Minor Heat Food

Ancient Chinese communities attached great importance to the Fu days, the hottest period of summer, and eating meat during this time was an established custom. 《汉书·东方朔传》 records the story of Emperor Wu of Han bestowing meat during the Fu days. In Shandong, Jiangsu, and other regions, Minor Heat is associated with the custom of “eating summer mutton.” Eating mutton after the Dog Days begin is known as “吃伏羊,” or eating Fuyang, and the tradition has a long history. In Xuzhou, Jiangsu, a folk song says, “六月六接姑娘，新麦饼羊肉汤,” while another popular saying declares, “彭城伏羊一碗汤，不用神医开药方.” Traditionally, eating mutton and drinking mutton soup during the Dog Days is believed to disperse internal cold through perspiration, expel dampness, and nourish the body. In 2021, “Xuzhou Fuyang Food Customs” was included in the fifth national list of representative items of China’s intangible cultural heritage.

Eating Fuyang embodies the traditional health principle of using heat to counter heat and promoting perspiration to dispel dampness. Eating mutton during the hottest days of summer may appear to be “adding fuel to the fire,” but the underlying traditional logic is to use the warming nature of mutton to encourage perspiration and thereby release accumulated dampness and cold from the body. This dietary wisdom of “countering heat with heat” echoes, in a different regional form, the Lingnan custom of eating lychees around the Summer Solstice.

There has long been a folk custom of eating lotus root during Minor Heat. As early as the Xianfeng reign of the Qing dynasty, lotus root had been designated as an ingredient for imperial cuisine and tribute. Because the word 藕 sounds like 偶, meaning “pair” or “couple,” eating lotus root came to express wishes for a happy marriage. At the same time, because the lotus rises unstained from the mud, both the flower and its root became symbols of integrity, purity, and noble character. Lotus root is traditionally considered cooling in nature and suitable for eating during hot weather.

The Song-dynasty poet Tao Bi concluded his poem 《咏藕》 with the line “与君消酷暑，瓜李莫相猜.” Qing poet Qiao Yuanbing likewise wrote in 《夏日》: “雪藕冰桃情自适，无烦珍重碧筒尝。” In Jiangnan, the custom of eating more lotus root around Minor Heat has long been widespread; the homophonic association between 藕 and 偶 also gives the food a symbolic connection with reunion and togetherness.

In the southern water towns, Minor Heat is associated with eating the Three Treasures—rice field eel, lotus root, and mung bean sprouts—foods regarded as both refreshing and suitable for summer. Among them, eating lotus root is perhaps the most widespread custom, and southern water towns often prepare honey-glazed lotus root. Lotus root is considered especially suitable in the early part of the seventh month: fresh roots are slowly simmered until tender, sliced, and served cold with an appropriate amount of honey, making them a favored summer dish. Earlier generations also prepared honey-glazed lotus root as a cold dish during this season to help relieve the heat.

Lotus root carries the dual meanings of cooling relief from summer heat and purity, integrity, and reunion. First, clearing heat and relieving summer discomfort. Lotus root contains abundant carbohydrates as well as calcium, phosphorus, iron, and a variety of vitamins, and is traditionally regarded as helping clear heat, nourish the blood, and relieve restlessness, making it suitable for summer. Second, purity and reunion. Because 藕 is homophonically associated with 偶, folk custom uses lotus root to express wishes for a happy marriage; because it grows from mud while remaining unstained, it shares with the lotus flower a symbolic association with moral integrity and purity. Even its physical quality of remaining connected by fine threads after being broken—藕断丝连—has come to symbolize emotional ties that continue without end.

A folk saying declares, “小暑黄鳝赛人参”—rice field eel at Minor Heat rivals ginseng. At this time of year, the flesh is considered especially tender and rich in protein and is commonly stir-fried or simmered in soup. Rice field eels live in muddy burrows along watersides, and those caught during the month surrounding Minor Heat are traditionally regarded as the most nourishing and flavorful. In traditional dietary theory, rice field eel is described as sweet in flavor and warming in nature, with functions associated with replenishing the center and qi, nourishing the liver and spleen, dispelling wind-dampness, and strengthening the muscles and bones; it is also traditionally said to help with diarrhea associated with undigested food. Minor Heat is therefore considered the ideal season for eating rice field eel.

Rice field eel embodies the traditional health wisdom of strengthening the body through gentle warming nourishment in response to summer heat and dampness. During Minor Heat, heat and humidity rise together; according to traditional theory, yang qi moves outward toward the surface of the body, leaving the interior comparatively cold and deficient. Rice field eel is regarded as warming without being excessively drying and nourishing without creating stagnation, making it particularly suited to the traditional principle of “nourishing yang in spring and summer.” A bite of tender eel becomes a vivid expression of gentle warming nourishment in the middle of summer.

In southern China, Minor Heat is traditionally associated with “食新,” or tasting the new harvest, meaning eating newly harvested rice after the solar term begins. Farmers husk and mill the freshly cut grain into rice, cook it, and first present it as an offering to the deities of the Five Grains and to their ancestors before everyone tastes the new rice and drinks newly made rice wine. Newly harvested grain is milled, cooked as rice, and fermented into rice wine, which families and neighbors enjoy together. The new rice and wine are also offered to ancestors and the “spirits” of the Five Grains in gratitude for nature’s generosity. This custom reflects an enduring tradition of gratitude among agricultural communities: a good harvest is certainly the result of human labor, but it is also understood as dependent upon favorable winds and rains and the protection of the ancestors.

It is also said that “吃新” may be called “吃辛”, referring to eating the new grain on the first xin day after Minor Heat. Freshly harvested millet is hulled and cooked into porridge, then eaten with newly available vegetables and other foods, giving rise to the saying “小暑吃黍，大暑吃谷.” In the ritual itself, offerings are placed before the deity of the Five Grains, incense and candles are lit, and people recite: “请五谷大神食新！多谢五谷大神恩泽，五谷丰登，保佑一家顺劲，身体强健，紧做紧有来。” Freshly harvested rice may also be ground into flour and made into various foods to share with neighbors and fellow villagers, expressing hopes for another abundant harvest.

The custom of tasting the new harvest carries the profound meanings of gratitude toward nature and celebration of the harvest. When the new grain arrives around Minor Heat, people first offer the fresh rice to the gods and ancestors before sharing it with family and neighbors, expressing gratitude for the nourishment of Heaven and Earth and the protection of earlier generations. “食新” is not merely a tasting of the fruits of labor, but a cultural rite founded on the principle of revering Heaven and caring for others—with a mouthful of sweet new rice, people celebrate the beginning of the summer harvest, ease the weariness of agricultural labor, and pray for favorable weather and abundant grain.

Around Minor Heat, China enters Toufu, the first period of the Three Fu, or Dog Days. As the saying goes, “头伏饺子二伏面，三伏烙饼摊鸡蛋.” On the first day of the Dog Days, northern China traditionally eats dumplings. During the Fu days, the intense heat often suppresses the appetite and people may grow thinner than usual, a condition popularly known as “苦夏,” the difficult summer. Dumplings, meanwhile, have traditionally been considered an appetizing and satisfying food. Their shape resembles ancient silver ingots, while 伏 and 福, “good fortune,” are homophones, giving the custom of eating dumplings at Toufu the auspicious meaning of “元宝藏福”—good fortune hidden within a silver ingot. Dumpling wrappers are made from grain flour, while the small parcel can contain almost anything: vegetables, meat, eggs, seafood, and more. Properly combined, a single dumpling can therefore resemble a miniature “food pyramid.” Eating dumplings both stimulates the appetite and helps replenish the physical energy consumed by the summer heat.

In Xuzhou, people eat mutton when the Dog Days begin; in some parts of Shandong, raw cucumber and boiled eggs are eaten to relieve the difficult summer, and on the first morning of the Dog Days some people eat eggs without any other food. After Minor Heat, northern China continues to observe the seasonal saying “头伏饺子二伏面，三伏烙饼摊鸡蛋.”

Dumplings eaten at the beginning of the Dog Days carry the dual meanings of welcoming good fortune and stimulating the appetite during the difficult summer. First, silver ingots filled with blessing. Dumplings resemble ancient ingots, while 伏 and 福 sound alike, so eating them at Toufu symbolizes a life filled with good fortune. Second, coping with the difficult summer. Appetite often declines during the Dog Days, while dumplings combine meat and vegetables in rich, varied fillings that both stimulate the appetite and provide nourishment. Hot noodle soup eaten while steaming can induce light perspiration, traditionally believed to help disperse accumulated summer heat and dampness; dumplings combining meat and vegetables are likewise regarded as working together to replenish essence and qi, support qi, and nourish the blood.

In southern China, Minor Heat is associated with eating the Three Treasures—rice field eel, lotus root, and mung bean sprouts—for their combination of nourishment and refreshing summer qualities. Mung bean sprouts are traditionally described as cooling in nature and sweet in flavor; they are regarded as helping clear heat and toxins while promoting urination and dispelling dampness, making them particularly suited to the hot and humid conditions of Minor Heat. Among the Three Treasures, mung bean sprouts are the most familiar everyday ingredient and perhaps the most refreshing. Whether lightly stir-fried or served cold, they bring a crisp, cooling touch to the summer table.

Mung bean sprouts embody the traditional health wisdom of clearing heat, relieving summer discomfort, dispelling dampness, and promoting urination. During Minor Heat, high temperatures and humidity are traditionally believed to allow damp-heat to burden the spleen. Light, crisp, and refreshing, mung bean sprouts both cool the body and dispel dampness, making them an ideal food for weather described as “steaming above and boiling below.”

China was among the earliest countries in the world to develop and make culinary use of jellyfish. Zhang Hua of the Western Jin dynasty recorded its consumption in 《博物志》. Jellyfish is traditionally regarded as helping clear heat and phlegm, relieve food stagnation, and moisten the intestines. Served cold with cucumber, garlic, coriander, and other ingredients, it becomes an especially refreshing and appetizing dish for Minor Heat.

Jellyfish embodies the traditional health wisdom of clearing heat and phlegm while relieving summer discomfort and stimulating the appetite. During Minor Heat, when many people experience poor appetite, cold-dressed jellyfish is crisp and refreshing, helping awaken the appetite while traditionally being valued for clearing heat and phlegm. It is a distinctive coastal response to the summer heat.

The Minor Heat custom of “tasting the new harvest” encompasses not only newly harvested rice but also newly brewed wine. People mill freshly harvested grain into rice, cook the new rice, and use it to make rice wine, which families and neighbors taste together. The freshly prepared rice and new wine are also offered to ancestors and the “spirits” of the Five Grains in gratitude for the gifts of nature.

New wine continues the same cultural tradition as tasting the new rice, carrying the meanings of gratitude toward nature and celebration of the harvest. A cup of fresh rice wine honors Heaven, Earth, and the ancestors; what it tastes of is the labor and reward of the harvest, and what it passes on is the bond between neighbors and fellow villagers.

Northern China has the saying “夏至吃面，一天短一线,” expressing the ideas of tasting the new grain, celebrating the harvest, and recognizing that daylight begins to shorten after the Summer Solstice. Although Summer Solstice noodles are the signature food custom of the Summer Solstice itself, eating noodles remains common in northern China during Minor Heat as a way of coping with hot weather. Hot noodle soup eaten while steaming encourages light perspiration, traditionally believed to help disperse accumulated summer heat and dampness.

Summer Solstice noodles carry the traditional health wisdom of following the rhythms of Heaven and dispersing summer heat and dampness. A bowl of hot noodle soup warms the body enough to bring out a light sweat and release dampness, fitting the hot and humid conditions of Minor Heat.