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Chinese Name: 立秋
English Name: Liqiu; the beginning of Autumn; the 13th of the 24 Solar Terms
Date: August 7 ( 8 or 9)
Sun Position: Celestial Longitude of 135°
Brief Introduction
Liqiu 立秋 is the 13th of the 24 Solar Terms二十四节气. It begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 135° and ends when it reaches the longitude of 150°. It more often refers in particular to the day when the Sun is exactly at the celestial longitude of 135°. The beginning of Autumn reflects the end of summer and the beginning of autumn. The fruitful season is approaching.
Although Liqiu indicates the beginning of autumn, hot weather will not come to an end. The period of hot days after the beginning of Autumn, usually lasting for 30 days, our image refers to this phenomenon as “Autumn Tiger”. Because of decreasing precipitation, it is even more sweltering during this period than during Major Heat.
After entering the autumn, the transition from the rainy, humid and hot summer to the dry climate with little rain in the autumn. The most obvious change in autumn is when the foliage goes from lush green to yellow and begins to drop leaves and the crops begin to mature.
Climatic Change
The beginning of autumn does not mean that the hot weather is over, and the beginning of autumn is still in the period of Dog days. Entering autumn means that rainfall, storms, humidity, etc., are at a turning point in the year, tending to decline or decrease. Seasonal change, rainfall, storms, dry humidity and other obvious changes in the southern region; in the northern region, the obvious change is the temperature.
After entering the autumn, everything began to grow from lush to desolate and mature, and the climate began to transition from the rainy, humid and hot summer to the rainless and dry climate in the autumn. The beginning of autumn indicates the beginning of the season change, but it does not mean that the temperature will drop immediately. The period of hot days after the beginning of Autumn, usually lasting for 30 days.
Health tips in Liqiu
Liqiu is known as the “autumn tiger” because the residual heat in the midsummer has not disappeared, especially before and after the beginning of autumn, many areas are still in sweltering heat. In terms of diet, during the beginning of autumn, try to eat less spicy foods such as onions and ginger姜, and eat more sour fruits and vegetables. You can also eat sesame, glutinous rice, honey and other foods properly, which is conducive to maintaining the stomach.
Folk-Custom Activity
Worship the Tudigong 祭祀土地神
Tudigong土地公, is the god who manages a small land. After the Qin dynasty秦朝 and Han dynasty汉朝, it was widely worshipped for folk customs. Regarding the image of the personification of the land master, the salaried land master and the land woman are both kind-hearted, white-haired and white-haired old people. Autumn is the harvest season, and folks have the custom of offering sacrifices to the gods of the land to celebrate the harvest.
Chew autumn 啃秋
In the south, there is a custom of “eat autumn melon in Liqiu”. Eat more watermelon on this day of autumn to prevent autumn dryness, and a custom will be formed over time. Eating watermelon after the Liqiu in Jiangsu江苏 and other places is said to prevent Miliaria痱子 in autumn. In addition, it is believed that eating melons at the beginning of autumn can prevent diarrhea in winter and in the coming spring.
The custom of Chew autumn, the city people buy a watermelon on the day of the beginning of autumn and the whole family eats it at home, that is, eating autumn. Compared with the habit of eating autumn in the city, farmers’ eating autumn is much more unrestrained. They gather in the melon shed and eat watermelon while sitting on the ground. The expression of eating autumn is actually a kind of joy of harvest, which symbolizes the harvest of the five grains. Its implication is that the hot summer is scorching hot, and it is the beginning of autumn to bite it.
Sunbathing in autumn 晒秋
Sunbathing in autumn is a typical agricultural phenomenon with regional characteristics. Villagers living in mountainous areas, due to the complex terrain and very little flat land in the village, have to use the front and rear of the house, their own windowsills, roof racks to dry or hang crops, which has evolved into a traditional agricultural phenomenon over time.
This special way of life and scenes of villagers drying their crops has gradually become the material pursued and created by painters and photographers, and has created a poetic title of “bathing in autumn”.
