End of Heat Food

Eating duck at End of Heat is one of the most widespread seasonal food customs. A folk saying goes, “七月半鸭，八月半芋,” reflecting the belief that ducks are at their plumpest and most nutritious around the middle of the seventh lunar month. Another saying declares, “处暑送鸭，无病各家.” At End of Heat, people may prepare duck and send a bowl to their neighbors, conveying sincere wishes for the health and safety of relatives and friends.

Ancient people believed that the middle of the seventh lunar month, at the transition from late summer to early autumn, brought dry weather and required the body to be adjusted with foods considered cooling in nature. Duck, being at its plumpest and most nourishing at this time, was regarded as especially suitable. Duck meat is traditionally described as sweet in flavor and cooling in nature, with functions associated with nourishing yin and the stomach and promoting urination to reduce swelling. Folk tradition has also regarded duck as a “sacred remedy for replenishing weakness and fatigue.”

Duck is prepared in many different ways depending on the region:

* Beijing: Particular attention is given to “End of Heat Lily Duck,” in which lily bulbs, lotus seeds, and other ingredients are stewed together with duck, traditionally valued for clearing heat and moistening the lungs.
* Nanjing: People favor “Osmanthus Duck,” marinated in an osmanthus-scented brine and prized for its rich fragrance. There is also the saying, “处暑吃只鸭，一年病不发.”
* Jiangsu: It is customary to send a bowl of prepared duck to neighbors, expressing the blessing “处暑送鸭，无病各家.”
* Fujian: White-cut duck and white duck soup are especially popular.
* Parts of Southern China: Duck is made into soup with winter melon and lotus seeds, combining nourishment with seasonal relevance.
* Guangdong: There is even a rich tradition known as “处暑鸭十八吃,” eighteen ways of eating duck at End of Heat.

Other preparations include white-cut duck, lemon duck, duck with young ginger, roast duck, lotus-leaf duck, walnut duck, and many more. Roast duck in particular has a long history; according to tradition, a dish called “炙鸭” was already recorded in the Southern and Northern Dynasties text 《食珍录》.

End of Heat duck carries the dual meanings of nourishing yin and moistening dryness and praying for health and peace. First, seasonal nourishment and relief from dryness. As autumn dryness gradually emerges after End of Heat, duck is considered sweet and cooling, traditionally valued for nourishing yin and the stomach and promoting fluid metabolism. Second, sending blessings of health. The saying “处暑送鸭，无病各家” expresses the simple custom of sharing prepared duck with neighbors and loved ones as a way of passing along wishes for health and safety. An End of Heat duck is therefore both a seasonal response to autumn dryness and a warm vessel for neighborhood affection.

The custom of drinking sour plum drink at End of Heat is especially common around Suzhou and Nanjing. A folk saying declares, “处暑酸梅汤，火气全退光.” Smoked plums are rich in organic acids, which are said to inhibit lactic acid effectively and reduce feelings of fatigue. Sour plum drink is simple to prepare: dried plums are steeped in boiling water, then cooked with rock sugar and left to cool before drinking. The flavor is sweet and sour, crisp, and refreshing. In the 1960s and 1970s, there were even tea stalls on the streets of Wenzhou devoted specifically to selling sour plum drink.

Sour plum drink embodies the health wisdom of relieving summer heat, generating fluids, easing restlessness, and reducing internal heat. Although End of Heat signals the close of summer, the lingering force of the “autumn tiger” remains strong across much of southern China. At this time, a bowl of chilled sour plum drink is valued for relieving heat and restoring fluids, and is also said to help the body maintain its acid–base balance. Sweet within sourness, a cup of sour plum drink is one of the most comforting flavors at the threshold between summer and autumn.

As the saying goes, “秋风起，鱼儿肥.” After End of Heat, water temperatures gradually begin to fall, and fish become plumper, more tender, and more flavorful. This is also a harvest season for fisheries, when many kinds of seafood become available. Along the coast around Fuzhou, there is a custom of holding fish feasts during End of Heat, symbolizing good fortune and prosperity.

The fish feast carries the auspicious meaning of harvest and abundance. Eating nutritious foods such as fish at End of Heat is regarded as gently nourishing while also providing the pleasure of seasonal abundance. When the autumn wind rises, the fish grow fat—a table filled with fish is both an expression of gratitude for the gifts of the sea and a wish for a prosperous life.

Around Fuzhou in Fujian, there is a custom of eating longan with congee during End of Heat. This is precisely the season when longan becomes abundant across southern China. Summer heat consumes a great deal of bodily energy, and eating longan is traditionally believed to help replenish it. Longan is considered warming in nature and is associated with benefiting the heart and spleen, replenishing qi and blood, and providing nourishment. The traditional way among older generations was simply to peel a bowlful of longans and eat them mixed into congee.

In earlier times in Fuzhou, people also peeled longans and warmed them with rice water before eating them, or mixed them directly into congee. Another common preparation was to serve them with white glutinous rice balls. The translucent flesh of longan bursts with clear sweetness when bitten, then slips down the throat with the warm softness of the congee. People also sometimes threaded the longan pits together and hung them around children’s necks as toys.

Longan with congee embodies the health wisdom of replenishing qi, nourishing the blood, and restoring energy. After End of Heat, autumn begins, and traditional Chinese medicine speaks of “replenishing in autumn.” Longan is regarded as warming and beneficial to the heart and spleen, with traditional associations with replenishing qi and blood. A bowl of longan congee is sweet, gentle, and warming—both a tender compensation for the energy consumed during the difficult summer and the beginning of nourishment for the coming autumn.

White glutinous rice balls are another traditional End of Heat food of old Fuzhou. They are essentially small glutinous rice dumplings and are very simple to make: glutinous rice flour is rolled into tiny balls, cooked in soup, and sweetened with a little sugar. Their flavor is light and sweet. They provide carbohydrates while also helping relieve the greasy sensation that can linger from summer foods.

White glutinous rice balls carry the auspicious meaning of reunion and completeness. Their perfectly rounded shape is not only pleasing but also naturally associated with togetherness. Glutinous rice is traditionally regarded as nourishing yin, and it is considered suitable to drink a moderate amount of glutinous rice porridge in autumn. Sweet in flavor and warming in nature, glutinous rice is said to enter the spleen, kidney, and lung meridians, nourish the body’s upright qi, strengthen qi and the spleen, generate fluids, and reduce excessive sweating. Eating white glutinous rice balls at End of Heat therefore satisfies the appetite, supplements nutrition, and carries the wish that life and family remain whole and harmonious.

At End of Heat, autumn pears are considered an ideal food for moistening dryness and nourishing the body. As humidity begins to decline after this solar term, people may experience symptoms associated with “autumn dryness,” such as dry mouth, dry throat, nasal dryness, and coughing. Sliced and eaten fresh, the pear brings a clear, sweet juiciness; juiced or simmered into a soup, it is considered more suitable for those with a weak and cold spleen and stomach.

Autumn pears embody the health wisdom of moistening the lungs and guarding against dryness. Folk tradition has long valued eating pears at End of Heat as a natural way of responding to autumn dryness. A bite of a sweet, juicy autumn pear is one of the gentlest forms of resistance to the season’s dryness.

In Guangdong and Guangxi, there is a custom of preparing herbal tea during End of Heat. The weather there often remains muggy even after the solar term begins, and cooling herbal tea is used to relieve lingering summer heat. The custom of decocting herbal teas has been widespread since the Tang dynasty. Around End of Heat, people continue to boil and drink them in response to the lingering force of the “autumn tiger.”

Herbal tea embodies the health wisdom of relieving summer heat, clearing internal heat, and regulating the body. Guangdong and Guangxi have hot, humid climates, and the “autumn tiger” can remain fierce even after End of Heat. A bowl of cooling herbal tea is therefore an everyday local remedy for the lingering heat.

Around End of Heat, farm-grown winter melon is in season in Qimen County, Anhui. Local people enjoy stewing winter melon with pig’s trotters, producing a savory and flavorful soup. Winter melon is traditionally associated with clearing heat and promoting fluid elimination, fitting the seasonal dietary emphasis on moistening dryness and nourishing yin. In parts of southern China, winter melon is also often paired with duck in soup.

Winter melon embodies the health wisdom of clearing heat and moistening dryness. Around End of Heat, the temperature difference between day and night begins to widen, with warmer days and cooler evenings. A bowl of winter melon stewed with pig’s trotters or winter melon with old duck soup offers gentle warmth and nourishment in keeping with the season.

During End of Heat, seasonal dietary care places particular emphasis on “moistening dryness and nourishing yin.” Tremella, lily bulbs, lotus seeds, and similar ingredients are considered especially suitable at this time. Eating Tremella and Lily Bulb Soup in the afternoon is traditionally valued for nourishing yin and relieving dryness. These ingredients are associated with nourishing yin and the lungs, clearing heat, and calming the spirit, fitting the gradual emergence of autumn dryness after End of Heat.

Tremella and Lily Bulb Soup embodies the health wisdom of nourishing yin, moistening the lungs, calming the spirit, and relieving dryness. Warm, lightly sweet, and silky, a bowl of this soup is both a gentle farewell to summer and a composed welcome to autumn.