The year, in 24 meals.
The traditional Chinese calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms — each with its own food answer. Find the current one, or browse the cycle.
Spring 春生
Start of Spring
Spring opens: qi begins to rise and the body shifts from storing to unfolding.…
Read →Rain Water
Snow turns to rain; the air stays damp-cold while everything begins to thaw.…
Read →Insects Awaken
First thunder wakes the insects — and, tradition says, the body’s dormant qi.…
Read →Spring Equinox
Day and night split evenly — the term of balance. Aim for balance on the plate too.…
Read →Clear & Bright
Air turns clear and bright; a term for the eyes and the spirits.…
Read →Grain Rain
Rain feeds the grain — and dampness enters the air. The year’s damp-season attention start…
Read →Summer 夏长
Start of Summer
Summer opens and the tradition shifts its attention to the Heart.…
Read →Lesser Fullness
Grains fill but are not yet full — and damp heat begins to gather. “Lesser fullness” is al…
Read →Grain in Ear
The busiest farming term — and the muggiest stretch begins.…
Read →Summer Solstice
The longest day — yang at its peak, yin quietly born within. Calm is the prescription.…
Read →Lesser Heat
Heat settles in; appetite dips and the tradition turns to watery, cooling foods.…
Read →Greater Heat
The hottest stretch of the year. The tradition protects fluids and the middle (the stomach…
Read →Autumn 秋收
Start of Autumn
Autumn opens and dryness becomes the theme — the lungs want moisture, not heat.…
Read →End of Heat
Heat “stops” — mornings cool, afternoons still warm, and the dryness deepens.…
Read →White Dew
Dew appears — the first cold is real now. “白露身不露”: stop showing skin.…
Read →Autumn Equinox
Day and night equal again — the second balance point, and deep autumn from here.…
Read →Cold Dew
Dew turns cold — “寒露脚不露”: the ankles go into socks, and warm foot baths begin.…
Read →Frost Descent
First frost. The folk saying: “不如补霜降” — better to tonify at Frost Descent (than at the fam…
Read →Winter 冬藏
Start of Winter
Winter opens — the storing season. 立冬补冬: the traditional tonifying day.…
Read →Lesser Snow
First snows; skies darken early, and moods follow. Black foods are the tradition’s answer.…
Read →Greater Snow
Deep storing: the tradition favors rich, warm, slow-cooked pots.…
Read →Winter Solstice
“冬至大如年” — the longest night, and the day yang is born again (冬至一阳生). The turning point of …
Read →Lesser Cold
Statistically the coldest stretch. 小寒 often meets 腊八 — the mixed-grain congee term.…
Read →Greater Cold
The last term — cold at its deepest, but spring is already inside it. The tradition turns …
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