🌾 处暑 Chǔshǔ – When the Summer Heat Starts to Fade

When the heat starts to fade but the sun still lingers, a quiet shift begins.

Birds start their migration. Cicadas grow silent.

It’s not autumn yet — but you can sense it in the wind.

That’s Chǔshǔ (处暑), the moment summer slowly steps back.

🍁 What Does It Mean?

• 处 (chǔ) means "to stop" or “to be located at”

• 暑 (shǔ) means “heat”

Together, 处暑 Chǔshǔ signals the end of scorching summer heat.

It usually falls around August 23rd, after Lìqiū (立秋, Beginning of Autumn).

But don’t get too comfortable yet — the autumn tiger (秋老虎, qiū lǎo hǔ) may still pounce.

🌿 How People Celebrate

During 处暑 Chǔshǔ, people focus on adjusting their bodies to the changing season.

Here’s what they do:

• 🍐 Eat light, cooling foods — such as pears, lotus root, or white fungus

• 🍵 Drink herbal teas — like chrysanthemum, honeysuckle, or mint

• 🐟 In coastal regions, people enjoy seasonal fish like mackerel

• 🚶‍♂️ Avoid overexertion, and prepare for the dry, cooler season ahead

In farming traditions, this is the time to:

• Harvest rice and peanuts

• Watch for typhoons in southern regions

• Notice birds like swallows beginning their long journey south

🗣 Key Vocabulary & Expressions

• 处暑 (Chǔshǔ) – End of Heat

• 退热 (tuì rè) – Heat retreats

• 润燥 (rùn zào) – Moisten dryness

• 秋老虎 (qiū lǎo hǔ) – “Autumn tiger” (hot spells after summer ends)

• 滋阴润肺 (zī yīn rùn fèi) – Nourish yin and moisten the lungs

💬 Try This!

Translate and read aloud:

我们在处暑时要调养身体，预防“秋老虎”。

(Wǒmen zài Chǔshǔ shí yào tiáoyǎng shēntǐ, yùfáng “qiū lǎohǔ.")

→ During Chǔshǔ, we need to care for our bodies and watch out for the “autumn tiger.”

🇨🇳 Cultural Insight

In Chinese philosophy, 处暑 (Chǔshǔ) reminds us:

A season doesn’t end all at once — it fades slowly, like a shadow.

That’s why people:

• Shift from spicy to neutral foods

• Begin nourishing yin (阴) instead of fighting heat

• Pay attention to internal balance as nature starts to dry and cool

Even the cicadas know what to do — they stop singing, and rest.

🌟 Final Thoughts

处暑 (Chǔshǔ) isn’t loud. It doesn’t arrive with storms or snow.

But if you listen closely — it whispers to you:

🌾 “Prepare now. Rest now. Shift gently with the season.”

🇨🇳 Curious about more Chinese traditions?

📚 Step into the blog series: Chinese Culture!