Minor Heat (Xiaoshu), the 11th traditional Chinese solar term, falls on July 7 this year. A prelude to high summer, the solar term, the ancient Chinese observed, unfolds in three pentads of roughly five days each: warm breezes stir, crickets retreat to courtyards, and eagles soar high above the rising heat. Tang Dynasty poet Yuan Zhen wrote, "With the arrival of the warm breeze, Minor Heat takes its ease." People seek the shade of trees, while cats curl up in cool corners. All living beings embr