What
Xiaoshu is the eleventh of the twenty-four solar terms in China, usually on July 6 or 7 every year. "Xiaoshu" means "little heat" - the weather is starting to get hot, but it's not yet the hottest time. The really hottest period is "Great Heat" (the solar term after Little Heat). Little Heat is the "trailer of heat", while Great Heat is the "feature film" of heat.
Why
Why is Xiaoshu so important?
- Climate reasons: During the Slight Summer Season, China has entered the end of the "Mei Yu" season, and high temperatures have begun to appear. "Small Heat and Great Heat, steam on top and boil on the bottom" - the heat of Xiaoshu is "damp heat", like a steamer. The air was full of water vapor, the sweat could not be discharged, and the whole body was sticky.
- Agricultural reasons: Slight Heat is a critical period for "double rush" (rush to harvest early rice and rush to plant late rice). Farmers in the south have to finish harvesting early rice and transplanting late rice around the time of Minor Heat. This is one of the busiest farming events of the year.
- Physical reasons: Traditional Chinese medicine believes that minor heat should "clear away heat and relieve heat". During the Slight Heat Season, the human body is prone to "heat stroke" - dizziness, nausea, and fatigue. Chinese people eat "mung bean soup", "watermelon" and "bitter melon" to "cool down". But these foods are not "ice", they are "cold" - the Chinese believe that "too cold" will hurt the stomach.
How
Three major customs of Xiaoshu:
- Eat new rice: During the Slight Heat Season, early rice begins to be harvested. The Chinese have a custom of "eating new food" - cooking the first pot of rice with newly harvested rice. The taste of new rice is particularly fragrant and has the "taste of sunshine". Eating new rice is not "eating", it is "celebrating the beginning of the harvest".
- Show calligraphy and paintings: On Xiaoshu day, Chinese people will take out the paintings, calligraphy and clothes at home to dry them. "June 6th, sunbathing red and green" - the sun is strong during the Slight Heat period, which is a good time for "natural disinfection". Drying calligraphy and painting is not "drying", but "sterilization" - using sunlight to kill mold.
- Eating dumplings: There is a custom in the north of eating dumplings during Xiaoshu. Dumplings are shaped like ingots, symbolizing "wealth". Eating dumplings during Xiaoshu is to "replenish physical strength" - summer consumes a lot of energy and requires high-calorie food to "recharge".
When
The best scene during Xiaoshu: the courtyard in the afternoon. Cicadas chirp in the trees and dogs stick out their tongues in the shade. The old lady was sitting on a bamboo chair, shaking a cattail leaf fan. There was a bowl of mung bean soup on the table, with water droplets condensing on the sides of the bowl. This is a "slow" moment - it's so hot that people don't want to move, so they can only live "slowly".
Where
At Giaokz.com in Florence, we will prepare "mung bean soup + watermelon" on Xiaoshu day. The Italian guest said: "We also have watermelon, why do you have to eat it so much in Xiaoshu?" I said: "Because the watermelon in Xiaoshu is not a 'fruit', but a 'medicine'. It can help you 'cool down', but it won't hurt your stomach like ice cream."
One Word
Steam (zhēng)
The heat of "Xiaoshu" is not "roasted" but "steamed". Roasting is dry heat, steaming is moist heat. The Slight Heat in southern China is like a big steamer - the air is full of water vapor, sweat cannot be discharged, and the whole body is sticky. This kind of "steaming" heat is more difficult to endure than "baking". But the Chinese have learned to survive in the "steam": drinking mung bean soup, eating watermelon, shaking cattail fans, sleeping on bamboo mats - these are not "fighting against the heat", but "coexisting with the heat".
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> 💡 Remember Xiaoshu in one sentence: Xiaoshu is the "trailer of heat" - telling you: the real heat is still to come.