Chinanews client, Beijing, August 7th (Reporter Shangguanyun) "It's autumn, and it's chilly." This proverb expresses people's expectation for a cool autumn. Liqiu is the 13th solar term in the twenty-four solar terms and the first solar term in autumn.

　　However, the arrival of Liqiu does not mean that the weather will soon become cooler. Because of its time node significance and guiding role in agricultural activities, it has been valued for a long time, and the folks have gradually formed a ritualistic custom such as "cheating autumn".

Autumn, everything is harvested

　　Autumn is a season of alternating heat and cold. "Guan Zi" mentioned that "the autumn is beginning to fall, so everything is harvested". Liqiu is also one of the "four o'clock and eight festivals" often said in ancient times.

Data map: Lunar New Year's Dingyou Year Liqiu Solar Terms In Huangling Village, Jiangwan Town, Wuyuan County, Jiangxi Province, the “most beautiful village in China”, villagers used bamboo plaques to fill freshly harvested red peppers, rice, corn, chrysanthemums and other crops, and placed them on the drying racks of Hui-style houses for drying. Colorful pictures of "sun in autumn" in mountain villages.

　　The traditional method of dividing the four seasons in ancient China is based on changes in the celestial phenomena, with the "four standing" in the twenty-four solar terms as the starting point of the four seasons. Therefore, the beginning of autumn is the beginning of autumn.

　　After the beginning of autumn, rainfall and humidity are at a turning point in the year. The ancients believed that in nature, the yin and yang qi began to change, and everything began to grow from luxuriant growth to maturity.

　　"Book of Rites·Yue Ling" records that on the first autumn day, Zhou Tianzi led San Gong, Jiuqing, and doctors to the western suburbs of Beijing to welcome the autumn atmosphere. After the emperor returned to the court, he rewarded the meritorious servicemen, began military training, rectified the legal system, and so on.

　　In the Song Dynasty, on the day of the beginning of autumn, the imperial palace moved the phoenix trees planted in pots into the hall. When the hour came, the official Taishi would say "Autumn is here". After the performance, if the phoenix trees fell two leaves, it would be an implication. Report autumn.

Why is it still so hot?

　　However, it is often the beginning of autumn, but the weather is still very hot. Why?

　　The beginning of autumn does not mean that the hot weather is over. The so-called "Hot in the middle of the volt", there is also the saying of "One volt after autumn", which means that there is still at least one volt after the beginning of autumn.

　　According to the traditional calculation method of the dog days, the date is determined by the date of the solar terms and the date of the Ganzhi Ji. Folklore scholar Xiao Fang introduced that Liqiu is the starting day of autumn based on astronomical observations of the position of the earth around the sun.

　　Therefore, Liqiu means the beginning of the season change, but it does not mean that the temperature will drop immediately. In the end, it is inevitable that after the beginning of the autumn season, the lingering power of the "autumn tiger" is sometimes felt.

　　From this perspective, the beginning of autumn is not a watershed between hot and cool. People really feel the coolness of autumn, usually after the Bailu solar term.

Data map: "Beginning of Autumn" in the twenty-four solar terms of the lunar calendar. Jiguandong, Luanchuan, Henan held the "Chewing Autumn" event to eat watermelon to welcome the beginning of autumn, which attracted many people to participate. Photo by Wang Zhongju

　　In other words, the autumn climate is divided into two stages. The early autumn is usually a bit sultry and the weather tends to be dry and cool after the mid-autumn.

The sense of ritual cannot be less

　　Among the many customs of Liqiu, "chewing autumn" is a kind of ritual. Autumn is the harvest season, and the folks have the custom of offering sacrifices to the land gods to celebrate the harvest; in the south, they will "start autumn and eat autumn melons".

　　In some places, "biting autumn" is called "biting autumn", which means that the summer heat is unbearable, and it is the beginning of autumn to "bite" it. Jiangsu and other places eat watermelon to "bite the autumn" on the day of Liqiu. It is said that autumn prickly heat can be avoided.

　　A bumper harvest of fruits, vegetables and food always brings joy to people. At this time, drying autumn is a typical agricultural phenomenon. People living in Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui and other places use their windowsills and roofs to dry crops in front of and behind their houses, which is quite poetic.

　　It is popular among folks to use hanging scales on the day of Liqiu to compare the weight of Lixia. In fact, the weather in summer is too hot, and people are easy to lose weight because of the "bitter summer", so they have to cook various delicious foods at the beginning of autumn, such as braised pork and other delicacies, called "sticky autumn fat".

Twenty-four solar terms and daily life

　　In the ancient agricultural society, the beginning of autumn was very important to agriculture, and people paid no less attention to this solar term than to the festival.

Data map: A Yao woman picks tea leaves in the rain in a tea garden in Dongling Village, Banlan Town, Rong'an County, Guangxi. The day was the "Beginning of Autumn" in the twenty-four solar terms. Rong'an County ushered in the first "Beginning of Autumn" rain. Banlan Town, Rong'an County, located in Dashishan District, northern Guangxi, entered the peak season of "Liqiu Tea" picking. Photo by Tan Kaixing

　　In addition to the various customs, most of the calculations are related to agricultural activities, such as "planting eggplants in the summer and eating eggplants in the autumn", and prepare to enjoy the harvest.

　　In Xiao Fang's view, the twenty-four solar terms are a cultural technique for us to grasp crop growth time and other issues, involving seasonal regulation of daily diet and physical health. For example, eating melons at the beginning of autumn and going out in autumn are also a kind of traditional time life.

　　For everyone, it is necessary to conform to nature and follow the sequence of nature to live a happier and happier life. (Finish)