Minor Heat is the 11th solar term in the traditional Chinese calendar, signifying the hottest period of a year is approaching. Chinese people call the warmest and dampest period of the year “San Fu” which usually starts from Minor Heat. “Fu” in Chinese means lying down, suggesting that the weather can be so uncomfortable that it is best to lie down rather than move around.
From now on, the northward-heading rain belt will move to northern China and the rainfall will become intensive and the amount of precipitation will soar. In contrast, the continuous rainfall for regions along the Yangtze River will soon stop and instead sizzling heat will dominate the land.
Although the heat is favourable to crop growth, the extremely uneven rainfall across China hampers agriculture. While North China is faced with the danger of floods, South China is threatened with potential droughts. Thus, the two farming priorities during Minor Heat are flood control and drought relief. It is said that ancient Chinese would offer ancestors newly-harvested rice to pray for a bumper harvest.
The rising temperature often imposes negative impacts on the human body, causing fatigue and poor appetite. The Chinese have come up with some wise solutions. One is to take advantage of heat-dispelling foods in season, like juicy watermelons, bitter gourds and crunchy cucumbers. But the most popular dish is Green Bean Soup. Green bean, according to Chinese medicine, is considered to be able to dispel heat and toxic substances. Another solution is to stay calm and peaceful, as an ancient Chinese idiom goes, “stop complaining about the heat and you will feel cool in no time”.
To make full use of the long daytime and strong sunlight, many people place their clothes, quilts and bedding, and even calligraphy works many Chinese families hang on the wall as home decorations, out in the sun to prevent mildew.
Minor Heat is also a good time to commune with nature. The lotus flowers are only in full bloom during the peak of heatwaves. Due to its simplicity and elegance, the lotus is known to the Chinese as the floral god of summer. Fireflies become lively at night as well. Visit a quiet park or forest, and you may find fireflies light up the surroundings and create a peaceful and romantic ambience.
Read By Pan Huirui and Zou Minghao
BGM: We Are the Rain - Aakash Gandhi
Summer Rain
Amy Lowell
All night our room was outer-walled with rain.
Drops fell and flattened on the tin roof,
And rang like little disks of metal.
Ping!—Ping!—and there was not a pin-point of silence betweenthem.
The rain rattled and clashed,
And the slats of the shutters danced and glittered.
But to me the darkness was red-gold and crocus-colored
With your brightness,
And the words you whispered to me
Sprang up and flamed—orange torches against the rain.
Torches against the wall of cool, silver rain!
