Start of Winter (Lidong, 立冬), at solar longitude 225°, opens winter: Taiwan enjoys tonic soups, the north eats dumplings and Shaoxing begins brewing wine.
Solar longitude
225°
Type
Sectional term (jie)
Season
Winter
Order
No. 19 of 24
Usual dates
Nov 7
Meaning and Astronomy
Lidong (立冬) begins when the sun reaches ecliptic longitude 225°, usually around 7 or 8 November. Li means 'to begin', and dong carries the sense of ending and storing away: crops have been harvested and stored, and animals seek shelter for the cold months.
It is the first term of winter and a jie (節) or 'sectional' term, marking the start of the tenth month (the hai month) in the stem-branch calendar. With the starts of spring, summer and autumn it forms the 'Four Beginnings', each an important seasonal marker in ancient times. As with the Start of Autumn, the calendar runs ahead of the weather, and in the south real cold may still be weeks away.
The Three Pentads
First pentad: Water begins to freeze (水始冰) - thin ice forms on water in the north.
Second pentad: The earth begins to freeze (地始凍) - the surface of the soil starts to harden with frost.
Third pentad: Pheasants enter the sea and become giant clams (雉入大水為蜃) - pheasants were seen less often while large clams with similar patterns appeared on the shore, so ancient observers imagined a transformation.
Climate and Farming
Around Lidong, temperatures in the northeast and the far north of China hover near freezing and heating season begins in some places. South of the Yangtze, a spell of mild, sunny weather is common, known as the 'little spring of the tenth month' (十月小陽春). In Taiwan the northeast monsoon strengthens, bringing damp chill to the north while the centre and south stay warm. Hong Kong turns dry and cool, though real chill usually waits until December.
In the north, farm work slows: winter wheat is irrigated before freezing and cabbages and radishes are stored. In the south, farmers use the fine weather to sow rapeseed and wheat, tend winter vegetables and repair irrigation works.
Customs
Lidong was an official occasion in ancient China. Records say the Zhou king led his court to the northern outskirts to 'welcome winter', and later dynasties distributed winter clothing to officials and relief to widows and orphans before the cold set in.
Taiwan's signature custom is budong (補冬), 'nourishing for winter', summed up in the saying 'at the Start of Winter, nourish for winter and treat the hungry mouth'. Families cook sesame-oil chicken, ginger duck and mutton hot pot, or stew herbal soups such as siwu and shiquan, and ginger-duck restaurants fill up. In northern China, people eat dumplings (jiaozi), explaining that jiao sounds like the word for the 'meeting' of autumn and winter.
Around Shaoxing in Zhejiang, rice wine brewing traditionally begins at Lidong, as cold, clear water and low temperatures favour fermentation. Hong Kong has no specific Lidong custom, but hot pot and cured-meat rice become everyday comforts as the weather cools. In Korea, households traditionally make winter kimchi around this time, a practice called kimjang that is inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
Seasonal Food and Wellness
Traditional thinking associates winter with storing energy, recommending early nights, later mornings and avoiding overexertion. Warming ingredients such as mutton, chicken, chestnuts, walnuts, black sesame and white radish are typical of winter cooking.
Tonic dishes are rich and warming, so people with conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes, or who easily feel overheated, should watch portions and consult a doctor first. Tradition is a cultural guide, not a substitute for professional advice.