What should we eat in autumn, according to Traditional Chinese Medicine?
In Chinese tradition, seasonal eating is closely connected to the rhythms of nature. As autumn brings cooler, drier conditions, Traditional Chinese Medicine associates this season with the lungs and emphasizes gentle nourishment.
In this video, Mr. He introduces three traditional autumn foods:
- **Pear (梨 · lí)** — Why the white flesh of a pear is associated with autumn and the lungs in traditional Chinese thought. - **Tremella (銀耳 · yín ěr)** — Also known as snow fungus, traditionally prepared by soaking and slowly simmering. - **Lily Bulb (百合 · bǎi hé)** — An edible bulb that can be cooked with rice congee or oatmeal.
Through these everyday foods, we explore a central principle of traditional Chinese health cultivation: adapting our diet and daily habits to the changing seasons.
This video is an excerpt from a HECHINESE membership lesson on the Autumn Equinox (秋分 · Qiūfēn). The complete lesson explores seasonal changes, Chinese philosophy, traditional health cultivation, and the relationship between human life and the natural world.
That's a good time to eat pear.
Why?
In traditional Chinese medicine,
no matter what color outside of the pear,
but inside is always white.
This white links to this organ,
links to autumn.
So for daily routine, for eating and drinking,
one thing you want to avoid
drying out.
And also to help improve the quality and the function of your lung, 肺(fèi),
because the five organs, the lung,
is linked to this season.
is linked to autumn.
How to cultivate, nourish your 肺(fèi),
your breathing system?
A very good fruit is pear.
That's a good time to eat pear.
Why?
In 《黃帝內經》(huáng dì nèi jīng) or traditional Chinese medicine,
no matter what color outside of the pear,
but inside is always white, you see.
This white 白(bái) links to this organ,
links to autumn.
The color for autumn is also white.
So eat this.
This is a good time to eat pear, and also you want to make some congee.
You use this tremella.
You can find it in the Chinese store or Japanese store
or Korean store.
Before you cook it, put it into a big bowl with cold water.
Let it soak in the water for a couple hours and wash it out gently.
You know,
just soak in the cold water for several hours.
Then it just opens up.
Then you tear it with your hand.
Don't use a knife.
Tear it small, like this kind of size, kind of debris,
and put it into pottery.
Pottery is better than a steel wok, okay? Pottery.
And add some sugar, not too much.
As long as it tastes sweet, and cook.
Boil it, then decrease the heat to very low.
Just keep boiling,
and add more—
more than enough, however much water you want,
and keep boiling at low heat for a couple hours.
if you want to make it softer, kind of feel, boiling longer time.
It's very good for those people
when you easily get a cold and get a cough in the autumn.
It's a good time to have this.
Even though this is not for medical advice, right?
If you have a really serious problem with coughing and with lung,
you wanna go to a real traditional medical doctor. Doctor,
not Chinese doctor.
Doctor who specializes in traditional Chinese medicine,
But this is for daily maintenance.
And another one is lily bulb.
It could be a fresh one or dried.
For a dried one,
you need to put it into cold water.
Let it expand,
let it open up for a couple of hours,
or sometimes it could be overnight.
When they become soft,
then you cook it with congee, with rice.
You make rice congee and put this in.
Just make a regular congee or oatmeal, or oatmeal, to cook it.
But a long enough time.
it's good for your lung,
In this particular season, because 秋天(qiū tiān)
the autumn, everything's dried out,
even the water dried out in the river, in the lake.
All the water in your body also dried out,
and you want to water it in a warm way,
in a very gentle way.
So that's three things good,
especially for those who are easy to get cold and easy to cough, okay?
That's living and daily eating.