As the old Chinese saying goes, "A sudden breeze of warm air as Minor Heat arrives."As mid-summer arrives and temperatures climb, China welcomes the fifth solar term of the summer and the 11th of the 24 solar terms on lunar Chinese calendar – Xiaoshu, also known as "Minor Heat." This year, Xiaoshu falls on July 6.随着仲夏的到来和气温的攀升，中国迎来了夏季的第五个节气和农历二十四节气中的第十一个节气——小暑，英文说法是“Minor Heat”。今年的小暑自7月6日开始。Just as the name suggests, heat is one of the key words for this solar term. But why is it called "Minor Heat"? This name stems from an ancient Chinese saying about hot days.顾名思义，暑是这个节气的关键词之一。但为什么叫小暑呢？这个名字来源于中国古代关于炎热天气的说法。The solar term before Xiaoshu is the Summer Solstice, which is followed by three consecutive periods during the hot season. These periods were called "Fu" in Chinese, meaning the heat would make people want to lie down.小暑之前的节气是夏至，紧接着炎热的夏季里会有连续三个时期。这段时间在汉语中被称为“伏”，意思是炎热会让人们想躺下。As the first "Fu" period is relatively cooler, the solar term during this period is called "Minor Heat," and the next one is called "Major Heat" – hot, but not the hottest yet.由于第一个“伏期”相对凉爽，这一节气被称为“小暑”，下一个节气被称为“大暑”——很热，但还没到最热。Besides the heat, thunderstorms and rainfall are quite frequent during this period. For areas located on the lower stretches of the Yangtze River, the "plum rain" season will linger for a few days. But for other places, a drought might occur as the days get hotter.除了炎热，雷暴和降雨在这段时间也相当频繁。在长江下游地区，“梅雨”季节还会持续一段时间。但对其他地方来说，随着天气越来越热，可能会发生干旱。At this time, natural disasters like droughts, floods and landslides will be frequent, thus governments and people need to be cautious.此时，干旱、洪涝、滑坡等自然灾害将会频繁发生，政府和人民都需要谨慎。Every solar term is divided into three pentads that are related to changes in climate, flora and fauna.For Xiaoshu, people in ancient China believed during this time winds came with a heatwave, crickets started to crawl from the field into the yard, and young eagles began to learn how to fly and hunt.关于小暑这个节气，古代中国的人们相信在这段时间里，风伴着热浪，蟋蟀开始从田野爬到院子里，雏鹰开始学习飞翔和捕猎。Besides, fireflies are very active, so it is a good time to take photos at night.今天是高考前最后一天，来温习一首关于小暑的诗吧！高考生加油！
室和堂之间有窗子叫“牖”，上古的“窗”专指开在屋顶上的天窗，开在墙壁上的窗叫“牖”。 
