August 23 is the End of Heat (Chushu). Many people hope that once Chushu arrives they can finally cool off and escape the mugginess of the dog days. But this year is special: the solar term has reached Chushu, yet the dog days are not completely over — what the older generation calls 'Chushu without the dog days ending.'
I used to think this old saying was superstition, sounding mystical, but after years of observing the weather as an adult I realized it is not nonsense at all — it is seasonal experience summed up by ancestors over millennia, and very accurate. 'When Chushu falls within the dog days, the year has no spring or autumn' does not mean there is literally no spring or autumn, but that the comfortable transition periods are especially short, leaving only summer and winter in the year.
In a normal year, after Chushu the dog days end, the autumn wind gradually blows away the heat, and it gets cooler day by day — the mild, not-too-hot-not-too-cold autumn is especially pleasant. But in years when Chushu still falls within the dog days, the heat simply will not recede and the autumn coolness is long in coming. Summer's heat drags straight into late autumn, and when cold air finally arrives it plunges in a cliff-like drop, going straight into winter. Spring is the same: the warm-up is rapid, the cold lingers, and the gentle spring days are brief.
Simply put: it stays hot for a long time and turns cold fast, with only a few comfortable days. This year is a typical 'Chushu within the dog days.' Although we have passed the Start of Autumn and are at Chushu, this period remains muggy and humid, with no coolness at dawn or dusk and sticky air — no different from the dog days.
Many wonder why it is still so hot at Chushu. The reason is that the dog days are not over; the summer heat stacks on top of the autumn energy, making it even more humid and hot. The reason elders value this folk proverb is not only to read the weather but to farm and live by it. In the past, livelihoods depended on the weather; with short springs and autumns and abrupt hot-cold switches, crops were prone to problems. An overlong 'autumn tiger' with high heat and drought slows the grain-filling of autumn crops; later, too-rapid cooling brings early frost, hurting the harvest.
In such years, the most obvious feeling is the lack of transition. A few days ago it was so hot you wanted the AC on; before long you may need a long-sleeved coat — the season change is abrupt. So I sincerely remind everyone: this Chushu, do not rush to change seasons and crave the cool. Do not blast cold air, eat iced food, or switch to thin clothes right after Chushu. 'A year with no spring or autumn' most easily makes people fall ill during the change — the sudden hot-cold swings are hardest on the body, and colds, heavy dampness, and weak digestion all come from this.
The old sayings of our ancestors were never metaphysics; they are summaries of life experience. Understanding 'when Chushu falls within the dog days, the year has no spring or autumn,' and dressing and eating in tune with the weather to pass the summer-autumn boundary steadily, is more practical than any health regimen.
