How to Preserve Internal Yin Energy in Autumn
Autumn begins from Start of Autumn to Start of Winter, covering six solar terms: Limit of Heat, White Dew, Autumn Equinox, Cold Dew, and Frost's Descent. Mid-Autumn (15th day of the 8th lunar month) marks the climatic turning point.
The Guanzi states: “Autumn signifies the descent of yin energy, hence all things gather.” Here, “descent of yin energy” refers to the gradual growth of yin as yang energy recedes; “all things gather” means all things mature and reach harvest time. From an autumn climate perspective, it is a transition from heat to cold—the stage of “yang diminishing, yin increasing.” Human physiology accordingly shifts from “summer growth” to “autumn harvest.” Therefore, autumn health preservation must adhere to the principle of “receiving and nurturing.” In other words, preserving internal yin energy should be the top priority in autumn health care. As stated in the Huangdi Neijing: “Nourish yin in autumn and winter.” This means cultivating the receiving and storing energies in autumn and winter to align with nature’s increasing yin, thus laying the foundation for next year’s yang energy generation—avoiding depletion of essence and injury to yin energy.
How to preserve internal yin energy in autumn? The key lies in preventing dryness and protecting yin. TCM holds that dryness is the dominant factor in autumn, known as “autumn dryness.” Its nature is clear and dry. During prolonged dry weather without rain, dryness often causes illness. Since the lungs govern respiration and connect with the skin and hair, and since the lungs and large intestine are interior-exterior partners, when air humidity drops, the lungs, large intestine, and skin are most vulnerable—this is the pathological feature of dryness-induced illness.
Dryness harms the body by depleting body fluids—“dryness overcomes moisture.” Once fluids are depleted, typical “dryness signs” appear: dry mouth, dry lips, dry nose, dry throat, dry tongue with little saliva, hard stools, and dry, cracked skin. The lungs are delicate organs, favoring moisture and disliking dryness. Dryness invading the lungs most easily damages their yin fluids. With insufficient moisture, lung function suffers—leading to impaired promotion and descent. Mild cases present dry cough with little phlegm, sticky phlegm difficult to expel; severe cases may injure lung network vessels, causing hemoptysis (blood in phlegm). After lung fluid deficiency, lack of downward moisture supply to the large intestine leads to constipation.
Autumn dryness has both warm and cool types. Early autumn, with still-high temperatures, is considered warm dryness; late autumn, with dropping temperatures, is cool dryness. Regardless, both share skin dryness and fluid deficiency as characteristics. Clinically, however, they differ: Warm dryness typically presents with no chills or mild chills, obvious fever, and fine, rapid pulse; cool dryness usually lacks fever or has slight fever, but marked chills, with pulse rarely rapid.
From above, autumn health preservation primarily aims to prevent harm from dryness, thereby protecting internal yin energy. This is the general principle. Specifically, how should we preserve yin in daily life—regarding emotions, daily routines, diet, exercise, and medication?