Diet for the Summer Solstice
After the third Geng day following the Summer Solstice in the lunar calendar, the "dog days" of summer begin. The weather is hot, people lose their appetite, and start to lose weight, a condition known as "summer slump." Folk traditions encourage taking a break from work to pass the summer, paying attention to dietary nourishment, and government offices cease official business. In Jiangsu, summer cuisine features "three fresh" categories: from the land—amaranth, broad beans, and almonds; from the trees—cherries, plums, and toon shoots; and from the water—kelp, crucian carp, and salted duck eggs.
In Hangzhou, Zhejiang, people enjoy eating black rice cakes, a tradition said to commemorate Pang Juan of the Warring States period. A folk rhyme from Jiande, Zhejiang, says: "On the day of Lixia (Start of Summer), eat nourishing food," indicating that the practice of nourishing oneself for summer begins as early as Lixia. People typically eat red dates stewed with eggs and Astragalus root chicken soup to nourish the body and prepare for the intense autumn agricultural labor. In Guangdong, there is a custom of eating dog meat, with the saying: "On the Summer Solstice, the dog has nowhere to hide (is doomed)." Dogs are slaughtered for nourishment on this day, leaving them no place to hide, but the killing must be done outdoors, not at home. In Beijing, it is popular to say: "Dumplings in the first dog days, noodles in the second, and pancakes with eggs in the third"; and "Dumplings for the Winter Solstice, noodles for the Summer Solstice."
Heatstroke prevention mainly focuses on two aspects:
First, eat more cold and cool foods, as well as melons and fruits. Ancient tea competitions and cold soups were excellent for preventing heatstroke. On the Lixia festival in Suzhou, people drink "Seven-Family Tea," and children eat "Cat and Dog Rice." At the same time, it is common to eat jelly and sour plum soup and consume ice. As early as the Zhou Dynasty, there were officials in charge of ice and ice cellar facilities (an ice cooler unearthed from the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng was used in this form into modern times). Ice was stored in winter and consumed in summer. In the commercially prosperous Song Dynasty, people sold cold drinks on the street, and in the Ming and Qing dynasties, shaved ice was available. The Qing imperial court would grant ice cubes to civil and military officials on the day of Lixia. It was also the season for melons; people would sit under melon arbors to cool off and enjoy watermelons. Watermelons and bitter melons are foods that clear heat and relieve summer heat, making them important delicacies for the Summer Solstice season.
Additionally, summer is a time when insects breed, and with frequent rainfall, it's easy to contract intestinal diseases like dysentery. Therefore, there is a custom of eating green onions and garlic in the summer diet. Li Shizhen of the Ming Dynasty, in his "Compendium of Materia Medica," believed that garlic could "penetrate the five organs, open all orifices, expel cold and dampness, ward off evil, reduce swelling and pain, and resolve masses and meat stagnation." Furthermore, enjoying the summer scenery in pavilions is another activity people engage in to prevent heatstroke during the height of summer.