Grain Rains, June 6, solar longitude is 75 degrees. The lunar calendar states: "When the star points to Si, it is Grain Rains, at this time it is suitable to plant crops with awns, beyond this time they will be ineffective, hence named Grain Rains." This means that the Grain Rains season is the most suitable time for planting crops with awns, such as late millet, sorghum, and foxtail millet. Grain Rains is also the dividing point for agricultural planting times, because the weather is already hot, entering the typical summer season, and all farming activities are based on this period. After this season, the survival rate of crops gradually decreases. The folk saying "Grain Rains is busy planting" refers to this principle.
Due to the vast territory of China, the climate characteristics of the same festival vary. In the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, rainfall increases, temperature rises, entering the continuous rainy plum season, the air is very humid, the weather is unusually hot and humid, making various clothes and items prone to mold. Therefore, in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, this weather is called "Plum Rain Season." Additionally, China's Dragon Boat Festival often falls around the time of Grain Rains, and there is a folk saying: "Before eating the Dragon Boat Festival zongzi, do not discard your warm clothes." This tells people that before the Dragon Boat Festival, do not remove your warm clothes to avoid catching cold. In Jiangxi Province, there is a saying: "Grain Rains and Summer Solstice days, walking requires someone to pull you; pulled by someone, pushed by someone." These few lines reflect the common summer ailment—laziness. The reason is that during summer, the temperature rises, humidity in the air increases, sweat cannot be released smoothly, causing heat vapor and moisture movement, spreading throughout the air, affecting the body and respiration, which are filled with hot and humid air. Thus, during summer, excessive dampness inevitably leads to additional discomfort, making people feel lethargic and listless. Therefore, during the Grain Rains season, not only must we manage the fields properly during the rainy season, but we must also pay attention to strengthening our bodies and avoiding seasonal diseases and infectious diseases such as heatstroke, mumps, and chickenpox.
The focus of health preservation during Grain Rains should be based on the climatic characteristics of the season. In mental adjustment, one should maintain a light and cheerful state of mind, avoiding anger and sadness, so that the vital energy can flow freely and release naturally.
In terms of daily routines, one should go to bed later and wake up earlier, appropriately expose oneself to sunlight (avoiding direct sunlight, paying attention to heat prevention), to adapt to the fullness of yang energy, facilitate blood circulation, and invigorate the spirit. Summer has long days and short nights, so taking a short nap at noon can help recover from fatigue and benefit health. After Grain Rains, the midday heat is intense, and people easily sweat, so clothing should be washed and changed frequently. To prevent heatstroke, it is recommended to bathe regularly after Grain Rains, which helps open the skin pores, allowing "yang heat" to dissipate easily. However, one must note that one should not immediately bathe after sweating. There is an old Chinese saying: "Sweat should not be seen wet," if "sweat is seen wet, acne will develop."
Here are some methods of medicinal baths. A medicinal bath involves adding medicinal decoctions or infusions to bathwater, or directly using boiled medicinal solutions, using steam bathing or washing the entire body or affected areas to achieve health promotion and disease prevention.
The use of medicinal baths in China has a long history. According to records, since the Zhou Dynasty, fragrant baths have been popular, and during the Song and Ming dynasties, this practice spread to the general public, leading to the emergence of specialized shops offering aromatic baths, gradually forming a custom. People would choose different medicinal baths on specific days for cleansing and disease prevention. For example, on New Year's Day, people would bathe in a five-spice infusion, leaving them fragrant and refreshed; on the second day of the second month, known as the "Zhonghe Festival" or "Dragon Head Raising," people would commonly take a bath with a decoction of wolfberry to keep their skin radiant and healthy; during summer, people often used a five-branch infusion for bathing, to dispel wind, eliminate toxins, and nourish the blood vessels. By the Qing Dynasty, medicinal baths were not only used for health and longevity but also widely applied in treating and rehabilitating illnesses.
During a medicinal bath, apart from the physical and chemical effects of water (mainly thermal effects), the primary influence comes from the medicinal substances on the body. The effective components of the medicinal solution enter the body through the skin and respiratory mucous membranes, and depending on the composition of the herbs, they can achieve effects such as promoting circulation in meridians, activating blood, dispelling wind and cold, clearing heat and detoxifying, and relieving dampness and itching.
There are many methods of medicinal baths, including soaking, steaming, and fomentation. For health preservation, soaking baths are primarily used.
The specific method of soaking: using the Five Branch Decoction (cinnamon twig, locust twig, peach twig, willow twig, hemp twig) as an example: first, place equal amounts of herbs in a cloth bag, add ten times the amount of water, soak for 20 minutes, then boil for 30 minutes, pour the decoction into the bathwater, and proceed with the soak. Those with the means can do this once a day. This method is suitable for full-body soaking and can also be used for local washing.
For middle-aged and elderly women, a beauty and skincare formula can be chosen: 10 grams each of mung beans, lily, and menthol, 30 grams each of talc, white aconite, white peony, white sandalwood, and frankincense, ground into coarse powder, placed in a cloth bag, decocted and used for soaking baths, which can make the face and skin fair, smooth, and delicate, while also repelling evil spirits.
In dietary adjustments, ancient health practitioners have always emphasized that summer diets should be light and nourishing. The "Lüshi Chunqiu: Chapter on Numbers" states: "In eating, avoid overly rich flavors, and avoid strong tastes and heavy alcohol." Tang Dynasty's Sun Simiao advocated that people should "usually prefer light, sweet, and bland foods, such as wheat, barley, and glutinous rice." He also said: "Good health practitioners usually eat less meat and more rice." Yuan Dynasty physician Zhu Danxi's "On Vegetarianism" says: "Eat less meat and more grains, legumes, vegetables, and fruits, which are naturally balanced and harmonious." From a nutritional science perspective, a light diet plays an irreplaceable role in health preservation. Vegetables and legumes provide essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, fats, and minerals, along with abundant vitamins. Vitamins are indispensable in human metabolism and can prevent diseases and slow aging. Vitamin C in fruits and vegetables is also crucial for oxidation-reduction processes in the body, promoting oxygen absorption by cells, and is essential in the formation of certain hormones and cellular functions. Moreover, vitamin C can inhibit pathological changes, promote antibody formation, and enhance the body's resistance to disease. For the elderly, eating more fruits and vegetables provides vitamin C that helps repair and maintain blood vessels, and can transfer cholesterol deposited in the vessel walls to the liver to become bile acids, which aids in preventing and treating atherosclerosis. Dietary fiber in vegetables is crucial for maintaining bowel regularity, reducing toxin absorption, preventing premature aging, and preventing colorectal cancer caused by constipation.
Additionally, while emphasizing light and nourishing diets, we caution against consuming too much salt or sugar. Excessive salt intake leads to excess sodium ions in the body, which, especially in older individuals with reduced activity, can raise blood pressure and potentially cause cerebrovascular dysfunction. Consuming too much sugar is also detrimental to health. As age increases, the body's ability to metabolize carbohydrates gradually declines, leading to the accumulation of intermediate products like sucrose, which can cause hyperlipidemia and hypercholesterolemia, and in severe cases, even trigger diabetes. Thus, diet is a crucial means of health preservation and disease prevention. During summer, when metabolism is vigorous and sweat is easily lost, depleting energy and fluids, it is advisable to consume foods that clear heat, replenish energy, generate fluids, and quench thirst. For the elderly, whose bodily functions have declined, digestive juices decrease in hot weather, and the cardiovascular system shows varying degrees of hardening, the diet should primarily focus on light nourishment, supplemented by foods that clear heat, relieve summer heat, protect the stomach and spleen, and have blood pressure-lowering and lipid-lowering effects. Women during menstruation or postpartum periods, even though the weather is getting warmer, should avoid cold and cooling foods to prevent other diseases.
Specific dietary therapies and recipes for the Grain Rains season.
Tomato and Egg Stir-Fry:
[Ingredients] 300 grams of tomatoes, 3 eggs, appropriate amounts of salt, monosodium glutamate, and sugar.
[Procedure] Wash and slice the tomatoes, beat the eggs in a bowl.
Heat the oil, stir-fry the eggs until cooked, then set aside. Clean the wok, heat the oil, melt the sugar, add the tomatoes and stir-fry for 2 minutes, then add the eggs and salt, stir-fry for another 3 minutes, add a little monosodium glutamate, and serve. (Diabetics should omit sugar.)
[Function] Quenches thirst, calms the heart and spirit.
Shiitake Mushroom and Winter Melon Balls:
[Ingredients] Shiitake mushrooms, chicken broth, starch, 300 grams of winter melon, vegetable oil, salt, ginger, monosodium glutamate, sesame oil, all in appropriate amounts.
[Procedure] Soak and clean the shiitake mushrooms, wash and peel the winter melon, use a ball scoop to cut into round balls, set aside. Wash and slice the ginger.
Heat the oil in the wok, fry the ginger slices until fragrant, add the shiitake mushrooms and stir-fry for a few minutes, then add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add the winter melon balls and cook until done, thicken with starch, stir briefly, add monosodium glutamate, drizzle with sesame oil, and serve.
[Function] Nourishes the gastrointestinal tract, generates fluids, relieves irritability.
Five-Flavor Goji Berry Drink:
[Formula] 5 grams of vinegar-roasted schisandra, 10 grams of goji berries, appropriate amount of sugar.
[Procedure] Place the schisandra and chopped goji berries in a porcelain cup, pour boiling water over them, steep for a moment, then add sugar and stir well before drinking.
[Function] Nourishes kidney yin, enhances kidney yang. Suitable for "summer deficiency" symptoms, an effective tonic for health preservation.
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