The Health Preservation Chapter of the Autumnal Equinox in the 24 Solar Terms

Liu Tingting said, "When the Autumnal Equinox is reached, the day and night are of equal length in both the northern and southern hemispheres, and it is also in the middle of autumn, hence the name." The sun's ecliptic longitude is 180 degrees, and the solar calendar dates are from September 22nd to 24th each year. According to the old calendar, the Autumnal Equinox is exactly the midpoint of the ninety days of autumn. Just like the vernal Equinox, the sun almost shines directly on the equator, and the length of day and night is once again equal. It can be said that the Autumnal Equinox is a rather special day. From this day on, the position of direct sunlight continues to move from the equator towards the Southern Hemisphere, and the Northern Hemisphere begins to have shorter days and longer nights. The Spring and Autumn Annals Annals records: "The Autumnal Equinox is when Yin and Yang are in balance, so day and night are of equal length and cold and heat are balanced." In astronomy, the Autumnal Equinox is regarded as the end of summer and the beginning of autumn. To be precise, autumn in the Northern Hemisphere begins at the Autumnal Equinox. By this time, most areas of our country have entered the cool autumn. The cold air moving southward meets the gradually weakening warm and humid air, causing repeated precipitation and a continuous drop in temperature. As people often say, it's the time when "one autumn rain brings one chill", but the daily precipitation after the Autumnal Equinox won't be very heavy. At this time, the farming practices in the fields of the south and the north were quite different. In North China, there is a farming proverb that goes: "The White Dew comes early, the Cold Dew comes late, and it's the right time to plant wheat at the Autumnal Equinox." The proverb clearly stipulates the time for sowing winter wheat in this area. The line "When the Autumnal Equinox comes, white clouds come, and everywhere is filled with good songs and good rice planting" reflects the time when rice is sown in the Jiangnan region. In addition, the taboos of the working people regarding the Autumnal Equinox solar term have also been summarized into proverbs, such as "At the Autumnal Equinox, I'm afraid of thunder and lightning. How about the high price of rice in the future?" Since the Autumnal Equinox truly marks the beginning of autumn, as a solar term when day and night are of equal length, people should follow the principle of Yin and Yang balance in their health preservation, keeping the body in a state of "Yin in balance and Yang in secret". As stated in the "Suwen: The Great Treatise on the Essentials of Truth" : "Carefully observe the location of Yin and Yang, and aim for balance." There should be no imbalance in the location of Yin and Yang. The most important aspect of mental health care is to cultivate an optimistic mood, maintain a peaceful state of mind, avoid the atmosphere of withering and killing, restrain the spirit, and adapt to the calm and composed atmosphere of autumn. For physical conditioning, one can choose the ancient Chinese folk custom of climbing high to enjoy the view on the Double Ninth Festival (the Double Ninth Festival in the lunar calendar). Climbing high and looking into the distance can make people feel relaxed and happy, and all negative emotions such as depression and melancholy will disappear at once. This is one of the methods of nourishing and absorbing in health preservation and also a good remedy for regulating the spirit. In terms of dietary adjustment, traditional Chinese medicine also takes the balance of Yin and Yang as the starting point and classifies diet into what is suitable and what is not. When it is beneficial for the balance of Yin and Yang, it is appropriate; otherwise, it is inauspicious. Different people have their own DOS and don 'ts. For instance, for the elderly who have insufficient Yin energy but excessive Yang energy, they should avoid eating extremely hot and nourishing foods. For developing children, it is not advisable to over-nourish them unless there are special reasons. People with phlegm-dampness constitution should avoid greasy food. People with a wood-fire constitution should avoid spicy food. People with skin diseases and asthma should avoid eating seafood such as shrimp and crab. People with cold stomachs should avoid eating raw and cold foods, etc. No matter what kind of person it is, the essence should be to prevent the solid from becoming more solid and the weak from becoming more weak, which would lead to an imbalance of Yin and Yang. In terms of dietary adjustment, the principle of "tonifying when there is deficiency and purging when there is excess" should be followed. The principle of "heat what is cold and cool what is hot". To achieve what is stated in the "Suwen: Shanggu Zhenzhen Lun" : "Those who know it follow the laws of Yin and Yang, harmonize with divination and numerology, and have a moderate diet." In terms of food combination and dietary adjustment, traditional Chinese medicine also emphasizes the harmony of Yin and Yang. In the concept of integrated nutrition of food and medicine, it is emphasized that traditional Chinese medicine and food, which are both natural products, have certain properties, especially the functions of nourishing or regulating the Yin and Yang, qi and blood of the human body, which are inherently interrelated and inseparable. It is not difficult to find examples of the combined use of food and medicine in materia medica and prescription classics. Ancient doctors regarded black-bone chicken, mutton, donkey skin, scallions, ginger, jujubes, etc. as the functions of Yin and Yang, qi and blood, or for tonifying stomach qi. Among a large number of recipes and dishes, it is not difficult to find that many medicinal herbs are combined, such as wolfberry, Chinese yam, astragalus, poria, clove, cardamom, cinnamon and so on. When medicine and food are properly combined, the health benefits of food in strengthening the body and preventing diseases can be enhanced. The history of dietary culture over thousands of years shows that the dietary habits of the Chinese nation are based on a vegetarian diet, striving for a balanced mix of meat and vegetables and a comprehensive diet. A comprehensive diet means that in the long term or frequently, one should try to diversify their diet as much as possible, emphasizing the reasonable combination of meat and vegetables, staple and non-staple foods, main meals and snacks, as well as drinks and food. Advocate eating without partiality and not overeating. It is not advisable to blindly pursue rare delicacies, chicken, duck, fish, meat, fine wine and famous tea, overindulge in feasting and excessive indulgence in a simple and unrefined lifestyle. Li Shizhen once said, "Food and drink are the lifeblood of human beings." This tells us that if we want to live a long life, we should understand the properties of food and the functions of diet. Ancient medical practitioners, in their long-term life practice, classified the properties of food into three major categories, namely, cold and cool types, neutral types, and warm and hot types. Among the statistics of over three hundred common foods, the majority are neutral in nature, followed by warm and hot ones, and then cold and cool ones. In terms of their functions, cold-natured foods often have the effects of nourishing Yin, clearing heat, purging fire, cooling blood and detoxifying. Such foods include watermelon, melon, banana, sugarcane, mango, loquat, apple, pear, persimmon, water chestnut, lotus root, mulberry, tomato, cucumber, bitter gourd, winter melon, white radish, loofah, lotus root, 茭白, bamboo shoot, water chestnut, water chestnut, purslane, celery, light black bean sauce, seaweed, kelp, crab, etc. Warm-natured foods often have the effects of warming the meridians, assisting Yang, promoting blood circulation, unblocking the meridians and dispelling cold. Among them, chili peppers, Sichuan pepper, mustard seeds and trout are warm-natured foods. Cherries, lychees, longans, apricots, pomegranates, chestnuts, jujubes, walnut kernels, garlic, pumpkins, raw scallions, ginger, Chinese chives, fennel, eels, silver carp, mussels, shrimps, sea cucumbers, chicken, mutton, venting, ham, goose eggs, etc. are warm-natured foods. Neutral foods include plums, figs, grapes, ginkgo nuts, lilies, lotus seeds, peanuts, hazelnuts, black sesame seeds, black and white fungus, daylily flowers, Onions, potatoes, black, red, soybeans, lentils, cowpeas, Chinese cabbage, taro, carrots, Chinese cabbage, Chinese toon, artemisia annua, turnips, jellyfish, yellow croaker, carp, pork, pig's feet, beef, soft-shelled turtle, goose meat, quail, eggs, quail eggs. Pigeon eggs, honey, milk, etc. In our daily diet, we should rationally arrange the food based on its nature and function, and adopt different dietary principles according to the time, place, person and disease. This is also one of the important conditions for avoiding premature aging of the body and ensuring the vigorous vitality of the body's vital energy. The reason why medical practitioners and health preservation experts throughout history have attached great importance to nourishing the body's vital energy is that they regard it as the fundamental source of a strong body. In the last article of the 24 Solar Terms Health Preservation section, I chose the incisive words on how to maintain one's vital energy from the "New Book on Longevity and Elderly Care" as the closing remarks for my friends. The book states: "First, speak less to nourish your inner energy; Both of them abstain from lust and nourish their vital energy. The three have a mild taste and nourish blood and qi. Fourth, the body fluids in the throat nourish the qi of the internal organs. The fifth point is to avoid anger and nourish the liver qi. The sixth is a good diet that nourishes the stomach qi. The seventh is to think less and nourish the heart and qi..." . From this, it can be seen that this is the fundamental method for prolonging life. Autumnal Equinox Recipe: Oil and Sauce Hairy Crabs: [Ingredients] 500 grams of river crabs (sea crabs are also acceptable), an appropriate amount of ginger, scallions, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, dry flour, monosodium glutamate, yellow wine, starch, and cooking oil. [Method] Clean the crab thoroughly, cut off the sharp claws, and cut it in half with the crab belly facing upwards and in the center. Remove the gills and apply dry flour to the cut part of the crab belly. Heat the pan, add oil and stir-fry until it is half-cooked. Put the crab (with the side touched by the flour facing down) into the pan and fry until it turns yellow. Then turn it over and fry again to ensure even heating on all sides. When the crab shell turns red, add minced scallions and ginger, yellow wine, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, and water. Cook for about eight minutes until all the crab meat is thoroughly cooked. Thicken the soup, add monosodium glutamate, and thicken with water starch Drizzle a little clear oil over it and serve. [Functions] Tonifies Yin and marrow, clears heat and removes blood stasis. Stir-fried bamboo Shoots with Dried shrimps: [Ingredients] 400g bamboo shoots, 25g dried shrimps, an appropriate amount of cooking wine, salt, monosodium glutamate, stock, and vegetable oil. [Method] Wash the bamboo shoots, pat them loose with the back of a knife, cut them into 4-centimeter-long sections, then into strips. Blanch them in boiling water to remove the astringency, and then drain and rinse under cold water. Heat the oil in a wok until it reaches 40% of its smoking point, add the bamboo shoots and fry them briefly. Then remove them and drain off the excess oil. Leave a small amount of oil in the pot, briefly simmer the bamboo shoots, stock and salt until well-flavored, then remove from the heat. Heat oil in a wok until it reaches about 50% of its smoking point. Add the dried shrimps, pour in cooking wine and a little stock, add monosodium glutamate, and stir-fry the bamboo shoots evenly. Serve on a plate. [Functions] Clear heat, eliminate phlegm, dispel wind and detoxify. Sugarcane porridge: [Ingredients] 800 ml sugarcane juice, 200 g sorghum. [Method] Wash the sugarcane and extract the juice. Rinse the sorghum thoroughly. Put the sugarcane juice and sorghum into a pot, add an appropriate amount of water, and cook it into a thin porridge. [Functions] Tonifies the spleen and AIDS digestion, clears heat and generates body fluids. From China.org.cn