上shàng床chuáng蘿luó蔔bo下xià床chuáng薑jiāng

What does 上床蘿蔔下床薑 (shàng chuáng luó bo xià chuáng jiāng) mean?

上床蘿蔔下床薑 (shàng chuáng luó bo xià chuáng jiāng) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "Radish when going to bed, ginger when getting out of bed." In use it means: Eating radish in the evening aids digestion and promotes restful sleep, while ginger in the morning warms the stomach and stimulates yang energy for the day ahead. Each food has its optimal hour of use. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Fire note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Rooster.

Literally: "Radish when going to bed, ginger when getting out of bed."

The reading

Food acts differently depending on when it enters the body. Ginger in the morning stirs yang energy, warms the stomach, and readies the digestion for the day's work. Radish in the evening promotes downward movement, easing the gut and settling the body toward sleep. The same ingredients at the wrong hour can disturb rather than heal. Timing turns ordinary food into gentle medicine.

What kind of proverb it is

• Typeyànyǔ 諺語
• FocusPresent-minded
• Element火 Fire
• Zodiac tie雞 Year of the Rooster

Source Traditional folk dietary therapy saying, widespread in Chinese food-as-medicine culture

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 Rooster, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.