Qiufen Season – Autumn Equinox

According to the Chinese agricultural solar calendar, this day is the astronomical mid-autumn. With the beginning of the Autumn Equinox season, the night becomes longer than the day, and the period of Yin dominance over Yang begins in nature. And Yin will reach its maximum exactly in a quarter of the year, on the day of the winter solstice. Then Yang will begin to grow, and the strength of Yin will gradually decrease... But everything has its time. And now – on the day of the autumnal equinox – the length of the day is equal to the length of the night. The sun rises exactly in the east and sets exactly in the west.    

The Qiufen season 秋分 is the sixteenth of the 24 seasons of the Chinese calendar. It continues in the second month of autumn. The fourth autumn season Qiufen begins annually on September 22-24 and corresponds to the second half of the month of the Rooster. With the end of this season, around October 7-9, the Hanlu season — Cold Dew begins.

The autumn equinox has arrived, when the day and night are equal, as on the day of the spring equinox. The sun hangs above the equator. It rises exactly in the east and sets exactly in the west. Ancient Chinese texts say about this time: "The autumn equinox is Yin and Yang distributed equally, for day and night are the same, cold and heat are equal." Since ancient times, it was believed that this is a period of complete natural harmony of Yin and Yang. At this time, Yin and Yang are in balance. And then, the period of increasing Yin and decreasing Yang gradually begins.

CLIMATE

In the sixteenth minor season of the Chinese agricultural calendar, a balance of warm and cold weather occurs; as a result, the finest days are established on the Great Chinese Plain. With this season, autumn comes to the southern regions of China. With the onset of Qiufen, the night becomes longer than the day, at this time in most regions of China the cool season begins. Each day, the air temperature gradually decreases. The cold front moving south meets with gradually weakening masses of warm and humid air, which leads to multiple precipitation, and the air temperature after each precipitation event becomes lower and lower. Chinese folk wisdom says: "In autumn, with each rain, the cold is getting closer." At the same time, with the onset of the Qiufen season, the total amount of precipitation remains quite small.

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The nature of agricultural work during this season varies from one region to another: in the north of China, winter wheat is sown at this time, while in the south, especially in the areas south of the right bank of the Yangtze, rice seedlings are planted.

TRADITIONS

Sacrifice to the Moon: During the Autumn Equinox season, the traditional festival was the day of offering sacrifices to the Moon.

According to the records in history books, during the Zhou Dynasty (1046–256 BC), emperors sacrificed to the Sun during the Chunfen (Spring Equinox) season, to the Earth during the Xiazhi (Summer Solstice) season, to the Moon during the Qiufen (Autumn Equinox) period, and to Heaven during the Dongzhi (Winter Solstice) season. The places of these ceremonies, respectively, were the temples of the Sun, Earth, Moon and Heaven, located in the east, south, west and north of the capital.

Put a chicken egg upright: on the first day of the Chunfen and Qiufen seasons, you can put a chicken egg upright. And this game is traditionally played by people of all ages.

The ceremony of welcoming this season is very similar to the celebration of the spring equinox: the popular folk game is to “tip eggs up".

Modern customs

Since 2018, Harvest Day has been officially celebrated in China on the day of the autumn equinox. It became the first specialized peasant holiday in China. Although it is officially celebrated for one day, events within its framework are held for half a month. A representative of the Ministry of Agriculture emphasized that the holding of Harvest Day should contribute to the expansion of the agricultural market and increase the income of farmers. During the holiday, agricultural fairs are held, which contribute to an increase in sales, and as a result — the enrichment of villagers.

HEALTH

In everyday life, it is necessary to maintain a balance of Yin and Yang forces, which means adhering to the principles of harmony in nutrition, in work and rest, but especially - emotional balance. 

The organs of our digestive system, the stomach and intestines, are the first to feel the onset of autumn cold. Therefore, in order to avoid exacerbations of diseases such as chronic gastritis, one needs to pay special attention to maintaining heat in the abdomen.

Одеваться следует теплее, но в то же время не слишком укутываться, а подбирать одежду по погоде.

DIET

After the onset of the Qiufen season, the weather becomes drier every day. To prevent autumn dryness in the body, traditional Chinese medicine recommends replenishing fluid reserves in the body in a timely manner. To do this, you need to increase the consumption of warm water, weak tea, juice or milk to maintain normal moisture in the respiratory tract and lungs.

Increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables in the daily diet, which contain a large amount of moisture and cellulose, will be very beneficial. However, too much of even the most useful fruits and vegetables will not do any good. One needs to know the measure in everything, even in vitamins.

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Pay attention to the health of your lungs. Eat as little spicy food and food fried in oil as possible. Nuts rich in monounsaturated fats are useful for moisturizing the lungs, for example, sesame seeds, walnuts, and almonds, which also reduce the level of cholesterol in the blood.

It is recommended to eat less spicy (onions, ginger) and more sour (fruits and vegetables), because too much raw and cold, as well as spicy and fried food will not do anyone any good.

Seafood is not very healthy during the autumn equinox, but there is an exception. It is believed that in Qiufen, the nutritional value of crab is maximum, the protein content in it is several times higher than in pork and fish. Crab is also rich in calcium, phosphorus, iron and vitamin A.