A grain of truth

On this day, newlyweds, accompanied by their good friends, plant rice together. While planting, they throw mud at each other. At the end of this activity, whoever has the most mud on them proves to be the most popular person.

In southern China, May and June are the months when plums become ripe. Green plums contain a variety of natural and high-quality organic acids and are rich in minerals. They can help clean blood, lower blood lipids, and reduce tiredness. For drink lovers, it is also a good season to make plum wine. However, fresh plums are acerbic and need to be boiled before serving.

According to Guo Wenbin, an award-winning author and scholar of traditional culture, the weather is hot during mang zhong, therefore, eating vegetables and fruit and drinking plenty of water every day are recommended. Tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, celery, asparagus, water melons and strawberries are good at cooling down the body in summer. Eating something bitter, such as bitter gourd and lotus seeds, which are rich in antioxidants, is also recommended.

Guo writes in his novel, The Lunar Calendar, that people should avoid spicy and strongly flavored food during the period, which is the healthcare advice from Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon, an ancient Chinese book.

With the temperature rising, it's also a season to adjust habits and to nourish the heart.

"We call mang zhong the busiest time of the year to farm, however, it also reminds us to slow down and gain inner peace. Our energy is abundant in summer but we should learn how to use it to benefit the body and heart," says Guo.

He also notes that after this period, summer solstice will arrive.

"In ancient China, people marked summer solstice with celebrations. Mang zhong is the prelude to that," says Guo.