On October 28th, the thematic exhibition “Our Festivals: Winter Solar Terms” opened at the Shanghai Social Science Museum (SSSM). The exhibition was co-sponsored by the Shanghai Federation of Social Science Associations (SFSSA) and the Shanghai Municipal Office of Spiritual Civilization Construction, and organized by the Shanghai Social Sciences Development Research Center (the Academic Monthly journal). This exhibition is the sixth installment in the “Our Festivals” series of exhibitions, following the Chinese Traditional Festivals Illustrated Exhibition, Spring Festival Exhibition, Pure Brightness & Grain Rain Exhibition, Dragon Boat Festival Exhibition, and Autumn Solar Terms Exhibition, intended to “draw on the rules of the ancients to create something uniquely our own.” It is our new cultural mission in this new era to create a modern legacy by embracing and reinventing Chinese traditions. Leveraging traditional Chinese festivals as a gateway, orchestrating a sequence of thematic exhibitions, and engaging readers with interactive experiences can significantly deepen the public's comprehension, appreciation, and enthusiasm for traditional culture and the customs associated with these festivals. In that sense, the series of exhibitions is an exploration for new paths such reinventions.

At the unveiling ceremony of the exhibition, students from Vanke Experimental Primary School based in Shanghai’s Pudong New Area presented the inaugural performance, “Adventurous Journey through the 24 Solar Terms,” a dramatic presentation of the cycle of the 24 solar terms, of the rhythm of nature in “spring birth, summer growth, autumn harvest, and winter storage.” They play embodied the traditional Chinese value of harmony and co-existence between humanity and nature. The Winter Solar Terms thematic exhibition is the last event of this year’s series of Chinese traditional festival exhibitions at the SSSM. This performance allowed the guests in attendance to experience the changes of the four seasons and the charm of traditional Chinese festivals.

The exhibition’s interactive area invited visitors to color the “Double Nine Diagram,” an ancient Chinese ritual to mark the departure of winter and the arrival of spring. “Double Nine Diagram” was an interesting game for “getting through winter” and also a scientific activity for recording weather. Common forms of the game included the “plum blossom coloring” style, the “Circle Filling” style, and the “Word Filling” style. After long-term observation, ancient Chinese had found that starting from the Winter Solstice, winter would endure for 9 periods of 9 days each before it goes. So they created this game to track the progression of winter, and it was a good game to help pass the cold days and express their longing for spring. This gave rise to the custom of “Count Nine.” This romantic and culturally-informed custom gradually was integrated into ancient people’s lives.

The “Our Festivals: Winter Solar Terms” thematic exhibition covers four winter solar terms. Eight major questions thread through it and their and their well-illustrated answers make up a comprehensive overview of the historical development of these “terms,” emphasizing the role of these traditional festivals in passing down knowledge in various fields such as astronomy, calendar systems, agriculture, medicine, and philosophy, manifesting their scientific texture. In addition, the exhibition includes many enjoyable interactive activities, such as “Wishing Walls,” the “Double Nine Diagram” game, traditional Chinese “auspicious patterns” quiz, and Q&A for “lucky stamps” collection. These activities encourage visitors to get close to traditional Chinese culture in an enjoyable and educational way.