opens the Wu (Horse) month — Fire approaches peak. Fire-and-scorched-Earth charts find Wu month difficult; Water-heavy charts find it balancing.
Guidance, not prophecy. For reflection, not decision.