Chushu (處暑): End of Heat, When Summer Lets Go

Chushu (處暑, End of Heat) arrives at sun longitude 150°, halfway through the 申 month. It is the term when the stubborn heat of late summer finally starts to give way, and mornings and evenings turn noticeably fresher.

Timing

haru gives Chushu at 11:19 KST on 23 August 2026 and at 17:14 KST on 23 August 2027, a shift of 5 hours 55 minutes. Chushu is a qi term, so the month pillar stays as it was set at Liqiu: 丙申 in 2026 and 戊申 in 2027.

The terms are now arriving a little faster than in midsummer. From Chushu to Bailu takes 15 days 12 hours 22 minutes in 2026 (15 days 12 hours 14 minutes in 2027), several hours shorter than the gaps around the solstice, because the Earth is moving back toward the faster part of its orbit.

What 處 means

處 usually means 'place' or 'to dwell', but in this name it carries the older sense of 'to stop' or 'to settle down'. 處暑 is the heat coming to rest. The tradition reads it not as a sudden change but as the point where summer's momentum is spent: the days can still be hot, yet the heat no longer builds.

Nature in late August

In Korea this is when the clear, high skies of early autumn begin, rice ears start to fill, and the nights become comfortable for sleeping again. Typhoons can still pass in this season. The almanac's pentads for Chushu speak of harvest and a new crispness in the air:

鷹乃祭鳥 - the hawk lays out its catch
天地始肅 - heaven and earth begin to grow austere
禾乃登 - the grain is gathered in

Korean customs

A well-known Korean saying goes: 처서가 지나면 모기 입이 비뚤어진다, 'after Chushu, the mosquito's mouth goes crooked', meaning the mosquitoes lose their bite as the nights cool. Late August into September is also the season for 벌초, when families tidy the grass on ancestral graves ahead of Chuseok. In older households it was a time to air out books and clothes in the dry sun after the damp months.

From cooling foods to warming foods

All summer the tradition leaned the table toward cool foods. Around Chushu it starts to bring warming foods back in, gently, as the nights cool. haru keeps two short lists that show the two ends of this shift:

haru's cooling and warming food lists
Cooling (summer side)	Warming (autumn-winter side)
Cucumber	Ginger
Pear	Jujube
Mung bean	Cinnamon
Tofu	Garlic chives
Lotus root	Kabocha squash

What to cook

A good late-August table keeps one cool dish and adds one warm one. In haru's recipe book, autumn dishes include braised kelp and tofu (kelp_tofu, even in nature) and a kabocha squash porridge (pumpkin_porridge, warm). New-crop grains, early apples and the last peaches round out the season.

Gentle habits

Yangsheng for Chushu follows the air as it dries and cools:

Morning and evening walks become pleasant again; use them.
Keep a light layer at hand for the cooler hours after sunset.
Cut back slowly on iced drinks and cold raw food.
Deep breathing outdoors suits the clearer autumn air.

A line of poetry

Wang Wei (王維), Tang dynasty, 'Autumn Evening in the Mountains' (山居秋暝): 「空山新雨後，天氣晚來秋。」 - 'In the empty mountains after fresh rain, the evening air carries autumn.'

Questions

Does the heat really end at Chushu?

Not overnight. The tradition reads Chushu as the point where heat stops building. In Korea hot days can continue, but mornings and nights usually cool down.

Why are the solar terms getting closer together?

The Earth moves faster as it heads toward the near point of its orbit in early January, so each 15° takes a little less time in autumn than in summer.

Is it time to stop eating cooling foods?

The tradition suggests a gradual shift, adding warm dishes while keeping some cool ones. It is general lifestyle advice only.

Recipes for this season

Abalone Rice Porridge (Jeonbokjuk) and the Water ElementKorean abalone porridge in 40 minutes: 2 abalone, 1 cup of rice, 6 cups of water. Why the tradition reads it as an even, all-season Water dish.Baek-kimchi: a Cool Metal White Kimchi without ChiliKorean white kimchi with napa cabbage, radish and pear in a clear brine, no chili. How the tradition reads its white colour as Metal.Black Sesame Porridge: a Black, Water-Element BowlBlack sesame porridge in 20 minutes with 4 tbsp black sesame and glutinous rice. Why black foods are read as Water, for autumn and winter tables.Broccoli and Tofu Salad: a 15-Minute Wood and Water SideA 15-minute Korean side of blanched broccoli and mashed tofu, and how the five-element tradition reads its green Wood and soft Water.Chestnut Rice (Bam-bap): an Autumn Earth BowlKorean chestnut rice for 2 in 50 minutes: 10 peeled chestnuts and 3 jujubes on soaked rice. Why the tradition reads it as Earth.Chilled Cucumber Seaweed Soup and Black Bean RiceA 15-minute chilled seaweed and cucumber soup with black bean rice: a cool, Water-element summer meal and how the five-element tradition reads it.