Artifacts reveal customs during the Start of Autumn

Today marks the Start of Autumn (li qiu), a time when crops transition from green to golden and the air begins to carry hints of the harvest season.

In the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) Auspicious Grain from the Taipei Palace Museum in Taipei, we witness the growth of grain and the abundance to come. The Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) pottery chef figurine from Chengdu Museum invites us to enjoy the tradition of tie qiu biao (gaining autumn weight for the cooler days ahead). The Tang Dynasty (618-907) tri-color watermelon from Shaanxi History Museum encourages us to eat seasonal fruits like watermelon to "bite autumn" (yao qiu), chasing away the last summer heat.