The beginning of autumn, the word “beginning” means a big turning point. When we say “beginning”, we are talking about a big change. For example, when the beginning of spring comes, the weather turns warmer, when the beginning of summer comes, the weather turns hotter, when the beginning of autumn comes, the weather turns cooler, and when the beginning of winter comes, the weather turns colder. You see, there are four beginnings in a year, which means four big changes.
In the past, there was little industry, so the water was clear, the sky was blue, and the moon was visible. If you live in a big city today, you can’t see the moon in many places from the rooftop at night. It’s not that the moon doesn’t come out, but that you can’t see it at all! So fog used to be called fog and water, but now it’s called smog.
There is a stream in front of my hometown. Every year after the Dragon Boat Festival, children like to go swimming in the stream. If they don’t go swimming, adults will ask them to go, because if you live by the stream or river and can’t swim, what will you do if there is a flood? Won’t you be drowned? So it was for the sake of survival. In the past, men, women, and children in the village would swim, at least they would not sink in the water. Now the stream water has long been polluted, and no one swims in the stream, so there are more people drowning today.
Children love playing in the water. When it is hot, it is normal to go to the stream to wash several times a day, because it is cool. At that time, there was no air conditioning, and even fans were rare. The neighbor had a fan, which was made from a state-owned factory, haha! But every year at the beginning of autumn, adults would tell children: “Autumn water is more evil than ghosts, you can no longer go to the stream to swim, you can only go home and take a bath” (the stream water was clean at that time, swimming was like taking a bath, and you didn’t take a bath when you got home)
Why can’t you take a bath after the beginning of autumn? Adults will explain to you that the stream water becomes cold, especially after rain, and it is easy to catch a cold if you wash in it. Therefore, it is said that autumn water is worse than ghosts, which means that autumn water becomes cold and it is easy to get sick if you wash in it. It is said to be scarier than ghosts, which is actually an exaggeration, but getting sick is indeed scary, especially in the past when medical care was lacking.
If it rains after autumn, the stream water will become cold, and we call it “an autumn rain brings a cold.” It means that after the beginning of autumn, every time it rains, the ground becomes colder, so my title says that the yang energy has dropped. At this time, the drop is greater than the rise, and the temperature slowly drops. Although it will be hotter during the day, it will become cooler in the morning and evening, and then the white dew (water) will appear.
The beginning of autumn has three signs: “The first sign is the arrival of cool wind, the second sign is the fall of white dew, and the third sign is the chirping of cicadas!” It means that after the beginning of autumn, the south wind gradually decreases and the northwest wind increases, so the wind is cool. Because the temperature difference between morning and evening is large, when you get up in the morning, you can see dew everywhere on the plants or at the foot of the mountain, so it is called white dew. At this time, the cicadas have sufficient food (autumn harvest) and the temperature is suitable. They chirp on the branches, as if telling people that the hot summer is about to pass.
After enduring the summer heat, the autumn harvest comes. The Yang Qi is restrained. The northwest wind blowing at this time is dry, which is conducive to the removal of moisture from the fruit (dried fruit). Removing moisture makes it sweeter. This is what humans say. In fact, removing moisture is for better storage of seeds, so that they will not rot and take root and sprout next year.
People will grow old, and plants will also grow old. There will be a day when people will leave, and there will be a day when plants will die. People talk about passing on the family line from generation to generation, and plants are the same. They don’t want to disappear just like that, so dandelions rely on the wind to carry their seeds to farther places, while Bidens pilosa relies on thorns, piercing people’s clothes and other animals. The animals will take their seeds to more places to grow. So plants are just like people, they just don’t want to be buried by this world, so there is the saying “People fight for a breath, Buddhas fight for a stick of incense”
