Science and song celebrate China's seasonal wisdom

Can a folk song reveal the rhythm of nature? Can climate science deepen the way we experience literature and music? Those questions were at the heart of "When Science Meets Art: The Science and Poetry of the Solar Terms", an interdisciplinary cultural salon held at Beijing's National Centre for the Performing Arts on July 12.

Co-presented by the National Centre for the Performing Arts and Beijing Association for Science and Technology, the event blended scientific talks with live music, literature and theatrical performance to highlight the enduring relevance of China's 24 solar terms — the traditional calendar system recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The evening opened with guitarist Liu Xianji's performance, setting an intimate tone for a program that seamlessly moved between scientific inquiry and artistic expression.

The first keynote speaker, meteorologist and climate researcher Chen Deliang, explored how the ancient solar-term system offers fresh perspectives on contemporary climate challenges.

Tracing the origins of the calendar to the Earth's relationship with the sun, Chen explained that the 24 solar terms represent generations of careful astronomical observation and environmental knowledge accumulated by the Chinese people.

"The greatest significance of the 24 solar terms lies in transforming natural time into cultural time," Chen said. "They allow people to understand the sky, the land, agriculture, life and human emotion through one shared framework."

He suggested that, in an era of global warming, the solar terms are taking on a renewed role — not simply as cultural heritage, but as "cultural sensors" that help people recognize shifts in the climate and rethink humanity's relationship with nature.

Scientific insights unfolded alongside performances inspired by the changing seasons.

The children's choir of the National Centre for the Performing Arts performed the beloved folk song Jasmine Flower. The performance was followed by actor Yang Qi of the NCPA's drama ensemble, accompanied by pianist Kang Ruoqing, who offered a moving reading from Chinese poet and educator Zhu Ziqing's celebrated essay Moonlight over the Lotus Pond.

Meteorologist Song Yingjie, another key speaker at the event, explored how seasonal climate patterns are gradually shifting in response to global warming.

Drawing on examples from the Chinese classics Journey to the West and Dream of the Red Chamber, Song demonstrated how references to the solar terms are woven throughout classical literature.

"The solar terms help us see enduring climatic order through constantly changing weather," Song said. "They are both a scientific system and a cultural language."

The evening culminated in a performance by internationally acclaimed soprano Zhang Liping, joined by pianist Zhang Jialin and young harpist Sun Shimeng, who performed the classic folk song Hongyan, or Wild Geese, a song associated with the grasslands of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

Their interpretation transformed Song's scientific observations into an emotional musical journey. Zhang Liping's expressive soprano traced the seasonal migration of wild geese across northern skies, while the piano and harp painted expansive grassland landscapes and the changing moods of the seasons. The performance illustrated how closely traditional Chinese and Mongolian music reflects centuries of close observation of the natural world, weaving ecological knowledge into cultural memory and human emotion.