Welcome autumn, bite autumn, bask in autumn … Please accept this poem of beginning of autumn.

　　"The wind blows a leaf, and everything has been shocked." The afterheat of midsummer has not been exhausted, and beginning of autumn in the 24 solar terms comes with ease. As the saying goes, an autumn rain is a cold. This day is the node where the weather turns from hot to cold, and it also opens the prelude of autumn poetry.

　　"Welcome the Autumn": the court ostentation and extravagance is elegant and folk.

　　The ancients sunned things in beginning of autumn. source map

　　"Autumn" first appeared in "After Yin Xu Shu Qi Bian", and the Oracle bone inscriptions in it wrote: "I will enter the business this autumn". Beginning of autumn means the turn of summer and autumn, so the ancients attached great importance to this solar term.

　　According to the Book of Rites, in the Zhou Dynasty, on the day of beginning of autumn, the Emperor personally led officials from civil and military forces to set up an altar in the western suburbs to welcome the autumn, held a ceremony to worship the autumn god, and ordered military commanders to start training soldiers. In the Han dynasty, the official procedures for welcoming autumn were more about ostentation and extravagance. "History of the Later Han Dynasty, Records and Etiquette" said that on the day of beginning of autumn, all the officials had to put on white clothes with soap collars to welcome the first autumn wind in the western suburbs. After the ceremony, I will change into a crimson royal dress and wear it until beginning of winter.

　　In the Song Dynasty, welcoming autumn became an elegant ceremony. According to Meng Liang Lu, the court will send someone to move the potted phoenix tree into the temple. When the time comes, the official of Taishi will shout, "Autumn is coming!" The buttonwood tree dropped a leaf or two to signify autumn. "Tokyo Dream Record" records that on the day of beginning of autumn, the streets of Tokyo in the Northern Song Dynasty were full of selling leaves, and "women and children were all cut into patterns to wear them". Others are used to cutting and carving petals with heather red leaves and inserting them into the temples, and swallowing seven small red beans with autumn water to spend the autumn safely.

　　Beginning of autumn also symbolizes the beginning of the harvest season. Nowadays, in some villages in Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui and other areas, villagers use their houses, windows and roofs to hang or sun the harvested crops, which has gradually evolved into a traditional agricultural custom phenomenon called "sun-drying in autumn". In the ancient village of Qiling, Wuyuan, Jiangxi Province, basking in autumn is a "grand ceremony" for farmers to celebrate and harvest, and it has become a unique local landscape, attracting many tourists to enjoy autumn photography every year.

　　"Writing Autumn": Sadness and happiness are both literati fashions.

　　The curtain of autumn opened the inspiration of literati. Throughout the ages, in many poems, "Sad for spring and sad for autumn" is the theme of fashion.

　　Li Yi, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, took a look at himself in the mirror in beginning of autumn that day, feeling that his youth was gone, and wrote: "Everything is sold out, and his career is in the mirror. Only the snow will be on the temples, and tomorrow will be against the autumn wind. " And Du Fu’s "I have come three thousand miles away. Sad now with autumn, and with my hundred years of woe, I climb this height alone" and Liu Yong’s "Affectionate since ancient times, it is even worse to neglect the Qing Autumn Festival", which further uses autumn scenery to express sad feelings and adds a melancholy to the word "autumn".

　　Just as many poets are "sad about autumn", Liu Yuxi, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, stands out from the circle of poets’ friends by "not taking the usual road". "Two Poems on Autumn" wrote: "Every autumn has been sad and lonely since ancient times, and I say that autumn is better than spring. When a crane in the clear sky rows on the clouds, it brings poetry to Bixiao. " In his eyes, autumn is more vibrant and exciting than spring. This poem has also become a masterpiece that has been passed down through the ages.

　　Yu Sheng’s "Planting Autumn Flowers" in Qing Dynasty (partial). source map

　　Beginning of autumn brings a chill, and at the same time, the unique autumn beauty comes with it, which becomes a good material for the poet’s writing. Whether it’s Liu Han’s "Sleeping in autumn is nowhere to be found, the phoenix tree is full of moonlight" or Fan Chengda’s "Walking into the lotus without water, red-violet intoxicated with white lotus", it makes people feel as if they are in a quiet and leisurely situation. And Tao Yuanming’s phrase "Picking chrysanthemums under the hedge, leisurely seeing Nanshan" reveals a leisurely and comfortable state of mind from the autumn scenery, which makes future generations admire it.

　　"Eating Autumn": There is reason to feast on this day.

　　"It’s cool in beginning of autumn", and people are more likely to have an appetite after the hot summer. Therefore, many folk customs in beginning of autumn are also related to diet.

　　Since the Qing Dynasty, there has been a "fashionable" custom among the people, that is, weighing by hanging scales in beginning of autumn, and then comparing the weight at this time with that in long summer to test whether you are fat or thin. If you lose weight, it is called "bitter summer", and then you have to "make up". In the Qing Dynasty’s "Kyoto Customs Records", it was written: "On beginning of autumn Day, people also had rich eaters, which was called ‘ Post autumn fat ’ " . This is the origin of "posting autumn fat".

　　As the saying goes: "Make up well in autumn, but stay away from illness in winter". Sticking autumn fat is particularly popular in the north. In quadrangles in old Beijing, beginning of autumn often stewed meat, roasted fish and stewed chickens and ducks, and most of its meat was cooked into braised pork, sliced pork or elbow meat with homemade sauce, which can be described as real "hard dishes".

　　Many writers in the Republic of China are keen on "posting autumn fat". Wang Zengqi wrote in "Sticking Autumn Fats": "Beijingers call it ‘ Sticking autumn fat ’ It has a special meaning, that is, eating barbecue … … Mutton is sliced, and the waiter mixes the seasoning in a big bowl … … Customers use long chopsticks to lay flat on the scorpion and bake. " Zhang Henshui wrote in "Speaking of Beijing": "Everyone occupies a small site on the retort for barbecue … … Accidentally hand in a sentence: ‘ It’s not bad! ’ So make a knowing smile. " Such a grounded way of eating is undoubtedly a gourmet.

　　Besides "sticking on autumn fat", beginning of autumn also has the custom of "biting autumn". In the Qing Dynasty, Zhang Dao recorded in "Miscellanies of Jinmen Customs at the Age of Years": "Eating melons and biting autumn in beginning of autumn can avoid diarrhea." In some areas, such as Jiangsu, people are used to eating watermelons in beginning of autumn to "bite the autumn". It is said that autumn prickly heat can be avoided. In the countryside, people end their day’s work, sit around and eat watermelons, and feel the joy of a bumper harvest.

　　Conclusion: "Clouds gather summer colors and leaves move in autumn". Although beginning of autumn represents the beginning of autumn in the traditional sense, the dog days are still not over, and there may be an early warning of "autumn tiger", so we should pay attention to proper heatstroke prevention. At the same time, we should also pay attention to the right amount to avoid getting angry or indigestion and spend the autumn healthily.