Falling on July 22 this year, Major Heat marks the hottest moment of a year. The average temperature of this period in China usually reaches 35℃, and it may go up to as high as 40℃ in some places. Extreme weather conditions, such as thunderstorm, drought, flood, and typhoon, occur frequently during this period.
The high temperature and changeable weather also pose a possibility for people to reinvigorate their exhausted bodies. There is an old saying in Chinese, “Dong Bing Xia Zhi”, meaning winter illnesses can be prevented or cured during summer. It is the old Chinese wisdom of taking advantage of high temperatures and sufficient sunshine of summertime to boost people’s health.
To get through heat waves, Chinese people like eating foods in season. For example, lychee is preferred by many in Fujian Province as it is said to offer relief from heat. In some northern Chinese provinces like Shandong Province, people drink hot mutton soup at this time to remove harmful substances accumulated in the body. Grass jelly, gingered eggs and chicken porridge are all popular traditional summer dishes in China.
In Zhejiang Province, there is the folk tradition of sending the “Major Heat Ship” to pray for blessings. People in Hebei Province often gather at Baiyangdian Lake to appreciate lotus flowers, which is a famous wetland in Hebei Province. Other activities like river rafting and mountain climbing are welcomed by those who look for a way to celebrate Major Heat, the last solar term of summer.
Read by Pan Huirui and Zou Minghao
BGM: Keep Moving On - Reed Mathis
Midsummer
William Cullen Bryant
A power is on the earth and in the air,
From which the vital spirit shrinks afraid,
And shelters him in nooks of deepest shade,
From the hot steam and from the fiery glare.
Look forth upon the earth—her thousand plants
Are smitten; even the dark sun-loving maize
Faints in the field beneath the torrid blaze;
The herd beside the shaded fountain pants;
For life is driven from all the landscape brown;
The bird hath sought his tree, the snake his den,
The trout floats dead in the hot stream, and men
Drop by the sunstroke in the populous town:
As if the Day of Fire had dawned, and sent
Its deadly breath into the firmament.
