Summer · No.11
Minor Heat
Xiao Shu
Heat settles in, hot wind hits the face, crickets move to the walls and hawks circle high above.
By Minor Heat the plum rains have ended along the Yangtze, and the north-east and north China enter their rainy season, with thunderstorms and squalls that arrive without warning. Heat and humidity combine so that any movement produces sweat. Crickets leave the fields for courtyard corners, and young hawks practise flying on the thermals. Field work turns to management: draining the paddies, pinching out cotton, watching for pests. Households cook a first meal from the newly cut rice and offer it before eating. Northern families make dumplings; southern ones boil mung bean or sour plum drink.
Three pentads
- 1
Warm wind blows steadily, without a cool edge
- 2
Crickets take to wall crevices and call at night
- 3
Young hawks leave the nest and circle overhead
What people eat now
river eel
Eel is fattest around Minor Heat; Jiangnan cooks braise it with soy or simmer it in soup while the flesh is firm.
lotus root
New lotus root arrives at Minor Heat, sliced thin for a cold dish or stuffed with rice and steamed.
mung bean sprouts
In hot weather a basin of mung beans sprouts in three or five days, and a quick stir-fry is crisp.
What people wear
Once Minor Heat arrives you want as little clothing as possible, yet air conditioning is cold, so keep shoulders and knees covered indoors. Wear light, breathable short sleeves outdoors and carry a towel. Go out in the evening when the heat eases, and change out of sweat-soaked clothes at once.