A cultural exchange event, focusing on the third solar term of "the 24 Chinese Solar Terms”, was jointly held several days ago by Confucius Institute for Business at Matej Bel University and the State Scientific Library at Banska Bystrica. The event was composed of three parts, namely, introduction to the 24 Solar Terms, Jingzhe and the nurture of our bodies, and the practice of Baduanjin. The participants range in age between about 10 - 65 years old. The event was bilingual in English and in Slovak, with Miss Mária Onderufová, the head of Windows of Shanghai, as the interpreter.

WANG Jianwei, the Chinese Director, begins with a brief introduction of the 24 Solar Terms. Traditionally, the pace of Chinese people’s life was rhythmed by the 24 Solar Terms, which divide each lunar month into 2 segments based on the observation of the Big Dipper and the Sun’s movement. Thus, we can safely say the Chinese Calendar is a combination of the Solar calendar and the Lunar calendar. Chinese farmers schedule their farming work according to these seasonal turning points. It is a great invention that has ensured that ancient Chinese people were adequately fed and that Chinese civilization is able to continue and upgrade for thousands of years. In 2016, the 24 Solar Terms were added to the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Jingzhe, Awakening of Insects, is the third solar term, which tells us that after a long period of dormancy, thunder roars and all living things spring to life. As the proverbs go, “After Jingzhe, spring plowing cannot rest”, or, “Cattle should not be kept in sheds during Jingzhe”, it’s a time for hibernated animals to spring to life, for spring plowing to start. At the same time, it’s also a time to awaken our own bodies.

Director Wang then explains how to nurture our bodies into health and wellness during Jingzhe and throughout the springtime from the perspectives of the Five-element Theory, the Meridian Clock and the Eight Diagrams. The basic rule is to Do as the Nature does. As OU Yangxiu, one of the eight greatest literati of the Tang and Song Dynasties, had put it, “Nurture our bodies solely in a natural way.” 

In his summary, Director Wang said, to put it simply, so far we’ve learnt how to eat well from the Five-element Theory, how to sleep well from the Meridian Clock, and we should do proper physical exercises according to the Eight Diagrams. And naturally, he invites the participants to learn and do together Baduanjin, or the Eight-section Brocade, which is a Chinese Qigong for health and wellness with a history over 1000 years.

The event lasted for about two hours, with participants lingering on and asking questions, such as, why do people eat pears at Jingzhe, and, by the very end, they asked and hoped for the sharing of videos how to do Baduanjin well.