How to prevent heatstroke and cool down? On the internet, some experts have put forward various "coup" for heatstroke prevention and cooling. Some people want to turn on the air conditioner 24 hours a day, while others say it is not suitable to stay in an air-conditioned environment. Some people say to drink more tea water, some say not to drink more tea water, some say to drink boiled water, some say to eat ... I don't understand.
I believe that everything goes with the flow, just like experiencing cold. Our ancestors had many ways to cope with the heat. How did the ancients spend the hot summer?
The ancients went out in summer, obviously much less than in the spring and autumn. There has always been a saying among businessmen in the south of the Yangtze River: "Men don't make money in June", which means that it is rainy in June and the heat is unbearable, even if there is business, they don't do it. This custom even affects the justice of the government. Generally, prisoners on death row are not executed in summer, but will probably wait until after autumn, which is the so-called "autumn sentence". From the Han Dynasty to the Tang and Song Dynasties, people engaged in official business can take vacations in summer. What should they do during their holidays? It's to avoid summer. Hangzhou's "Old Wulin Stories" said that on June 6th every year in the Song Dynasty, people in the city "boarded a boat to swim in the lake for the summer". Jiangnan has been relatively rich since ancient times. People sit still, pick lotus, go boating, fish, play the piano and climb mountains to enjoy the scenery, which are all common outdoor summer entertainment customs. It is a pleasant thing to get in close contact with nature, cultivate one's morality and keep warm by quietness.
Bai Juyi, a great poet in the Tang Dynasty who has been an official in Jiangnan for a long time, saw this clearly: "Everyone is crazy in summer, and the Zen master stays at home. It's not that there is no heating in the meditation room, but it's cool to stay calm. " The meditation room is an atrium. Although the heat is lingering, the mind is calm and the body is cold. Bai Juyi found a prescription for relieving summer heat: "Why sit in the hospital to relieve summer heat?" There is nothing in front of me but the breeze under the window. The heat dissipation changed from calm to cool, and the room was empty. At this time, it is difficult to spend more time with others. "In the hot summer, Bai Juyi thinks that summer vacation is not to avoid, but to face and resolve. Therefore, the coolest place is not under the shade of trees or by the water, but in people's hearts. Mei, a native of Xuancheng, Anhui Province, was a famous Jiangnan poet in the Northern Song Dynasty. He knows how to enjoy life in hot summer. His method of cooling off the heat is "boiling tea to cool off the heat". Mei Shi intoned: "Autumn sounds earlier than tall trees, and the promenade is slightly hot; Don't drink, make tea and forget to go home. "Even modern people will use this method to sit indoors and cook tea to cool off the heat. In hot summer, in such sultry weather, people will sweat easily, so they should replenish water in time. Many people will choose some ice water or iced drinks. Contemporary people are happy for a while, but ice drinking is still harmful to health. In fact, drinking tea is the healthiest way to replenish water.
Either way, peace of mind will avoid summer. In the view of ancient Jiangnan literati, to escape the heat, we should not only escape the heat, but also remove the fire to avoid impatience. Let go of summer. Bai Juyi's prescription of "calming the heart means cooling the body" is also the true meaning of the ancients' summer vacation. After all, even if you can hide, as long as your heart is there, your heart will know that you have nowhere to hide. Clearing one's mind is not only a way to escape from the summer, but also an attitude towards life. Perhaps this is also the reason why the life of the ancients was so gorgeous and poetic.
Ancient Jiangnan literati often chose to spend the summer in lush forests, breezy lakes or quiet courtyards. In addition, the temperature near the bridge and the pool is low, which is also a good place for the ancients to escape the summer. Gao Lian, a famous drama writer and health care scientist in the Ming Dynasty, once described the ancient people's method of enjoying the cool and cooling off the heat in Eight Chapters of Respect for Life: "Huo Dou Villa has seven rooms and seven wells, all of which are carved, and Xia Yue sits on them. Seven wells are cold and don't know the heat. " In ancient times, the conditions for heatstroke prevention and cooling were limited, and people were sitting in the well and watching the sky. Thanks to this Old Master Q, I can remember. Does it imply that people often "have ice and snow in their hearts" in hot summer, which is a little spiritual victory? It is also a vivid practice of Bai Juyi's "natural coolness of mind". Because as early as the pre-Qin "Huangdi Neijing", it has been mentioned that in summer, it is necessary to "make the will not be angry", that is, maintaining a happy mood is conducive to spending the summer heat.
(Part of this article was published in the "Yangtze River Delta" special edition of Shanghai Liberation Daily on July 24, 20 19, and it was revised this time. )
This issue specially publishes a group of old photos of people's heatstroke prevention and cooling in the past 100 years.
2065438+July 25th, 2009, Ningfengxuan, Wujiaochang, Shanghai.