諺語 · a single proverb
冬吃蘿蔔夏吃薑不勞醫生開藥方
What does 冬吃蘿蔔夏吃薑不勞醫生開藥方 (dōng chī luó bo xià chī jiāng bù láo yī shēng kāi yào fāng) mean?
冬吃蘿蔔夏吃薑不勞醫生開藥方 (dōng chī luó bo xià chī jiāng bù láo yī shēng kāi yào fāng) is a colloquial saying (súyǔ 俗語). Word for word it reads "winter eat turnip summer eat ginger, no need for doctor to write prescription." In use it means: Eating turnip in winter and ginger in summer keeps the doctor away; follow seasonal foods for good health. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Wood note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Pig.
Literally: "winter eat turnip summer eat ginger, no need for doctor to write prescription."
The reading
The garden knows the season and offers accordingly, and the body that accepts the offer stays in alignment with the turning year. Turnip in winter warms from inside; ginger in summer disperses the humid heat. This is medicine before it needed a name, available to anyone who watches what grows when.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Traditional Chinese folk health proverb
Sits beside
Keep reading
Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Nature, Seasons & Health, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Pig, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Rabbit.
Questions
Is 冬吃蘿蔔夏吃薑不勞醫生開藥方 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 冬吃蘿蔔夏吃薑不勞醫生開藥方 (dōng chī luó bo xià chī jiāng bù láo yī shēng kāi yào fāng) is a colloquial saying (súyǔ 俗語), and it comes from Traditional Chinese folk health proverb. It is living Chinese heritage, given here with per-character pinyin and its source so you can trust the line, not a phrase invented in English.
How do you pronounce 冬吃蘿蔔夏吃薑不勞醫生開藥方?
In Mandarin it is dōng chī luó bo xià chī jiāng bù láo yī shēng kāi yào fāng. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 冬吃蘿蔔夏吃薑不勞醫生開藥方 aloud in Mandarin.