Start of Autumn is the 13th of the 24 solar terms. Start of Autumn reflects the end of summer and the beginning of autumn. Although it indicates the beginning of autumn, hot weather will not come to an end. The period of hot days after Start of Autumn, usually lasting for 30 days, is called “Autumn Tiger”. Because of decreasing rainfall, it is even more sweltering during this period than during Major Heat.
立秋是二十四节气中的第十三个节气。立秋反映了夏末秋初。虽然这预示着秋天的开始，但炎热的天气不会结束。立秋后的一段炎热的日子，通常持续30天，被称为“秋老虎”。由于降雨量减少，这段时间比大暑时期更闷热。
On the first day of the Start of Autumn, usually people will weigh themselves and compare their weight to what it was at the Start of Summer. If one has lost weight during the summer, then at the beginning of autumn, he or she needs to flesh out by eating many different kinds of delicious food, especially meat.
在立秋的第一天，人们通常会称体重，并将自己的体重与立夏时的体重进行比较。如果一个人在夏天瘦了，那么在立秋的时候，他或她需要通过吃许多不同种类的美味食物来“贴膘”，尤其是肉。
In Hangzhou, people eat peaches on the Start of Autumn day. The peach stones are kept until New Year’s Eve and thrown into the stove, burned into ash. People believed that in this way, plagues (瘟疫) could be prevented for the whole year. The Start of Autumn period is harvest time for Taiwan longan. People believe that eating longan will help their later generations become senior officials. In Shandong province, people make dumplings during the Start of Autumn, and they call it “Eating the Autumn”. Most of the families will eat dumplings together after Start of Autumn day. Starting from the Tang Dynasty and the Song Dynasty, people in Yiwu, Zhejiang province, have eaten red beans on Start of Autumn day. They take seven to 14 little beans, swallowing them with well water. When taking the beans, one must face west, it is said, so as not to get dysentery (痢疾) during the autumn. During the Qing Dynasty, people would put gourds (葫芦) outside for a day before the Start of Autumn, and ate them on Start of Autumn day to drive off the summer heat. Today people in Tianjin still keep this custom, believing that eating melons such as towel gourd, white gourd and bitter gourd can prevent diarrhea (腹泻) in autumn and the coming winter and spring.
在杭州，人们在立秋这天吃桃子。桃核被保存到除夕，然后被扔进炉子，烧成灰烬。人们相信，通过这种方式，瘟疫可以全年预防。立秋是台湾桂圆的收获季节。人们相信吃桂圆有助于他们的后代成为高级官员。在山东省，人们在立秋时节包饺子，他们称之为“吃秋”。立秋后，大多数家庭会一起吃饺子。从唐代和宋代开始，浙江义乌的人们就在立秋这天吃红豆。他们取7粒至14粒小赤豆,以井水吞服。据说，吃豆子时必须面朝西方，以免在秋天患痢疾。在清朝，人们会在立秋前把葫芦放在外面一天，立秋时吃葫芦来避暑。今天天津人仍然保留着这一习俗，认为吃丝瓜、冬瓜、苦瓜等瓜类可以预防秋天和即将到来的冬春腹泻。
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