Grain in Ear (Mangzhong) 芒種
The solar term
The name refers to crops with awns, such as wheat, and to sowing. The awned wheat must be brought in and the later grains sown, all at once: one of the busiest times of the farming year.
| Year | Grain in Ear |
|---|---|
| 2026 | June 5 |
| 2027 | June 6 |
| 2028 | June 5 |
| 2029 | June 5 |
| 2030 | June 5 |
Dates are for China time (UTC+8); in other time zones the term may fall on a different day.
The three pentads
Each solar term lasts about fifteen days and is divided into three pentads of five days, each named after a sign in nature. In 2027:
Mantises hatch 螳螂生from June 6
Young mantises hatch from eggs laid the autumn before.
Shrikes begin to call 鵙始鳴from June 11
Shrikes begin to call from the branches.
The mimic bird falls silent 反舌無聲from June 16
The mimic bird, which copies the songs of others, falls silent.
Hexagrams
In the table of the Tang monk Yixing’s Dayan calendar (recorded in the New Book of Tang), the three pentads of Grain in Ear belong to three hexagrams:
- first pentad14 Dayou (Great Possession)Marquis
- second pentad37 Jiaren (The Family)Grandee
- third pentad48 Jing (The Well)Minister
Separately, the twenty-four lines of Kan, Zhen, Li and Dui govern the twenty-four solar terms in turn; Grain in Ear belongs to Zhen, six at the top.
The hexagram calendar marks the season. It says nothing about fortune and has no bearing on a hexagram you cast. See sources and method.