Beginning of Autumn · FFET10320
Gnawing the autumn (eating watermelon) at Start of Autumn
Eating watermelon and other seasonal fruit on Start of Autumn is called gnawing or biting the autumn, a custom practiced in Tianjin.
Autumn begins: cool winds arrive and crops start to ripen
Gnawing the autumn, also called biting the autumn, means eating watermelon and other seasonal fruit on Start of Autumn, expressing harvest hopes. A 2025 report cites Zhang Tao's Qing-dynasty Jinmen Zaji for Tianjin's custom; the original is unchecked and the exact date unknown. Claims that some people in Jiangsu and Zhejiang add a little rice wine are tentative.
What
Gnawing the autumn, also called biting the autumn, is the custom of eating watermelon, or other seasonal melons and fruit, on Start of Autumn.1
When
Start of Autumn. A 2025 report recounts Tianjin's melon-eating custom as recorded in Zhang Tao's Qing-dynasty Jinmen Zaji; the original text remains unchecked and only the dynasty is known, so this is a retelling, not a precisely dated record.1
Where
Tianjin has a custom of eating melon on Start of Autumn, while Shandong has a different dish. Northern families share watermelon, and some people in Jiangsu and Zhejiang add a little rice wine; these latter claims from 2026 are tentative.1,2
How
Northern families cut and share chilled watermelon; some people in Jiangsu and Zhejiang add a little rice wine. These claims are tentative.2
Why
Eating fruit on Start of Autumn carries hopes for a good harvest; people ate native fruit before watermelon arrived, and watermelon was later preferred.1
Impact and influence
Gnawing the autumn appears in a 2025 report on Start of Autumn foods.1
No tale about this food has been found.