Wild geese and reeds by Wu Qingxia [Photo/ artron.net]

People in China talk about winter coming in nine periods, each of nine days, beginning with the winter solstice. The Nines of Winter is a common theme. After that it becomes warmer and spring will be on its way.

There is a famous folk song about the Nines of Winter recording changes in the weather:

1st nine days, 2nd nine days, don’t take hands out of your pockets;

3rd nine days, 4th nine days, you can walk on ice;

5th nine days, 6th nine days, willows at the river’s edge start to sprout;

7th nine days, ice dissolves and water flows in the river;

8th nine days, wild geese fly back to northern areas;

9th nine days and the following days, farm cattle start to work in the field.

Now is the eighth nine-day period. Let’s take a look at paintings depicting the scene of geese returning by some famous Chinese painters.