Start of Autumn Health: The Response to Autumn Qi — The Way of Gathering, Moistening Dryness, Nurturing the Lung

Creator: 岐黄书房
Published: 2026-06-10T01:00:00+08:00

First pentad: cool wind arrives; second: white dew descends; third: the cold cicada sings — the response to autumn qi is the way of gathering; going against it injures the lung.

June 10, 2026 岐黄书房 About 10 min

「In the three months of autumn, this is called the season of ripeness and balance. The qi of Heaven is urgent; the qi of Earth is bright. Retire early and rise early, with the roosters; Keep the will at peace and ease, to soften the punishment of autumn; Gather in the spirit-qi, to keep the autumn qi balanced; Do not let the will go outward, to keep the lung-qi clear. Such is the response to autumn qi, and the way of nurturing gathering. To go against it injures the lung; in winter one develops sun-xie (diarrhoea with undigested food); what is offered for storage is meagre.」 (「秋三月,此谓容平,天气以急,地气以明,早卧早起,与鸡俱兴,使志安宁,以缓秋刑,收敛神气,使秋气平,无外其志,使肺气清,此秋气之应,养收之道也。逆之则伤肺,冬为飧泄,奉藏者少。」)

— Huangdi Neijing · Suwen · Great Treatise on the Four Qi and the Regulation of the Spirit (《黄帝内经·素问·四气调神大论》)

「Start of Autumn, the node of the seventh month. Qiu (秋) means jiu, that is, things at this time are gathered in and bound.」 (「立秋,七月节。秋,揫也,物于此而揫敛也。」)

— Wu Cheng, Monthly Ordinances of the Seventy-Two Pentads (《月令七十二候集解》, Yuan dynasty)

I. The Meaning of the Term: The Beginning of Autumn — Things Are Gathered In

1. Astronomy and Season

Start of Autumn (Liqiu, 立秋) is the thirteenth of the twenty-four solar terms. The sun reaches celestial longitude 135°, and the node falls on 7–9 August.

“Li” (立) means to establish, to begin; “Qiu” (秋) is “jiu” (揫) — “jiu” (揪 jiū) means “to gather, to bind” (Shuowen Jiezi); “things at this time are gathered in and bound”, that is, all things begin to gather, to be drawn back into storage.

Thus Start of Autumn is not “the arrival of autumn”, but “the establishment of autumn qi” — in ancient reckoning, “Start of Autumn” is “the beginning of autumn”; “End of Heat” is “the end of summer-heat”; “White Dew” is “the congealing of dew”; “Autumnal Equinox” is “the midpoint of autumn” (day and night equally divided).

2. The Three Pentads

Pentad	Phenomenon	Explanation (after Monthly Ordinances of the Seventy-Two Pentads)
First	Cool Wind Arrives (凉风至)	「Cool wind — the warm wind has changed into the cool wind; the warm transforms, and the cool-qi begins its purification.」
Second	White Dew Descends (白露降)	「After great rains, the cool descends; white dew descends and the summer-heat retreats.」
Third	Cold Cicada Sings (寒蝉鸣)	「The cold cicada — the smaller, blue-coloured cicada — sings in response to the yin qi.」

Within the three pentads, “cool wind arrives” marks the characteristic of “autumn qi” at Start of Autumn — the warm wind changes, and the cool wind begins — the fore-sign of “autumn’s purification”; “white dew descends” intimates “dryness” — after Start of Autumn, the weather grows drier, and morning dew first congeals; “cold cicada sings” tacitly answers “metal qi” — the cicada sings in response to summer-fire; its colour blue senses autumn-metal, and its note changes.

II. Classical Theory: The Way of Nurturing Gathering

1. “The Three Months of Autumn” from the Suwen

The general framework for Start-of-Autumn cultivation is set forth in the “Great Treatise on the Four Qi” of the Suwen:

「In the three months of autumn, this is called the season of ripeness and balance. The qi of Heaven is urgent; the qi of Earth is bright. Retire early and rise early, with the roosters; Keep the will at peace and ease, to soften the punishment of autumn; Gather in the spirit-qi, to keep the autumn qi balanced; Do not let the will go outward, to keep the lung-qi clear. Such is the response to autumn qi, and the way of nurturing gathering. To go against it injures the lung; in winter one develops sun-xie; what is offered for storage is meagre.」

Wang Bing of the Tang, in his Chong Guang Buzhu Huangdi Neijing Suwen, annotates:

「‘Rong’ (容) means full; ‘ping’ (平) means settled. The ten thousand things of summer have grown; flowers and fruits have formed; their aspect is full and settled. ‘The qi of Heaven is urgent’ — the wind sounds are sharp and cutting; ‘the qi of Earth is bright’ — the colours of things are clear and bright. Rising early accords with yang; retiring early accords with yin; the will at peace brings the spirit rest; the spirit at rest brings the qi gathered; hence the name ‘nurturing gathering’.」

Zhang Jiebin of the Ming, in his Leijing, annotates:

「Autumn qi is purifying and killing; hence it is called the ‘punishment of autumn’; if the will is not at peace, the spirit is in disorder, the spirit in disorder the qi disperses — how then to soften it? One must keep the will at peace and ease, so that the spirit-qi is gathered in; then the autumn qi will be in balance, and one may soften the purifying killing of autumn. If one goes against this, the lung receives the illness first; metal does not engender water; when water is deficient, in winter there will be sun-xie; what is offered for storage is meagre; the root is injured.」

2. The Lung Governs Autumn; Autumn Qi Connects with the Lung

The Suwen · Treatise on the Six Regulatory and the Manifestations of the Viscera (《素问·六节藏象论》):

「The lung is the root of qi, the dwelling-place of the po (corporeal soul) … it is connected with the qi of autumn.」

The Suwen · Treatise on the Viscera-Qi and the Four Seasons (《素问·脏气法时论》):

「The lung governs autumn; the Hand-Taiyin and Hand-Yangming channels are responsible for its treatment.」

Therefore Start-of-Autumn cultivation above all nurtures the lung — the lung governs qi, controls respiration, diffuses and downbears, and regulates the waterways; it also “the lung governs the skin and body hair,” “the lung opens into the nose,” “the lung governs sorrow”; autumn qi corresponds to the lung and is “purifying” — “purifying” here means “gathering, restraining, killing, cutting.”

3. The Dryness Qi Takes Command

Yu Chang (喻昌, 1585–1664) of the Qing, in his Yimen Falu (《医门法律》, 1658), originated the “Treatise on Autumn-Dryness”:

「When autumn injures by dryness, qi rises counterflow and there is cough; it issues as wei and jue (flaccidity and reversal); dryness qi injures the lung; the lung is a delicate organ, easily injured and hard to recover.」

Wu Jutong of the Qing, in his Wenbing Tiaobian (1798), established a special chapter on “Autumn-Dryness” and divided it into “Warm-Dryness” and “Cool-Dryness”:

「Dryness qi begins after the Autumnal Equinox and before Light Snow; Yangming dry-metal; cool qi takes command. When dry-metal takes command, headache, body cold-and-hot, pain in the chest and hypochondrium, in severe cases pain in shan-jia (lower abdominal masses) — this is cool-dryness. At onset, Xing Su San (杏苏散) governs. Headache, body hot, not averse to cold but on the contrary averse to heat, distension of the canthi, cough, sore throat — this is warm-dryness; Sang Xing Tang (桑杏汤) governs.」

After Start of Autumn, the summer-heat has not yet departed while dryness is rising — “warm-dryness” is most common; “cool-dryness” then appears after the Autumnal Equinox.

III. Five Essentials for Start-of-Autumn Health

1. Daily Life: Retire Early and Rise Early, with the Roosters

The Neijing plainly teaches “retire early, rise early, with the roosters” — compared with the “retire late, rise early” of Summer Solstice, at Start of Autumn one should “retire early”, in order to “gather in the spirit-qi”.

🟢 Rising early: around 5:00–6:00 (maoshi), with the roosters — rising with the cock-crow to accord with the gathering of yang qi;
🟢 Retiring early: around 21:00–22:00 (the end of xushi), gathering in the spirit-qi to nurture the lung;
🟢 “Bundle up in spring, freeze a little in autumn”: after Start of Autumn, “autumn freezing” is practised in measure — Cao Tingdong of the Qing, in Lao Lao Heng Yan (1773): 「One may add clothes when one should; when one feels hot, reduce them. Do not be excessively cold; do not be excessively warm.」

2. Emotions: Keep the Will at Peace, to Soften Autumn’s Punishment

The Neijing’s “keep the will at peace, to soften autumn’s punishment” — autumn qi is purifying and killing; “autumn’s punishment” is “the killing of autumn qi”. In autumn, people are easily sad, grieved, melancholy — “women grieve in spring, men grieve in autumn” — the Suwen · Treatise on the Elucidation of the Five Qi (《素问·宣明五气篇》): 「When the essence-qi converges with the lung, there is grief.」

Zhang Jiebin of the Ming, in his Leijing, annotates:

「Autumn qi is purifying and killing; hence it is called autumn’s punishment. If the will is not at peace, the spirit is in disorder, the spirit in disorder the qi disperses — how then to soften it? One must keep the will at peace and ease, so that the spirit-qi is gathered in; then the autumn qi will be in balance, and one may soften the purifying killing of autumn.」

Start-of-Autumn Emotional Regulation:

🟢 Climb high — “At the Double Ninth climb high; this is precisely autumn feeling”; climbing the mountain and gazing far afield, spreading the breast;
🟢 Admire chrysanthemums — autumn has chrysanthemums; the chrysanthemum is the “hermit among flowers”; Tao Yuanming: 「Picking chrysanthemums by the eastern fence, I see the southern mountain in ease.」;
🟢 Listen to autumn’s sounds — autumn sounds, Shijing’s 「the autumn wind blows sharp」, Chu Ci’s 「waving, waving, the autumn wind」;
🟢 Speak little — “Autumn qi gathers; too much speech injures qi”; few words to nurture lung-qi.

3. Diet: Increase Sour and Reduce Pungent; Moistening Dryness and Nurturing the Lung

“Increase sour and reduce pungent” is the essence of Start-of-Autumn dietary care.

🌿 The Five Flavors — “Increasing Sour”

The Suwen · Treatise on the Supreme Truth (《素问·至真要大论》): 「The lung suffers from qi rising counterflow; quickly take bitter to drain it」, and 「The lung desires to gather; quickly take sour to gather it; use sour to supplement it; pungent to drain it.」

Zhang Jiebin, in his Leijing, annotates:

「Lung-qi should gather; it should not disperse. Sour gathers and pungent disperses; hence sour supplements and pungent drains. In autumn the lung-metal is on duty; therefore one should increase sour to assist gathering.」

Hence “reducing pungent” means reducing pungent-hot, dispersing items — scallion, ginger, garlic, hot pepper, Chinese chives, Chinese onion (xie) and the like; “increasing sour” means increasing sour, astringent, gathering items — black plums (wumei), hawthorn, grapes, tomato, pomegranate, apple, lemon.

Wang Ang (汪昂, 1615–1694) of the Qing, in Bencao Beiyao (《本草备要》, 1694):

「Black plum (wumei), sour-astringent and warm; gathers the lung and astringes the intestines; generates fluids and stops thirst; settles hui (roundworms). … Treats chronic cough, chronic malaria, chronic dysentery, and deficiency heat.」

🌿 Items that Moisten Dryness and Nurture the Lung

Wang Mengying of the Qing, in Suixi Bujian Yinshi Pu, establishes a “dietary treatment for autumn-dryness”:

Ingredient	Nature-Flavor	Function	Canonical Record
Pear (梨)	Sweet, slightly sour, cool	Moistens the lung and cools the heart; disperses phlegm and downbears fire	*Bencao Gangmu: 「Moistens the lung and cools the heart; disperses phlegm and downbears fire; resolves sore toxins and wine toxins.*」
White Fungus (银耳, Yin’er, tremella)	Sweet, bland, level	Moistens the lung and nourishes the stomach; generates fluids and boosts qi	*Bencao Zaixin* (《本草再新》): 「Moistens the lung and nourishes the yin; boosts qi and harmonizes blood; supplements the brain and strengthens the heart.」
Lily Bulb (百合)	Sweet, slightly cold	Moistens the lung and stops cough; clears the heart and calms the spirit	*Bencao Gangmu: 「Moistens the lung and stops cough; calms the heart and settles the spirit.*」
Ophiopogon (麦冬, maidong)	Sweet, slightly bitter, slightly cold	Nourishes yin and generates fluids; moistens the lung and clears the heart	*Shennong Bencao Jing: 「governs qi-binding in the heart and abdomen; injury to center and overfullness; severed stomach network-vessels; emaciation and shortness of breath.*」
Solomon’s Seal (玉竹, yuzhu)	Sweet, slightly cold	Nourishes yin and moistens dryness; generates fluids and stops thirst	*Shennong Bencao Jing: 「governs sudden wind-heat of center; cannot move; knotted sinews and bound flesh; all insufficiencies.*」
Fritillaria (川贝, chuanbei)	Bitter, sweet, slightly cold	Moistens the lung and stops cough; transforms phlegm and levels panting	*Bencao Huiyan* (《本草汇言》): 「Moistens the lung and disperses phlegm; stops cough and settles panting.」
Honey (蜂蜜)	Sweet, level	Moistens the lung and supplements the center; moistens the intestines and frees the stool	*Bencao Gangmu: 「Harmonizes camp and guard; moistens the viscera and bowels; frees the triple burner; moistens the spleen and stomach.*」

🌿 A Word on the Folk-Saying “Do Not Eat Melons in Autumn”

There is a folk saying: “After Start of Autumn one should not eat melons.” The reason is that most melons are cold in nature — watermelon, bitter melon, sponge gourd, cucumber — after Start of Autumn the weather turns cooler, and “eating melons in summer” is still acceptable, but “eating melons in autumn” easily damages the spleen’s yang, and when the spleen’s yang is damaged, diarrhoea, loose stools, and abdominal pain follow.

Hu Sihui of the Yuan, in Yinshan Zhengyao (1330), summarises “What is suitable in the four seasons”:

「In spring one should eat wheat; in summer, beans and chicken; in autumn, sesame and dog; in winter, millet and pork.」

“Sesame” (ma, 麻) refers to sesame and similar — sesame is level in nature, sweet in flavor; it nourishes yin and moistens dryness, supplements the liver and kidney, and boosts essence and blood; “eating sesame in autumn” perfectly answers “moistening dryness and nurturing the lung.”

Li Shizhen, in Bencao Gangmu:

「Sesame (huma), supplements the five viscera; boosts qi and strength; lengthens the muscles; fills the marrow and brain; long-taken lightens the body and delays aging. … Moistens and nourishes the five viscera; treats all chronic illnesses.」

The saying “Do not eat melons in autumn” is a summary of folk experience; its rationale lies in “at Start of Autumn, yang qi begins to gather; one must not damage the spleen’s yang”; it is not an absolute prohibition, and one should not generalize — the “autumn” in “autumn melons spoil the belly” mostly means late autumn; at Start of Autumn and early autumn the summer-heat has not yet departed, and a small amount of melons in season is still perfectly fine.

4. The Folk-Custom of “Sticking Autumn Fat” — Custom and Medicine

The folk-custom of “Sticking Autumn Fat” (贴秋膘) is recorded in the Qing-dynasty Yanjing Suishi Jisheng (《帝京岁时纪胜》, Pan Rongbi, 1758) and the Yanjing Suishi Ji (《燕京岁时记》, Fucha Dunzhong, 1906).

Pan Rongbi, in Yanjing Suishi Jisheng:

「On the day of Start of Autumn, the officials both within and without are each granted melons and fruits; the common people eat meat; this is called ‘sticking autumn fat.’ During the fu days people all suffer from the heat; meat nourishes them, so that when autumn turns cool they may withstand the cold.」

Fucha Dunzhong, in Yanjing Suishi Ji:

「At Start of Autumn, … the rich families eat autumn pancakes, spread with meat; the poor eat bean sprouts and bean-curd, which also suffice to meet the demands of the solar term.」

The medical rationale of “Sticking Autumn Fat” — after Start of Autumn the weather gradually cools, and appetite gradually opens; people have suffered from the damaged spleen and stomach of summer’s heat; with the arrival of autumn, a little nourishment is added, “nurturing with meat”, so that when winter’s cold arrives, the spleen and stomach are vigorous and the cold cannot injure them.

The Dos and Don’ts of “Sticking Autumn Fat”:

Do	Don’t
Warming-supplementing, not fierce and violent: duck, lean pork, crucian carp, lotus root, chestnut	Fierce and great-heat supplementation: deer meat, mutton, aconite, bajitian (easily causes effulgent fire)
Nurturing the viscera with viscera: pig’s lung (nurtures the lung), Chinese yam (fortifies the spleen)	Raw and cold melons and fruits: watermelon, iced things, over-eating pears
Vegetables in season: jiaobai (water-oat), lotus seed, lily bulb, radish	Pungent-hot dispersing: scallion, hot pepper, mustard (so that lung-qi may not be dissipated)

Editor’s Note: “Sticking Autumn Fat” is a folk custom, not a medical prescription — for those of damp-heat, phlegm-damp, or obese constitution, one must not “stick autumn fat”, lest one induce “diarrhoea, loose stools, bad breath, acne.”

5. Movement: Daoyin and Anqiao, with Gathering as the Mark

Autumn movement should take “gathering” as the mark — it should not be “the discharging of summer”, but should favour “Eight Pieces of Brocade, Taiji, Five Animal Frolics, Daoyin”, with “gathering the essence and qi internally, stretching the sinews and bones.”

Xu Lingtai of the Qing, in Yixue Yuanliu Lun:

「In the month of autumn one should nurture by stillness; great sweating and great labour are not suitable.」

Start-of-Autumn Sitting Exercise (after Gao Lian, Zunsheng Bajian):

「The circulation is governed by the fourth qi of Taiyin; the hour corresponds to Foot-Shaoyang Gallbladder (Minister-Fire). Each day at chou and yin hours (1–5 a.m.), sit upright; both hands press on the ground; draw in the body, bend the knees, rise; move the Chong channel; left and right, three to five times each; click the teeth, exhale and inhale, swallow the saliva.」

The principle: Foot-Shaoyang Gallbladder answers Start of Autumn’s “yang qi begins to gather”; the rising of “bending the knees, drawing in the body, rising” draws up the clear yang; the descending of “clicking the teeth, exhaling and inhaling, swallowing the saliva” gathers in the yin fluids.

IV. Channel Care: Acupoints for Nurturing the Lung and Moistening Dryness

Point	Location	Function	Classic
Feishu (肺俞, Lung Shu, Bladder Channel)	Below the spinous process of the 3rd thoracic vertebra, 1.5 cun lateral	Regulates lung-qi, stops cough and panting	*Zhenjiu Jiayijing: 「When lung-qi is hot and one cannot lie down to breathe, Feishu governs.*」
Taiyuan (太渊, Supreme Abyss, Lung Channel, Yuan-Source point)	At the radial end of the transverse wrist crease, in the depression on the radial side of the radial artery	Supplements lung-qi, benefits the throat	*Nanjing · The Sixty-Eighth Difficulty* (《难经·六十八难》): 「The pulse-meeting is Taiyuan.」
Lieque (列缺, Forked Passage, Lung Channel, Luo-Connecting point)	Above the styloid process of the radius, 1.5 cun above the transverse wrist crease	Diffuses the lung and disperses wind, stops cough	*Lingshu · Channel Vessels* (《灵枢·经脉》): 「The Hand-Taiyin divergence is called Lieque.」
Zhaohai (照海, Shining Sea, Kidney Channel)	In the depression at the lower border of the medial malleolus	Nourishes yin and moistens dryness, benefits the throat	*Ba Mai Ba Xue Zhi Zheng Ge* (《八脉八穴治症歌》): 「For dry throat, Zhaohai and Taixi.」

Taiyuan + Lieque + Zhaohai are the three points of “must-press” for nurturing the lung and moistening dryness in the three months of autumn.

V. Common Ailments at the Season and Their Care

1. “Warm-Dryness Cough”

After Start of Autumn, “warm-dryness cough” is common — dry cough with no phlegm, or scant and sticky phlegm, dry throat and mouth, hoarse voice, or the “warm-dryness” signs of “body hot, not averse to cold, averse to heat”.

Wu Jutong, in Wenbing Tiaobian, establishes “Sang Xing Tang” (桑杏汤):

「Mulberry leaf, apricot kernel, shashen (adenophora), elephant bei (fritillaria), fermented soybean, gardenia, pear-peel; treats warm-dryness injuring the lung. Headache, body hot, not averse to cold but on the contrary averse to heat, distension of the canthi, cough, sore throat — this is warm-dryness; Sang Xing Tang governs.」

Care:

🟢 Sang Xing Tang;
🟢 Chuanbei steamed with pear — 1 pear + 3 g of chuanbei powder + a little rock sugar; steam and eat;
🟢 Cook porridge with maidong, lily bulb, white fungus;
🟢 Eat “Autumn Pear Syrup” (recipe from Bencao Qiuyuan, 1848).

2. “Autumn Dysentery” and “Autumn Diarrhoea”

After Start of Autumn, “autumn dysentery” and “autumn diarrhoea” are common, mostly owing to summer-damp not yet cleared, dietary intemperance, and over-indulgence in cold.

Lei Feng of the Qing, in Shibing Lun (1882):

「Autumn injures by damp; qi rises counterflow and there is cough; autumn injures by dryness; the lung loses its purification. Cold food and cold drink — the spleen’s and kidney’s yang is injured, the food is not transformed, this is called sun-xie.」